Tractor Sizing Which tractor would best suit us?

[mr2143]

Hello all,

I致e been browsing the forum for years. I believe I知 finally ready to make my first tractor purchase. Here痴 our current situation- We live on 20 acres. Half of that is pasture, and the other half is wooded. I知 set on a tractor/loader/backhoe. Chores for the tractor would be: plowing snow, grappling work, driveway repair and maintenance until paved, potential hay work on 5-10 acres, food plot management, removing/moving stumps, etc.

If I wasn稚 planning on utilizing the tractor for hay and tree work, I致e thought about the L3901. However, if I壇 like to incorporate that into the tractor痴 chore list and have the extra weight and power for other tasks, I壇 like to jump to the MX5800. Does that seem logical? My hesitation in moving to the MX series versus staying in the L series is mainly around the width of the MX being 74 while many implements would be 72? Also, on the rare occasion the tractor would need be used close to our house on our lawn, I think the weight of the MX forces me to avoid ever bringing it on the lawn- especially with filled tires, wheel weights, etc. With all that being said, I do like the idea of a heavier and more capable tractor. Thoughts?

 

[jeff9366]

We live on 20 acres, 10 acres pasture, and ten acres wooded.

Chores for the tractor would be: plowing snow, grappling work, driveway repair and maintenance until paved, potential hay work on 5-10 acres, food plot management, removing/moving stumps, etc. I'm set on a tractor/loader/backhoe.

If I was not planning on utilizing the tractor for hay and tree work, I would consider the Kubota L3901. However, if want rot incorporate haying into the tractor chore list and have extra weight and power for other tasks, I'd jump to the MX5800. Does that seem logical?

My hesitation in moving to the MX series versus staying in the L series is mainly around the width of the MX being 74" while many implements would be 72"? Also, on the rare occasion the tractor would need be used close to our house on our lawn, I think the weight of the MX forces me to avoid ever bringing it on the lawn- especially with filled tires, wheel weights, etc. With all that being said, I do like the idea of a heavier and more capable tractor.

Thoughts?

If you can forsake the idea of producing your own hay, a 2,700 pound bare weight L3901 will be ample.

An MX is the next increment heavier at 3,700 pounds bare tractor weight plus larger wheels and tires and a Category I/II Three Point Hitch. (Actually a Category II Three Point Hitch with adaptor shims to fatten Category I pins in the tool box.) The heavier hitch and rigid stabilizers on MX5200 and MX5800, relative to an L3901, allows you to push implements prudently without bending hitch components.

74"/72" should not be an issue.
1) While the tires may measure 74" if you measure R4 tire imprint in the soil it will probably be 72".
2) Implements oscillate on the Three Point Hitch. Most 72" implements actually sway over 74" to 76".
3) Few tractor Three Point Hitch applications are completed in ONE pass.


"I think weight of the MX excludes bringing it on the lawn- especially with filled tires, wheel weights, etc."
If you opt for R1/ag tires marking your lawn could certainly be an issue. Most tractors with loaders are sold with R4/industrial tires which have less indenting tread. Also, the wheels and tires on all the MX series are pretty large, so tractor weight is spread over a good size tire contact area.

An MX4800 should be amply ballasted with loaded rear tires.

An MX5800 would benefit from both loaded rear tires and wheel weights in snow.


I travel over lawns most days with my 5,400 pound operating weight L3560 equipped with R4 tires, usually with an implement mounted, without marking. However my soil is resilient sandy-loam, unlike the clay in parts of Pennsylvania.


Here is an excellent thread on haying ten acres:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/haying/413025-round-bales-small-tractor-my.html

 

[Tompet]

What about the L4701...you can also get the more capable bh92 with that model with its larger frame.

The L3901 with bh77 would work too, but with twenty acres I can see why you looked at MX series. But as previous poster said taking haying out of equation changes things. You could always get an older used 2wd utility tractor in the future if haying is in your future.

Lol, Maybe compact haying equipment too...good luck with your decision and post what u eventually decide.

 

[aczlan]

If you can forsake the idea of producing your own hay, a 2,700 pound bare weight L3901 will be ample.

I would have to disagree. We do hay with our L3830. Yes it's slower than a larger tractor, but the main issue is a lack of horsepower, not bare tractor weight.

"I think the weight of the MX forces me to avoid ever bringing it on the lawn- especially with filled tires, wheel weights, etc."
If you opt for R1/ag tires marking your lawn could certainly be an issue. Most tractors with loaders are sold with R4/industrial tires which have less indenting tread. Also, the wheels and tires on all the MX series are pretty large, so tractor weight is spread over a good size tire contact area.

We run our L3830 with R1 AG tires on the lawn all the time, we just have to avoid using it when the ground is wet or muddy.
Yes it leaves indentations from the lugs, but our lawn is not a golf course and they are not noticable from 10 feet.

