What are your thoughts is it worth it or not?
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New Deere are $$ as hell. If you can get parts for it and repair easily, then why not. They are very handy on the farm from what I see on YT. But I have no personal experience with them. You can also look for the cheap China models and compare a new one to the old one.
Good luck with figuring it out!
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I am getting a garden cart of some kind myself. I like the exercise and enjoy the labor though.
This one carries 1 yard which is the same as the skid steer. Its $230.
I reckon a person could pull it with a lawn mower or 4wheeler or sidebyside etc.. if they werent able to pull it themselves.
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i bought a low hours 05’ mahindra with a blower and bucket for $6000 8yrs ago. best purchase i ever made. saves me alot of work. thats a steal for something like that. go for it!
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If it runs well, that is very cheap -at least in my area. Moving wood chips with a a tractor is soooo much better…
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Where I live that’d be a good price for a running piece of equipment.
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Unfortunately, I cannot speak to the price for that particular piece of equipment in your area. As long as you have the money to be able to afford to have it repaired should something fail, there’s really only a handful of considerations to make.
- How often will you use it? (more frequently is better)
- Where will you store it? (under cover from sun and rain is best)
- How do you do with routine maintenance?
- Is there a good and trusted diesel equipment mechanic nearby who can repair it when necessary?
- Will friends suddenly come out of the woodwork, knowing that you have it?
- Can you restrain yourself from suddenly creating an inordinate amount of new projects (“make-work”) in order to put your new toy to use?
I think that it can be a tremendously useful tool. If I had it then it could easily become a distraction from the other things I need to accomplish. Renting a machine for a day or a week at a time has worked out well for me in the past but everything takes longer than it is expected to.
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Personally I struggle with this… Moving bulk materials up the hill in the backyard. I have only done it with the gorilla cart but struggle given the steep incline at the base.
Have actually purchased an electric winch as a project to pull the cart up but never gotten to installing rigging, pulley, and maybe a post to use it.
Also got a second hand electric cart to get up the hill, but it loses traction and can’t do the job. Amazing how humans can do these things… Just with lots of effort.
Keep thinking an ATV or something could help but then convince myself I need the exercise.
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@krismoriah i have one of those I don’t use any more. I ended up replacing it with two different sizes of gorilla carts. They have solid sides that make hauling dirt and mulch easier. They dump their contents pretty easily when not overloaded. I replaced the tires with flat frees because I have so much rock, muck, and brambles around here. The flat frees are heavier but roll better and I haven’t had the hassle of wanting to use a cart and having to air up the tires first.
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Never knew they made electric carts. I’m way behind the times. Thanks for the info. Always learning from the forum.
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Locally people charge 130$ hr for skid steer work. So if you can have someone come out in the spring for a half day to move everything around it’s not bad. That machine will cost you more than that in extra parts/gas/labor
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If you already have a riding mower they have small trailers for them. That’s what I did. I think I paid $80 for it on marketplace.
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A good old fashioned wheelbarrow does the job great and you will be excercised and energized afterward. The impact on the land can be pretty rough with the machinery rompin around the trees. Most people opt of the machine because they want to get it done as fast as possible. If you give yourself permission to do it with a “longer rhythm” mentality, it will be great.
Problem with the electric wheelbarrows is they are super clunky and often can be harder to move than a simple wheelbarrow. Thats my own experience anyhow.
Any which way you decide, Good Luck in your tree endevors 
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Audi o phile raised all of the points that I had thought of. I am a short 65 y.o. woman and have often thought it would be lovely to have a piece of equipment like that, but I don’t have good storage and I’m not at all mechanical. It looks like you have a trailer to move it to be serviced, so that’s good.
I use a cart pulled behind my ride on mower which has been a lifesaver, however, I still have to shovel things into the cart which can be well over 100 loads. Each load is at least 100 snow shovels worth. I look at the pile of wood chips in my driveway with dread because of that. That pile takes me months to move.
If I had a piece of equipment like that, it could be moved in a day. I don’t know if the tracks would obliterate the lawn or land you’re crossing or if that matters, but that might be another consideration. The price seems good, especially considering the labor it would save…Will it be used enough to warrant the space it takes up? Decisions, decisions!
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Before suggesting wheelbarrows and wagons, perhaps people should inquire and understand the scope of the job. Clark, get the skid steer! I also needed a pickup and dump trailer to get this mulched.
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Yes, the scope of the project and your age definitely matters. I’m over 70 with 22 trees all about mechanical advantage. I prefer a small tractor 25 hp hydrostatic 4 wheel drive FEL and backhoe . Then I added many accessories on the base unit, mechanical grapple, ratchet rake, lifting hooks, clamp on forks, large rearview mirror, and custom grill guard. there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using a skid steer. I’ve just found that there are more accessories and it’s easier me maneuver my small tractor around my trees. I had a large 45 hp gear drive it wore me out.
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I agree with @AndySmith that @clarkinks needs more than a wagon for his work, but I really appreciate @Audi_o_phile 's list.
As someone who needs more than a wheelbarrow or wagon, I am constantly being told to buy a tractor or skid steer. However, I have sat down and done the calculations and it is not worth it for me to buy one. I can rent most equipment when I need it (my tasks are not as time sensitive as those who are harvesting things). I don’t need to store or maintain equipment if I rent, which is a big deal for me. I don’t have time to be fixing equipment and repair people are far away and expensive.
The other good thing about renting equipment over buying it is that I can get the exact thing I want instead of an attachment or partial solution. Yes, you can dig with a tractor w/ front loader, but I could rent a backhoe and it’s way better, or a trencher if I want a narrow deep trench, etc.
I still kind of want a tractor or similar - there are many times I probably should have gone and rented equipment but didn’t (because it’s kind of a pain in the neck and the rental place isn’t very close and I have to borrow or rent a big truck etc). And I’m always tempted. But then I go back to my reasons. So I’m trying to get better at assessing when it really would have been better to rent the thing…
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Also, @AndySmith that is beautiful!!!
I think I see your fence - is the whole thing fenced for deer? or are they not a problem?
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Smart move. I’ve rented machinery I would never be able to justify buying. But right now I live in a place where the terrain makes any machine inefficient, so I get exercise and lots of time to consider my plans.
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7 of 12 acres are fenced, 6 foot, 6 strand electric fence with a homemade solar charge system and Cyclops energizer. It keeps deer out most of the time, but they get in if they want to. Making Maggie’s Orchard - Pictures! - Growing Fruit
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