Olympus
Platinum Member
Well I've had my LS J2023 (small CUT, but bigger than a SCUT) 23HP tractor for about 3 years now. I use it to keep up my 6 acre property and it has worked very well for that. It has its downsides though. It's fairly light, even with fluid filled rear tires, and I have to keep in 4wd when driving around or I'll spin out and lose traction. It's also somewhat narrow and does not feel stable when on a steep hillside. I also have to keep something attached to the back for ballast when using the front bucket for dirt work. Get a bucket full of dirt loaded more to one side or the other and your opposite back tire will start to come off the ground. I've learned to deal with these downsides though and other than that, seems to be just about right for 90% of the work I need to do.
That being said, last year I bought 100 acres for a hunting property. I used my LS once to do some brush hogging, but it was woefully too small to get much done. It was too small to do any kind of trail cutting because the saplings were too big for the motor to handle. So I've been looking at upgrading my tractor. My grandpa has a John Deere 4500 with a 460 front loader that he bought brand new in 2000. I can't remember for sure, but I think it has somewhere about 600 to 700 hours on it. He has kept it stored in his shed since he bought it. But time and age have faded the plastic hood and fenders. The paint is still pretty good, just slightly faded. The engine still seems very strong and immediately fires up when you just bump the key. There's no cranking whatsoever. It has a small amount of smoke when idling though. The tractor has the Power Reverser, which near as I can figure, is a shuttle shift? He has not had any mechanical problems with the engine or the tranny. Only thing he has replaced is the suspension seat. His went out several years ago and last year he finally broke down and paid a ridiculous amount for a brand new one from John Deere. The only issue I know of is a slightly bent steering cylinder piston that he did shortly after buying the tractor. It leaks a small amount of hydraulic oil and he just leaves it alone, but I would want to fix it. I'm pretty sure if I told him I wanted to buy it, he would sell it to me.
Question of the day is, what would a tractor like this be worth? And second question is does this sound like a tractor that would even fit my needs or is it maybe too big for my needs?
That being said, last year I bought 100 acres for a hunting property. I used my LS once to do some brush hogging, but it was woefully too small to get much done. It was too small to do any kind of trail cutting because the saplings were too big for the motor to handle. So I've been looking at upgrading my tractor. My grandpa has a John Deere 4500 with a 460 front loader that he bought brand new in 2000. I can't remember for sure, but I think it has somewhere about 600 to 700 hours on it. He has kept it stored in his shed since he bought it. But time and age have faded the plastic hood and fenders. The paint is still pretty good, just slightly faded. The engine still seems very strong and immediately fires up when you just bump the key. There's no cranking whatsoever. It has a small amount of smoke when idling though. The tractor has the Power Reverser, which near as I can figure, is a shuttle shift? He has not had any mechanical problems with the engine or the tranny. Only thing he has replaced is the suspension seat. His went out several years ago and last year he finally broke down and paid a ridiculous amount for a brand new one from John Deere. The only issue I know of is a slightly bent steering cylinder piston that he did shortly after buying the tractor. It leaks a small amount of hydraulic oil and he just leaves it alone, but I would want to fix it. I'm pretty sure if I told him I wanted to buy it, he would sell it to me.
Question of the day is, what would a tractor like this be worth? And second question is does this sound like a tractor that would even fit my needs or is it maybe too big for my needs?
