I paid for 1/2 my grapple with 1 job. Save money by doing projects yourself.

[@barrydarnell9748]

Measuring a tree height is easy if you know how. Take a pencil or other type of stick and back away from the tree and hold the stick vertical until the stick is longer than the tree. Align the top of the stick with the top of the tree and place your finger on the stick at the base of the tree. Now tilt the stick to a horizontal position, bottom still aligned, choose a marker or have someone mark the top then you can walk the tree height if you know your stride or measure it. It’s very helpful when you are dropping a tree and want to know what it could hit.

[@shawnphinney4363]

Neil, right on point. Talking with your salesperson about what you want to accomplish or complete faster/ easier is what a trusted advisor does. If your salesperson only wants your money without real conversations relative use & applications, Go find another one that does.

[@wildbill23c]

Careful about talking to your salesman about wants and needs....mine talked me out of a couple things I really wish I had now...and one thing that I did end up adding to the tractor that would have been far less expensive if I ordered it when I ordered the tractor. Go in knowing exactly what you need/want....and put it on the table as that is the package you want....don't need any why, what for, or anything else, this is the list of what I need/want order it period. Made that mistake listening to a salesman once, won't do it again....and there won't be a next time, can't afford another one LOL. I'll have to buy those 2 implements in the future, but would have been nice to have had them in the purchase deal to begin with...nice thing is though, I can go to other companies that sell the implements and buy from them cheaper, a lot cheaper and still have a quality implement....it just won't match the color of the tractor LOL.

[@alstruck8063]

I love "working" on projects for my home and neighbors, have a B26TLB and that thing is a beast cleaning up downed trees, removing stumps. Just a nice way to clear my mind on the weekend.😊 Oh and it saves quit a lot of time as well.

[@wildbill23c]

A few months before I bought my Kubota BX2680, I had a few chores I needed to get done, and thought well, I'd go down and rent a tractor/loader and roto-tiller....they wanted $485 for a 4 hour rental....plus they wanted another $140 to rent their trailer....WTH....I came home, did the chores myself by hand, and with an old walk behind roto-tiller....would have been so much faster if I had a tractor, sure, but I didn't have $700 to throw away to pay someone else's machinery rental. What they wanted for 4 hours of use, minus 40 minutes of drive time.....I am making 2 tractor payments for that $700...and....I can use my tractor whenever I want, not when a rental yard has it in stock, which is very seldom its always rented out it seems....so. I went and bought my tractor, loader, roto-tiller, box blade, grading blade, mid mount mower, sub-soiler that I turned into a ditcher, along with a quick hitch and a ballast box. One of the more useful things I bought were pallet forks, I knew I wanted them, but I didn't realize at the time just how much I would use them around my small property. A grapple would be great, as would a flail mower and a wood chipper...can't afford them right now, but definitely on the future purchase plan. I'd rather make a payment on something I'll own rather than make a payment on someone else's borrowed equipment, especially at the prices they want, plus the drive time, which is now an hour and a half one way as the local rental yard no longer rents tractors, and implements. I haven't put many hours on the tractor since I bought it in July of 2021....which today is about 3 years of having it on the property and I've only put 113 hours on it....but I look at that 113 hours and think of all the hours it has saved me overall doing everything by hand. My grandfather never had a tractor on the property, even when it was 2 acres...its only an acre now, and I'm by myself as my grandparents have passed away and so has my mom....so its just me and the property, and I work full time, so a lot doesn't get done, and what does get done is helped by owning the tractor and implements....when I told my grandfather I was buying a tractor, he never really said much, I told him that my reasoning was, he wasn't able to get out and do stuff like he used to and would have liked to....I mean up until 2023 he was outside all the time tinkering in the shop, doing yard chores, etc...and that was at 93 years old. He never used a walker or a cane, or a wheel chair until the last 3 months he was alive....he passed away in January 2024 at 94 years old....today (July 29th, would have been his 95th birthday). I knew there was no way I could keep up with much without a tractor, I had the money to do it, and I went and bought it, and never mentioned anything to the family until after I bought it and it was several months later.... My aunt says why the hell did you buy a tractor just rent one, I said do you have $700 lying around every week or every few days when I need a tractor for around the property, she says well no....I said exactly why I bought one....I pay half that every month for a tractor and implements I can use whenever I want, not when a rental yard has it so I can go pay their bills for them to borrow one. Once you have the tractor, you can get implements along the way as you see the need...you can borrow implements, rent implements, etc. The tractor is the biggest part of the purchase, once you have that its the biggest part of the battle. I mow a lady's pasture a few times a year, but other than that I don't use my tractor for anything other than my own use on my property.

[@AnimationCPU-y2k24]

I had a tree removal business. Removing debris was a very time consuming part of the business. The equipment was also very expensive from the owner side. I was able to save customers who only wanted me to take down the trees a good bit of money.

