Help me buy a compact tractor - information overload...

[newbury]

Viper Driver. jeffy always pushes the weight aspect, it is excessive/ compulsive. The mantra could easily be labeled

"BUY TOO MUCH TRACTOR"

I own both large and smaller tractors and a 2000 lb 25 gross hp tractor will perform a lot of tasks.<snip>

I agree, Jeff has a bunch of boilerplate. For example his treatise on "Safe hillside operation" and you didn't mention any hills.

I also own both small and large. My 23HP B7610 fits through my 5' gates and can do most things my 50HP M4700 will do, just smaller pieces at a time. Smaller mower, moves shorter logs, lot less gravel in the bucket.

I fully understand your need to have a tractor you can "squeeze" past your choke point.

I've also a house in Mississippi where the ONLY outside access to the back is through a carport and down a brick paved path. My B7610 fits fine,

my M4700 doesn't fit in the carport.

But I can still move some big stuff with my B7610,

Not sure why you need a 35HP tractor to maintain 2 acres. Also, it won't fit within the under 60" width you need. Aside from the width of the tractor itself, you want your implements to be a bit wider than the tractor for obvious reasons. A 5' implement is of course 60" wide and will give you just 6" of clearance on each side through your 72" space. If you're comfortable with that, you're looking at a max tractor width of around 54", including the tires.

If you're new to tractors, you may be underestimating the power and capability of a 25HP tractor.

I'd suggest also be flexible a bit on maximum width, you might need to very carefully drive a 66" wide tractor through your 72" opening.

 

[finn1]

Kioti ck3510 or ck4010.

Backhoe lists for $8500 with subframe per my dealer, but he would knock off $1k without negotiation.

I ended up buying a small excavator instead of a backhoe, and recommend a skid steer for serious dirt work over a small tractor.

 

[OverandOut]

Definitely look at other brands besides botas and the deere, you will find you can get a lot more options that come standard with the Kioti, LS, TYM, Yanmar but are add-ons with deere and bota. Kioti is assemble in Wilson and LS is also assemble close by in Rocky Mount/Battleboro NC. Best advice would be to go lot hopping, go to several dealerships and sit on a few brands and get a feel for the tractor and the dealership that you could possibly be dealing with. Chances are if they don't give a rats a%* about you as "shopper" they wont care about you or your investment when/if you need service. Ask to see the service department and talk to the service manager, that's one factor that sold me on the LS brand that I bought from my dealer, I didn't have to ask to see the service dept he carried me back there himself and introduced me to the service manager. Since I bought my LS almost 3 wks ago the salesman has called me each week and asked how the tractor is doing and if I needed anything or an issue came up, to call his personal cell phone no matter what time of day or night. With a Kioti or LS you may be able to get a 40-45hp tractor for same price as a bota 30-35hp tractor.

 

[newbury]

Kioti ck3510 or ck4010.

Backhoe lists for $8500 with subframe per my dealer, but he would knock off $1k without negotiation.

I ended up buying a small excavator instead of a backhoe, and recommend a skid steer for serious dirt work over a small tractor.

and if a large portion of your work is mowing 2 acres every week or so get a ZTR instead of a mower on a tractor!

 

[ViperDriver]

Wow - again thanks for the responses.

Clarity - we're currently building and it's a long process, with many tasks being subcontracted out to ourselves. It's a "weird" house and several different construction techniques and our requirements were specific - which led to a tight building envelope and a lot of undisturbed acreage (by design).

During the build process, we still have a lot of earth moving, ditch digging, yard prep, cistern backfilling, underground electrical / home automation installation, etc. The pricing we're seeing for stuff like this is ridiculous - seems like it's $20K to deploy earthmoving equipment around here. Thus the backhoe.

We thought about the mower - but it's a uni-tasker and the field is more rough than I'd want to move with a ZTR. (and the ZTR isn't the right answer for the house yard.)

We've reswizzled our thinking based on a lot of your feedback and we're thinking L2501 or B equivalent and will look at the other brands mentioned. We will go up in heft and down in HP, making sure equipment and tire fill and other things are addressed before the motor. it's quite possible that a 24 HP small tractor is perfect for us, gives us some wiggle room on the width restriction, and, comparatively speaking a crap ton more efficient than a shovel and wheelbarrow - which to date - have been the tools of choice for more than they should.

