Deciding which tractor/what attachments

[DonInOH]

My supervisor at work mentioned this site to me a couple of months ago when he found out I was looking to purchase a tractor. Yesterday, in doing a little research on tractors, I saw this site listed in google and remembered he'd recommended it. Thought I'd give it a look - and I'm really glad I did. I've been reading posts for the past five hours. All of the "which tractor should I buy" questions that I've read get a descent amount of responses - impressive community here. Kudos to my supervisor for the recommendation

First a little bit of background:
My whole life, I've always lived a stone's throw away from my neighbors. Never in a big city, but "in town". A small push mower with a hedge trimmer was all I ever needed for landscaping. Last year, my wife and I purchased 16 acres (mostly wooded) and built a house on the land. Love the space, love the land, but it's an overgrown mess for the most part. We're all moved in and time to start enjoying our land. The problem is that this is all new to me, so I have a steep learning curve to overcome.

Of the 16 acres, about 3 is a "yard" that would need mowed fairly frequently. The rest is woods, hills, and tons of brush. It was recommended to me to get a zero-turn for the mowing and tractor for everything else.

I'd be using the tractor for:
* clear brush
* cut trail in woods (for hiking, biking, etc)
* lay/level stone on driveway
* plow snow
* general landscaping (haul mulch, etc)
* probably other fun stuff that I cannot think of now

There is a reputable Kubota dealership down the road and a JD dealership a little further away (though from what I've been reading, I am leaning towards a Kubota - but would welcome other suggestions). I'd like to keep the price in the 10-18k range, if possible.

A couple of questions:
1) When is the best time to purchase a tractor? Is there a "season" to buy new tractors for a good price like there is for a new vehicle?
2) What tractor would be suitable for my needs?
3) What accessories would be recommended?
4) What size trail length could I reasonably get out of 12 or so acres? Would a mile be stretching it?

Any information you'd care to share would be appreciated.

Don

 

[JMER]

Usually winter is a good time to buy tractors. You want to buy when demand is not high like it is in the spring and summer (i'm assuming). Even still, i don't know that you would get a HUGE price break at any one point.

As for trails, a mile is 5,300 some feet. So it depends on the dimensions of your 16 acres and how straight vs winding your trail is. Usually, acreage is deeper than it is wide (meaning less road frontage)... so on 16 acres, you probably have close to 5,300 feet from road to the back of your land. Really need to know the dimensions.

Also, for clearing brush, you may want to hire a guy w/a mulcher to clear most of it and then do the finish work yourself. I looked at doing exactly what you are talking about and decided to hire a mulcher... it was a great decision. They can be very selective and don't destroy the soil/roots of surrounding areas. If you want, I can PM you the name of the guy I used. Honest, fair price and has been doing a good job.

 

[woodlandfarms]

You said your property is hilly. How hilly? Tractors begin to not be safe around 15 to 20 degree slopes (which is steeper than you think).

There are tractors with finish mowers, but some times the price of the finish mower is equal to a ZTR so it makes more sense to get the ZTR

You may want to consider renting a dozer to cut trails, then use your tractor for cleanup. You could maybe buy a smaller tractor if you went that route.

New is nice but right now you might find a killer deal on used as the market is tanking. Accessories are the thing that jacks up your price. You fall in love with a 15K tractor and then buy 10K in accessories...

As for accessories, brush hog, box blade or road grader, grapple, bucket with FEL... Those are your must haves and that is probably 6K right there... You will want a post hole digger, chipper, boom, sprayer, and of course a backhoe before it is all over. And you will find a way to rationalize to yourself and to your S.O. that the purchase is justified (this you should practice on as the technique to get your SO to sign off on a purchase takes skill an ingenuity that is specific to the SO).

The brands you are looking at are great... But it is really not about the tractor and much more about the dealer. Make sure the dealers service department and policy are tops. Ask other owners who frequent the dealer.

I would think any of the smaller tractors 25 to 35hp would be more than enough...

 

[RWolf]

I second woodlandfarms dealer is probably more important than brand. That being said most major brands are of equal quality. I bought green because of my dealer and When and where I grew up that is what I mostly saw. My setup works great for me but I don't have hills to worry about as my place was once cultivated and is mostly clear. Implements is what's going to cost the most overall. One solution is to see what your neighbors have both in tractors and impliments. If you have a neighbor that's friendly you might be able to borrow an impliment and maybe some expertise in the process.