 

[Fallon]

An economy L machine will not safely lift big bales. I helped a friend move a small barn full of "1,200lbs" bales with my L3200. I could left them a few feet & it was sketchy as **** even with loaded tires & heavy ballast. All 2 & 3 thousand series economy Ls in the past 8+ years have the same frame & lift capacity.

I can't comment on making small bales as I never have. You could handle a small stack of small bales on a pallet or what not with the loader.

 

[aczlan]

An economy L machine will not safely lift big bales. I helped a friend move a small barn full of "1,200lbs" bales with my L3200. I could left them a few feet & it was sketchy as **** even with loaded tires & heavy ballast. All 2 & 3 thousand series economy Ls in the past 8+ years have the same frame & lift capacity.

I can't comment on making small bales as I never have. You could handle a small stack of small bales on a pallet or what not with the loader.

Our L3830's loader is rated to lift 1400# at 20" from the pins, the L3200 loader is rated to lift 855# at 20" from the pins.
I wouldn't use the L3200 to move round bales, but a L3830 should be handle it.

Aaron Z

 

[Diggin It]

Thoughts?

My thought is you should look beyond Orange. There is plenty of Red and Blue out there more than capable of any task you can think of and at better prices.

 

[rScotty]

Hello all,

I致e been browsing the forum for years. I believe I知 finally ready to make my first tractor purchase. Here痴 our current situation- We live on 20 acres. Half of that is pasture, and the other half is wooded. I知 set on a tractor/loader/backhoe. Chores for the tractor would be: plowing snow, grappling work, driveway repair and maintenance until paved, potential hay work on 5-10 acres, food plot management, removing/moving stumps, etc.

If I wasn稚 planning on utilizing the tractor for hay and tree work, I致e thought about the L3901. However, if I壇 like to incorporate that into the tractor痴 chore list and have the extra weight and power for other tasks, I壇 like to jump to the MX5800. Does that seem logical? My hesitation in moving to the MX series versus staying in the L series is mainly around the width of the MX being 74 while many implements would be 72? Also, on the rare occasion the tractor would need be used close to our house on our lawn, I think the weight of the MX forces me to avoid ever bringing it on the lawn- especially with filled tires, wheel weights, etc. With all that being said, I do like the idea of a heavier and more capable tractor. Thoughts?

Thinking back on many messages here on TBN, I only recall a couple of times where a person wished for a smaller tractor... and I believe those few times involved lawn mowing with a belly mower.
Conversely, there are endless messages where the owners are glad they moved up in size. So I'd vote towards the MX5800 ... or somewhere in the M series for 20 acres.
The M series seems to be a more heavily built tractor than the L series. As far as the extra power and size, it sure is nice when the limitation is somewhere other than HP or stability.

Only the experience you get tractoring on your own soil and doing that work in the way you like to work a tractor will tell you whether you need to fill the tires and/or add wheel weights and what tire tread to get. Frankly aI would advise you from here would be a guess, and that seems too important to be so vague. I don't wnat to go there.

But what I can tell you what we use here and why.... Your neighbors may have opinions too.
Our soil here has very little clay and that is key. The soil is partly loam in areas but always over a shallow sand and gravel base. In the winter it is snowy and cold, but not slushy. With that soil, there is no need for extra weight as in wheel weights or certainly not filled tires. The soil is delicate here at 7000 feet in the dry mountains, and we try not to damage plants, hay, or our lawn. But we still need to get work done and that does sometimes involve driving the tractor where we would rather not. We use R4 type industrial type flat lugged tires instead of R1 "mudder" type traditional Ag lugged tires.

On Kubota vs the other colors, for a first time buyer I'd stick with one major well-known brand and get to know it. Kubota is a good choice; they are quality and have a good selection of features. Kubotas do cost more, but everyone says that you get it back on the other end. Other than a slightly lower entry price, I don't see that any of the other brands offering anything special that is unique to their brand. At least I see nothing unique in a standard 4wd utiilty tractor configuration.
The videos at Messicks.com are a good place to start. Better yet, rent an MX5800 for a week or a month and see how you like it. Now I'll confess that I think that makes a lot of sense, but it seems rare for buyers to actually try out the tractor that way so maybe I'm missing something.

Hmm... mr2143 I'm looking at your original post and some of the characters aren't reading correctly in the post...confusing symbols and such that I'm sure you didn't type. Do you see that as well?
TBN does have trouble interpreting some computer browser settings. You might try going up to "My Home" at the top of the page and then: My Mettings/General Settings/Miscellaneous Options/ and play around with the Message Editor Interface. See if that makes a change.
good luck,
rScotty

 

[Tractorrr]

I think the L3901 would be good. Not sure about the haying but there is some compact hay equipment or you could posibly do square bales rather than round bales so they would be easy to lift.

