It all gets so confusing

[ConfusedinOregon]

Hi! I am a newbie to tractors but find after 6 years of hauling manure
by wheel barrow and renting something when we need it, it's time to
break down and buy a tractor. We have 25 acres mostly forest (fir, pine,cedar and a lot of old slash from previous logging) rolling and hilly
and at 4100 feet elevation in Southern Oregon. We have 5 horses. 4 goats and 3 acres in dry lot paddock, a newish house that still hasn't had any landscaping done, although I do put out quite buffet in the spring for the deer. I try new plants,they eat them. Oh, and plenty of rocks.
I am looking for a smallish tractor to do a little bit of everything, snow blowing/plowing, manure, dig holes, move slash, a bit of clearing, landscaping etc. We will not be mowing much though as we have earmarked a very small envelope for grass. I would like to be able to drag my arena though instead of using our old Jeep which also serves as the snow plow at present.
We have just about every dealer known to tractordom within 60 miles
and I've looked at a fair number of them. The more I look the more confused I get. Having never owned a tractor, it's hard to determine just what would be suitable and comfortable with just trying new ones out in the dealer parking lot and then add the sales pitches and trying to compare specs and I'm just about pulling my hair out. I don't mind doing maintenance on one at all so other than parts and something really complicated going wrong I'm not too worried about the dealer. I would rather just buy a good sturdy tractor to begin with and muddle through if there should be any issues that way. So, I am open to any and all suggestions. The NH seems to give me the most hp for the buck, the JD suits as far as comfort although the hydrualic hoses seem a bit exposed, the MF is just too darn expensive for us although nice. The Mahindra dealer couldn't be bothered to open on Sat. The Kioti is on the list to look at tomorrow along with Montana and Branson. All the tractors I've looked at have been between 24 and 33 hp.
Confused in Oregon

 

[n8wrl]

Welcome! I'm on my 2nd tractor in 2 years and i was in exactly your shoes back then. one thing I've found is that I discover new things I can do with the tractor every time I take it out. That's why we upgraded - to handle bigger toys to do bigger jobs. I started with a Kubota L3130 and can whole-heartedly recomment it. It may seem big, but it is very easy to handle and you'll soon get comfortable with it. You'll start off with the common implements to mow and haul stuff. Then I got pallet forks so I could more easily move the 20 sections of temporary fencing we use for our horses. I used to haul each section one at a time at about 75# each, that got pretty tiring. Now with the forks I can carry them all at once. My wife drives while i pull them off and place them - a four hour job now takes about 20 min.

The list goes on. My recommendation to you is to find the DEALER you feel the most comfortable with, and buy from him. I don't think you can go wrong wiht one of the 'big three' - orange, green, or blue.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

-Brian

 

[JimParker]

Welcome to TBN! I'm sure the folks who "live" here will be able to shed some light and help you towards a decision. I started out in much the same condition, and eventually (through research, TBN Q&A, and just reading the forums) it all started to become a bit clearer. I'm about to purchase a JD 3320 for my 10.5 acres. It's (hopefully) big enough, without being too big for some of the smaller jobs.

Anyway, the real reason I responded was to say that I can sympathize with the "deer feeding" business... We built a new house several years ago, and paid a fortune to have landscaping done by a professional - it was unbelievably beautiful. The first night after we moved in, my wife came and woke me up a 2 AM, and dragged me to the front of the house. Through our picture window, I saw an entire herd of deer (like 5-6 of them!) eating all our expensively installed "deer forage" (formerly known as landscaping). I foolishly said "I'll scare them away..." You would have thought I was a child molester by my wife's reaction! "Don't you dare! They're so cute. I don't care if they are eating it all. Don't you be mean to MY deer..."

And that's why I'll never spend the money for expensive landscaping again. When you want to live where the deer are, you live with the deer... (At least according to "She who controls the finances"...)

Good luck with your tractor search. These guys really mean it whey the say "We love to help you spend your money!"

 

[BamaRob]

I'm sorry to hear that the Mahindra dealer wouldn't open up on Saturday for you. In my opinion (and that's all it is, I'm certainly biased), the Mahindra 2615 4WD or 2615 HST (depending on whether you want gears or hydrostatic) would be the perfect tractor for your intended uses. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't buy anything until I'd driven/priced a Mahindra.

Like I said, I'm biased. I've had my 2615 4WD w/ ML106 FEL for 14 months. It's a versatile workhorse that was VERY affordable compared to the other brands. Good luck with your decision. There are many choices out there that will do what you need to do. Drive them all, find a good dealer that you can work with, pick one, and go for it.

Later,

BamaRob

 

[Doc_Bob]

Hi! I am a newbie to tractors but find after 6 years of hauling manure
by wheel barrow and renting something when we need it, it's time to
break down and buy a tractor. We have 25 acres mostly forest (fir, pine,cedar and a lot of old slash from previous logging) rolling and hilly
and at 4100 feet elevation in Southern Oregon.

