Help me mull some options...

[Adkhunter1590]

Ok so I'm gonna try and make this sorta brief as to not bore any of you on this lovely Saturday.

I'm having leach field field issues and some serious water drainage issues. My garage is about to be swallowed up by a rapidly growing creek almost. I knew last spring we had some drainage issues but with the lack of snow last year it was on the verge of tolerable, especially since it dried up quick last year with the lack of rain. I basically need to dig a trench to divert the water around the property and down to the ditch at the street. Leach field basically needs to be expanded as I'm finding out it's much smaller than I was told when I bought the place a little over a year ago.

Now the cost to do all this would be well outside my abilities to pay upfront. I'm guessing at least 10 grand with the amount that needs to be dug and all the piping, stone, blah blah blah. Could be even higher but regardless, I don't have that kinda cash laying around. I have replaced my fair share of septic systems with my old man over the years as it seems my family is cursed when it comes to septic systems. I know I can fix it myself and regular drainage trenches and piping is pretty straight forward stuff.

My dilemma is that I don't have a backhoe or loader to do the work. Renting is a option but it gets pretty pricey quick at $250 a day. Doing this work myself will obviously take more time than a day.

So now I'm back to my long lived dream of buying my own tractor with a loader, backhoe and some other goodies to go along with it. Priced out a mahindra max 24 with the loader,BH, rototiller, box blade and a brushhog for around 25K. Mahindra offers 0% interest for 84 months too. Quote I received from Macfadden was $312 a month with a additional $1000 rebate after taking delivery.

Taking on another payment is the last thing I want to do at the moment but it's far more feasible to pay tractor payment vs figuring out how to come up with lump sum of cash which would most likely require some sort of loan anyways,which means monthly payment regardless. To compensate I'm considering selling my atv to get rid of that payment to help cover this. Not wanting to do that, but I don't think my wife would ever let me take on another payment without giving one up.

I have a lot of stuff I can do around here with a tractor, especially the backhoe. Beyond my septic and drainage problems I have quite a few trees that need to come down and stumps will need to be dug out. Then there's the food plotting aspect out back. Been dying for a tractor to create bigger and better plots and other stuff. I'm really wanting to dig a small pond to help catch a lot of this ground water that just wants to run through my house.

To help make such a investment a positive thing, I'm thinking/hoping/dreaming I could do some side work with the tractor to cover the cost. Brush hogging, rototilling, driveway grading, drainage trenches with the backhoe. Really anything I could do with a compact tractor. Would cater more towards small jobs that the big company's don't wanna bother with. Not looking to get rich by any means, but I would love to be able to cover the cost of tractor and put a few bucks in my pocket. And who doesn't love working on a tractor! I'd much rather scale back my weekend hours at my full time job and do some side work outside to keep me happy.

Doing a bit of research it seems there's a lot of guys with the same mindset as me looking for small side work to pay for these machines. Most responses seem positive other than advising to get insurance, which is something I would do if it became big enough to warrant that type of investment. Hoping most of my work will come through family/ friend connections where I'm less likely to need to worry about having insurance. Risky, yes I know, I'm a natural born risk taker and have been lectured for years so let's not go there. Lol.

So to wrap up my rambling....trying to decide if it's worth getting rid of my atv and signing my name to 84 months of payments on a tractor. Wife is against the idea but that's not a surprise as she's against almost any sort of change or uncertainty. That 312 a month payment doesn't excite her either as it's as much as we pay for her SUV haha. She also doesn't fully grasp the financial scope of the work we need done, and if it doesn't get done I fear our septic problems will only compound into major ones in the near future. I'd much rather take out a loan for a tractor than a loan to pay someone to do it for me.

Am I on a rationale thought process here? Or is my love of tractors and working in the dirt making me biased. As I argue with my wife over it, my brain is about to short circuit and I can't see who's right or wrong anymore. Haha.

Anyone been in this situation before have some advice?

