I dont have a clue! What tractor?

[BryanM]

Hi everybody, let me start out by stating the obvious, I am in serch of a tractor. then let me tell you my story I'll make it as short as I can. I have recently bought 6 acres farm ground for a new homestead. My needs as best i know as of now. Mowing lets say 5 acres flat grass(pasture) drive way duty snow maintence at leat 200ft. light to meduim landscape duties, brushcut aprox 5acres a few times ayear for hunting lease. that ground is also fairly flat. My question is what tractor would best suite my needs (Hp), what would you recommend. I have talked to a few sales men in orange, green, blue. All reccommended me with same info from 18hp to 30 hp. I probably should tell you i am on a tight budget so no higher than ? I hate to give you a $# number because I think it will influence the answer to much. but to tell you the truth I was looking at the 2305 or 2320 in green. but would rather get a good used machine. So give me your thoughts and o ya just found your site and from just a couple days looking around well lets say seems like a bunch of nologable people!

 

[aesanders]

I've got a similar sized property (6 acres) and a 2320 takes care of it very well. I have three horse and with about an acre and a half fenced now. (I just finished putting in the fence) but will fence in another 3 acres. The three acres in the back still needs fencing. This area was 8 foot weeds when I moved in over the summer and have been cleaning it up since. Still have to get some grass planted and the fencing in, but the 2320 made short work of the weeds. I probably could have gotten by with a smaller tractor like the 2305, but really like some of the features like position control for the post hole digger and bush hog that I use.

I think a tractor this size (small compact) is very well suited for our size property and have not found really anything it cannot handle. (well with the exception of moving the 3 ton pallet of stone I have now)


Used would not be a bad option, but with some of the 0 percent financing offers around these days buying new worked for me.

 

[thingy]

Its all just a question of money really. But if your budget is enough for green,[or orange],than you should get one of those,they are about the best.
My budget wasn't,so 4 1/2 years ago got a nortrac chinese tractor,for 8,000,,,,560 hrs later,runs as good as new,and I take care of more land,plus a garden,than you described. thingy

 

[jbrumberg]

BryanM:

Welcome to TBN ! If mowing will be your primary task you can go with a lighter, smaller tractor. Ground engaging attachments will generally benefit from a heavier tractor. It appears you are headed in the right direction. I want to warn you that the membership of TBN is more than willing to help you spend your money and there are quite a few HP junkies out there in TBN land. Try as many tractors and dealerships as possible- dealer "feel" is just a important as tractor "feel". Take your time, ask a lot of questions, and you will find the tractor that will meet your needs. There is no "perfect" tractor on the market. Jay

 

[john_bud]

Bryan,

Your chores sound pretty easy. An older 2wd tractor would do them all. A Ford in the hundred series would work fine. Look for a 5 speed transmission and a bonus would be the 2 stage clutch which give "live" pto. By Ford model numbers that would be a 651, 661, 851, 861. (the slightly older ones are 650 etc). Expect to pay $3000 for a decent machine and up to $6500 for an 861 in excellent shape with a loader. If you get one with a loader, try and find one with the pie weights for the rear wheels. You need about 2500# of weight on them to use a loader effectively. That's wheel weights, loaded tires and an implement. Loader lift capacity will be in the 2000# range.

The 4 speed transmission in the hundred series is not good for ground engaging activities like tilling and can be pretty quick for cutting. 1st gear is about 2x too fast. It also does not have a live PTO. That means that the implement can drive the tractor even with the clutch pushed down. So you have to shift to N or can have a wild ride. Or just buy an overrunning clutch adaptor for the PTO shaft.

The later "thousand" series tractors are even better, but more $$. The 2000, 3000 and 4000 are excellent. If you can find a 3 cyl diesel with 8 speed transmission in the 2000 or 3000's your search will be over. The $$ premium is about $1-2000 over the hundred series.

Fords SOS transmission is a first attempt at a power shift. It worked pretty horribly initially. In fact, it so soured people that to this day they are sold at a bargan. A later thousand series tractor will have an SOS with the bugs worked out, but a broken one can cost you big time to repair. They also require maintenance like fluid and filter changes. If the previous owner didn't do that, well....

enjoy!
jb

 

[BryanM]

so what Hp range am I looking at? Has anyone else delt with the grey tractor market or norttrac or off brands??

