How much tractor do I need?
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Gary Fowler
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2008
- Messages
- 11,917
- Location
- Bismarck Arkansas
- Tractor
- 2009 Kubota RTV 900, 2009 Kubota B26 TLB & 2010 model LS P7010
I don't think there is an ounce of difference in most brands as far as quality. Some brands come with more standard features than others which may be a good deal but only if you need them. Example is the 3 remotes on my LS that most others only have one but I have no need for even one so far in the 7 years of ownership but they are there if I do need them.
New Holland might not be worth as much at resell time as a Kubota but likely will cost the same when new. John Deere will cost more at purchase and be worth more when selling so it may be a wash there in the long run.
The old rule of thumb for 5 HP per foot of bush hog is not always accurate. Heavy grass is harder to cut than tall weeds and the occasional small tree. I would think that a 20 PTO HP tractor should pull a 6 foot bush hog in most instances especially if you sharpen the blades. Lots of folks don't recommend sharpening the blades on a bush hog because they want the blade to shatter a tree stump rather than cut it clean which may leave a "punji stick" for your tires. As long as you are cutting small brush, weeds and grass, sharp blades will reduce the HP needed to pull the implement and provide a cleaner cut.
I would think that a B29XX series Kubota would fit your bill just right along with a 6 foot cutter. Remember that if you need to, you can overlap with a 6 foot cutter in heavy stuff but take a full width in the light stuff. You don't need to buy a size that your tractor can pull @ 7 MPH all the time whether in thick or light. Get one that you can pull most of the time at your optimum speed and slow down a bit for the heavy stuff. You will finish much quicker that way.
New Holland might not be worth as much at resell time as a Kubota but likely will cost the same when new. John Deere will cost more at purchase and be worth more when selling so it may be a wash there in the long run.
The old rule of thumb for 5 HP per foot of bush hog is not always accurate. Heavy grass is harder to cut than tall weeds and the occasional small tree. I would think that a 20 PTO HP tractor should pull a 6 foot bush hog in most instances especially if you sharpen the blades. Lots of folks don't recommend sharpening the blades on a bush hog because they want the blade to shatter a tree stump rather than cut it clean which may leave a "punji stick" for your tires. As long as you are cutting small brush, weeds and grass, sharp blades will reduce the HP needed to pull the implement and provide a cleaner cut.
I would think that a B29XX series Kubota would fit your bill just right along with a 6 foot cutter. Remember that if you need to, you can overlap with a 6 foot cutter in heavy stuff but take a full width in the light stuff. You don't need to buy a size that your tractor can pull @ 7 MPH all the time whether in thick or light. Get one that you can pull most of the time at your optimum speed and slow down a bit for the heavy stuff. You will finish much quicker that way.
widefat
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2015
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- 559
- Location
- Central Va
- Tractor
- Kubota L3200 Husq GT52XLS Husqvarna LC121P Husq 455 Rancher Stihl FS90 Stihl MS170 99 Ram 1500
I was in a similar search a couple of years ago. In the end, I bought a Kubota because I liked the dealer, and the dealer had a great reputation in my area. I needed to know that
if I needed a part or service, it was easily available.
For the acreage you have and the work you need to do, it's going to be hard to go wrong brand wise; so shop for the dealer.
if I needed a part or service, it was easily available.
For the acreage you have and the work you need to do, it's going to be hard to go wrong brand wise; so shop for the dealer.
ericm979
Super Member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2016
- Messages
- 5,813
- Location
- Santa Cruz Mountains CA, Southern OR
- Tractor
- Branson 3725H Deere 5105
I decided against the B3350 for a number of reaons- first because it's tall and narrow. My property is on the side of a mountain. While I try to operate up and down hill there's some inevitable side hill work. A wider tractor is more stable on side hills. The 3350 is fairly light for it power. I planned to run a Woodmaxx chipper that weighs 1000 lbs and didn't want the tractor to struggle or be unbalanced while transporting the chipper over rough terrain and on slopes. The 3350 has less power than I decided I need to run that chipper. And last, the Kubota dealers I talked to both discouraged me from getting a 3350 due to the reliability problems with it's DPF. It's not the only small turbo tractor I have heard of having DPF problems. My theory is that the small engine doesn't produce a lot of exhaust heat, and the turbo is a heat engine that further reduces the heat downstream. The 3350 DPF problems have mostly been due to not getting enough heat to the DPF during regen.