Only negative I can come up with is losing out on having an atv for awhile until I could pay other crap off and maybe acquire a new one in a couple years. Not to mention if I hope to start doing side jobs I don't have time for it anyways.

So help me out here. Do I just quit dreaming and find another way....or do I pick up a tractor and get to work.

[Lawdwaz]

Tractor to do side jobs means truck, trailer and insurance.   DBA ?????

I don't have the time to way out all the options but IF you could scare up a friend that has the knowledge to do the work with a rented machine in a couple days, that might be the place to start.  Stone, drain tile and beer come cheap.........

One other thought and actually this is where you should start..........call and get a few quotes from reputable guys and see what they say.   NEVER assume......................

[growalot]

Doable  if you are in an area with like properties and you have some knowledge as an operator. Though I didn't see where you mentioned a trailer to haul. And cost of carrying insurance. Our son does this as a side job...There is a cash lay out to get a cash benefit. Also ssshhh if your even fixing, your own septic...There are regulations. All that said...tractor sounds like a good deal ,what's the hp again?

[Steve D]

Never ever get rid of the atv   If the tractor/backhoe is to expensive find the wife a better job. Hoping to do side jobs especially for family to pay for it would be a royal pain.

Last time I needed equipment I rented it. Pricey but cheaper than monthly payments and don't forget the stake out required for every dig.

https://www.digsafelynewyork.com/

[Adkhunter1590]

Tractor to do side jobs means truck, trailer and insurance.   DBA ?????
I don't have the time to way out all the options but IF you could scare up a friend that has the knowledge to do the work with a rented machine in a couple days, that might be the place to start.  Stone, drain tile and beer come cheap.........
One other thought and actually this is where you should start..........call and get a few quotes from reputable guys and see what they say.   NEVER assume......................

I have a truck and trailer to use. Looked into forming a LLC which is cheap and easy.

I could scare up some help. But the only 2 people I think who would go out of their way to help me would be my two closest buddies/coworkers. The 3 of us run the mills at work so one of us is always there. Makes timing a pain. My family lives in Kansas and wife's family is way to self centered to help.

Neighbor owns a excavating business but does more large scale jobs out of state. I have seeked his guidance and he is the one who got the 10k figure minimum stuck in my head. He said he'd love to help me out but his machines are way over sized for what I need done

[Merlot]

Try not to make a panic purchase. Renting a small machine to take care of present problem first, then assess situation after.

[Adkhunter1590]

Doable  if you are in an area with like properties and you have some knowledge as an operator. Though I didn't see where you mentioned a trailer to haul. And cost of carrying insurance. Our son does this as a side job...There is a cash lay out to get a cash benefit. Also ssshhh if your even fixing, your own septic...There are regulations. All that said...tractor sounds like a good deal ,what's the hp again?

Truck and trailer I have covered. I've ran a lot of machines in my life, just never personally owned them. Give me 15 mins on a new to me machine and I'll hold my own with well seasoned vets. Insurance is obtainable if it gets to that. I have no problem investing in something that will lead to profit down the road. What I dislike is investing a lot of mine to just solve one single problem, when I'm sure more will only come in the future. Ya I know there's some Regs on the septic work, so shhh don't turn this rebel in. lol

Tractor is 24.5 HP. The specs on the mahindras are pretty dang good and out class JD and Kubota in many ways. 7 year warranty is also a nice thing.

[Einsamer Krieger]

I rented equipment needed for the same type of operation you are talking about.  Cheaper in the long run, no long term payments, no insurance, no extra equipment for hauling, and no maintenance costs.  I got some Veterans Friends together and performed the needed work in record time.  Afterward, we had a barbecue and a few beers, everything went great and all had a good time.  Of course the downside, yes, I would love to have a backhoe but those payments and all the extras that come with doing work for some else, no. no to many headaches.  Renting and Friends, best way I found.  Cost of renting equipment $1,350 for one week.  Good luck, may God guide you. 

