Probity
New member
1st Time "Hobby Farm" Tractor Buyer/User - What do experienced users advise?
I am a new TBN member who is looking to buy his first-ever tractor. Lots of experienced users on this site so would like your insights first before I spend thousands of $.
My situation:
*In my early 60s (older than many but not old), recently retired, spent all my life in city & suburbs, and have never owned or operated a tractor before. I am fairly mechanically inclined, but tractors are very new to me. I do have relatives locally (within 20 miles) that work older tractors.
*I hate the term, but guess it is fair to say I now have a hobby farm. Property is 37 acres in total, most of it (20) in bahia grass with wide-spaced mature pecan trees. One side of property borders county road, one side is fenced, two sides bordered by woods. Currently have a local cutting crew cut/rake/bail the bahia; I do nott plan on using my new tractor for that work (at least not in near future).
*5 acres around buildings (main house, guest house, garage) that I keep mowed with HST riding mower. A fair amount of landscaping around the buildings so the riding mower is only real option for this area.
*10+ acres of woods on 2 sides. A creek runs down one of the wooded sides. Beavers have dammed up some areas so at times there are a series of small ponds instead of a creek.
*I already have a Kawasaki Mule 4010 4WD CVT diesel to supplement whatever tractor work I end up doing. The Mule has already paid for itself in helping get rid of downed pecan limbs, hauling off landscape trimmings, pulling the riding mower out of stuck spots along the roadside, etc
*no livestock
*property is gently rolling (no flat pasture area). I will be getting a 4WD/MFWD tractor
*I plan on buying new vs used (take advantage of 0% APR), and plan on doing routine maintenance (engine/hydraulic oil & filter changes, greasing, etc) myself vs hauling to dealer
*my budget for tractor + loader + rotary cutter is $30-$32K. I do not want a Tier 4 machine. I do not want a tractor with a cab (will not work for the woods clearing).
*nearest tractor dealers Kubota (20 miles), Kubota/NH/LS/Deere (30 miles), Mahindra (40 miles), Kubota/NH/Deere (50 miles)
What I see using my new tractor for:
*Most of my initial planned tractor work will involve cleaning up the wooded areas with a rotary cutter, and unclogging the work the beavers have done. Not tree-cutting as such, but removing bushes/saplings/vines/etc in between the larger trees. Best description of what I think it will involve is from an older TBN post:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/105865-60-72-bush-hog-brush-4.html
The previous property owner had a Deere 50-ish HP 4wd tractor and bush hog, and he used to work a month-on/month off work schedule. On his days off he periodically cleaned out the wooded areas over a period of a couple of years. Then he just maintained it annually. I got the property about 2 years ago, and it has been 2.5-3 years since the last clearing work. So plenty of brush etc to remove. I see the work as involving a lot of repetitive backing the tractor/rotary cutter into the rough areas then pulling forward, repeat repeat. Clearing work will take place on both sides of the creek; luckily the previous owner had made an access bridge across the creek for his tractor.
*I do not plan on doing any real plowing/cultivating with the tractor. Maybe an acre garden plot in the future, but nothing planned now. As mentioned above, a cutting crew already does the hay cutting/raking/bailing, and I am happy letting them continue doing that.
*probably some future road work, stump removal, etc but not needed now.
After a fair amount of research (and surfing the TBN site), my tractor of choice is a NH Workmaster 55 4WD with R1 Ag tires and 615TL loader. Seems a lot of bang-for-the-buck, and I like that it is heavier than most compacts. Plan on getting a 6 ft medium duty single spindle rotary cutter to go with it. And a 20 ft x 7 ft wide 10k trailer. In future probably will get a box blade (but not now). If I win the lottery may get a backhoe and/or grapple, but those are wants and not needs.
I initially looked into 35-40 engine HP compact tractors, but upsizing to the 55 seems like my best option flexibility-wise for future use.
But as I read more of the TBN posts on new tractor buying, the issue of HST vs GST transmissions caught my interest. The more I thought about it, the poster in the above link ended up using an HST tractor for his rotary cutter work, and I see than many TBN folks prefer the HSTs over gears. If I do go HST, then my shuttle shift 8x8 Workmaster 55 is out and I need to look at other brands. I want to believe that with a little practice I could get proficient rocking the cutter back and forward with the Workmaster, but thinking about it and actually doing it for hours at a time are different.
So I would like feedback from those with experience in the area if it was your money in my situation, would you go geared or HST, and if HST then should I look at tractors like a Kubota MX5100 HST (if I can find a new one) or downsize a bit to an LS R4047H or something else?
