Another Newbie has question on "Does size matter?"

[Omnipotent]

OK...so just became the proud owner of a 15 acre property in the MD/DC suburbs. 3-4 acres are finish mowed, 5 Acre pasture, remaining pretty heavily wooded.

Trying to decide what size tractor would be a best fit for me. I'm looking to Finish Mow (no trees to speak of, nice open stretches), bush hog the pastures (no horses yet...so no need to bail...yet), snow plow (25x150 ft driveway), misc duties (mulching, dragging logs/trees, carrying split wood)...just general CUT type work.

I've been looking (used) and really can't decide if bigger really is better. Tractors I've been looking at are:

CC7275, Kubota L2350, Kubota L3350, JD 750, JD 650, Kubota BX2200, Ford 1720, Kubota 2410HSD, Kubota B7500HSD, JD2210

I think you get the idea...I've also entertained going old school...60's-70's AG tractor with a FEL and 3PT with a finish mower....I'm pretty much all over the map right now and just searching Craigslist and Ebay to see what can be had around me for ~10K definitely no more....ideally much less

Any input you can send my way would be very appreciated and looking forward to joining yet another forum where I can be a valued member.

Thanks again,

Omni

 

[RobertN]

Having taken care of my 5 acres(oak woodlands) and my parents 8 acres(flat land pastures), I would go with something in the 30-35+HP range, in a mid size tractor.

When we got our current tractor, we were looking at Kubota L3410, NH TC30 and TC35. We got a TC40, although it is a bit biugger than we wanted(couldn't pass the deal up).

I had a Kubota B series before. Great tractor. But, I like the larger frame tractor, with bigger motor.

If you can, try renting a couple tractors locally...

In your position, I would get two... One, a Farmall-A with a belly mower for fun and finish mowing. For the rest, a 30-35HP mid size fram CUT(Ie Kubota L series or equivilant).

 

[flusher]

OK...so just became the proud owner of a 15 acre property in the MD/DC suburbs. 3-4 acres are finish mowed, 5 Acre pasture, remaining pretty heavily wooded.

Trying to decide what size tractor would be a best fit for me. I'm looking to Finish Mow (no trees to speak of, nice open stretches), bush hog the pastures (no horses yet...so no need to bail...yet), snow plow (25x150 ft driveway), misc duties (mulching, dragging logs/trees, carrying split wood)...just general CUT type work.

I've been looking (used) and really can't decide if bigger really is better. Tractors I've been looking at are:

CC7275, Kubota L2350, Kubota L3350, JD 750, JD 650, Kubota BX2200, Ford 1720, Kubota 2410HSD, Kubota B7500HSD, JD2210

I think you get the idea...I've also entertained going old school...60's-70's AG tractor with a FEL and 3PT with a finish mower....I'm pretty much all over the map right now and just searching Craigslist and Ebay to see what can be had around me for ~10K definitely no more....ideally much less

Any input you can send my way would be very appreciated and looking forward to joining yet another forum where I can be a valued member.

Thanks again,

Omni

Common mistake on first tractor purchases is buying too small.

I'd recommend 30-40 hp (pto), FEL with 6-ft wide bucket and at least 1500 lb lift capacity, skid steer quick attach adapter on the FEL arms, 2 pairs of rear hydraulic remotes, 1 pair of front hyd remotes.

You have your choice of hydrostatic or gear trannies in this hp range. I'd try to test drive both and see which type you like.

I have 10 acres, flat, 6 acres in oat hay. My first tractor was a new 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydrostatic tranny) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 800 lb lift).

That small tractor worked fine when the house was being built and landscaped. Later I decided to become a hay farmer. So I traded the 7510 for a new 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, gear tranny 8F/2R) with the ML250 FEL (6-ft wide bucket, 2950 lb lift, skid steer QA).

Good luck

 

[texasjohn]

Welcome

yes, size does matter.... get the largest tractor you can as long at it has good reliability and price....all hard things to figure out.

 

[doall]

I too like the two machine set up. But one 40 or so hp cut and the other a nice commercial zero turn.

 

[johnrex62]

As several folk have mentioned, size DOES matter.

If you have a constrained area of lawn to mow, buying too big can hamper your ability to maintain those areas. At the same time, buying too small can limit your capabilities severely in those areas of more open and robust work requirements.

In a smaller lawn area, your tasks can be easily accomplished with inexpensive tools that can be obtained as needed.... push mower, hedge clippers, manual rake, etc....

In the field and woods, not having a large enough tractor will result in much greater effort and expense in maintaining your property. In fact, some tasks cannot be accomplished by hand in the time available and will require you to hire the job out if you do not have the proper tools in hand.

You mention the potential for hay and indicate some wooded areas. Evaluate these tasks with a mind to the near and intermediate future. If you can see the likelyhood of hay production within the next 5-10 years it would make sense to me to buy a tractor today capable of performing that task. Otherwise, you will probably find yourself buying another tractor in 5-10 years. Tractors last a lot longer than that and the one you buy today will still be in it's prime in ten years. Seems a waste of money to spend it twice, even if you will recoup some of it when you sell the first tractor.