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Edited February 25, 2017 by Lone Silver Wolf

[Adkhunter1590]

Never ever get rid of the atv   If the tractor/backhoe is to expensive find the wife a better job. Hoping to do side jobs especially for family to pay for it would be a royal pain.
Last time I needed equipment I rented it. Pricey but cheaper than monthly payments and don't forget the stake out required for every dig.
https://www.digsafelynewyork.com/

Don't wanna give up the atv and financially don't have too, more of a peace offering to sway the wife's decision. Wife is set to take over her fathers business in about 3-5 years so we will really be in good shape once that happens. Just doing the best I can until that time comes.

If my math is correct, renting for a week would cost me half as much as paying a years worth of payments. If I was only set on doing these two jobs I'd agree renting made more sense. But the plan to acquire my neighbors 40 acres behind me means I have a lot more land to mess with in the future. With the future jobs to come I'm seeing buying a tractor as a worthwhile investment. Does this make sense?

[Steve D]

I rented for a weekend, did what I needed to do, prepared for the next step, and then rented again to finish up.

Tractors are a nice plus but buying one for "future jobs" that may or not come may be somewhat risky. Bottom line is you have to do what ever you are comfortable with and take the good with the bad!

Just remember...side jobs leave less time for hunting.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Steve D

[Lawdwaz]

You already bought it, didn't you?  

Fugg it, this ain't a dress rehearsal. 

Nike.....(Just Do It)

[airedale]

It is a tough call, you really have to ask yourself how much use will you actually  get out of that kind of big investment. There is no doubt that a lot of hard work can be accomplished with one as I have owned several tractors in my life and they have been tremendously helpful for me getting work done on the small farm property that I own.

I went whole hog a few years ago and purchased my dream tractor and it will be paid for in full in just a few more months and while the payments were long and high it is one of the few payments I have had that I did not mind because of all the hard work this tractor has done on a constant basis. 

Land clearing, pulling a dump wagon, maintaining my 3/4 mile of driveway, stump digging, wood cutting, log skidding, snow removal both plowing and blowing, and mowing both rough and finish. I will be in the woods this spring cutting and clearing trails. So for me the usefulness and work was there and I have to say that tractor was probably the best piece of equipment and investment I have ever made. 

By the way there can be a big savings on implements buying good used stuff.

Al

My New TYM Tractor right after it was delivered and still shiney like a new penny, TYM makes several Mahindra models.

[TreeGuy]

Tractors come in handy. So do ATVs. If it was me, I'd look used. I'd also stick with orange or green. Main reason is resale. Look at used Mahindra's, they are all over the place used and pretty cheap compared to bota and Deere. Granted you lose the zero percent but I'm sure you could find a rig to suit your needs and get financed through a credit union for a reasonable rate... On a side note, most compact tractor owners always regret getting too small. 24hp is nice, but what is HP @ pto, since that is going to make a big difference on brush hog and tiller. Gear drive maintains HP at pto but suck for loader work. Another thing to consider ( forgetting about warranty) is how "tough" is the machine ? Big axles, frame thickness etc. Some of the brand new machines make great numbers and specs on paper but aren't really made to "work". I just sold my almost 40 year old Kubota for 8k. It barely cost that brand new... I do alot of woods work and loader work so I wanted to get rid of the gear and go HST. My god what a difference. So glad I made the jump. I also went from 30hp to 40hp. Also a great difference.

OK, so enough of my blah blah blah. My .02 is buy used. Save the money, lower payment and if you actually get enough side work you save that and with a bota or Deere you won't lose much if any by adding a few hours on it then you can trade up for a new rig, if needed.

Btw, here is the old vs new rig

[52 farmer]

Don't tell to many people except helpers you can trust, you will have the local health department nocking on your door.In my area the rental places have pretty reasonable rates for all weekends, just need to book far enough ahead.IMO also a 24-25 hp tractor is on the small side for doing any kind of side jobs on a regular basis,I believe they are more for homeowner use once and a while not on a daily basis.

[catskillkid]

Read all of your replies back to yourself. Seems like you made up your mind already. Go with your gut instinct and go with it. Have fun with your new machine!

