I'm new at this. I'm helping out a group that has about 90 acres of mixed land (old clay brick quarry along river). Some of it is pretty steep, other parts are flat. It needs a fair amount of work. Parts tend to get pretty soupy when we get a lot of rain -- and the soil is mainly clay, so it gets slick as well, but some parts have a lot of busted brick etc.
We would like to clear some trails, move some rocks, do general maintenance, move dirt (lot of erosion needs fixing) etc.
I'm looking at a 1998 John Deere 455 G with only about 1,700 hours for about $23,000 and then also a 2004 Bobcat T250 for about the same $$$ with about 1,500 hours. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.
I'd rather not do a lot of maintenance (if I can avoid it). I imagine we will run the machine for a few hundred hours a year, as it would be mostly weekends. I was going to purchase the bobcat, when I started reading this forum. A lot of the commentators seem to like the steel track machines -- which is why I found the John Deere 455 G.
Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.
And I enjoy this forum.
We would like to clear some trails, move some rocks, do general maintenance, move dirt (lot of erosion needs fixing) etc.
I'm looking at a 1998 John Deere 455 G with only about 1,700 hours for about $23,000 and then also a 2004 Bobcat T250 for about the same $$$ with about 1,500 hours. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.
I'd rather not do a lot of maintenance (if I can avoid it). I imagine we will run the machine for a few hundred hours a year, as it would be mostly weekends. I was going to purchase the bobcat, when I started reading this forum. A lot of the commentators seem to like the steel track machines -- which is why I found the John Deere 455 G.
Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.
And I enjoy this forum.