 

[skipperbrown]

In the woods and in the fields, weight is your friend and is more important than HP. However, weight and R1s don't bode well on lawns. If the primary use is in the fields/woods, go with the MX.

 

[Hiptfarms]

I picked up a L4400 HST last year and used it to pull a small square baler. It did just fine baling but the only complaint I had was pulling the baler on the road getting back home - uphill. It would not handle the baler in high gear coming back. I had to drive in medium which is not super safe on the road where I live. The old MF 3 baler is a solid, fairly stout baler though. However, the tractor was very handy doing bucket work around a barn building site. Otherwise, I prefer the manual transmission of my M6800. I'm actually getting ready to put the L4400 up for sale. I plan on buying a baby Bota from a friend's estate. (B1750) . I know it seems contrary but a smaller tractor would compliment the larger one I have more so than the L4400. Getting into tight places is appealing and it has a small tiller with it. I figured I could sell the medium tractor and maybe my BCS 850 2 wheel tractor and still be set pretty well with my equipment.

Good luck with your search. My only regret with buying the M6800 is I did not get 4x4 although the bucket can crawl you out of most sticky situations for my environment.

 

[Hiptfarms]

And one other opinion, I thought I would be able to use my tractor for removing stumps too. But unless you only have a few, you may be better served to hire someone with a dozer to do that chore. I wound up hiring a man and his father to come and run their two dozers for a few days. They cleared the large, old pine stumps from about 7 acres and put in trails throughout our 130 acre property for somewhere around $2400. It was some of the best money I have spent.
Just a thought.

 

[PaulL2]

Will you realistically buy hay making equipment for one 10 acre field a year? If not, then is it likely you can rent implements that are sized for the MX? I'm wondering whether you'd be better to assume you'll have to hire out or rent equipment for haying, which then relaxes a bunch of constraints on what you buy. The MX is still a great tractor, but if an L is all you need other than haymaking, maybe this would be more practical.

 

[mr2143]

Will you realistically buy hay making equipment for one 10 acre field a year? If not, then is it likely you can rent implements that are sized for the MX? I'm wondering whether you'd be better to assume you'll have to hire out or rent equipment for haying, which then relaxes a bunch of constraints on what you buy. The MX is still a great tractor, but if an L is all you need other than haymaking, maybe this would be more practical.

That would be the idea to start. However, there is an ongoing opportunity to rent nearby fields for roughly $100-120 per acre per year. I have not thoroughly priced out hay making equipment.

 

[PaulL2]

If you were renting nearby fields to make hay, i think you'd want a bigger tractor:
- any kind of used hay making implements are likely to be in a bigger size class - although your local market is relevant here
- a larger operation may need things done faster

The MX for your tasks feels the wrong size - bigger than you need for most tasks, but too small for serious hay making. I'd make sure you know where/what implements you're getting for it before pulling the trigger - make sure there is hay making equipment in the sizes you need at a reasonable price. There's quite a few implements for hay making - a cutter, a tedder, a bailer. Can you justify all this?

 

[tradosaurus]

My thought is you should look beyond Orange. There is plenty of Red and Blue out there more than capable of any task you can think of and at better prices.

Heresy! :laughing:

 

[tradosaurus]

Personally I would go with a zero turn for the mowing around the house and the MX tractor for your other chores.
I went with a L3301 because most of my work will be around and in trees (40 acres) and the weight of the tractor was an issue as there are parts of my property that are only dry a few months of the year. If I could have justified the MX I would have gotten it.

 

[cathy liebchen]

Personally I would go with a zero turn for the mowing around the house and the MX tractor for your other chores.
I went with a L3301 because most of my work will be around and in trees (40 acres) and the weight of the tractor was an issue as there are parts of my property that are only dry a few months of the year. If I could have justified the MX I would have gotten it.

We really like our L3901. We started with an L2501 but do a lot of fields mowing and it wouldn't pull the hills. Our properties are hilly and wooded, lots of smaller fields scattered as game plots, We looked for a long time at the MX5800 but it would have been a hassle to move around among our now 3 different farm properties, didn't want to get into the rabbit hole of bigger truck, gooseneck trailer etc.

For haying, we let people pay us to do it. We don't have animals so don't need it. If we did, there are people here who will come cut your hay and leave the round bales for you, and you pay them $15 a bale if you have min. 50 bales of area. I think its $20 a bale for fewer.

I can see that we get a bit older and retire we could end up moving from open station units to cabbed. Candidly, I can see we will end up with a tractor to leave at each property, and if we get the fourth farm in North AL we have been looking at it (beautiful 450 acres) would also need a big dedicated tractor. We have looked at a couple, probably a M7060 cabbed. I did tell hubby that 4 hobby farms in a 150 mile is enough. Land prices are high right now and if the economy drops some there will be good buys.

One of the best things we did is getting a UTV at each property- Kawasaki Mule Pro's.