seeder
New member
I've been reading here for awhile, but this is my first post. I need some help picking out a tractor for my property.
Current Land Situation-
I currently own 2 acres on parcel that was carved out of my inlaws land. The house used to be wife's grandparents, and the inlaws live next door on about 40 Acres. Currently, we're negotiating property lines with the inlaws. They want less to take of and my wife and I want more land. Eventually we will probably end up owning most of the land, and we have use access to most of it now.
The Land is mixed fields and forest. about 60% forest. and bordered by a road on the west and a creek on the east. it's a bit hilly but mostly it's sloped gently from the road to the creek.
Current Equipment-
I have a tractor, an old Ford 861 that I bought from a neighbor for $1000 the year after we moved in. It's in rough shape. When I bought it the previous owner told me it had problems overheating. I fixed the overheating problem, but it also had some electrical issues which I fixed. Anyways, I've got some work done with this tractor, but it seems like I do more work on the tractor than I do work with it. (Hey what do you want for $1000) The ford feels massive in some of the woods on the property and is pretty useless in my vegetable garden. It feels fast even in 1st gear for some of the work I've been using for.
I also have an old craftsman garden tractor with about 1300 hours on it. It breaks a lot too. I've mostly been using it in the woods to haul my fire wood out in a garden cart trailer.
My inlaws have a Mahindra 4035 and an older bulldozer, that I have access to for specific projects, but not day to day use.
Projects I Will Use the Tractor For-
Wood- We heat our house with wood. Currently, I drop trees, limb them, buck them in place, split them with wedges or a maul and load them into the utility cart on the craftsman and haul them out to stack. It'd be nice to be able to bring out the logs and set up a station for the rest of the work. I'm also looking to speed up the brush clean up that I create in this process. We burn 6-8 face cords a year. Currently, I buy some wood, but I like the idea of being able to provide it all myself. I've seen some nice pallet setups for firewood management and I'm drawn that idea as well.
Garden- I have a vegetable garden that is about 100ftx50ft. Last year we tended it all by hand. My vision for use here is somewhat minimal I don't intend to weed with the tractor. I would like it for spring prep and fall cleanup and possibly for mid season bed prep if we're doing a second planting. bed prep last year was hoes and a broadfork and very slow.
We grow in 30" beds with a 18" isle, which worked well for us last year. it seems well suited to a 48" tiller (one bed and isle unit) but realistically I could fit a 60" tractor down an empty bed since there is an isle on each side, but I worry about double tilling the isles if I was to prepare 2 beds that were next to each other.
I would also use it to bring in compost, manure and mulch. I've been using the ford to pick up manure from a farm down the street but its hard to get in the garden with it.
Also, if we acquire more land I would like to get more vegetable, and possibly flower production.
Meadow-
We have a small field that has gotten weedy. I have pictures of it from 10-15 years ago and it was a nice wildflower garden, I'd like to return it to that. I had been cutting it with a scythe in the early morning to control the weeds, but we had a baby and it became harder to keep up with this. I think machinery could help with this.
Mowing isn't a major concern though. We have purposely kept our lawn small enough to do with a push mower.
Snow-
We get a lot of snow in upstate NY. My driveway isn't too long 100' and it's kind of narrow. I have trouble turning the ford around in it. I've been using a walk behind blower and am satisfied with that, but we are planning a pole barn build and may want to clear paths to it.
The other concern with snow is I would like to be able to get into the woods in the snow. The craftsman can't do this and it's limiting.
Driveway-
The driveway is gravel and it needs some attention. The tractor could help with maintaining the driveway. We would also like to widen it a bit. An ambulance slid off of it a few winters ago and had to be pulled out with the bulldozer, and a few friends have gotten their cars stuck as well.
Tractors I've sat on Considered-
I've been to a massey dealer that was very friendly and it's really close to where I work.
Massey GC1705
I really liked it. I was able to drive it in the snow and it seemed to go right along. It felt like a way better craftsman to me and it was small enough to get in my garden. I was worried about ground clearance, though I take the craftsman in the woods and have had minimal problems except in the snow. the dealer said they don't recommend in the woods but people do it. Price was really good and the wife felt comfortable on it.
Massey 1526
I liked this fine. it had a weird thing where the hydro pedals also revved the engine, don't know if I like that, the dealer billed that as a feature. It felt much more tractor like than the 1705, but not too big for the garden. It also felt way less refined than the smaller tractor, the loader joystick was on the loader and the hoses were sticking out everywhere, not a big deal. Price seemed high. it was only $300 to step up to the 1726E.
Massey 1726E
I didn't drive this but the dealer showed me and said I should think about it. I'm concerned it's getting close to the ford end of the size spectrum and will be too big in the garden, and hard to maneuver in the driveway. I'm also worried it's not powerful enough for the 5ft pto implements that match it's width.
I've also been to a Kubota dealer but it was right before they closed. The guy was nice and gave me some brochures
B2601- like this it had steering brakes, I use those on the Ford a lot. None of the Masseys had these. price was more than the equivalent masseys.
I've looked at the neighbors john deere 1 series and that seemed comparable to the 1705 to me.
Budget-
I want to get the best tractor for my needs. I would like to spend around 20K but could be convinced to go higher if its the smart thing to do for long term satisfaction.
We Initially went into this process thinking we would replace the craftsman, now I'm not so sure it's the right decision to go that small.
We could go small and fix and keep the ford for bigger stuff.
Or, We could sell the ford and put the money towards implements or the new tractor.
