Sanity check - tractor for ~10 acres of use

[Shazbat]

So I know I asked 5 years ago about a tractor for nearly 100 acres, and I appreciate the advice given, but that wasn't in the cards for us. (Never was able to get broadband)

Moving to a new piece of property in southern NH of about 20 acres soon with the following areas of tractoring need that I can see "right now":

1000ft of driveway to clean from snow and perhaps maintain, it's shared and the neighbors that share it are 800ft farther back but I believe they pay for someone else to plow in the winter now - however I need to be able to get out on my schedule, not the plow company's.

5-6 acres partially cleared starting to get overgrown, 80 ft elevation change from top to bottom (About 600ft in length), I would _really_ like to keep this mowed down for hiking and dirt bike trails.

Lots of deadfall that I'd like to drag to the house and burn.

Existing brush piles need to be moved and cleaned up.

Some internal roads, not sure of length.

1/4 acre of flat lawn (I'm not picky on a fancy golf course lawn so if a rough-cut mower could hanlde this, that'd be fantastic)

1/4 acre flat area that I'd like to put a garden.

1/2 acre of mostly flat overgrown area that I'd like to become lawn-like (See above).

The remainder of the land is heavily forested, and with the exception of maybe making small trails through it I would like it to remain as such. There are some existing internal roads that at one time were gravelled and taken care of, but I'm not sure of the extent as I've not been able to walk them due to not being properly dressed for the deer flies.

__________________________________________________________________________

After reading posts here until my eyes bleed, I'm thinking that again, a 30-40 hp tractor would probably handle 80% of my chores with a 2-bottom plow, back blade, FEL (of course) with a grapple, MFWD, and a rotary mower. I'm leery of going with a SCUT, even though I think it could handle all of my tasks (Albeit slowly) because of the ground clearance.

A front-mount snowblower would be ideal I think if I can swing it, but I don't think I can afford a factory hard-cab, so a soft cab may be an option there.

Dealers nearby from what I can tell are NH/Tym, JD(Two, but one only appears to have SCUT's on the lot), NH/Kubota, and Bobcat slightly farther away - I don't mind doing smaller services myself, but any major repairs I'd prefer to have someone more knowledgeable than me handle it.

Please let me know if I'm losing my mind or not =) thank you.

 

[jenkinsph]

Sounds like a perfect job for a nice used 790 to me.

 

[Shazbat]

Thanks, a 790 (Or 3005) keeps crossing my mind, I'd actually prefer gear since darn near everything I own has a clutch.

 

[rswyan]

Moving to a new piece of property in southern NH of about 20 acres soon .....

Pics .... we need pics ....

After reading posts here until my eyes bleed, I'm thinking that again, a 30-40 hp tractor would probably handle 80% of my chores with a 2-bottom plow, back blade, FEL (of course) with a grapple, MFWD, and a rotary mower. I'm leery of going with a SCUT, even though I think it could handle all of my tasks (Albeit slowly) because of the ground clearance.

I think your thinking and premise above is good - I'd say 30 to 40 hp CUT would work fine - based on your stated intentions ..... a SCUT might be just a bit on the small side. Ground clearance could be an issue in the woods working deadfall and brush ....

I'd say if your really into gardening consider a tiller and skip the plow. A landscape (York) rake might be handy too ....

A front-mount snowblower would be ideal I think if I can swing it,

Yup, it would - I'm doing about 800' to 1000' of driveway with a rear mounted blower ..... it's tolerable ...... but we may not get nearly as much snow as you will.

but I don't think I can afford a factory hard-cab, so a soft cab may be an option there.

...... or a snowmobile suit .......

Please let me know if I'm losing my mind or not =) thank you.

LOL ..... nah, I'd say you've got a pretty good handle on things ....

 

[fredhargis]

We had just moved to a 15 acre property, and I went through the same thought process. I wound up with a 29 HP CUT, and at this point am quite happy with my choice. My choice of implements is likely different than yours since I'm have no woods at all, and mow 4 acres. That said, it seems to me that in smaller mowing areas an MMM is much more manageable....but that's from a tractor newbee. In any case, you're on the right track.

 

[TripleR]

I believe you are pretty well on target with the 30-40 CUT. My inclination would go more towards the upper end, but that's just my personality.

