HOW TO SELECT A COMPACT TRACTOR

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If you are uncomfortable operating a piece of heavy equipment, consider hiring a commercial jobber. No matter what the task, there are probably dozens of independent contractors with the right equipment within a few miles of you. Check references, as usual, and insurance coverage (yours and theirs), depending on the work being done. These people get paid by the hour, so whatever site preparation or other preliminary work you can do to minimize their time on the job will be to your financial benefit. On the other hand, these contractors often won't accept small jobs that will take them less than half a day. In this case, see if you can share the cost with one or more of your neighbors who have small jobs that, combined with yours, will keep the contractor busy in the same area for the minimum time period.

Borrowing tools or equipment from friends, relatives or neighbors is still acceptable behavior in some parts of the country. You should, of course, be willing to reciprocate, should the need for one of your tools ever arise. You should try to return the item in better condition than when you borrowed it. Have it repaired or replace it if it breaks while you are using it, even if it wasn't your fault it broke. Return it shortly after you borrowed it and remember to say, "Thank you."

Try bartering a service you can perform in exchange for someone else's service to you. Find someone with the equipment you need who is able to do the job for you and see if you can perform an equal-value service of some kind for him or her.

ALTERNATIVE EQUIPMENT 

The skid loader, or skid steer vehicle, has replaced the tractor for many commercial, agricultural and landscaping applications. Because of its narrow width, tight turning radius and quick agility, a skid loader is ideal for working in tight areas. But for lawn mowing and general field work (plowing, baling, raking, planting), a tractor is more useful. An excellent machine for everything from cleaning out barns to excavating, the skid loader can be equipped with a variety of implements, including backhoe, brush cutter, post-hole digger, manure forks, tiller, trencher, hay spear and even tanklike tracks. Case, Gehl, John Deere, New Holland, JCB, Thomas and Bobcat are popular brands.

A fairly new machine that is gaining popularity among small landscaping contractors is the miniloader. This fourwheel tractor has onboard hydraulics and is driven from a stand-up operator's compartment at the rear. It offers a growing variety of front-mounted implements for light digging, trenching and material handling (but not excavating). The Toro Dingo, Kanga Loader, Gehl Advantage and Ramrod Taskmaster are a few of the models currently available, but watch for other manufacturers to release products in this category soon.

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