Buying Advice Looking for advice for first tractor purchase.

[bheif]

Hi all......

Have spent several months learning all I can about this, and now that I have convinced myself (and my wife!!!) that we need a tractor, would love to get some advice on what I should be looking at. In general, I think I am looking at used rather than new, I am not wedded to any particular brand, and I want to make sure that whatever I buy will not be too much or too little to do the jobs I need it for. I'm hoping that this will be a 20 year investment.

We have a weekend place in Northern VT where we spend a lot of time. The tractor will live in VT, but I can see bringing it back to CT once a year to get jobs done there as well. We have 32 acres of heavily wooded land which is mostly hilly, and some of the hills are steep. The land was logged about 15 years ago, so there are a lot of 3-6 inch saplings/small trees and LOTS of brush. The land is also fairly wet, with a lot of small streams and mud, especially in the spring. We have about 2000' of gravel/dirt road - driveway portion of this is about 1000'. I currently pay someone to plow in the winter, and cut the grass around the house, but I have a 20 hp DR brush mower which I use to mow about an acre of meadow a couple times a year.

These are the tasks we want to get done - creating and maintaining a network of walking trails through the woods, maintaining the 2000' of road, cleanup of downed trees and numerous brush piles left from logging, occasional snow cleanup now (but at some point might need to do all snow removal when we are there full time), some tree removal work, a few small excavation projects around the yard (like creating some terraced garden beds), moving firewood, gravel and mulch and other stuff.

This is what I think I need - but definitely looking for input from those with more experience!! Compact tractor in the 3500 lb. range with 30-40 hp, 4wd, FEL with skid steer quick attach bucket, 3rd function hydraulics and/or rear remotes, grapple/root rake attachment, rear mounted wood chipper, box blade grader, and maybe a brush hog and log splitter.

Would be nice to have a trailer to move it all, but I have a RAM 1500 and I don't want a bigger truck. The RAM will supposedly pull 10k lbs, but I think the setup I'm looking at will be pushing the limits of what would be safe and comfortable for me to pull - so I'd probably need to have it moved on the couple occasions I needed the tractor in CT.

Sorry for the long winded post, but wanted to provide as much info as I could.

Thanks!!! Brian

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
To TBN Brian. You came to the right place as we LOVE to spend other people's money.

I think you have a good starting point as that is about what I would have recommended.

I don't see any reason why your truck wouldn't be able to pull your tractor. You would want a trailer with brakes for sure.

 

[Tractorable]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for providing enough information for us to work with you on.

What’s the budget?

A Kubota Grand L (L3560 or L4060) or MX series sounds like it’d fit the bill. The Yanmar YT series are excellent machines too. The Korean brands (LS, Branson, Kioti) are strong and give you a lot of tractor for the money.

 

[bheif]

Well budget is somewhat flexible - obviously as little as possible! Realistically, I'd like to be under 20,000 and I think that is doable. 15,000 would be great.
I recently stopped in at a local auction to get an idea of what things were selling for. A 2007 Kioti DK35 (500 hours in great shape) with FEL and brush hog went for 14,000. For that money, I think I can buy from a local dealer, and I am a big proponent of supporting local businesses, even if I have to spend a little more. I'd also really like to have local support.

 

[nybirdman]

I think you are right on the money with your tractor "size".I would check with the local(VT.) dealers and put your name in for a decent lightly used tractor.I would go with R1 (Ag)tires for your application.As long as you stay with the major brands you should be o.k.
Love Northern Vermont by the way;have some friends in that part of the state.Lots of snow for sure.

 

[jeff9366]

The fundamental importance of TRACTOR WEIGHT eludes many tractor shoppers. Heavier tractor chassis weight is more important for most tractor operations than increased tractor horsepower. Bare tractor weight is a tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used. The most efficient way to shop for tractors is to list tractor applications first, then determine bare tractor weight needed to safely accomplish your tasks.

Within subcompact and compact tractor categories, bare tractor weight must increase 50% before you notice a significant tractor capability increase. It takes a 100% increase in bare tractor weight to elicit MY-OH-MY!

VIDEO: So you want to TRADE UP for a new Tractor? - TMT - YouTube

Shop your weight range within tractor brands. Budget will eliminate some choices. Collect a dealer brochure for each tractor model in your weight range. I spreadsheet tractor and implement specs, often a revealing exercise. I have a column for cost per pound.

Selling a used tractor is easy. Selling multiple light implements in order to buy heavier, wider implements for a heavier tractor requires a lot of time. Depreciation on implements is generally greater than depreciation on a tractor.

Tractors over 3,000 pounds bare weight are generally offered in a utilitarian configuration and a deluxe configuration. Deluxe kit enhances productivity and operating comfort ~~~ but you must pay. Most tractors over 3,000 pounds bare weight are too tall to fit through an 84" height garage door, even with ROPS folded.