[@wildbill23c]

If you do stump grinding too, those dang cutter teeth are really expensive alone.....add in the upkeep on everything too, that gets expensive right quick for sure. When I had 4 trees taken down this past year it was $12,000 and I'm guessing the biggest part of that cost was the 40 ton crane they had to have due to the location of the trees they didn't have room to cut them down normally without damaging fences and buildings. They were here at the property like they were scheduled to be, and done and everything cleaned up and they were gone in about 3 hours.....I honestly thought man they're gonna be here all day for this, and when the owner came to the door saying we are done and out of here I was like wait what....they were quick, they did great work, and really saved a lot of work that I would have had to do.....sometimes it pays to call in the tree guys....yeah, for a limb or a few a year, no big deal I can take care of that, but for 4 huge poplar type trees with 5 foot diameter bases, yep no way I was gonna tackle that myself. It was well worth the money spent to call the right guys in to help, and they ground the stumps down too, which was included in the price....the price that was quoted was what I paid, nothing else added to the cost.

[@RobertBrothersJr-dc7nr]

I agree with you 100% Neil. I absolutely love my MX5400. I couldn’t live without it. I have done too many jobs to even count. I couldn’t imagine hiring them out. I throughly enjoy doing them. Great video. Thanks

[@CFAinNoVA]

Nice property and woods. Cleared underbrush but not overly cleared. That takes work. Agree 100% on do-it-yourself paying for implements.

[@tangoseal1]

I love my L4060 - Thank the Lord Christ for the blessing. It is a force multiplier for sure! I hope to get a KX057 soon to get massive dirt work done with - god willing.

[@scottfrazier131]

You are 100% correct. I have 3 acres and could not do it without my B2601. I mow with it plus everything else. I probably take the loader and mmm off 2-3 times a week just doing different projects with different attachments around the house. Money well spent!

[@1958johndeere620]

I start my tractor, get it out of the shed, drive to my mailbox then put it back in the shed.

[@lcee6592]

57,489 trips to the mailbox and back, should pay for itself.

[@roberthale8407]

First thing I bought for my 5.5 acres was a 30hp Cub Cadet and a brush hog. Then came the new L2501DT with a boxblade and loader. Then the tiller. Then the TP46 planter. Then the all purpose plow. Then the toolbar.

[@wildbill23c]

HAHA sounds about right....once you get that tractor it really opens up your world of things you can easily do...not any way afford to do but geez I got the tractor I may as well use it type of ideas LOL. I've got a few implements I still need to get but for the most part I've got what I need....the other implements are more of want items, but would still be quite useful....wood chipper, flail mower, and a grapple. Problem is they really don't make a grapple small enough and light weight enough for my Kubota BX2680....and they have ridiculous prices on those grapples too, which makes me look at the pallet forks I have and think yep those will just keep working just fine for me LOL.

[@mrpips000]

I do similar to you. I had about 50 trees taken down, the tree service would drop the tree and grind the brush but leave the trunks and big branches. I bought a sawmill to mill up the wood. I'm not sure I "saved" any money as I have over 100K in equipment and could probably have all the work done for that, but at the end I'll still have an asset that I can sell and recoup part of the cost.

[@earlyriser8998]

Just passed 200 hours on my MX6000. Not a subcompact but I use it all the time to do tasks that would cost $$$ to hire out.

[@jeromebecigneul2911]

i noticed all the implements that you mentioned and the ones parked in your woods. Flail, grapple, backhoe, seed broadcaster, seed drill, box blade, land leveler, boom sprayer and who knows what else you have. So Neil, it's easy to say you paid for half the cost of your implements used in that project is easy for you. You don't pay retail for any tractor implements. Most of us could not purchase a different implement for different projects. It would be nice if they weren't so darn expensive but they are. Oh well, I'm not complaining that you have them. I wish you well. Just kind of explaining why most of us can't. I'd love to have a flail mower. Maybe some day.

[@MessicksEquip]

The expensive stuff is all rented. My backhoe, sprayer, fert spreader, box blade where all used and each only a few hundred dollars. I don't spend big dollars for anything, but I know when things are priced right. You'd be surprised what you can find just by keeping your eyes open and being ready to go when the deal is right.

[@evracer]

Pallet forks work almost as good as a grapple for a quarter of the cost and are useful for a lot more projects

[@bradjenkins932]

LMAO.

[@evracer]

@@bradjenkins932 I can also carry more if loose debris....and the same as the grapple with large debris as the lift capacity is the limiting factor. Grapples work better for those who can't find the center of gravity of their load and don't actually want to get work done.

[@bradjenkins932]

@@evracer Still LMAO!

[@Morpheen999]

@@evracer You have an interesting sense of Humor Lol

[@evracer]

@@Morpheen999 I've taken out 10 80 ft trees this week.... There is nothing left on the ground and they are all on my brush pile. Bigger pieces equal less trips. I guess every lumber yard in the country that unloads log trucks with forks are crazy too.

[@Kcolby47]

Well done Neil. You are right on with your observations. I actualy think of my tractor (and attachments) as a “friend and helper.” I take care of it, and it takes care of me. (Dont’ tell my wife😉)

[@thebradleysoncatbirdhill6849]

Excellent points, Neill!!!! I continue to be amazed how I managed this property without my L2501 for years. I'm also finding that I'm using it for other things, such as lifting heavy pieces of furniture or appliances that I am bringing into the house or taking out.