Appreciate the feedback on the package deals - will ensure we're talking about branded accessories. And while I don't "NEED" a trailer, it might be super handy!

the problem we have is simply TIME. Work demands are extreme for both us, and weekends get devoted to new house build chores, and then there's business travel that puts a huge monkey wrench in everything - so spending days moving from dealer to dealer looking at all the other brands isn't going to happen. Might we spend a little more that way - yes - but every day I can't move the ball forward on the house build is probably $1K when you figure in monthly GC costs, construction loan and missed opportunity. Which is why you all have been so helpful...

Thank you again for all this insight. Will keep you posted and I am sure I'll be back with more questions. LOL

 

[ViperDriver]

few more things - great idea on the PVC test pipe for width.

I have concrete retaining walls poured and a concrete house. "just make some more room around your house" isn't an option ;-)

Will def look at Yanmar. one thing that has turned me off from a couple manufacturers is no "build my tractor" option - I hate flying blind. (can't remember if that was the Yanmar site or not)

And for the bucket - having rented several bobcats - quick attach is a given.

One question - why must the bucket be wider than the tractor? (is it only to ensure if you get the bucket through the tractor fits? because beside the side of the house - we really don't have any other limitations)

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

And for the bucket - having rented several bobcats - quick attach is a given.

One question - why must the bucket be wider than the tractor? (is it only to ensure if you get the bucket through the tractor fits? because beside the side of the house - we really don't have any other limitations)

Buckets and rear implements tend to be wider than the tractor, partly because if you need to, say, scrape right up to the edge of something, if your implement is narrower than the tractor, you can't. Also, rear implements like blades are often used set at an angle, so you want the angled blade to still be the at least the width of the tractor for the reasons above. Buckets and implements come in fairly standard widths; tractors too; and they are calibrated so you have extra width on the implement. Exceptions (sometimes) are attachments like grapples and pallet forks.

Few tractors under 30HP have SSQA for the bucket standard (mine does).

 

[majorwager]

Viperdriver

Sincerely, best of luck to you. You seem like nice folks on a mission.

 

[rngrrymd]

1. Deere 2032R - quick attach loader can get 57" bucket with loops built in, quick attach backhoe (best of all brands I believe), tractor 60" wide - slightly above your price point e.g.
John Deere 2�38R and 27�B backhoe - YouTube <-- easiest backhoe removal of all brands
2�18 John Deere 2�32R Tractor W/ Loader & Backhoe for sale in Select Location , NJ. Power Place, Inc. <-- pricing example

2. Kubota B3350 - great tractor, more lifting capacities/backhoe capability by specs.
Kubota LA534 Front Loader Removal & Operation | Messick's - YouTube <-- loader removal pretty easy
Kubota B335� & BH77 Backhoe connection Noob Demo - YouTube < -- backhoe removal/install not so easy (can you live with this process/how often will you swap between 3-point and backhoe?)

Deere has easiest loader/backhoe removal and install but has a little less raw specs than the Kubota. It is, however, a heavier tractor than the B3350. Worth considering.

I personally prefer to go bigger on the tractor for the same reason you don't have a lot of - time. It's amazing what folks accomplish with a SCUT who are ok with taking longer time to get a job done but I have other things to do (time is money to me) so I'd recommend staying in the CUT range you were initially looking at but getting a unit that complies with your 60" max width.

 

[/pine]

I personally prefer to go bigger on the tractor for the same reason you don't have a lot of - time. It's amazing what folks accomplish with a SCUT who are ok with taking longer time to get a job done but I have other things to do (time is money to me) so I'd recommend staying in the CUT range you were initially looking at but getting a unit that complies with your 60" max width.

IMO...There is very little difference in going from SCUT sized machines to CUT versions when it comes to performance/time values...neither can compare to full size commercial machines...
Even legendary commercial grade B model K_ubotas can't compare with much heavier machines that can do two to three times the work in less than half the time...

Not sure where the cut off line is between CUTs and a UT is but IMO you will gain very little in the way of productivity going from a SCUT to about any CUT...