Hey all,
I hope that timely rains are coming your way, and the big boys are showing up on camera!
So I've decided that rather than getting a golf cart, I'm going to get a quad. My reasoning for this is that the quad can do everything and more than the cart can, the only drawback is that it's louder. After talking it over with my neighbor, who owns a tractor and equipment and helps me with my plots, I decided that an ATV would be able to do everything that I need to do, and would be much easier than having to come to him for such a small plot. Additionally, at 23, I think that it's time that I start being able to do all of this stuff on my own, with the constant guidance of the forum of course :). This is really the first piece of "equipment" that I'll be owning
I'm still determining how much I/we (it'll be used by my Mom and Dad as well to help them haul things... basically it'll just belong to our family) have to spend, but I think that $5,000 would be a good starting point for a quality used machine. T
The total amount of plots that I have is about 1 acre, with half put into native prairie this year. So a tractor would be a bit overkill, considering that I can have a quad that can easily do what I need.
Here is what it'll be used for, so you can get an idea of what I'll need:
1. Spraying. I'll most likely get a small pull behind sprayer with an engine for my apples. Even though I'll be doing minimal spray, it would be helpful to have something to use for dormant oils, and japanese beetle control. I'll also want to get a small boom sprayer for my plots, (I really hate to spray, and generally avoid it, but it'll be needed every once in a while).
2. Watering. We have some old 55 gal juice drums that we use for our swim raft. I'm planning to make one of them into a watering tank for my trees. I'll put it onto some sort of dolly/ wheels.
3. Pulling a Mower. For general plot (clover) and trail maintenance. The type of deal where you have a gas engine hooked up to a bushhog type deal.
4. Light discing. I'm really going for the no-till, no-spray approach (e.g. what someone who loves the color crimson on another site does), but sometimes I'll need to work up the soil. I'll mainly be planting clover, brassicas, buckwheat, rye, etc... so no row crops or anything that needs heavy, deep tilling. I still will have access to my neighbor's rototiller if I need to do heavy stuff.
5. Hauling. My property is about a quarter mile from our "base". A trailer would be great to haul bins with apples from our orchard (yes, I opened the "baiting" floodgates :) ), dirt, manure, leaves from our compost pile, tools, etc... It'll also be used my my Mom and Dad to move heavy loads around our house and in the garden. On the property itself, the biggest thing I'll have to pull will be logs from trees that I've taken down. Creating brushpiles can be a huge PITA if you have to drag a hundred or so limbs a hundred yards.
So, now that you know what I'll be using it for...
what do you think I should get? I'm thinking that a 500cc is reasonable for 5k, but would I be alright with a 400?
What brands do you recommend or advise that I stay away from?
What are things that I need to look for while checking out used machines?
Any other things I should consider/watch for?
Thanks for any help. This will really be one of the larger purchases I've made that is going towards habitat.
I hope that timely rains are coming your way, and the big boys are showing up on camera!
So I've decided that rather than getting a golf cart, I'm going to get a quad. My reasoning for this is that the quad can do everything and more than the cart can, the only drawback is that it's louder. After talking it over with my neighbor, who owns a tractor and equipment and helps me with my plots, I decided that an ATV would be able to do everything that I need to do, and would be much easier than having to come to him for such a small plot. Additionally, at 23, I think that it's time that I start being able to do all of this stuff on my own, with the constant guidance of the forum of course :). This is really the first piece of "equipment" that I'll be owning
I'm still determining how much I/we (it'll be used by my Mom and Dad as well to help them haul things... basically it'll just belong to our family) have to spend, but I think that $5,000 would be a good starting point for a quality used machine. T
The total amount of plots that I have is about 1 acre, with half put into native prairie this year. So a tractor would be a bit overkill, considering that I can have a quad that can easily do what I need.
Here is what it'll be used for, so you can get an idea of what I'll need:
1. Spraying. I'll most likely get a small pull behind sprayer with an engine for my apples. Even though I'll be doing minimal spray, it would be helpful to have something to use for dormant oils, and japanese beetle control. I'll also want to get a small boom sprayer for my plots, (I really hate to spray, and generally avoid it, but it'll be needed every once in a while).
2. Watering. We have some old 55 gal juice drums that we use for our swim raft. I'm planning to make one of them into a watering tank for my trees. I'll put it onto some sort of dolly/ wheels.
3. Pulling a Mower. For general plot (clover) and trail maintenance. The type of deal where you have a gas engine hooked up to a bushhog type deal.
4. Light discing. I'm really going for the no-till, no-spray approach (e.g. what someone who loves the color crimson on another site does), but sometimes I'll need to work up the soil. I'll mainly be planting clover, brassicas, buckwheat, rye, etc... so no row crops or anything that needs heavy, deep tilling. I still will have access to my neighbor's rototiller if I need to do heavy stuff.
5. Hauling. My property is about a quarter mile from our "base". A trailer would be great to haul bins with apples from our orchard (yes, I opened the "baiting" floodgates :) ), dirt, manure, leaves from our compost pile, tools, etc... It'll also be used my my Mom and Dad to move heavy loads around our house and in the garden. On the property itself, the biggest thing I'll have to pull will be logs from trees that I've taken down. Creating brushpiles can be a huge PITA if you have to drag a hundred or so limbs a hundred yards.
So, now that you know what I'll be using it for...
what do you think I should get? I'm thinking that a 500cc is reasonable for 5k, but would I be alright with a 400?
What brands do you recommend or advise that I stay away from?
What are things that I need to look for while checking out used machines?
Any other things I should consider/watch for?
Thanks for any help. This will really be one of the larger purchases I've made that is going towards habitat.