Good luck.

 

[DonInOH]

Thanks for the responses, guys!

Regarding how hilly the land is: According to the county soil survey, a couple of acres are 40 to 70 percent slope, the majority is 15 to 25 percent slope, and the remaining is 3 to 8 percent slope. The land has been so overgrown, we haven't explored all of it (the steep grade is in the rear of the property). The shape is pretty much like a rectangle about 500' road frontage.

Also, I stopped by the Kubota dealership this afternoon and took a ride on the BX2660. Really liked the feel of it. The price quote I received for it, a FEL, and 60" mower was just shy of 15k. Does that sound right?

Hope y'all are having weather like we have here today (mid 70s, partly sunny, nice breeze).

Don

 

[LBrown59]

First a little bit of background:
My whole life, I've always lived a stone's throw away from my neighbors. Never in a big city, but "in town". A small push mower with a hedge trimmer was all I ever needed for landscaping. Last year, my wife and I purchased 16 acres (mostly wooded) and built a house on the land. Love the space, love the land, but it's an overgrown mess for the most part. We're all moved in and time to start enjoying our land. The problem is that this is all new to me, so I have a steep learning curve to overcome.

Of the 16 acres, about 3 is a "yard" that would need mowed fairly frequently. The rest is woods, hills, and tons of brush. It was recommended to me to get a zero-turn for the mowing and tractor for everything else.


A couple of questions:
1) When is the best time to purchase a tractor? Is there a "season" to buy new tractors for a good price . like there is for a new vehicle?
2) What tractor would be suitable for my needs?
3) What accessories would be recommended?
4) What size trail length could I reasonably get out of 12 or so acres? Would a mile be stretching it?


Don

Not really as a tractor is not a seasonal item.
L B

 

[flusher]

Thanks for the responses, guys!

Regarding how hilly the land is: According to the county soil survey, a couple of acres are 40 to 70 percent slope, the majority is 15 to 25 percent slope, and the remaining is 3 to 8 percent slope. The land has been so overgrown, we haven't explored all of it (the steep grade is in the rear of the property). The shape is pretty much like a rectangle about 500' road frontage.

Also, I stopped by the Kubota dealership this afternoon and took a ride on the BX2660. Really liked the feel of it. The price quote I received for it, a FEL, and 60" mower was just shy of 15k. Does that sound right?

Hope y'all are having weather like we have here today (mid 70s, partly sunny, nice breeze).

Don

You might be able to mow those 15-25 deg slopes with at MX2660. It seems to be a fairly squat tractor. Just be careful. You don't want to field test the ROPS while mowing one of those slopes.

The price seems OK. In May05 I bought a new Kubota B7510 HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft bucket) for $12,600.

 

[Gittyup]

I'd go a little bigger than the BX2660. Though it would do the job, I'd want 35 - 40 hp or there abouts so I could run a 6' bush hog. Lots of good tractors. Try as many as you can. If you plan to use it as your mower for the 3 acre yard, I'd definite go hydrostatic, and you should think about whether the loader will be in the way when finish mowing. Will depend on your landscaping preferences, and if you think it might get in the way, then the JD quick attach system is hard to beat. Get a toothbar for your loader, and loaded tires. I'd also go QA on the loader. Supersteer is nice on the New Hollands. The best diggers are Branson and Kioti due to weight and hydraulics. Botas are probably the best mowers. Then there is TYM, Mahindra, MF, Montana and so on. All are pretty nice. I recommend looking used too: Thousands less with just a few hundred hours.

Your gonna want/need a lot of implements: bush hog or flail, scraper blade, box blade, rake, pallet forks, post hole digger, carry-all, sprayer, spreader, crapple, backhoe. The list goes on and on. Make sure you consider which are most important and budget for them right up front.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Don,
The BX2660 seems to small to me. I think you will need more ground clearance in the woods than the BX2660 provides and also ask the dealer about moving the wheels out to make the tractor wider, for working on those hills. Just a couple of thoughts.

