Should we get a tractor or digger to work on the land? - Research

Should we get a tractor or digger to work on the land?

projectkamp

With contributions from

davehakkens

Updated 5moUpdated 5 months ago

Landscape

Completed

We are carrying this question for a while now since we always see all the neighbours around with their tractors and sometimes we have to ask them for help too. We see the time is coming and we would like to explore the different possibilities and vehicles out there to try to define as well as we can what would suit us best for our land.

More Information

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1

Our needs

Created 3yCreated about 3 years agoUpdated 3yUpdated about 3 years ago

Let´s first define our needs, that will help us to know better what what kind of vehicle we need, machines, add-ons, etc. As far as we can imagine ourselves nowadays our main needs will be: Digging Flatening small areas Woodchipping mimosas up to 10cm diametre Landscape working (moving soil or creating steps for example) Moving heavy things Dragging trees and stuff

2

Tractor vs Skidsteer

Created 3yCreated about 3 years agoUpdated 3yUpdated about 3 years ago

Practically everyone living around us has a tractor to work their land. It seems the most obvious choice. However online many people seem to be into Skidsteers, skidloaders. We only really know this from constructions sites in cities, but apparently there are a lot off add-ons available to work the land and seems a more practical choice. However we also don’t seem them around which makes us wonder if it is.  Looking online we see this as the Pro’s and Cons.  👍 Skidsteer Pro - Just like tractor many attachments available ( backhoes, brush cutters, excavating, drilling, digging, bulldozing mulching/raking) - Better to manoeuvre in rough terrain and less likely to rollover due to low point of gravity. - Quicker and easier to swap attachments than tractor. 👎 Skidsteer Con - Less good in agricultural tasks like Plowing and Tilling (we probably don't do much of this) - More expensive than a tractor - Harder to find parts and repair-shops around here (this is important to us) - Heavier then tractor  But perhaps you have some suggestions, things to add to the list or experience to share? Drop it in the comments

3

Tractor vs small digger

davehakkens

Created 2yCreated about 2 years agoUpdated 2yUpdated about 2 years ago

We always thought we needed a tractor to maintain the land like everyone else around us. Which is probably true. But we start to doubt if this is the highest-priority vehicle we need right now. It's good to maintain the land, but realistically, we still need to work the land a lot (dig cables, swales ponds, stairs, etc.) So taking that into account, we were wondering if a small digger would be a better choice than a tractor in these early years. 👍 Small Digger Pro - We can work the land (move dirt, digg holes and trenches) - Digging work can be outsourced but needs lots of guidance. Doing it yourself gives more control. - Better to work in steep areas - Can use it to lift things like rocks for building terraces 👍 Small Digger Con - Cant do land maintenance - Cannot be used to transport things like a tractor (but we do have a pickup) - Harder to repair? - Does only do one thing, tractor has more options - No woodchipper Let us know if you have any thoughts or tips!

4

Exploring diggers in the Kamp

davehakkens

Created 1yCreated almost 2 years ago

We figured lets try out a few different diggers and see how they behave in this landscape. How they manoeuvre, how fast they dig and how detailed they can work. Downside is that the digger came with the guy, so could have been that one person was just more experienced then to other and works more effective with the machine. So far the digger on the left is definitely most versatile and fast, however its also much larger and has a speed that is not really need it for us since we dont work with it daily. A smaller digger seems more appropriate. Anyone here has some good brands/models regarding those smaller diggers? Next we want to try to see if we can rent one to test it out ourselves. Put some amateurs on the thing ;)

5

We ordered a digger (import from Ireland)

davehakkens

Created 1yCreated over 1 year agoUpdated 1yUpdated over 1 year ago

Unfortunately, the renting didn't work out. Doesnt seem very common around here and the one guy that does rent it out had problems with it all the time. So we decided to look around and buy one (more about this in update #114) What we looked for - Year: Made after 2005 - Brands: Hitachi, Yanmar, caterpillar and komatsu as they are most common around here - Size: +/- 3.5 KG Ton - Max 6000 hours We found the one on pictures below - Yanmar VIO38-U from 2014, with 4.446 hours - 4.460 working hours Note: It will be imported from Ireland. Apparently it's a common thing in Portugal to important machines since they don't make them here and the second hand market is small. People tend to import them from Northern Europe. So we figured lets give it a try.

6

We got scammed

davehakkens

Created 1yCreated over 1 year ago

The purchase of the digger didnt really go as planned. It turned out to be a scam. Luckly we have an awesome community that crowdfunded us the budget for a new digger (projectkamp.com/digger) + we are trying to find the scammer. And meanwhile we are on the lookout for another digger, found locally so we can see it in real life ;)

7

We got a (better) Digger! Next, attachments?

davehakkens

Created 1yCreated over 1 year agoUpdated 1yUpdated about 1 year ago

We got scammed but thanks to the support of the community we had extra budget available to get a new one. We found a bigger, newer model with less hours usage which we could buy. We bought it at an auction in Netherland and transported it to Portugal. When it arrived we brought it straight to a local mechanic (who had to dig himself out of the truck!) so he could have a look and change some fluids, oils and inspect it. It’s currently there and will soon come to the Kamp.  Here some information Brand: Kubota Type: KX163-5 Year of build: 2016 Serial number: JKUK1635J00W64357 Brand engine: Kubota Engine power (kW): 35.00kW Number of cylinders: 4 Fuel type: diesel Operation weight: 5595kg Boom length: 2850mm With bucket: Yes Bucket size w: 700mm Caterpillar width: 400mm Cabin:Yes Hours on display: 3262 Total dimension L: 5550mm Total dimension W: 2150mm Total dimension H: 2550mm Price: €19K (ex VAT) Transport: €1.5K (ex VAT) We still have some extra budget left and were’ looking into attachments, we saw this brush cutter model (used here locally): Serrat Cabezal F2, you can see in picture 4 (https://www.serrat.pt/cabezal-f2/) Anyone has any experience with them? Also are they good to buy second hand?- we’ve been advised to buy them new as they tend to wear out. Or any other recommendation for other attachments?  

8

Look who is here in Basekamp

davehakkens

Created 1yCreated about 1 year ago

Finally :) *thats it. nothing to add for this update

9

Issues with the (Chinese) digger. Anyone ideas?

davehakkens

Created 5moCreated 5 months agoUpdated 5moUpdated 5 months ago

We wanted to get some new buckets for the digger and install some attachments like a thumb. We looked around locally and people didn’t seem to have the fitting one with the right connection for it. (I always assumed this was standardised in the industry.) Went to a local Kubota dealer and they didn’t have attachments or manual for this machine, they didn’t even have our model in their inventory.  As we started looking online we also noticed you don’t find information about this model, not even a basic user manual pdf to download. Apparently this model (KX163-5) was never sold in EU and therefore the dealers dont have any information. In fact it was exclusive sold in China. Till got in touch with a Chinese person that could help out calling to Kubota in China after a long chat they shared that they have a manual from a similar model. The KX163-5 and the KX165-5 are nearly identical. Only downside the manual is in Mandarin. (: We translated it with Deepl Images 1. Screenshot of original 2. Screenshot of translated 3. Kubota Helpdesk string models are similar 4. Just a realisation that we practically live on a different internet + Attached the user manuals. Original and translated We feel a bit stuck with the topic now. Is it true that parts are not standardised around the world? How do we find new buckets and attachments? Do we now need to use crappy Alieexpress to buy things? 🫣

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