First Tractor Purchase - Looking for advice

[jeff9366]

Buy an old ford 9N 2wd without loader. Use it for two years.

The compact tractor era began when Henry Ford licensed Harry Ferguson's tractor and Three Point Hitch (TPH) patents in 1939. After 1955, when Ferguson's patents serially expired, the tractor industry consolidated around the Ferguson TPH driven by customer preference.

Improvements in approximate order: Power Steering, "live" then "independent" PTOs, Rollover Protection, 4-WD, R4/industrial tires, Loaders, synchromesh geared transmissions, diesel engines, heavier tractors with Category 2-3-4-5 TPH, Landscaping tractors of <2,000 pounds bare tractor weight, hydrostatic transmissions, shuttle shift gear transmissions, cruise control, Cabs with heat and AC, FELs and FEL attachments with SSQA. And, continuously, shields separating operator from moving parts.

JethroB - 9/24/2021​

True about mechanics and local parts. My 2018 Kubota went to the dealership for a service this week so I put a new battery in the old MF 135 and dragged some brush. Old school was fun for about an hour. Then the stiff two stage clutch straight down clutch and the getting gassed by the under rear axle diesel exhaust began to wear on me. Tough 40-ish HP brute though. I’m ready for my Kubota L4760 to come home.

 

[dodge man]

This is a friends tractor. JD 5310, it’s around 20 years old. It’s a clutch and stick shift. I personally wouldn’t want that system but he is good with it to the point you would swear it’s an HST. The advantage of something like this used is it’s around 60 hp and 2500 pounds of lift capacity.

About loader capacity. Look at the specs carefully. The lift I quoted above is at the pins. Sometimes they list the lift so many inches in front of the pins. In the real world you aren’t lifting at the loader pins but things in the bucket or on forks. Just make sure you know how the loader is speced.

 

[rbstern]

Dalton, I do many of the same tasks you have listed, with an LS MT225e. The only place I feel my tractor comes up short is on big logs, where I run out of lift capacity. For those, I have a log arch, and constructed my sawmill setup in such a way that I can back logs onto the sawmill with the arch.

Here's my take, feature wise:

4WD: Must have. Makes the tractor capable of far more work, particularly with the box blade for grading; I have a 0.6 mile gravel driveway. In slippery conditions, a 4WD tractor will keep working where a 2WD tractor can't get traction. Helps with skidding, too.

Manual vs. HST transmission: I have gotten used to the manual (synchro shift style) on mine, do not mind doing loader work with it at all. HST would be nice at times, but I prefer not giving up the horsepower to HST. There are a couple of very specific applications where HST is close to a requirement, such as stump grinding.

PTO HP: I use a BX42 clone for chipping. I've never stalled the LS using the chipper up to it's max capacity. I have broken shear pins. Larger chipper, I'd want more PTO HP.

Chassis size/weight. The bigger the better. I bought the MT225e with the frame mounted backhoe, which adds about 1500lbs of very low CG, well distributed weight. Tractor is incredibly stable with it mounted. Similar results can be accomplished with a 3pt ballast box.

The downside to bigger chassis is maneuverability in the woods. My first tractor was a 2WD Yanmar 2210, no FEL. Still have it and use it for a lot of things. It's much more nimble in the woods than the LS. Sometimes, if conditions demand/permit, I skid logs with it.

 

[sea2summit]

Routinely lifting a 1,600 lbs log I would want a whole lot of tractor. You have the actual lift weight but you also have odd lateral forces when the tractor tips from one side to the other. Honestly if that's a primary job you'd probably be better off with a skid steer, if it's only occasional then just take it really slow with a tractor.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I have some guidelines that make purchase decisions easier for me.

• Don’t finance toys or hobbies.
• Don’t buy anything until I have proven I can’t accomplish the things I want to with what I already have.
• Don’t buy what I can rent
• A dollar spent today is a dollar that you can’t spend tomorrow. As long as the money is still in your pocket you still have options.
• If I have any difficulting figuring out what to buy then it’s not time to buy yet

 

[jeff9366]

The fundamental importance of TRACTOR WEIGHT eludes many tractor shoppers. Tractor capability is more closely correlated to tractor weight than any other single specification.​

Kioti CK3510 Dimensions​

Kioti CK3510 Weight
Gear ROPS :	2679 lbs 1215 kg
Hydro ROPS :	2734 lbs 1240 kg
Hydro Cab :	3307 lbs 1500 kg

Dimensions
Wheelbase:	65.7 inches 166 cm
Length:	120.9 inches 307 cm
Width:	55.1 inches 139 cm (R1)

Too light to lift 1,800 pounds or more safely.

LS MT235E Dimensions​

Dimensions
Wheelbase:	69 inches 175 cm
Length:	121 inches 307 cm
Width:	54 inches 137 cm
Height (ROPS):	88 inches 223 cm
Shuttle Weight:	2866 lbs 1300 kg
Hydro Weight:	2870 lbs 1301 kg

Too light to lift 1,800 pounds or more safely.

Branson 3015H Dimensions​

Dimensions
Wheelbase:	65.8 inches 167 cm
Length:	118 inches 299 cm
Width:	57 inches 144 cm
Height (ROPS):	94 inches 238 cm
Weight:	3014 lbs 1367 kg
Ground clearance:	12 inches 30 cm

Too light to lift 1,800 pounds or more safely.
Best weight and width of the inadequate three.

 

[rbstern]

Kioti CK3510 Dimensions​

Kioti CK3510 Weight
Gear ROPS :	2679 lbs 1215 kg
Hydro ROPS :	2734 lbs 1240 kg
Hydro Cab :	3307 lbs 1500 kg

Dimensions
Wheelbase:	65.7 inches 166 cm
Length:	120.9 inches 307 cm
Width:	55.1 inches 139 cm (R1)

Too light to lift 1,660 pounds or more safely.

Too simplistic an answer. The specifics of a particular task are important.

If he's got good ballast, and he's only lifting well balanced loads, not high off the ground, to move at low speeds, he would be fine. That's typical for moving logs around a sawmill, assuming the sawmill is not on a trailer.

No, he wouldn't want to be hoisting a heavy log like that above the CG of the tractor.

 

[3gunr]

I have a MF 255 with a loader and it can lift a lot of weight but it is very hard on those front spindles 2 wd tractors were not meant for heavy loads hanging out front, 40 to 50 hp 4x4 will suffice.

 

[daltonhawk]

Thank you everyone for the input. It's given me a lot to think about. I would be afraid to lift the rated capacity to full height on any of these compact tractors, especially a 20+ foot log, but I don't think I'll need to lift them more than a few feet.

I did find a Branson 3615H available in state which would stretch my budget but also up the loader capacity to 2700Lbs.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Best Kubota & Other Tractors For Small Farm - Justagric

Here is some general info on farm tractors.