 

[LarryRB]

For one year, we owned a 133 acre farm just outside of Ironton Ohio,, Hilly isn't the word for it. Remember, the Blue Ridge Parkway isn't all that far from this area.. Extreme hilly is an understatement... Our neighbor , born and raised there, had several Massey's and Ford tractors all of them between 60 and 100 pto hp. If we were to own that same property again,, open it up, clear some of the hillsides and try turning some into something useful, I would have me a new M59 TLB Kubota or at a minimum a 5740 cabbed Kubota for hog mowing, possible haying or whatever.

 

[john_bud]

Many folks get some amazing things accomplished with the BX machines. But, I agree with the other posters that they are a bit on the small side. Have you looked at the L3400 and L4400 ? They are economy versions of the L. Less bells,etc.

Since you have some steep slopes, you should make dern sure that the rear wheels can be adjusted to widen the stance. Some of the lower prices models have a fixed welded wheel. You will want to have the tires moved out to the widest they go and have them filled. CaCl2 with inner tubes or the more expensive "beet juice". Or the mid price windshield washer fluid with no tube.


On trail length, you can pretty easily get a mile trail. Depends on the lay of the land, but follow the perimeter and the high ridges then make a low pass.

 

[jbrumberg]

I agree with JB. If you can "figure 8" a path on your property you can most probably get a mile path out of your property. I have been able to get 1+miles out of my 12.5A's with subtrails, etc. I checked my trails against multiple pedometer and GPS (where able) readings. Jay

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've found the best time to shop tractors to be November/December. Many states tax dealers inventory sitting on the lot on Jan. 1. Rather than pay tax AND still have a tractor to sell, many will be willing to mark down the price and move a unit. Typically, most tractor buyers are out looking just as the "season" is starting in early spring, then on through the summer. Once upon a time. most tractors were sold to farmers. With the proceeds of a good harvest, fall and early winter was commonly a time to buy equipment for the upcoming year. With the advent of the "ranchette" market, the huge market for "homeowner"/acreage owner equipment, and the popularity of compact tractors in general, AG sales are an ever decreasing factor in total sales. Over the last 35 years or so, I've bought and re-sold nearly 100 used tractors as a suppliment to my income. MOst of what I've dealt with were small to mid-sized utility tractors, generally the type sought after by hobby farmers, acreage owners, and the like. I've found that I can sell darn near anything at "full price" during the months of March through June. From October through Feb., They usually sit unless I'm willing to sell at a cheap price. I'd suspect new tractor sales these days aren't too terribly far off that pattern. All things being equal though, dealers aren't really making fantastic profit margins on new tractors like some might think. All said and done, they can't afford to give 'em away at any time of the year. A "good deal", no matter what time of the year, might just be a SLIGHT discount. Don't look for a huge price slash at any time, no matter what month.

 

[IslandTractor]

I have done a lot of brush clearing and reclaimation of abandoned farm land over the past three years. At first I was working on a 5 acre plot and I found a 20hp tractor with a strong loader plus grapple and bush hog were adequate for the task. When I took on another 15 acres or so it became clear that I'd be spending the rest of my life doing it with the otherwise very capable 20hp machine so I upgraded to 40hp. I can clear land about 4 or 5 times faster now not because I can run a massively larger mower but because I can simply power through some things that I would need to fight with before. In particular having a loader that is strong enough to simply pop a bush or small tree out of the ground and having tractor mass sufficient to push over a 6 inch tree rather than having to cut it down are examples of why it is so much more efficient to have a larger machine. If your tractor is strong enough to pull out a tree/bush/stump whole then you don't need to come back every year to bush hog it again and you don't need to spend time grinding or digging out as many stumps.

If you are limited by budget (who isn't?) then I would suggest spending some of the budget to get a bulldozer to do some of the clearing and use a small tractor to haul the dozed stuff away and cleanup. A day of a bulldozer could equal months of work by a small tractor in heavy brush and small/medium sized trees.

A Kubota B series tractor is simply not going to have the loader strength to be an efficient clearing tool for 16 acres. I believe the most powerful loader is on the B7800 or B3030 and those are limited to just a bit more than 1000lbs of lift at the pivot points. I'd suggest you look at models with at least double that for serious land clearing. It would be a good idea to get a tractor FEL with quick attach so you could easily mount and dismount a grapple too. A grapple will save you hundreds of hours of work and is almost a requirement for serious brush clearing. You can get a very decent grapple for under a $1000 delivered these days so I'd put that into the budget without question regardless of what size tractor you finally get.