I was looking at an 770 and a 750 but both didnt include a fel and definately want a fel on this tractor.

while I am at it has anyone bought a tractor of ebay at one of those auctions like(mcgrew)? or just of private owners? thanks for the help and keep the answers coming I need all the help I can get?

 

[Egon]

One suggestion, cause I own one, would be a used B7100 with HST, MMM and a loader. They do not have power steering so may not be desirable for many folks.

If you wish I could send you some photos of what I use it for.

There are many choices out there so shop long and hard. Shopping's fun!

 

[aesanders]

so what Hp range am I looking at?

I would look more at pto hp than standard engine horsepower. Find out the requirements of the implements you want to run and size your machine accordingly. These small engine diesels have quite a bit of punch. For running a 4 foot bush hog like I have you can do well with a machine under 20 pto hp. If you want a 5 foot cutter then you would need something in the mid 20 pto hp range.
For mowing a lawn of 5 acres then you should be looking at no less than a 60 inch finish mower. Again, just about all current compacts and sub compacts between 15-20 pto hp can handle this. If you want a 72" mid mount mower, then you would need to look for something with mid 20 pto hp like a Kubota 3030. A lighter tractor previously recomended would be better at mowing as you don't want ruts all over the lawn. This is the primarily negative against an older small utilty tractor. They are heavier and not as agile for lawn mowing.

Try out as many brands as you can. Pay close attention to minor details like ergonomics etc. Also, make sure you compare machines that are apples to apples. It can be confusing. Some manufactures list their machines as scuts(sub compacts) when they are actually sized like most competitors cuts (compacts). This is where comparing pto hp really helps out.

 

[MDM]

A good used imported Japanese Yanmar will do nicely. That was what I got for my 1st tractor. It will run you anywhere from $4000 to $5500 depending if you want 4wd or not. I had a 2210D I bought for $5200. It was 26hp, 4wd with 606 hrs on it. Just stay away from the Vietnam rebuilds if you go that route. It was a nice tractor and I miss it. I could afford to upgrade, so I did. I went with Kubota's L2800.

 

[Soundguy]

If you are going to do lots of pto work.. consider 4wd and pow steering.

If you are only doing light/limited laoder work.. 2wd/manual steering is ok...

I'd say 20-30 hp range.

You can generally find a nice ford/NH XX20 series in the upper 20hp range for what you will pay for a nortrac.

However.. if you go chinese.. do look at the nortrac.. or other units with big distribuitors.

Soundguy

so what Hp range am I looking at? Has anyone else delt with the grey tractor market or norttrac or off brands??

I was looking at an 770 and a 750 but both didnt include a fel and definately want a fel on this tractor.

while I am at it has anyone bought a tractor of ebay at one of those auctions like(mcgrew)? or just of private owners? thanks for the help and keep the answers coming I need all the help I can get?

 

[aesanders]

while I am at it has anyone bought a tractor of ebay at one of those auctions like(mcgrew)? or just of private owners? thanks for the help and keep the answers coming I need all the help I can get?

Be very, very, very careful buying off of ebay. There are a ton of scams on ebay when it comes to tractors. Just remember that if a deal looks to good to be true it almost cetainly is.

That said, I use to live about an hour from Mcgrews and they seem like a pretty legit auction company. They are in southern PA near Hanover. I was looking at a Kubota B3030 they had their with low hoirs. Could have gotten it for a decent price, but I was moving to Florida and the shipping would have eaten me alive. I wouldn't buy anything without checking it out in person before hand though.

 

[daTeacha]

If you don't need a loader, an 8N with rear finish mower might be just the ticket. They're pretty common and parts are easily found, too. You should be able to get into a good tractor for under $3000.