Those woods will have to be maintained at some point too. You will have need of thinning and trail cutting at some point to keep the woods from taking over the fields. Be sure you have enough tractor to handle those tasks. I have woods that have been neglected for many years and I am having to deal with a multitude of small trees (tiny by NE standards) that I need to pull since they are too large to mow and too small and densely spaced to chainsaw. When you get to pulling or lifting, the extra footprint and weight of the tractor will make things easier for you.

You can get a lot of Horsepower in a small package these days, and a lot of the manufacturers are offering nice financing packages.

I started out with the same idea of buying used, and then realized I could buy new with the zero interest and get more tractor than I presently had saved up for. Ten now and ten over the next 5 years (with zero down actually 20 over 5 years), but get the tractor in hand up front. Then I get warranty and insurance in the mix too (same money, not extra).

I don't know if there is a too large , but I know there is a too small when you have a job to do. Your task is to figure out how big you can afford and how small is too small. There will be definite limits in both directions, but your pocketbook and your work will be the true indications for each.

 

[Gary Fowler]

It doesnt look like you have enough pasture to ever justify a haying operation unless you just have 30 grand to throw at buying a cutter, rake and baler. A 25-35HP tractor with FEL will do everything you need to do to maintain 15 acres. Unless you plan to expand to larger acreage, I would look at that size tractor with a 5 foot rotary cutter and perhaps a finish mower. We mowed 40 acres for a couple of years with a 650 JD 2 WD (19 HP)and a 4foot bushhog. It takes a while to do it with small HP, but it can be done easily enough with weekend work. We now have bigger tractors but essentially the larger tractors were just so we could get an AC Cab and we needed to do some major dirt removal work. HP wise 25-30 HP with a 5 foot mower will work well. I would also invest in a riding lawnmower of your choice. I have a ZTR and my BIL has a tractor type. Both cut good and just about as fast on larger plots however the ZTR is great for mowing around shrubs and trees so you dont have to circle and circle and circle to get that last bit of grass, but you pay dearly for that convenience over a tractor style. One thing that is good with the smaller tractors is that you can get in between the trees for wooded area maintenance much better with small than the larger one but the smaller wheelbase is not as stable on slopes.

 

[Army grunt]

I have 70 acres, use a tc30. It is a good size. I have a bach hoe, front end loader, box blade, lifting pole, front forks, bus hog,grader blade,The 30 does everything i want an is inexpensive on fuel to use.
Army Grunt

 

[Army grunt]

I have 70 acres, use a tc30. It is a good size. I have a back hoe, front end loader, box blade, lifting pole, front forks, bus hog,grader blade,The 30 does everything i want an is inexpensive on fuel to use.
Army Grunt

 

[Omnipotent]

Thanks all for the responses...so I will focus my search on 30-40 HP tractors....i was kinda figuring this area as the 20hp or so tractors just looked a little to small to me for what I could envision using the tractor for...so you're posts helped to support my theory.

Next question...how many hours are too many if buying used? Ideally I'd want a used tractor that was family used and not commercially used and I'm figuring (probably high side) would be ~100 hours a year as an avg...So 5 yr old tractor would have ~500 hours on it. Thoughts on this? Too low, too high? I know that service of said tractor has a lot to do with it but again trying to narrow down my searching and this seems like the next logical step after HP and $.

Once again thanks and once I narrow down to a couple of models I'll be back asking about those specifically.

Omni

 

[TripleR]

Thanks all for the responses...so I will focus my search on 30-40 HP tractors....i was kinda figuring this area as the 20hp or so tractors just looked a little to small to me for what I could envision using the tractor for...so you're posts helped to support my theory.

Next question...how many hours are too many if buying used? Ideally I'd want a used tractor that was family used and not commercially used and I'm figuring (probably high side) would be ~100 hours a year as an avg...So 5 yr old tractor would have ~500 hours on it. Thoughts on this? Too low, too high? I know that service of said tractor has a lot to do with it but again trying to narrow down my searching and this seems like the next logical step after HP and $.

Once again thanks and once I narrow down to a couple of models I'll be back asking about those specifically.

Omni

Having spent the last four days on two different tractors with a minimum of two more to go, 100 hours per year seems incomprehensible to me, but for many SCUT/CUT users this is probably a pretty fair estimate. I bought a used 2003 Kubota L5030 HSTC this year. It had 735 hours. Every spring the previous owner had it serviced at the dealer and it is in excellent shape.

I would not get too hung up on hours though as we have three tractors over 50 years old still running with only occasional minor work and an old mid 60's Case 995 that we have never done anything on but change tires and do maintenance.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I think too many people on this site are hung up on the bigger is better thing. 15 ac is not a large piece of property, IMO the B series Kubota, smaller JD compact tractors, etc would work very well. Something in the 25-30 engine HP range, that would handle a 4-5' bush hog, 5-6' finishing mower, 5' box blade, etc.

