OT one piece of heavy equipment to make a living

For me it would depend on the kind of business you want to do. If you get a TLB you should also look at getting a small dump truck to run with it to be effective. Escavation, septics, land clearing, hauling dirt etc.

FWIW, I will pass along some sage advise I got while shopping for a small dump truck - "you can only gut a sheep once, BUT, you can shear him many, many times."

That told me real quick to cease the search for the dump truck as I could only do some much land clearing, septics etc. and my travel range would have to increase to find the new business.

I refocused my "will work for hire" work on creating & maintaining yr. round feed plots for hunting clubs. Here in the South lot of clubs lease land yet don't have equipment to do the "farmer" work.

This is where I come in. My capital investment is already paid for, overhead is low, I get paid by the hour, they pay for seed, fertilizer, fuel etc. I get to hang out in the woods working my old iron and I get paid to do it. Side benefit is I have some key spots to go deer hunting in the fall and since I have been in the woods all yr. I have a good idea of where the deer are.

For personal use I own an OLD MF 50C rubber tire 2WD TLB. I wish it had a grapple bucket but alas it does not. Root rake for front bucket would also be nice. I do some odd jobs around the area i.e. ditches, clearing fields, driveway building etc. It keeps me in fuel money. You can do more with a TLB than a dozer or track hoe as those are more specialized machines.

Just some food for thought.

The guy that leveled for my barn picked up a 450 Case dozer for about $7,500 (dirt cheap), knows a lot of the builders (barns) and is a busy guy. Pulls it behind a 3/4 ton extended cab diesel Ford, working that pickup over real good. Mounted a laser to the blade, sets a reciever out, and takes his time at $65 and hour. I aint complaining, did excellent work, gets a lot of work. Good for him, did alright by me, aint gettin rich, but is his own boss and makes or breaks "his" own business. Proud of the guy. Some guys can level with a back blade, I tried and aint one.

Mark

casey in SD

Oddly, my most frequent request is not my crawler loader, but my landscape-sized hoe on a compact tractor. I know it's spring, but there must be other small hoes out there. My billing is never less than 1 day.

Skid steer is about the most adaptable machine out there for working urban areas, as is a combination backhoe.

A hydraulic excavator is also one of the most useful tools, and most economical to operate, as most work being done goes thru the hydraulic system, not thru the entire driveline like a dozer or endloader.

In this area (Chicago metro) track endloaders are real popular. Many guys here do entire housing subdivisions with only an endloader and a skidsteer.

Whatever suits you the best. As in any business, the machine isn't nearly as important as the operator. YOU are the heart and soul of your business. It will be YOU that makes the business go, no matter the size, color or vintage machine you own. I did it for more years than I'd like to remember...You can do it too!
Best of luck Larry NE IL