 

[thingy]

If you want to know a little more about chinese tractor stuff,go down to,,what else,the chinese tractor section on here,,,,you can go to northern tool.com and look up their tractors if you want to see a picture and price and stuff,,,,like I said,its all a question of money,what are you looking to spend,the max?,,if its under 15-16 thousand,your choices are limited as far as new ones,if your budget is under 9-10,000,its very limited,for a new one,,the only new tractor you can buy for that is chinese,,,now if you want used,,well,your possibilities are limitless,,and risky,,,yanmar would be a thought on used ones,,,its all about money,,thingy

 

[Turbys_1700]

All the advice here is good. I would first set my budget and then go from there. That will certainly limit your choices and options but will let you settle on a specific range of units. Once you've done that then you can investigate and look at the units and of course ask us for advice!!!

 

[charlesw]

while I am at it has anyone bought a tractor of ebay at one of those auctions like(mcgrew)?

I won an auction with (some company). Drove down (5 hours each way) to pick it up. Thankfully they allowed me to back out of the deal so I was only out gas, a day and trailer rental instead of all of those and a big chunk of change for a tractor in poor condition (which did not show on the ebay pictures and was not mentioned in the text).

There was another tractor for sale on ebay but nearer to where I am. I went to look at it in person before bidding. I didn't bid and was VERY happy not to have done so! Again, the pictures on ebay just can't show you the condition that these are in. Especially when, as in the first case, the problem areas aren't even in the pictures!

The lesson I learned: don't bid on a tractor that you haven't seen in person. And, you know, even seeing a tractor probably isn't enough - you really want to know the history of it..

 

[roxynoodle]

There are a lot of us on this forum that own grey market tractors, particularly Yanmars. They are good quality tractors for the price and have good parts availability and support. Relatively easy to work on and very reliable. There are quality dealers on the Yanmar forum you can contact for a good tractor from a good dealer if you want to investigate that route. Good luck!

 

[Timber]

I have a couple of things you need to ask yourself. I don't know were you are so you should consider what the dealers are in you area to support what you buy. I have the same size property but I know my personality and consider what kind of projects I have interest in and buy accordingly. Look beyond what you want to do today. Buy as much tractor as you can. The tractor is the power source and everything else is an attachment. Grass cutting can mean 2 things, Field grass like pasture is brush hog work and is fine with a tractor loader combination. Finish lawns are better done with light lawn tractors or 0 turn mowers. I understand combination tractors and why people buy them and would never fault anyone for that but these are my thoughts. I am a Kubota guy but have no ill to the other brands But I live in the Kubota world. I would suggest any of the B or L size tractors but you also might be in the BX category but the B world would suite you best

 

[Glowplug]

I have no clue either.

What region of the country are you in? What is the terrain like you plan to mow? How many mowing obstacles are there? What kind of soil do you have? How much time do you have to spend on your tractor? Less time = bigger tractor.

Those are all things to consider.

But based on your land size and planned tasks two tractors come to mind. I can't really comment on used tractors. And of course, I'm a Kubota man.

Two new tractors to consider:

• Kubota B24
• Kubota B2630

If it were me, I'd go for the B2630.

BTW, welcome to TBN!!

 

[BryanM]

Okay guys let me give you a little back ground. Mostly flat ground, live in nw ohio. Dirt is clay, it actually is all farm feild as i am writting this. Things in projects in the future: God help me because when it comes right down to it, I get into all kinds of things. plans for right now Definate use, building maintaining drive way apox 200ft, finish and brush cut mower landscaping, post hole digging, moving stone and dirt(landscape). building new house, barn stuff like that! I have looked at the bseries kubotas and 2000 series JD with more than 2 dealers of each kind in area. But tell you the truth these things are expensive all though right now they have some great incentives.

As far as used, I cant seem to find that many in my area that fit this type of build. So maybe some of the dealers out there have some thing I may be interested in?? I have a trailer and going to get a tractor does not bother me if its worth it. Or maybe someone is thinking about selling theirs and would like to get rid of their tractor. thanks Bryan

 

[Glowplug]

With what you're saying now I'd probably not go with a SCUT like the Kubota BX series but stick with something in the range of the Kubota B-series. I really like the Kubota B2630. The B7800 is a real workhorse. But with the amount of landscaping and grading that you're planning on you have to be careful about the 3ph control. The B7800 has a quarter-inching control and the B2630 has a position-control. Quarter-inching can be kind of frustrating when grading. You may check Tractorhouse.com for used tractors. Hmm, that may have already been mentioned. Well anyway, good luck!!