I also looked at the L3301/3901 but being older stripped down designs didn't appeal to me. The independent PTO allows me to turn the chipper on/off from the ground. The Branson's heavier and has different size tires and wheels available so I could go with smaller ones for a lower CG.
You can see that a lot of my criteria revolve around operating on hills and running a chipper; yours are probably different. But the Bransons are nice and worth a look. I also wanted to check out LS but the one dealer is far away and small. My Branson dealer is far away but large and responsive. MF and NH wern't interested.
I also looked at the L3301/3901 but being older stripped down designs didn't appeal to me. The independent PTO allows me to turn the chipper on/off from the ground. The Branson's heavier and has different size tires and wheels available so I could go with smaller ones for a lower CG.
You can see that a lot of my criteria revolve around operating on hills and running a chipper; yours are probably different. But the Bransons are nice and worth a look. I also wanted to check out LS but the one dealer is far away and small. My Branson dealer is far away but large and responsive. MF and NH wern't interested.
BrokeFarmerJohn
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2016
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- 2,233
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- Columbus Ohio
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- 2017 Mahindra 5555, John Blue G-1000, Massey Ferguson 98, John Deere GP
My advise for you is to look at the entire rainbow.
For this reason: inexperience!
You can research tractors for days, be dead set on one tractor maybe two, get it home and find out that the controls aren't to your liking or that you wished you bought a different tractor.
Tractor dealers won't let you take the machinery off site, they may have a demo for you to play around on, maybe they will let you start one and drive in circles in the parking lot lol. But that just scratches the surface of the machine.
Research will tell you the HP range you need to be in, it will also tell you what to look out for on a tractor when looking at them in person but until you really own one, you have no idea what you like about tractors and non of us can tell you what that is also.
So what I would tell you is to buy bigger than you think you need, there's a reason lots of guys on here say buy the next size up or double the size you think you will need, you can never foresee the tasks that will come up and eventually you will wish you had a bigger tractor.
Gardening is the only time you will prob wish you had a smaller tractor.
Which brings me to that question, how are you planning to engage the ground? How big of a garden? Most guys get tillers which are expensive but you can buy a old 1 or 2 bottom 12-14in plough and 6-8ft 3pt disk. If it's a smaller garden I would say tiller.
My first recommendation to you is plan on adding a 3rd function for the FEL and 2-3 rear remotes even if you don't plan to use them right away, it's something that will be mighty handy later for attachments and you won't regret it.
Most compacts are 4x4 anyway, I'm sure you can get a 2x4 but most are standard with 4x4.
I would agree with the 30-40hp range just based off your wants for mowing. But bigger is not bad.
What you need from a tractor is quick attach everything, quick attach bucket, quick attach FEL ext. some "economy" compacts come with loaders that are almost impossible to take off and buckets that bolt, makes finding attachments really difficult after.
Most use SSQA and JD has a proprietary quick attach, still very easy to use.
You want to order the tractor in the mind of making it "universal", there's 1000s of makers of attachments and in order to use them all you need more rear remotes, a 3rd function for the FEL and a quick attach on the FEL.
Another suggestion is if you see a neighbor on his tractor or maybe even a farmer in a field, pull into there driveway, wave them over and state your name, where your from and ask them if they have a min, and tell them that your in the market for a tractor, tell them your not experienced with tractors but ask them what they like and don't like about there's. You can gain first hand experience that way and you won't be so blind going into a dealer.
Tractor ratings are sometimes exaggerated, like lift capacity at the pin ext, so you may find that your FEL that's rated at 1100lbs can't lift or curl a 1000lb pallet of rocks because the weight isn't close enough to the pins. Which is why buying bigger is better.
My story started much like yours, I didn't have a tractor, never have but I researched the crap out of them, I calculated the exact tractor I needed based of FEL lift capacity, in the 30-40hp range I was gonna sign on a Mahindra 1533 HST but was on the fence about the 1538 HST. I looked at NH, Case, Mahindra, JD and Kubota and found the Mahindra to be the best value for what I needed. Less than a week before signing my dad found a used JD cabbed 4320 in one of those tractor trader magazines, we drove the hour and half one way to check this tractor out, the guy was a farmer that had a used machinery dealership kinda business on the side. So the Mahindra was 33hp and could lift 1500lbs, the JD was 48hp and can lift 1800lbs, way more tractor than I even thought I needed, I fell for that tractor and shook hands with the guy. 2 weeks later I brought it home (financing delay).