I agree to stay away from a SCUT as though I really like my BX2660, I am well aware of it's capabilities and limitations.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Wow! You found a place in NH that has almost an acre of nearly flat ground on only 20 acres? It looks like you are on the right track tractor wise, but I might include the 25-30 hp B series Kubotas, 2000 series JD's, etc. too. I would also add that you should be looking for something with a QA loader bucket so you can add forks. They are night, and day improvement over using a bucket on brush, and deadfalls, and way cheaper than a grapple set up. I also agree on the front mounted blower for snow since you probably don't have a lot of extra room to plow banks back. If you go with a blower you should probably start at the larger B series Kubotas, or JD 3000 series because you will want at least a 60" blower. That way one trip out, and back will get you out in the morning at least, though an extra trip out, and back really should only take 45 minutes-1 hr total, and I sure have put more time than that behind my walk behind to get out some mornings. I agree too that you might want to look at rototillers instead of the plow/harrow set up if your land is rock free enough to use one. Even a light duty 48" will be much faster than the plows, and much easier to set up, and use. Shopping is one of the really fun things to do with tractors so have some fun with it, and good luck with your choice.

 

[jbford]

We have 10 acres

3 to finish mow
2 to bush hog
5 woods (lots of briars and honeysuckle needing clearing)

looked at NH T1510
JD 3032E
Kubota L2800

all with FEL, 4wd & HST

went with Kubota but all 3 looked very good.
use bush hog, tiller, finish mower, blade, log chain, sprayer.

 

[dmay]

IIUC you have two distinct phases of needs to address on your new property. First phase is a fair amount of overgrown and deadfall ground and roadway/path clearing and general acreage cleanup. Second phase you simply want to mow your lawn, till a garden and clear snow from your driveway.

Phase 1 and phase 2 really call for two different tractor sizes. So do you:

A) buy a tractor in the 30-40HP range which becomes somewhat OVERSIZED for your ongoing phase 2 requirements?
B) contract phase one out and buy a tractor in the 25-30HP range (saving $$$) that easily meets your ongoing phase 2 requirements?

Unless you have further ongoing need for a phase 1 sized tractor that you have not shared, I would recommend you go option B. To me this might be a John Deere 2520/2720 or Kubota B2630/B3030.

The key here is phase one could be short and sweet. Hire someone with BIG equipment to come in and take care of all your initial needs in one weekend. Might cost you $1,000. Then get what you need to maintain and enjoy your property.

 

[TripleR]

IIUC you have two distinct phases of needs to address on your new property. First phase is a fair amount of overgrown and deadfall ground and roadway/path clearing and general acreage cleanup. Second phase you simply want to mow your lawn, till a garden and clear snow from your driveway.

Phase 1 and phase 2 really call for two different tractor sizes. So do you:

A) buy a tractor in the 30-40HP range which becomes somewhat OVERSIZED for your ongoing phase 2 requirements?
B) contract phase one out and buy a tractor in the 25-30HP range (saving $$$) that easily meets your ongoing phase 2 requirements?

Unless you have further ongoing need for a phase 1 sized tractor that you have not shared, I would recommend you go option B. To me this might be a John Deere 2520/2720 or Kubota B2630/B3030.

The key here is phase one could be short and sweet. Hire someone with BIG equipment to come in and take care of all your initial needs in one weekend. Might cost you $1,000. Then get what you need to maintain and enjoy your property.

Yep, just depends on whether your goals are doing it or having it done. I have done both.

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

 

[Grandad4]

I can't add much new to what has been already posted here... all pretty sound advice regarding your tractor options and your sanity. But I would say this, speaking from my own experience over the past few years...

It sounds like you are taking 20 acres that has kind of gone to seed and trying to bring it into some state of "civilization"... either to live on, use for recreation, etc. Good for you... that's a great project... but you will probably find it's going to take more work than you anticipate. Unless you aren't doing anything else with your life, it will take longer than planned. So if at all possible, get yourself some equipment that has more capability than the minimum, because you are probably going to need it. If you have minimal equipment, the inevitable unexpected things are going to become real obstacles. Best of luck... you've got quite an adventure ahead!

 

[Johndeere3720]

Look at JohnDeere's 3000 series. the 3005 would definatly work but I dont think it is possible to front mount a snow blower. We live on 4 acres so a tractor isnt overkill at all. Check out the 3320-3720. The 3320 and 3520 are available with power reverse and hydro is available on all 3 of them. They would have the capability to pull a plow, move snow, and haul logs out of the woods.

 

[flyingcow]

My 2cents.

40hp-ish 4wheel drive. When I priced out 30 hp vs 40hp, for the few extra dollars I was leaning towards 40hp. same physical size units, usually.

Open cab with a softside or some sort of cab just for winter. My new unit has a factory cab, because of the deal i got on it. Couldn't pass up the unit/price.--

Summer---Open cabs are easier in the woods and just getting around with the cab getting beat all up. The few times I stood up to look at the pallet forks, the factory cab is hard on the head.