[chas0218]

For the leach field can you do a dry week instead? I know they all use them around or area. Basically a square hole with cinder blocks stacked on their sides and holes facing left to right. Water leaches it the holes and into the ground around it. Could do the same for drainage around your place.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Core]

To help make such a investment a positive thing, I'm thinking/hoping/dreaming I could do some side work with the tractor to cover the cost. Brush hogging, rototilling, driveway grading, drainage trenches with the backhoe

Before I got to your post I was thinking this--in reverse; I think you should not bother renting one, but instead find somebody who can come and do work on your site for a few days.

The problem it sounds like you have is short-term cash flow. It sounds better right now to pay $312/month because you can foot that now instead of several thousand, which you can't, but of course the long term cost is massively higher with the monthly. Maybe you can take out a personal line of credit or something? I see those floating around at various banks. If your credit and income support it, you can take out that money and spend it on anything, from paying somebody on craigslist for a few days of work to whatever.

Or, maybe you can find somebody on craigslist who will rent you his equipment for a week or two instead of the $250/day that would cost elsewhere.

[Adkhunter1590]

You already bought it, didn't you?  

Fugg it, this ain't a dress rehearsal. 
Nike.....(Just Do It)

Made my day right there. Was in a general sour mood until I read that. Haha.

[Adkhunter1590]

It is a tough call, you really have to ask yourself how much use will you actually  get out of that kind of big investment. There is no doubt that a lot of hard work can be accomplished with one as I have owned several tractors in my life and they have been tremendously helpful for me getting work done on the small farm property that I own.
I went whole hog a few years ago and purchased my dream tractor and it will be paid for in full in just a few more months and while the payments were long and high it is one of the few payments I have had that I did not mind because of all the hard work this tractor has done on a constant basis. 
Land clearing, pulling a dump wagon, maintaining my 3/4 mile of driveway, stump digging, wood cutting, log skidding, snow removal both plowing and blowing, and mowing both rough and finish. I will be in the woods this spring cutting and clearing trails. So for me the usefulness and work was there and I have to say that tractor was probably the best piece of equipment and investment I have ever made. 
By the way there can be a big savings on implements buying good used stuff.
Al
My New TYM Tractor right after it was delivered and still shiney like a new penny, TYM makes several Mahindra models.

Sounds like I'm in the same boat you were. I have a bunch of land behind my house I have sole access to with plans to buy it from the lady in the near future. Basically waiting for my wife to take over her dads shop so we can plunk down cash in the old lady's hand. At that point I'll own over 40 acres and still have access to about 5 more from the other neighbor. I may not own the land at the moment, but I have permission to pretty much do as I please with food plots, making trails, pretty much anything short of building a permanent structure like a house lol. With the addition of a tractor I could get a lot done out back. I am thinking more and more that a tractor is a necessity to take care of the land more than anything. I'm thinking the joy of working the land will outweigh the negatives of making a payment. Either way I'm gonna pay one way or another. I would defiantly shop for used implements

[TreeGuy]

Sounds like I'm in the same boat you were. I have a bunch of land behind my house I have sole access to with plans to buy it from the lady in the near future. Basically waiting for my wife to take over her dads shop so we can plunk down cash in the old lady's hand. At that point I'll own over 40 acres and still have access to about 5 more from the other neighbor. I may not own the land at the moment, but I have permission to pretty much do as I please with food plots, making trails, pretty much anything short of building a permanent structure like a house lol. With the addition of a tractor I could get a lot done out back. I am thinking more and more that a tractor is a necessity to take care of the land more than anything. I'm thinking the joy of working the land will outweigh the negatives of making a payment. Either way I'm gonna pay one way or another. I would defiantly shop for used implements

Just consider size too, you won't regret going bigger but you may regret going smaller. Used or new is your budget, but I still think you may be disappointed @25hp. For reference, my friend has a 30hp Kubota HST,which equates to 24hp at PTO. When he pulls a 6' brush hog it really runs the tractor hard especially in golden rod/ saplings.