Heavier tractors are built on larger frames with larger wheels/tires. A heavier tractor with large diameter tires has more tractive power pulling ground contact implements, pushing a loader bucket into dirt and pushing snow. Large wheels and tires increase ground clearance, enabling a heavier tractor to bridge holes, ruts and downed tree limbs with less bucking and disturbance operating over rough pasture and woodland.



Safe hillside operation demands more tractor weight than level land operation. Heavier tractors have adjustable rear wheel spreads; wide rear wheel spreads hugely improve tractor stability. Four wheel drive is essential on hillsides. Four wheel drive supplies increased traction. When descending slopes 4-WD augments rear brakes as tractor weight shifts forward, decreasing rear tire grip.

Tractors optimized for hill work have liquid installed in the rear tires rather than air. "Loaded" tires are filled 50% to 75% with liquid, which lowers the tractor's center-of-gravity, increasing rollover resistance. "Loading" two compact tractor rear tires will increase tractor weight 300 pounds to 800 pounds over weight of identical two tires inflated with air.



A quality dealer, reasonably close, available for coaching, is important for tractor neophytes. Almost every new tractor is delivered with a glitch or two requiring correction. My kubota dealer is six miles away. I feel my local dealer continues to add value to my equipment. Dealer proximity is less important to those experienced with tractors and qualified to perform their own maintenance.

This is what I think I need: Compact tractor in the 3500 lb. range, bare weight, with 30-40 hp, 4wd, FEL with skid steer quick attach bucket, 3rd function hydraulics and/or rear remotes, grapple/root rake attachment.

Implements: rear mounted wood chipper, box blade grader, and maybe a brush hog and log splitter.

I think your weight projection is about right.

How much snow do you need to deal with at one time?

A FEL bucket with a snow edge can manage snow to perhaps 6", if you can stand the cold. If 12" of snow is a regular occurrence you will probably want a rear mounted snow blower. (Living in Florida, I am NOT a tractor/snow expert.)

Your budget may get you a minimally equipped tractor.
Unlikely you will find SSQA, 3rd function hydraulics and/or rear remotes, grapple/root rake attachment already on a tractor, within your budget. But, who knows? Used tractor prices are often lowest when snow is on the ground.

Kubota L3560 or L4701 meets your weight and horsepower desire but would price over your budget new. Many Standard Ls out there: L3800, L4400, etc. TRACTORABLE recommends MX series. Many older model MX tractors out there too.

I do not recommend PTO powered chippers. I had a top quality Wallenstein for a few years. Chippers require too much maintenance after the first year. I burn brush and buy chipped pine mulch 50 cubic yards at a time. Cheaper and safer in the long run.

I do not recommend PTO powered log splitters. Better a 110 volt or 220 volt electrically powered log splitter used near the house.
LINK: ELECTRIC LOG SPLITTERS - Yahoo Search Results
VIDEO: Attaching A Log Splitter To A Tractor (should it be done?) - YouTube

I would increase priority of a 900 to 1,000 pound Rotary Cutter/Bush, which will have a Category 4 drive line. No sense fooling with medium duty R/C in your conditions.

 

[Milo]

..... maintaining the 2000' of road, cleanup of downed trees and numerous brush piles left from logging, occasional snow cleanup now (but at some point might need to do all snow removal when we are there full time),.....

I'm not sure but a front snow blower might require a mid pto, I wouldn't want to clear a road your length going in reverse with a 3-point blower.

 

[dodge man]

I agree, you are looking at about the right size tractor. I think your budget is a little tight. Its enough for the tractor but it won't get all the attachments you want. You can always add those over the years once you get the tractor bought. I think you can tow that with your truck with a good weight distribution hitch but are probably pushing the payload limits of your truck.

 

[bheif]

Snow here can be extreme, but since I'm not living here full time, I have to have the driveway plowed. I'd only be using the tractor to clean up drifts and snowbanks and clear around where my snowmobile trailer is parked. At some point if we move up there, I might need to clear the whole driveway, but not now.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback! It seems like my conclusions on what I need are pretty good.

Any dealer recommendations in northern VT or NH?

 

[majorwager]

With a rear snow blower you will "wear" much of the show as blown. If the drive surface is gravel/stone that can be an issue.


As for an electric log splitter, they are an embarrassment to all but dainty florida dwellers. Splitting real wood generates debris. Why on earth would anyone collect that mess in front of their garage.??

PTO splitters do not require a separate engine to maintain. Split 3 chord the other day, tractor ran at idle, 5 gallons of fuel.

 

[3gunr]

I regularly haul one of my tractors back and forth to my farm,140 miles each way with my half ton chevy with no trouble at all.

 

[searcyfarms]

I would get a skid steer with metal over the tire tracks for what you are thinking - it will do all of those things in short order and a much better job than a tractor - especially on steeper terrain and deep snow - I have had one for years there is no comparison I can go up/down things I would NEVER even think about attempting with my tractor.