Winter---softside would work well. I had an old MF1135, w/cab that i snowblowed with for yrs. No heater, cab was tight, no snow in cab. I was always dressed for the cold, so the lack of heat wasn't a problem. I have a 650ft driveway, plus various area to snowblow, usually took an hour or so.

Maybe have someone rototill the area for garden w/commercial unit. Then buy a nice rear tine tiller troy'bilt style. A big tiller for tractor is only useful at the beginning/end of season. Take the money you want to spend on a tiller and buy a farmi winch for the woods. Very useful and a lot safer/easier in the woods.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Yep, just depends on whether your goals are doing it or having it done. I have done both.

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

Have to agree with this statement, but then some guys prefer to just do the clean up stuff. Nothing wrong either way, just different ways to get to the same destination.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I read Shazbat's post and I had to do a double-take because his situation mirrors mine so closely I thought I'd posted it and then changed my login ID.

21 acres, 1400 foot dirt driveway, mostly wooded, 1/3rd wetland, the rest glacial till (lots of rocks).About a 20 foot vertical range of elevation on the property.
About a mile of trail to hog down once a year. Drive edges need hogging once a year. 1 acre garden. Have to move 5 to 7 cords of firewood each year, plus whatever gets blown down. Lots of stone wall to rebuild and maintain. Orchard restoration, and adding blueberries and grapes (haven't decided whether I want to do a small commercial produce operation, or just keep it as a personal hobby.)

Being young, healthy, strong as a horse, and having plenty of time and patience, and needing the exercise, I don't need or want to contract out the work.

Based on research, I'm shooting for a 30 to 35 hp CUT, backhoe (instead of an auger - too many rocks), tiller, brushhog, FEL, and ft-mount snowblower.

One other point, renting, or especially when contracting out heavy equipment to do major landscape work can bring the EPA down on you; especially if anything you do impacts a waterway, and the fines will absolutely ruin you. Small-scale changes over time with smaller equipment are usually ignored. Talk to your town building inspector, forestor, or road manager before hand and stay out of trouble, or at least have the paperwork that says, "He told me it was okay."

 

[dave1949]

I've partially 'tamed' about 20-30 acres of our lot using my 40 hp NH. I wouldn't want anything smaller. With a larger tractor comes a little more ruggedness maybe. That's important on rough woods ground for durability.

Don't skimp on the mower. Once you clear areas, the only practical way to preserve your efforts is to bush hog them every 1 or 2 years. Mowing along the sides of trails and even on trails that have never been smoothed out is very hard on a mower due to rocks, stumps, dips, humps, etc. Might be worth it to hire a dozer to clean them up and grade the trails initially.

The other thing about trails is that they will want to grow together since the branches always reach for the sunlight. Sometimes I take my FEL bucket and just push all the sapplings along the trail edge back into the woods where I can't mow due to rocks and stumps. This looks ugly for a while, but I'm not about to do it with handheld tools. The upside is it creates great blackberry growth areas beside your trails. Blackberries fruit on two year old canes, and it takes about 2-3 years for them to get started in a new area. Once you have them around, they will perpetually self-seed it seems. You just have to give them sunlight.
Dave.

 

[RoyJackson]

Thanks, a 790 (Or 3005) keeps crossing my mind, I'd actually prefer gear since darn near everything I own has a clutch.

Considering you're going to leave a fair amount of that acreage natural, a 790, 870, 970 or 990 would work really nice. A 4300 or 4400 with sync-reverser would do well too.
Quarter acre of lawn...just use a self-propelled walk-behind mower...tractor for all those other tasks.

 

[Varmintmist]

I have a friend that just moved from NH back to PA. He had 20 ac, horse barn, woods, paddocks, driveway to clear snow from and he would do the road when the guy at the end of the road who did trhe plowing didnt get home in time. With a 24 HP New Holland and a 4 foot back blade, carhartts and a hat.

You can clear brush with a 24 hp tractor, it will take a little longer than a 40 hp, but you will only be clearing once. Then you will be using a brush hog to BH a large yard, 4 ft is plenty.

20 ac is a nice amount for a house so you can pee off the back porch, but it doesnt call for a ag sized tractor.

 

[Soundguy]

30-45 hp, 4wd and a loader.. possibly hst tranny. pow steering maybee even

soundguy

 

[Shazbat]

Thanks everyone, hope to do some test-sitting this week.

Also thanks for the tip on the forks Chuck, any area where I can save money is appreciated!

Re-thinking the snowblower, as the drive is packed dirt/gravel and I'd worry about eating gravel with the blower.

Looked at a couple of Cub Cadets yesterday, SC2450 and EX3400, the physical size is appealing on the SC2450 but again, worried about ground clearance in the woods. Anyone make skid plates for these things? =)