[Adkhunter1590]

Just consider size too, you won't regret going bigger but you may regret going smaller. Used or new is your budget, but I still think you may be disappointed @25hp. For reference, my friend has a 30hp Kubota HST,which equates to 24hp at PTO. When he pulls a 6' brush hog it really runs the tractor hard especially in golden rod/ saplings.

Would love to go bigger than 25hp and still might if I can find a good enough deal on a used one. Ends up coming down to price for the time being. I know I can get by with 25hp for a few years. That and the small foot print of a CUT is something I'm after for my drainage jobs since I will need to be working close to the house and in between house and garage etc. Plenty of space for every other thing I wanna do but the tight spaces between house, garage and chicken coop is my reasoning behind smaller tractor for now. My hopes are to get by with a smaller CUT for a few years and then upgrade once our cash flow really picks up when the old lady's dad retires and she takes full control. From my research it seems the max series of mahindras are pretty dang capable for what they are. Jobs will just take a little more time with the lower HP but that's something I can deal with for a few years

[cityboy]

Did you get an estimate to repair/expand  the leach field?  No real problems with mine except 30 years old. Figured it was time, especially because we've made the last college tuition payment on the youngest child. Cost me 3 grand for a local contractor to put in a new field. Done in a day. 

Put on a new roof a few months later. No leaks, just 30 years old.

 

[TreeGuy]

Would love to go bigger than 25hp and still might if I can find a good enough deal on a used one. Ends up coming down to price for the time being. I know I can get by with 25hp for a few years. That and the small foot print of a CUT is something I'm after for my drainage jobs since I will need to be working close to the house and in between house and garage etc. Plenty of space for every other thing I wanna do but the tight spaces between house, garage and chicken coop is my reasoning behind smaller tractor for now. My hopes are to get by with a smaller CUT for a few years and then upgrade once our cash flow really picks up when the old lady's dad retires and she takes full control. From my research it seems the max series of mahindras are pretty dang capable for what they are. Jobs will just take a little more time with the lower HP but that's something I can deal with for a few years

I'd say your a candidate for a used rig. I'm certain you could find something older that will get you through the next couple years vs a new machine ( again with the resale of the Mahindra ) that you could sell quickly for next to no loss and get the new rig you want. Plus if you get the HP you want now @25ish you will find out if that will work before you take the plunge on a new machine. What area are you in ? Have you checked Craigslist ?

[TreeGuy]

https://buffalo.craigslist.org/grd/5993319369.html

https://rochester.craigslist.org/grq/5995295920.html

https://buffalo.craigslist.org/grd/6012096157.html

https://buffalo.craigslist.org/hvo/5949552474.html

[Adkhunter1590]

Did you get an estimate to repair/expand  the leach field?  No real problems with mine except 30 years old. Figured it was time, especially because we've made the last college tuition payment on the youngest child. Cost me 3 grand for a local contractor to put in a new field. Done in a day. 
Put on a new roof a few months later. No leaks, just 30 years old.
 

Other than my neighbor who's been in business for over 60 years doing this type of work, I haven't reached out to any other contractors. He estimates close to 10k with everything that needs to be done. My problem is I can't just fix the leach field and be done. There's a bunch of natural springs behind the house that pour water directly into my narrow lot. Basically flooding out my leach field. My neighbor tells me I can fix the leach field but it's not gonna fix the over saturated soils from the water running into my property. So he's telling me I need to basically dig a trench the entire length of my property line where the water is coming from and divert it around the property into the ditch down at the road.

Sketched a rough little map to give you guys an idea. Leach field is just a single straight pipe. Wicked old and not nearly close to being enough for a family of 5. Other than the long ass trench I need along the property line, neighbor suggested a few other drainage lines around the house, in between the garage and house etc. it's just a lot of digging to do which is where he came up with the high estimate. I'm sure I could find someone to do it cheaper but I'm a firm believer in "cheaper isn't always better"