 

[majorwager]

The bobcat 770 AWS is even better, kind to improved turf, likely would not need tracks w/ this machine, 92 hp beast.
Volvo skidsteers now have the JCB side door entry,

 

[searcyfarms]

yes those AWS are nice only problem with the side entry door they do not accommodate over the tire tracks - not sure what dufus designed that - I own a first gen Volvo which is basically a scat with yellow paint - I don't like it in my yard tho even with AWS you are going to sink/leave ruts in our country unless you are in the drought of summer or frozen winter if it freezes that hard

my 86hp Volvo will sink in soft ground hence the reason for tracks - prefer haying with it in the barn lot over my tractor/loader its a beast but will flat tear up ground in a hurry with the tracks

 

[jeff9366]

Twenty tractors for sale on eBay near Montpellier, Vermont:

Tractor in Business and Industrial Supplies | eBay

 

[majorwager]

Any person with a search engine could access the information above, it is insulting to presume someone seeking a tractor is computer illiterate.

Is the list screened for the type of tractor sought or the size, price range, or any of the desired criteria? Which are even still for sale? So what is the value of this list? Not much.

The insinuating intellectual superiotity is simply rather irritating.

 

[ericm979]

What size wood would you be chipping? I have a Branson 3725 with 32hp at the PTO and an 8" Woodmaxx 8H hydraulic feed chipper. I chip brush, small trees and parts of large trees. We have a lot of trees and don't burn much. When chipping 5" or larger material I need to throttle down the feed rate on the 8H to near minimum. I didn't know I'd be doing much of that but we have so much wood and it's difficult to give it all away as firewood. I could use more HP for chipping larger material. The 3725's power is enough for loader and grapple work, box blading and brush cutting with a rotary cutter (though I got a 5' for manuverability.... I'll get a wider flail one of these days).

I like the Branson but it turns out that I use the tractor so much that I could have justified the extra $10k (est.) for a Kubota L4760.

If you're going to be chipping a lot get a hydraulic feed chipper. So much easier to use and safer than a chunk 'n duck self feeding chipper.

You're not going to get anywhere close to $20k tractor + implements buying new. Some areas of the country like here it's hard to find decent used tractors and implements. I looked for a while and there was nothing that wasn't totally beat up and way too expensive.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

You might at least consider hiring out the initial clearing of your paths. Then you can buy a tractor sized to groom it and maintain it. I have heavily wooded, steep land also. Cost me less than $2k to have a crew cut, not just a path, but an actual a road through it, including all the trees pushed over (so no stumps) and hauled away--all done in one day. Then I refined the grading and keep it maintained myself with my 26HP SCUT. I have no problem cutting smaller trails with my SCUT, or even by hand; I always try to leave the bigger trees and route the paths around them. I tend to leave brush except where I need a path or a view, as it is good for attracting wildlife.

Clearing wooded land is a lot of work for sure. I hate stumps but hate digging them out more. I don't like burning but chipping is a tedious and dangerous job. In fact, tree-work is dangerous on all fronts, especially if you're not experienced. Just maintaining wooded land--removal of dead wood--is a lot of work and is an ongoing job, and very hard on the back. I handle these jobs different ways. The biggest job I hired out completely. Sometimes I hire someone to drop and buck a larger tree then take care of it myself. When I needed a couple dozen "flagpole poplars" gone, I hired them to be hauled away. One time I hired an enormous chipper that could chip an entire tree in less than a minute + a crew to run it, and got rid of dozens of trees and gave me a nice pile of chips to compost. Cleaning up deadwood "pick-up sticks" I love to hire a couple guys to do that, when I can find them. Dead wood, I collect in a big pile over time, then sometimes burn it, but other times will simply collect the wood in an out-of-the-way location and leave it to decompose, plus that makes good habitat for wildlife. Large dead trees that are not a hazard I try to leave as they attract owls, woodpeckers, and other wildlife.

I have consigned large sections of my woods to nature. I only groom the edges where the woods meets cleared areas, which makes it look nice. Certain other areas where I walk or needed a view, are more intensively maintained.

If you're determined to tame large swathes of your woods and do it all yourself in small bites, everyone here is correct, bigger is better and probably safer.

Just a few thoughts from my experiences with a similar property.

 

[Milo]

That's sound advice Girl, basically it's what I do and might work for the OP as well. Had an excavator put in my drive and do some contouring. Logger is here now clearing and thinning around 150-175 larger, mostly pines. I don't burn stuff we've piled up some of the limbs but most are simply run back and forth over by the logging machines and mashed into the ground because I'm letting deciduous trees grow back over most of it.
For cutting trails I did like you cutting them around any larger trees mostly using my UTV, saw, and hand held brush cutter, really only my tractor occasionally but when I did I wouldn't have wanted one much larger. B2650 does everything I need for maintaining the property; FEL for moving material, snow, and grapple, and pulling a 6' rear blade or 60" rotary cutter for the fields.

 

[GSVette]

I picked up (and will move when necessary) my LS XR4155HC on a 20’ 10k tilt bed using my Ram 1500. With the HD towing package and a load distribution hitch my max towing weight was 8800# iirc. I had no issues ( other than not passing many gas stations) moving my LS (w/FEL and loaded tires btw) at a towing weight of around 6k pounds.