[@theoriginalbubba1036]

My neighbor likes to poke fun at me, saying "oh, I see you dropped your hat, lemme go get my tractor." He also constantly thanks me for all the digging, mowing, and carrying stuff I have done for him with the tractor. I'll never be without one again. i warn y'all though, its like having a pickup truck. if you own one someone you know is gonna have to move furniture...

[@wildbill23c]

Oh I quickly stopped anyone from asking to borrow, or me to go do stuff with my tractor. I tell them that its mine not theirs, if they want something done on their property go rent a tractor because they don't want to pay enough to justify the wear and tear and damage to my equipment from their piss poor property cleanliness...I destroyed the mower deck on a lawn tractor mowing an overgrown yard for a guy a few years ago that claimed oh its clean, its ready to be mowed, its just overgrown because nobody was living there....after several rocks, some cinder building blocks, and god knows what else I hit....that ended me ever doing any work for anybody and all he wanted to pay me was $50 after the damage I told him he owed me a new lawn tractor, or $3000....I said $2500 of it was for a new lawn tractor, the other $500 was for me, my time, and use of my equipment and to clean up his mess. So, never again will I do any work for anyone like that for people I don't know and on properties I don't know anything about. I mow a lady's pasture a few times a year, but only because she's a friend of the family and its a very easy 1/2 acre pasture to mow....she pays me $100 to do it I don't use my truck for anybody else either....its a personal vehicle not a business vehicle....yes it makes a difference on registration, license plates, and insurance.....I don't hire out my equipment or my vehicles for anything. If something happens its money out of my pocket to try and figure out how I'm going to afford to fix stuff....no thanks.

[@williamchen3789]

For a homeowner, whether an implement really saves money depends on the project. If it boosts property value or helps you make money, the numbers obviously work out. If it’s for something like clearing land (without any other purpose), moving things around, digging ditches, etc, it only saves money if it’s something you really have to do in order to use the property or keep it safe. Getting a grapple to remove some bushes just to satisfy an urge to clean or to just get a better view is wasting an awful lot of money IMO.

[@SlackerU]

That's what happen to me. Every contractor had a lifted truck on rims & not every job requires me to pay for any of that if I would just buy my own tractor.

[@wildbill23c]

When I had 4 trees taken down this past year, it was quite the ordeal due to their locations, it required a 40 ton crane truck, plus all the regular tree equipment.....$12,000 later, and 5 sections of logs left on my property that require a 36-40" chainsaw to cut yeah, sometimes saving a few bucks ain't worth it....gotta think about the whole picture LOL, would have been another $2,000 to have just had the tree company take those lengths of logs....I'll figure out what to do with them eventually, but my tractor can't move them LOL, the skid steer they had struggled to move them, so they'll have to be cut in place into much smaller pieces....ooops, so much for saving money, now I gotta get a saw that costs just about as much as it would have cost to have the tree trunks hauled off LOL....but hey at least I'll have a big chainsaw that I won't use for 20+ years HAHA!!!

[@SlackerU]

@@wildbill23c Yep they aren't all DIY jobs. We sliced one up in 18 inch lengths to be under 700lbs each which was an easy task for a BX. A F150 truck-bed full of wood costs about $16 to dump at the compost facilities. We recently had a severe storm that caused a two week power outage across the entire storm's path so FEMA is taking all of our down trees if we stack them along the roadside.

[@calebthompson9631]

Just wondering which half of the grapple that paid for- the left half or the right half? I much enjoy your videos and your enthusiasm!

[@wildbill23c]

Bottom half ;).

[@Treeplanter73]

I couldnt live where i do anymore w/o my tractor. Its indispensable to me, EVEN my wife agrees now.

[@markproulx1472]

My grapple is my most valuable attachment.

[@samengler539]

Hi Neal. I had my septic field fail. It was $30k to have it done. I did it my self with my B2650 with a back hoe. In four days it cost me $2800 for the drain tile and stone. It paid for my tractor in just that one job.

[@MessicksEquip]

Thats awesome.

[@wink9970]

Another nod to Mark, Nice

[@ronevans852]

Yeah, Guy got to have a tractor,

[@steveboston6889]

Good one! More of this please.

[@Dan-oz4qb]

Are those Crocs in 4x4 mode for this job?

[@Zanderthelab]

Where can I get that side light kit that is on your ROPS and will it fit on a B series?

[@MessicksEquip]

www.messicks.com/parts/1rmlk

[@thehawkc]

I agree. I can't get #1 ( the wife ) to agree!

[@wildbill23c]

Have your wife start doing all the chores, and lawn/garden work....see how quick she changes her mind.

[@BG-vq9fd]

👍

[@aloneinfinland]

talk about click bait! no you ddnt pay for the grapple in one job, you estimated (way over the mark) for the cost of a job someone might have done, e.g. you talked about chippers, but you didnt chip it, you just moved it to the back of your property. Thats not 'half the job cost' thats a tenth of the job you described them doing! a little bit of perspective would go a long way