My use for a tractor is handling round bales for cattle, 6 months later I'm really really glad I didn't buy a smaller tractor, I find myself thinking that my tractor is borderline as small as I want and could see myself using a 5 series, the bales I'm buying now are over 1000lbs, prob closer to 1200lbs but with pallet forks my loader has a hard time curling them from the weight being so far away from the pins.
So I guess good luck, research for awhile, pay attention to what guys like and don't (some tractors require you to be a gymnast to operate them correctly)(duel brakes, deff lock and directional HST at the same time)) and get first hand experience anyway you can.
For this reason: inexperience!
You can research tractors for days, be dead set on one tractor maybe two, get it home and find out that the controls aren't to your liking or that you wished you bought a different tractor.
Tractor dealers won't let you take the machinery off site, they may have a demo for you to play around on, maybe they will let you start one and drive in circles in the parking lot lol. But that just scratches the surface of the machine.
Research will tell you the HP range you need to be in, it will also tell you what to look out for on a tractor when looking at them in person but until you really own one, you have no idea what you like about tractors and non of us can tell you what that is also.
So what I would tell you is to buy bigger than you think you need, there's a reason lots of guys on here say buy the next size up or double the size you think you will need, you can never foresee the tasks that will come up and eventually you will wish you had a bigger tractor.
Gardening is the only time you will prob wish you had a smaller tractor.
Which brings me to that question, how are you planning to engage the ground? How big of a garden? Most guys get tillers which are expensive but you can buy a old 1 or 2 bottom 12-14in plough and 6-8ft 3pt disk. If it's a smaller garden I would say tiller.
My first recommendation to you is plan on adding a 3rd function for the FEL and 2-3 rear remotes even if you don't plan to use them right away, it's something that will be mighty handy later for attachments and you won't regret it.
Most compacts are 4x4 anyway, I'm sure you can get a 2x4 but most are standard with 4x4.
I would agree with the 30-40hp range just based off your wants for mowing. But bigger is not bad.
What you need from a tractor is quick attach everything, quick attach bucket, quick attach FEL ext. some "economy" compacts come with loaders that are almost impossible to take off and buckets that bolt, makes finding attachments really difficult after.
Most use SSQA and JD has a proprietary quick attach, still very easy to use.
You want to order the tractor in the mind of making it "universal", there's 1000s of makers of attachments and in order to use them all you need more rear remotes, a 3rd function for the FEL and a quick attach on the FEL.
Another suggestion is if you see a neighbor on his tractor or maybe even a farmer in a field, pull into there driveway, wave them over and state your name, where your from and ask them if they have a min, and tell them that your in the market for a tractor, tell them your not experienced with tractors but ask them what they like and don't like about there's. You can gain first hand experience that way and you won't be so blind going into a dealer.
Tractor ratings are sometimes exaggerated, like lift capacity at the pin ext, so you may find that your FEL that's rated at 1100lbs can't lift or curl a 1000lb pallet of rocks because the weight isn't close enough to the pins. Which is why buying bigger is better.
My story started much like yours, I didn't have a tractor, never have but I researched the crap out of them, I calculated the exact tractor I needed based of FEL lift capacity, in the 30-40hp range I was gonna sign on a Mahindra 1533 HST but was on the fence about the 1538 HST. I looked at NH, Case, Mahindra, JD and Kubota and found the Mahindra to be the best value for what I needed. Less than a week before signing my dad found a used JD cabbed 4320 in one of those tractor trader magazines, we drove the hour and half one way to check this tractor out, the guy was a farmer that had a used machinery dealership kinda business on the side. So the Mahindra was 33hp and could lift 1500lbs, the JD was 48hp and can lift 1800lbs, way more tractor than I even thought I needed, I fell for that tractor and shook hands with the guy. 2 weeks later I brought it home (financing delay).
My use for a tractor is handling round bales for cattle, 6 months later I'm really really glad I didn't buy a smaller tractor, I find myself thinking that my tractor is borderline as small as I want and could see myself using a 5 series, the bales I'm buying now are over 1000lbs, prob closer to 1200lbs but with pallet forks my loader has a hard time curling them from the weight being so far away from the pins.
So I guess good luck, research for awhile, pay attention to what guys like and don't (some tractors require you to be a gymnast to operate them correctly)(duel brakes, deff lock and directional HST at the same time)) and get first hand experience anyway you can.