We are on 200ac and the two tractor listed in my sig are all I have. 150ac is wooded, and about 20-25ac are in hay (use the old Ford and Kubota to make all my hay). We do bring in either my fathers 65hp JD or 95hp Kubota to make some round bales however.

If you are looking at older tractors, the B2710, B2910, and B7800 Kubota would be good, or 770, 870, 970, 790, 755, 855, 955 John Deere. Stay away from the 4X00 series JD's, they had some Major problems that weren't worked out until later models. If they were well maintained 2000+ hrs is nothing to worry about.

 

[TripleR]

I may have missed it, but are you trying to buy a tractor that will do it all including mowing your yard or just a CUT for property maintenance?

 

[Transit]

I think a 25 hp tractor is cutting it too close to the bone. I would choose 30 hp as a minimum; you can never tell when the extra hp will come in handy. Most hp / overheated engine issues involve brush hogging fields particularly on a hot 100+ deg day. 5 ft brush hogs are very popular, and the general rule to match the hog to the engine hp is 5 hp per foot of hog width. Therefore a 5 ft brush hog would require a 25 tractor. At 90% power that would be 22.5 hp developed from a 25 hp engine. That same 22.5 hp from a 30hp engine is 75% and from a 40 hp engine it is 56% power. Why push the tractor to its limits when a bit more hp is easer on the machine? Yes, there are other factors that cause overheating, blocked radiators and lugging the engine. Think of the extra hp as money in the bank, it is there when you need it.

 

[johnrex62]

Thanks all for the responses...so I will focus my search on 30-40 HP tractors....i was kinda figuring this area as the 20hp or so tractors just looked a little to small to me for what I could envision using the tractor for...so you're posts helped to support my theory.

<snip>

Once again thanks and once I narrow down to a couple of models I'll be back asking about those specifically.

Omni

The Kubota L3700SU I bought fits that HP range nicely. There are a number of posts where I and a few others who have bought it recently have extolled the virtures of this machine. They are all within the last couple months, so should be easy to find. :thumbsup: No pressure.

 

[KU Gator]

We live on 3 acres which is basicly a big yard with minimal obstacles. Also have 12 acres which is a little more than 1/2 field and the other woods. We bought the B2920 for the maintenance of the 12 acres, but for now we have to trailer it. After 2.5 years of using it, while I could do fine with a BX on the 3 acres, I like the size of the B. On the 12 acres, if I lived there full time and trailering was not a consideration, a bit bigger would be better, but trying to stay small enough I could get into some of the tight areas. I use a 5' brush hog, and it is ok if I am cutting it regular, at least every 3 weeks. But if I get too far behind, it would be better with a 4'. I have also pulled a lot of trees that were pushed over years ago for a pond. I got it done, ended up with a pile about the size of a 3 car garage, but a bit heavier tractor would have helped there.
I don't know anything about prior models. In the current lines, the B3300SU or L3700SU seem to offer quite a bit for the money if you don't want mid PTO capability. The tractor I was pretty impressed with on a recent road trip was a B3030. A nice tractor with more ability than mine, but still a nice size.
As for hours, I am averaging about 100 hours per year, but it would likely be 1.5 - 2 times that if I lived on the 12 acres full time or didn't have the garden tractor that I frequent use to mow at our house.

 

[brucew44guns]

That question of size will usually conjer up one thought only among many folks who consider size. But among tractor guys, those interested in power and strength, I believe most want as much as much as they can get, being reasonable of course. I think you should shop for and consider a tractor of horsepower and size that can loaf just a bit, to do the jobs you need done. This may not be your last piece of ground in all your life, you may get something bigger someday.

 

[johnrex62]

Not only might you someday get more land to maintain, but consider than when a man has a hammer everything looks like a nail. You will find so many more things a tractor can help you do than you ever imagined wanting to do. Sometimes some spare capacity is a good thing, but only if you can afford it. :thumbsup:

 

[MBDiagMan]

I agree with Bruce. Running any machine or electrical circuit right to the edge of it's maximum will NOT be conducive with long life.

I've run farm machinery, built hot rods, driven trucks, raced karts with my kids, and the one statement that I've NEVER made is; "wow, I've got too much power!" In the case of a tractor, in many situations you can't have too much weight either. There are situations such as mowing a lawn or raking hay in a too wet meadow where too much weight is a disadvantage under certain circumstances, but for general tractor use, within reasonable limits, extra weight is a good thing. The situations where excess weight has been a problem for me is because it would make ruts in my hay meadow.

 

[Omnipotent]

I may have missed it, but are you trying to buy a tractor that will do it all including mowing your yard or just a CUT for property maintenance?

Mow the yard as well...4 acres, all clear with very little if any landscape to circle about. Will have a push mower for anything "iffy".

Can't afford ZRT and tractor, so tractor is the better bet imho.