Buying advice

[Carl_NH]

Hi Jrouse - it helps if you can list your general location or region you're in - snow - or not, and then post some pictures of your land/area you want to clear.

Also if you are select cutting and clearing trees take out more and leave less as they grow quickly - I learned the hard way as we are taking out more trees every few years.

So as others have said - do it once and rent a bigger excavator $2K per week gets you a decent size to handle tree stumps.

 

[Yander]

I don't know where you live, but if you have a Yanmar dealer within an hour, go look at them before you buy. I have a SA425 and would not part with it. I have 5 acres of my own, and my property adjoins my wife's family's 200 acres. I find myself using my little Yanmar on all of the property, including theirs, more than I use the 50 hp Massey. I can do so much with the Yanmar, and I rarely need the 50hp.

I use the large tractor in the winter because it has a cab, and for bushhogging the waterways in the summer. But everything else, Yanmar 25 hp all the way. It has a #1200 lift and is light enough to put on a semi-dry lawn, after rain, without wrecking it. The guys on this site will have you believing that a heavier tractor is better. I disagree.

I like the versatility of a light tractor with rear ballast if I'm lifting heavy things. My wife asked me if it was safe, a couple of days ago, to use the tractor on the yard or if it was too soft, since we had been getting a lot of rain. I told her it would be fine. But if I had a #3000 lb tractor, the answer would have been no.

Heavier is not always better. You have to really consider your use.

I get the need for more PTO HP, so I would be looking at a used New Holland TC40 if I were you. A good Japanese-made tractor that you can buy under $20k, and it has good PTO hp.

 

[chim]

While many tasks don't need a lot of horsepower, it can be annoying when you need to adjust your work to suit the available HP. I had a 21HP tractor (B7500) that simply wouldn't mow with up a couple hills here with its 5 foot LandPride RFM. Not the end of the world. The FEL lacked reach and capacity at times. It did most things well that it needed to do. It could have been my forever tractor.

For that matter, I could have stopped with the little Ford 1210 in the shed. It was the only tractor here from 1991 till 2002. Things took longer to do with 16HP. A 3-point dirt scoop was my "FEL". A 5' Tractor Supply rear blade was my snow plow and a 5' Caroni RFM was the mower. The combination of Ford & Caroni did as well as the Kubota & LandPride on the hills due to the difference in RFM weight.

 

[2manyrocks]

One question I have is what tractor would be the best size once all the clearing is done. Those kubota bx machines are stout for their size.

 

[ultrarunner]

The only drawback I have found with my BX23 is the small tires on rough terrain and not a lot of ground clearance.

On the plus being compact it’s easy to get out from being stuck…

I moved 100s of yards of gravel with mine, dug drainage, carried concrete to far corners plus it’s the best tool I have for road maintenance…

 

[drumminj]

Also if you are select cutting and clearing trees take out more and leave less as they grow quickly - I learned the hard way as we are taking out more trees every few years.

+1 on this. We were really conservative when having our land cleared (forestry mulched). Kept a lot of trees. It's been good as we've been able to see what survives all the stress and not feel too bad if one doesn't make it, but I've definitely been going back and taking down more and more trees.

 

[jrouss28]

Hi Jrouse - it helps if you can list your general location or region you're in - snow - or not, and then post some pictures of your land/area you want to clear.

Also if you are select cutting and clearing trees take out more and leave less as they grow quickly - I learned the hard way as we are taking out more trees every few years.

So as others have said - do it once and rent a bigger excavator $2K per week gets you a decent size to handle tree stumps.

Hello jrouss28, welcome to TBN. That's good advice above about having a pro do the initial heavy work on your land - while you buy a tractor sized to do the cleanup.
It took me way too many years to realize just how good advice it is.

BTW, modern tractors tend to be sized by HP, and that leads to the conclusion that HP along with tractor size & weight are related more than they are. However, if you look back a few years at older tractors all over the countryside, you will realize that what you are seeing is power of marketing at work on your wallet.

What you will see is that older tractors in the 25 to 30 HP range used to be up to twice the size of the compacts today, and more than twice the weight. They worked just fine. It turns out a tractor really can do a lot with 25 hp. So keep in mind that the limit on work is likely to be the size and weight of the tractor at least as much as how much HP it has.
Think of it this way: if you have a 40 hp utility tractor that you are working hard at quarter throttle, it probably isn't making 15 HP. The advantage is in stability, comfort, and traction.

Over the years on this site we've seen a lot of enquiries from first time tractor buyers. Most are initally astonished by the high prices, and that pushes them towards smaller size tractors from the lesser-known manufacturers. That's a fine way to get a start, but also consider that veteran tractor users here seem to go the other way - towards the next larger size and towards well-known makes. That's a pivot worth thinking about.

