First tractor - ~20 acres, Debating Yanmar YT235 vs Kubota L3902

[Wesleyoats]

I agree with the mulching. Dealers are important. I was turned off by our local Kubota dealer as well. Went with Kioti and have been very happy with my 3510. We have 40 acres - lots of mowing, plowing in the winter. Backhoe to clean ditches and pull smaller stumps. I think Yanmar is a fine tractor as well.

 

[mwayne]

Regarding the seemingly high quotes you are getting from contractors. Why not get a quote for a day's work and see how far that goes. That would get some of the job done and give you a fairly accurate cost estimate for the remainder of the work. Contractors don't like uncertainty and bid accordingly.

 

[jyoutz]

Regarding the seemingly high quotes you are getting from contractors. Why not get a quote for a day's work and see how far that goes. That would get some of the job done and give you a fairly accurate cost estimate for the remainder of the work. Contractors don't like uncertainty and bid accordingly.

I think that he also needs to be looking at the correct contractor pool. Forestry contractors are used to bidding by the acre and can pretty well size up their bid by walking the job site. Landscapers and arborists typically work on smaller properties and tend to bid by the hour, which almost always ends up costing more. That’s why I recommended getting a list of forestry contractors from state forestry and then he should get at least three bids. For forestry work, I would never go with an hourly bid, always by the acre.

 

[DaBear3428]

as others have stated weight determines what you can do and HP determines how fast you can do it, I love my Mahindra 5145 but it is about the largest mahindra CUT you can get, i find that in my 11acrs of brush and trees that the turning maneuverability in the trees in not that big of a deal with modern CUTs, I'm more confined when working close to a building and that is the only time i think of a smaller tractor, but a 6" hardwood or softwood does not stand a chance against 7000#s of tractor. where you are at you may want a cab, for me i could not afford to replace the glass as often as i would break it.

the 2600 series of mahindra is no more and i did not like them at all, I would have chosen an LS mt347 over even the 2660, then i sat on the 5145, decision made. my point being research on specs goes out the window after you sit on one and drive it around.

very rarely does anyone decide they bought too big of a tractor.

 

[DaBear3428]

I reiterate...

lol i know Kubota MX or nothing lol

 

[LiveDog]

I have followed your thread and all replies...I reiterate; NOTHING LESS THAN KUBOTA MX5400DT with 3rd function forward, 2 extra rear hydraulics and ballasted industrial tires... Get all your 'custom' implements from Everything Attachments (tell Travis I sent you) especially their dual lid grapple, bush hog, rototiller, ripping boxblade, etc... Ask me how I know... Enjoy...

 

[Williy]

On the YT235C there is a $4,000 discount and a
10 year drive train warranty

willy

 

[edgarrian]

I would say the bids are fair quotes. Machinery is expensive, maintenance and paying your people is not cheap. I received 20-30k quotes to clear a path for driveway, house, and pole barn 9 years ago for my 8 acre wooded property. I rented an excavator and did it all in a week with my wife and myself. Since we had a fireplace in our plans for the house. We delimited and then cut 10' sections of logs and stacked them. The brush and stumps I burned.

I now have a Massey 1705 and for the most part it handles most everything i need it do. Sometime i need to attach my forks to my 3pt for more lifting capacity. Luckily my attachment designer made it that way. I know a lot of people think these little tractors aren't capable but they are. You just need to understand how you might move a big log. You may need to cut it down in size. Obviously there are times when its not big enough but this scenario can play out for any size machine. I simply just rent a big mini excavator once over three years to take care of those tasks my tractor couldn't do. Implements are what's important, tractor size fairly important, dealer is moderately important. If you are handy I wouldn't worry to much about the dealer. if you are not then clearly this would be important.

 

[rScotty]

Regarding the seemingly high quotes you are getting from contractors. Why not get a quote for a day's work and see how far that goes. That would get some of the job done and give you a fairly accurate cost estimate for the remainder of the work. Contractors don't like uncertainty and bid accordingly.

Best post I've seen here - except that in our area nobody will bid reasonably on one day's work because hauling their machinery takes so much work that by the time he starts working the day is over.
So I'd ask a forestry service- not a landscaper - for a quote for a couple of days work. The local foresters here don't advertise, they are found through the State University which has a Forestry dept.

At this point, we don't know much about the OP's land and he knows little about the capabilities of the tractors he is considering - except he may be coming to realize that 25 hp is not enough, and 40+ is more realistic. He may not have even operated one of the ones he is considering on a similar job.

A few days work will give a lot better idea. Then tthe OP can rent a tractor for a week for clean up. That would be a cheap education. The normal beginners mistake is to think that a tractor is a bulldozer...it is not. Tractors lift and pull things. They don't push all that well and are unstable on rough ground.

Everything depends on the land. Clearing land is brutal. Maintaining it is easy. Twenty acres is a lot of land here...It's almost exactly how much we have, and requires a machine with weight and muscle. We have a JD 310SG that is loaded. It is barely enough machine to keep up with the place.
Luck,
rScotty

 

[jyoutz]

Best post I've seen here - except that in our area nobody will bid reasonably on one day's work because hauling their machinery takes so much work that by the time he starts working the day is over.
So I'd ask a forestry service- not a landscaper - for a quote for a couple of days work. The local foresters here don't advertise, they are found through the State University which has a Forestry dept.

At this point, we don't know much about the OP's land and he knows little about the capabilities of the tractors he is considering - except he may be coming to realize that 25 hp is not enough, and 40+ is more realistic. He may not have even operated one of the ones he is considering on a similar job.

A few days work will give a lot better idea. Then tthe OP can rent a tractor for a week for clean up. That would be a cheap education. The normal beginners mistake is to think that a tractor is a bulldozer...it is not. Tractors lift and pull things. They don't push all that well and are unstable on rough ground.

Everything depends on the land. Clearing land is brutal. Maintaining it is easy. Twenty acres is a lot of land here...It's almost exactly how much we have, and requires a machine with weight and muscle. We have a JD 310SG that is loaded. It is barely enough machine to keep up with the place.
Luck,
rScotty

Your State Forestry Service is the place to start. They will give you a list of reputable forestry contractors who do that type of work. But I want to emphasize that in the forestry business, we never get bids by the hour or any other time period. We always solicit bids by the acre and these contractors are familiar with walking the project area and bidding that way. You never know what the costs will be if you get bids by the hour or day and you are paying for inefficiencies when you contract an hourly or daily rate.