Advice on first tractor

[a7blues]

I need advice please. I have 10 acres. About 2.5 of horse pasture the rest barn/house/garden/woods. So, after years of manual labor taking up the entire weekend and still not done as good as it should, i have decided to breakdown and get a small tractor. My favorite saying of late is that it is not a lot to maintain but takes a lot to maintain it. My needs are a small tractor, with a loader. I will use a small rotary cutter to maintain fence lines, a box blade for the gravel driveway to the barn and fertilizer spreader. I was thinking of around 20 hp. Was strongly considering a yanmar grey refurb. I live about 1.5 hours southwest of atlanta and there is a dealer that does refurbs in North alabama that seems to have a good rep. Began to waver from that when i understand the PTO issue.

So, any recommendations and is the pto on the yanmars, even with the overrun device, a big deal on that small a tractor? Especially using say a rotary cutter or say an auger? My goal is to stay under 7k. Also, for a small tractor as this what type of trailer would i need? It has been over 20 years since i spent any time on a tractor so at this point know enough to be dangerous.

thanks for any advice

 

[flusher]

I need advice please. I have 10 acres. About 2.5 of horse pasture the rest barn/house/garden/woods. So, after years of manual labor taking up the entire weekend and still not done as good as it should, i have decided to breakdown and get a small tractor. My favorite saying of late is that it is not a lot to maintain but takes a lot to maintain it. My needs are a small tractor, with a loader. I will use a small rotary cutter to maintain fence lines, a box blade for the gravel driveway to the barn and fertilizer spreader. I was thinking of around 20 hp. Was strongly considering a yanmar grey refurb. I live about 1.5 hours southwest of atlanta and there is a dealer that does refurbs in North alabama that seems to have a good rep. Began to waver from that when i understand the PTO issue.

So, any recommendations and is the pto on the yanmars, even with the overrun device, a big deal on that small a tractor? Especially using say a rotary cutter or say an auger? My goal is to stay under 7k. Also, for a small tractor as this what type of trailer would i need? It has been over 20 years since i spent any time on a tractor so at this point know enough to be dangerous.

thanks for any advice

Yanmars are good tractors.
I'd check out year old Kubota tractors like the B7510HST.
I had a new 2005 B7510HST with the LA302 FEL (4-ft bucket, about 800 lb lift). Nice machine.

 

[Mark_G]

If you want a 20HP tractor its hard to beat a Kioti CK20. It is far more substantial than most in that range. KIoti's give a lot of bang for the buck.

Mark

 

[greenmule]

Yeah guess if you get a good really conditioned yanmar,than you get your moneys worth.Trouble with that is the word if.

With 7 grand being your limit,thats about your best choice,unless you know somebody and trust him and he has a used tractor for sale.

Chinese tractors are another thought for you,you should be able to buy a new 20-25 hp one for 7-8 grand. Go down to the chinese section and check it out.

 

[foggy1111]

First off....welcome to TBN! I think you can find a pretty nice 20 HP tractor and loader for your target price....if you go back a few years...and do some shopping. Are you hoping to find a hydro or is a gear tranny ok with you? To run a rotary cutter you will likely need 20 PTO horsepower and a 4 foot cutter on a tractor that size. I'd start looking for something like a JD750 or a JD870 or as you stated one of those yanmar's. But there is something to be said for that green paint......bought right and taken good care of....a tractor in this price range could still be worth what you paid some years down the road.

I would spend some time on in the lookup section of likely tractor models....and on tractor house to get some "round-about" prices on various models. Then narrow my search from there.

 

[greenmule]

Didn't yanmar make those ones with green paint for years and years?

 

[foggy1111]

Didn't yanmar make those ones with green paint for years and years?

Yep, still do. But buying a Yanmar with a Deere name on it means you will be able to find parts, get repairs, and find a buyer for it when it comes time to sell it. IMHO.

 

[greenmule]

I thought yamar now makes cubs.

 

[GreenWannabe]

I thought yamar now makes cubs.

That too, Yanmar Cub Cadets. But the still make some of the JD compacts and supply engines. transmissions, and axles for other JD compacts.

 

[FarmNut]

With $7K as your budget limit for a tractor with FEL, a refurbed Yanmar may be a good option if you can find one that is almost the same as a model that they made for Deere. You might want to check out the Yanmar forum for those models.

Several of the other grey market tractors are also of very high quality. I especially like the Iseki tractors, but parts are a little more difficult to get for them than a Yanmar. I once had an Iseki TL1900F with an Accutech FEL and I ran a 5ft light duty bush hog with it with very good success mowing grass and brush that was higher than me while sitting on the tractor. Granted, you had to take it slow while mowing stuff that thick, but it really did the job. My BIL has it now and it continues to be worked like a dog (especially for Katrina clean up) and it still keeps on going.

You may want to look at an older Kubota B2150. A quick look on TractorHouse found several with loaders in your price range. You may also find an older model Deere or Ford/NH. All of these would give you a dealer network for service and parts. You may also want to look at new with the great financing terms available.

If you are very mechanically inclined, then a chinese tractor gets you a lot of bang for the buck, but I've seen many "dealers" come and go. So, you might be on your own for service.

You should also look at the Kioti and Mahindra forums to see if there are any models that can be found with FEL in your price range. I just don't know those brands as well.