My advice is to go to your local rental yard or Home Depot and rent a small compact tractor for the weekend. Invent some chores, put a few hours on it, drive it to a neighbors house, move some dirt.....just get a feel for what it does. Then next weekend do the same with a different size or make. Maybe both. In a month you'll have spent a few hundred dollars that is gone forever.... and have gotten an inexpensve and worthwhile education.
Luck,
rScotty

I live on 3 acres of which about half is cleared. I own a John Deere 2025r. It’s 25 horsepower. The advantage of that is 25 hp and less don’t require add on emissions.

I use mine for mowing with a 60” mid mount mower and also have a front end loader, rear blade, a box blade, rear fertilizer spreader and a couple other implements that mount on the rear. I’m never lacking in power. The only time you would wish for more power is if you were wanting to run a larger mower, chipper or tiller.

I generally don’t wish for a bigger tractor but I owned a Kubota BX and I did wish for a bigger one. What I own now is one size bigger than a BX so to speak. One of the advantages of going bigger is more lift capacity as you’ve discovered. It seems no matter what you’ve got a time comes up you wish it’d lift more. You have to study the lift capacity carefully, they rate them differently at times, such as at the pins, so many inches in front of the pins, full lift height, partial lift height etc.

What brand? Everybody will push what they own. I’ll say John Deere and Kubota are usually the most expensive. Depending on your opinion they are often considered the best. They definitely have strong dealer networks and parts. I’ve never sat on or run a Kioti but when I’ve looked at them and always thought they looked good. When I bought my John Deere I almost didn’t check with them. This was 6 years ago and I got more discounts than I expected. This was pre Covid and prices have increased a lot but my impression is most makers are starting to offer some discounts again.

Have you ever run a tractor before? You might just sit on a few and tool around the lot and get a feel. You might discover one that just feels better to you. Good luck and it can be stressful but try and enjoy the process.

Interestingly, I found out yesterday that the Mahindra 1635 does not have the DPF. I haven't dug in on the details.

 

[Torvy]

If you get a TYM with a TYM engine the machine doesn't become unusable if there's a sensor problem. The injection is old-school so you aren't dependent on electronics.

In terms of lift capacities, almost everyone shows data at the pins. One factor is that at lower lift heights, they can lift more. Check the heights. There can be 12"+ difference. So, a tractor that says 2000 lbs at 8' max really lifts less than a tractor that says 2000lbs at 9'. (The 2nd one would lift >2k at 8') It's not the specific number, but how they lift relative to the competition that matters.

I'll second the opinion that renting equipment or hiring out the initial clearing may make sense. I was able to rent a mini-excavator for about $300. Much cheaper than buying a backhoe for $7k-11k or more.

They them all out. Some just 'fit' some people better than others.

 

[newbury]

and not a lot of ground clearance.

With no knowledge of your terrain this is one point that could be critical.
In the Kubota series I view the BX's as lawnmowers on steroids. That's why I bought a B7610 to start with. At that time I did not know how many acres it would be used on, but I knew I would want to take it into the woods in Mississippi and the more ground clearance the better.
Get something with some ground clearance.

 

[CoyPatton]

Hello, first time poster looking for advice, as I am new to tractors I have gained a lot of knowledge reading through this forum and have gained a lot of knowledge but, all concept at this point.

I have a 3+ acre property, 1 acre is cleared but, I want to clear up the rest and put in some drainage. It's a mix of small trees with some larger pines.

I have started looking at 25 HP but, am concerned I may regret later if I need more PTO HP for something later so, have entertained 33-40 HP units. I also have been concerned that the Kubota might be limited by the lift capacity as all the other choices have quite a lot more lift capacity.

I have looked at Mohindra (2123,2126 1635), TYM (T25,2515, 4815, T474), Kubota (L3302) and Kioti (CK 2620 and CK 3520), both Kioti and TYM make more HP more appealing from a cost perspective, the Kubota is the most expensive option by a little.

The closest dealer is Kioti which is 20 minutes, by Kubota 25 minutes then Mohindra which is around 35 minutes away then TYM is around an hour away. Every dealer seems to have a pretty good reputation but, I have no experience to prove it.

I have been thinking if I need a backhoe and woodchipper, I could rent one so, it could negate the need for extra PTO power which is one of the reasons I was going up in HP.

Attachments:
Grapple
Forks
Landscape rake
snow pusher

Any thoughts appreciated.

John

In my opinion you need to define your known usages and your possible usages. You mention wanting to clear more of the 3 acres, saying mostly small trees. You do not mention how close trees are at present. This mat or may not affect the size (physical) of the tractor you need.
Unless the tress are basically saplings which can usually be dealt with using a brush cutter (bush hog) tractors are not great tools for removing trees. For this task, I would suggest setting aside a block of time to do an area and renting a large mini excavator. You can clean up the downed trees with the tractor and grapple. You can also fill the root wad holes with your tractor.
As your research has shown you, you can find varying sizes of tractor frames in the same HP.
Lastly (at least that I’m bring up) think about where you will store your tractor—what physical size will fit?