Hmmm, 4100 feet? TURBO! But, I have a turbo in a NH TN70A at sea level, so I just like the power. Turbo does help with power loss at altitude.

Give us more of a description of what you want to use it for. That would be very helpful for us to spend your money
Bob

 

[monkeymonk]

howdy neighbor, just on the other side.

If im thinking were your near the NH dealer is a great guy! been to his ranch hes even got a MF, I don't own one and they treat me well when i got in for implements and pins They also know what their doing and have been in Bizz along time and know what i drive.

Naumes is also a very good dealer. Yea the MH guys are kinda slowww but getting there.

 

[ConfusedinOregon]

Monkeymonk,
Yes, Naumes is the Kubota dealer here and they seem okay. I wasn't impressed with the NH dealer in Central Point, basically, they gave me a spec book on the tractors I was interested in and that was it but it was a lady not a guy. The JD dealer was actually the nicest to deal with, helpful, informative and not pushing their line
per se. We're up in the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument, so looking right over Northern CAL. Klamath Falls is also doable for us.

Doc Bob, geesh, I'm not sure about everything I want to use it for.Heck, isn't the fun in finding new uses??/Manure duty is the biggest job in importance,although this is paddock work. My horses are out 24/7 with a big run-in so I don't have to worry about getting it into stalls.
moving stuff from point A to point B withe FEL, even if it's just tools or
fence posts. Some grading work would be nice, certainly gathering slash
to burn. DH is eyeing a back hoe attachment.

Bamarob, Mahindra will get another chance. I just didn't realize they were a M-F outfit.

To all, I'm still up in the air about HST, but leaning towards it.Another concern is I am not fond of a lot of stuff in the center of the platform area. I'm short and visibility is an issue as is seat position. At 5.1 I don't want to have to have a phone book or have to sit on the edge of the seat to use it.
ConfusedinOregon

 

[DavesTractor]

Confused,
I am surprised that Rogue Valley Equipment (Mahindra) isn't open on Saturdays, but don't let that be a problem. They are long time tractor guys, have a good shop, good parts department, etc. The turbo models are the 3015HST and both 3215 models, HST and shuttle. The 3215 models have lots of legroom and are great for tall folks. The 3015HST is a little shorter in the operators area and may actually be more comfortable for you.

With no turbo, you will lose about 16-18% of your horsepower at 4100 feet. So a 30HP non-turbo tractor will have about 25 actual horsepower. A turbo will have 30HP.

The 3015HST models are being replaced by the 3215HST. Interestingly, they both dyno at 34HP in our tests. The 3015 is unique to the Mahindra line in that it has glow plugs and a heated grid for cold starting. They start very well in real cold temps. All the 15 series are built by Mitsubishi in Japan and distributed to the west coast out of our facility in Northern California.

I have 5 of the 3015HST's left in stock (and over 100 of the 3215 models), so if they do not have one, we could send them one for you to look at.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

At 5.1 I don't want to have to have a phone book or have to sit on the edge of the seat to use it.
ConfusedinOregon

OKaaaayyyy. Sorry, I'm sittin' here at 6.0. At first, with 25 acres I was wondering why you were starting so small. Personally, I'd be looking for something in the 40ish HP (non-turbo as this would equate to about 35HP at your altitude) on the heavy side. I also wouldn't be looking at R-4 tires (Industrial). Here, I'd be thinking R-1s (Ag tread). Along with the weight and the HP you'd be automatically getting a stronger FEL and 3pt lift. Key here is you don't want to have to buy this thing twice. For my $$, your tractor will be just like your new barn/shed: get it bigger than you think you need. Oh, going back to my original statement, once you get to 40 and over HP you'll not have any problem seeing anything anywhere even if you might be altitudianlly challenged (grin). BobG in VA

 

[ConfusedinOregon]

BobG,
I would love a larger machine, but finances dictate we stay within a certain
budget. You either have horses or extra money, not both it would seem.
I am trying to keep the costs down below 16k. The NH w/ HST TC30 was quoted at 14,500 but that was without any negotiating.With the regular gear TC30 price was 12k and some change. The JD 790 was 14k
evenbut that was a gear transmission, the 3203 was 17500 with hydro and again, all these prices are pre negotiation, and I love to negotiate.
In any event, at my price point, I'm sure we'll have to make trade-offs.
And that's the crux of the confusion. Without having had a tractor here to use
for a while, it's hard to know which trade-offs are wise and which aren't.

DavesTractor, I'll keep in mind that you have some 3015's in stock should
the local dealer be out. Their inventory is bit light compared to JD and NH, butthen again, I only need 1 tractor!

ConfusedinOregon