I am a new TBN member who is looking to buy his first-ever tractor. Lots of experienced users on this site so would like your insights first before I spend thousands of $.
My situation:
*In my early 60s (older than many but not old), recently retired, spent all my life in city & suburbs, and have never owned or operated a tractor before. I am fairly mechanically inclined, but tractors are very new to me. I do have relatives locally (within 20 miles) that work older tractors.
*I hate the term, but guess it is fair to say I now have a hobby farm. Property is 37 acres in total, most of it (20) in bahia grass with wide-spaced mature pecan trees. One side of property borders county road, one side is fenced, two sides bordered by woods. Currently have a local cutting crew cut/rake/bail the bahia; I do nott plan on using my new tractor for that work (at least not in near future).
*5 acres around buildings (main house, guest house, garage) that I keep mowed with HST riding mower. A fair amount of landscaping around the buildings so the riding mower is only real option for this area.
*10+ acres of woods on 2 sides. A creek runs down one of the wooded sides. Beavers have dammed up some areas so at times there are a series of small ponds instead of a creek.
*I already have a Kawasaki Mule 4010 4WD CVT diesel to supplement whatever tractor work I end up doing. The Mule has already paid for itself in helping get rid of downed pecan limbs, hauling off landscape trimmings, pulling the riding mower out of stuck spots along the roadside, etc
*no livestock
*property is gently rolling (no flat pasture area). I will be getting a 4WD/MFWD tractor
*I plan on buying new vs used (take advantage of 0% APR), and plan on doing routine maintenance (engine/hydraulic oil & filter changes, greasing, etc) myself vs hauling to dealer
*my budget for tractor + loader + rotary cutter is $30-$32K. I do not want a Tier 4 machine. I do not want a tractor with a cab (will not work for the woods clearing).
*nearest tractor dealers Kubota (20 miles), Kubota/NH/LS/Deere (30 miles), Mahindra (40 miles), Kubota/NH/Deere (50 miles)
What I see using my new tractor for:
*Most of my initial planned tractor work will involve cleaning up the wooded areas with a rotary cutter, and unclogging the work the beavers have done. Not tree-cutting as such, but removing bushes/saplings/vines/etc in between the larger trees. Best description of what I think it will involve is from an older TBN post:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/105865-60-72-bush-hog-brush-4.html
The previous property owner had a Deere 50-ish HP 4wd tractor and bush hog, and he used to work a month-on/month off work schedule. On his days off he periodically cleaned out the wooded areas over a period of a couple of years. Then he just maintained it annually. I got the property about 2 years ago, and it has been 2.5-3 years since the last clearing work. So plenty of brush etc to remove. I see the work as involving a lot of repetitive backing the tractor/rotary cutter into the rough areas then pulling forward, repeat repeat. Clearing work will take place on both sides of the creek; luckily the previous owner had made an access bridge across the creek for his tractor.
*I do not plan on doing any real plowing/cultivating with the tractor. Maybe an acre garden plot in the future, but nothing planned now. As mentioned above, a cutting crew already does the hay cutting/raking/bailing, and I am happy letting them continue doing that.
*probably some future road work, stump removal, etc but not needed now.
After a fair amount of research (and surfing the TBN site), my tractor of choice is a NH Workmaster 55 4WD with R1 Ag tires and 615TL loader. Seems a lot of bang-for-the-buck, and I like that it is heavier than most compacts. Plan on getting a 6 ft medium duty single spindle rotary cutter to go with it. And a 20 ft x 7 ft wide 10k trailer. In future probably will get a box blade (but not now). If I win the lottery may get a backhoe and/or grapple, but those are wants and not needs.
I initially looked into 35-40 engine HP compact tractors, but upsizing to the 55 seems like my best option flexibility-wise for future use.
But as I read more of the TBN posts on new tractor buying, the issue of HST vs GST transmissions caught my interest. The more I thought about it, the poster in the above link ended up using an HST tractor for his rotary cutter work, and I see than many TBN folks prefer the HSTs over gears. If I do go HST, then my shuttle shift 8x8 Workmaster 55 is out and I need to look at other brands. I want to believe that with a little practice I could get proficient rocking the cutter back and forward with the Workmaster, but thinking about it and actually doing it for hours at a time are different.
So I would like feedback from those with experience in the area if it was your money in my situation, would you go geared or HST, and if HST then should I look at tractors like a Kubota MX5100 HST (if I can find a new one) or downsize a bit to an LS R4047H or something else?
