It’s been a long time since I’ve commented as I sold both of my tractors about 7 years ago. That said, it’s great to get these emails from the group as it shows the community is still going strong.

I just started looking at a 5-acre piece of wooded land in the northeast with a long, and steep, driveway. I’m not looking to clear cut it by any means but there will be a lot of work to be done there. When all is said and done, I’d like to have an acre dedicated to the house and lawn, 2 acres for farming, and the remaining 2 acres kept as woods. In terms of land clearing, I want to do almost all of it myself, with the help of a few friends here and there.

To get the property to where I want it to be, and to keep it there after that, I’ll need a good tractor. I used to own an E12 that was an absolute tank but now I’d be looking to upgrade to something along the lines of an E20 or even slightly bigger than that. I emailed with a guy out of Nixa, MO a few years back that does essentially ground up Elec-Trak builds with thicker frames than the original models and all of the new electronics (http://www.aclectrictractors.com/tractors.html). I’ve been considering purchasing one of those and finding myself/building myself a loader to go with it. That said, I’m also considering doing a ground up build myself as I might go slightly bigger.

My question for the group is: given your experience using your own Elec-Traks, if you were doing a slightly beefier ground up build of an E20 ($25k budget), with new electronics, what would you want in your updated version (stronger frame, 48v system, power steering, 4wd, etc.)? Please keep in mind that I’ll be moving A LOT of dirt and gravel, piles of wood, and large rocks (after I dig them up). Most of this will be done on uneven wooded terrain (not talking mountainous here but not level fields either). I’ll also be plowing roughly 300 feet of steep driveway multiple times each winter.