Wow that got long! If you read all that and/or have thoughts on what you would buy in my situation I would appreciate your input.
Current Land Situation-
I currently own 2 acres on parcel that was carved out of my inlaws land. The house used to be wife's grandparents, and the inlaws live next door on about 40 Acres. Currently, we're negotiating property lines with the inlaws. They want less to take of and my wife and I want more land. Eventually we will probably end up owning most of the land, and we have use access to most of it now.
The Land is mixed fields and forest. about 60% forest. and bordered by a road on the west and a creek on the east. it's a bit hilly but mostly it's sloped gently from the road to the creek.
Current Equipment-
I have a tractor, an old Ford 861 that I bought from a neighbor for $1000 the year after we moved in. It's in rough shape. When I bought it the previous owner told me it had problems overheating. I fixed the overheating problem, but it also had some electrical issues which I fixed. Anyways, I've got some work done with this tractor, but it seems like I do more work on the tractor than I do work with it. (Hey what do you want for $1000) The ford feels massive in some of the woods on the property and is pretty useless in my vegetable garden. It feels fast even in 1st gear for some of the work I've been using for.
I also have an old craftsman garden tractor with about 1300 hours on it. It breaks a lot too. I've mostly been using it in the woods to haul my fire wood out in a garden cart trailer.
My inlaws have a Mahindra 4035 and an older bulldozer, that I have access to for specific projects, but not day to day use.
Projects I Will Use the Tractor For-
Wood- We heat our house with wood. Currently, I drop trees, limb them, buck them in place, split them with wedges or a maul and load them into the utility cart on the craftsman and haul them out to stack. It'd be nice to be able to bring out the logs and set up a station for the rest of the work. I'm also looking to speed up the brush clean up that I create in this process. We burn 6-8 face cords a year. Currently, I buy some wood, but I like the idea of being able to provide it all myself. I've seen some nice pallet setups for firewood management and I'm drawn that idea as well.
Garden- I have a vegetable garden that is about 100ftx50ft. Last year we tended it all by hand. My vision for use here is somewhat minimal I don't intend to weed with the tractor. I would like it for spring prep and fall cleanup and possibly for mid season bed prep if we're doing a second planting. bed prep last year was hoes and a broadfork and very slow.
We grow in 30" beds with a 18" isle, which worked well for us last year. it seems well suited to a 48" tiller (one bed and isle unit) but realistically I could fit a 60" tractor down an empty bed since there is an isle on each side, but I worry about double tilling the isles if I was to prepare 2 beds that were next to each other.
I would also use it to bring in compost, manure and mulch. I've been using the ford to pick up manure from a farm down the street but its hard to get in the garden with it.
Also, if we acquire more land I would like to get more vegetable, and possibly flower production.
Meadow-
We have a small field that has gotten weedy. I have pictures of it from 10-15 years ago and it was a nice wildflower garden, I'd like to return it to that. I had been cutting it with a scythe in the early morning to control the weeds, but we had a baby and it became harder to keep up with this. I think machinery could help with this.
Mowing isn't a major concern though. We have purposely kept our lawn small enough to do with a push mower.
Snow-
We get a lot of snow in upstate NY. My driveway isn't too long 100' and it's kind of narrow. I have trouble turning the ford around in it. I've been using a walk behind blower and am satisfied with that, but we are planning a pole barn build and may want to clear paths to it.
The other concern with snow is I would like to be able to get into the woods in the snow. The craftsman can't do this and it's limiting.
Driveway-
The driveway is gravel and it needs some attention. The tractor could help with maintaining the driveway. We would also like to widen it a bit. An ambulance slid off of it a few winters ago and had to be pulled out with the bulldozer, and a few friends have gotten their cars stuck as well.
Tractors I've sat on Considered-
I've been to a massey dealer that was very friendly and it's really close to where I work.
Massey GC1705
I really liked it. I was able to drive it in the snow and it seemed to go right along. It felt like a way better craftsman to me and it was small enough to get in my garden. I was worried about ground clearance, though I take the craftsman in the woods and have had minimal problems except in the snow. the dealer said they don't recommend in the woods but people do it. Price was really good and the wife felt comfortable on it.
Massey 1526
I liked this fine. it had a weird thing where the hydro pedals also revved the engine, don't know if I like that, the dealer billed that as a feature. It felt much more tractor like than the 1705, but not too big for the garden. It also felt way less refined than the smaller tractor, the loader joystick was on the loader and the hoses were sticking out everywhere, not a big deal. Price seemed high. it was only $300 to step up to the 1726E.
Massey 1726E
I didn't drive this but the dealer showed me and said I should think about it. I'm concerned it's getting close to the ford end of the size spectrum and will be too big in the garden, and hard to maneuver in the driveway. I'm also worried it's not powerful enough for the 5ft pto implements that match it's width.
I've also been to a Kubota dealer but it was right before they closed. The guy was nice and gave me some brochures
B2601- like this it had steering brakes, I use those on the Ford a lot. None of the Masseys had these. price was more than the equivalent masseys.
I've looked at the neighbors john deere 1 series and that seemed comparable to the 1705 to me.
Budget-
I want to get the best tractor for my needs. I would like to spend around 20K but could be convinced to go higher if its the smart thing to do for long term satisfaction.
We Initially went into this process thinking we would replace the craftsman, now I'm not so sure it's the right decision to go that small.
We could go small and fix and keep the ford for bigger stuff.
Or, We could sell the ford and put the money towards implements or the new tractor.
Wow that got long! If you read all that and/or have thoughts on what you would buy in my situation I would appreciate your input.