Good question... and its sounds like you're getting close to an answer... Broke Farmer John hit on something that helped us with our decision (Yes "Us" cause my wife held a veto card). Stopping to talk to neighbors is a great idea. We didn't pull into their drives, but we drove around the neighboring farms and noted which brand and size of tractors were in use (Yes "Use", sitting in the barn did not count). What we found was interesting from the perspective that big tractors looked great, but were mostly sitting in the barns. We saw a lot of smaller tractors out working.
Some will say that's because it takes them so much longer to get anything done, and that may be part of it, but there is something about smaller tractors that seems to get their owners out banging around in the hollow. When we spoke with one neighbor (He looked like a gorilla sitting on a tricycle), what kind of tractor he had, it was a "Hinomoto" (17HP?). He proudly spoke of backing up a hay spear to round bales and hauling them up the drive with the front wheels floating gently above the ground. He's almost always on that poor little thing, and when he does run out of HP, we trade his welding skills for my larger HP tractor to move boulders or haul creek gravel. Bartering our tractor services for our neighbor's skills/knowledge has strengthened our mutual respect and appreciation.
Our tractor is small compared with our other neighbor's Case and John Deere (Both great tractors - 50-70HP?), and if I ever needed a lot more umphhh, I would not be too proud to ask them for a favor. One of our neighbors has a Mahindra (40HP?) with a Backhoe, and he helped our other neighbor dig a hole to bury their horse (The Vet said we have too many "Buckeye" trees in the hollow for horses - Really?).
The point is that we're lucky to live around great neighbor's and our tractor is not the smallest or the largest in the hollow. It does 70% of what we need very well, it can gimp through on another 20% and the last 10% we'll ask a neighbor for help with.
If you get a tractor that will do 100% of everything you need, you won't ever need to ask a neighbor for a favor, and that might not be a good thing.
Some will say that's because it takes them so much longer to get anything done, and that may be part of it, but there is something about smaller tractors that seems to get their owners out banging around in the hollow. When we spoke with one neighbor (He looked like a gorilla sitting on a tricycle), what kind of tractor he had, it was a "Hinomoto" (17HP?). He proudly spoke of backing up a hay spear to round bales and hauling them up the drive with the front wheels floating gently above the ground. He's almost always on that poor little thing, and when he does run out of HP, we trade his welding skills for my larger HP tractor to move boulders or haul creek gravel. Bartering our tractor services for our neighbor's skills/knowledge has strengthened our mutual respect and appreciation.
Our tractor is small compared with our other neighbor's Case and John Deere (Both great tractors - 50-70HP?), and if I ever needed a lot more umphhh, I would not be too proud to ask them for a favor. One of our neighbors has a Mahindra (40HP?) with a Backhoe, and he helped our other neighbor dig a hole to bury their horse (The Vet said we have too many "Buckeye" trees in the hollow for horses - Really?).
The point is that we're lucky to live around great neighbor's and our tractor is not the smallest or the largest in the hollow. It does 70% of what we need very well, it can gimp through on another 20% and the last 10% we'll ask a neighbor for help with.
If you get a tractor that will do 100% of everything you need, you won't ever need to ask a neighbor for a favor, and that might not be a good thing.
I'm partial to Kubota but if there was not a dealer that close to me, I would certainly look at others as I think there are several other good options out there. I have had a BX22, A B7500 and now a L3700. They all have their pros and cons. If you are going to mow with it and want a belly mower, you need a mid PTO. This puts you into a B or a BX, or a expensive L series. If you want a BH, its already on the BX at about 22k +\- , and it's a 7-9k add on with another tractor. Honestly I think I would take a good look at the BX if I were you. They have been called the Swiss Army knife of tractors.
What a great way to think! I 100% agree with this and thank you for that!
And thank you to everyone who has taken time to help a new enthusiast out. After much racking of the brain, I'm gravitating toward the Kubota L3301. I've come to realize that of the few dealers around here, Kubota is the most prevalent brand followed by new holland, JD and, case in very small quantities. I want peace of mind when it comes to future servicing without having to drive 50 miles. Now to attempt to find peace within the pricing...
The Deerslayer
Platinum Member
Glad to see you gravitated up to the L series. You will not be disappointed with the model you are considering. Best of luck with the negotiating.....common thought process here is you should be able to get approx. 10-15 % off MSRP from the Kubota website.