Need to buy a new tractor as fencing contractor

[LD1]

A ~60HP compact is gonna be light in the front with a 1300# pounder on the back. But if you get a loader on the front it should handle it fine.

30%-40% grade.....(~16-21 degree slope) is about what the ramps/dovetail is on a deck-over trailer

 

[d36_]

cheers guys

setup would be loader front
not sure about weights but water in rear is pretty normal
fronts occasionally reversed for backing up hills
will probably also go wheel spikes for winter

I have more experience with excavators etc
On my property there are hills I have to go down backwards

market is pretty slow at the moment
seems to be lots of second hand above 100hp but everything else is 60hp or lower

 

[mikester]

Some guys around here are using mini-x's for fencing and seem to prefer them

 

[nova3930]

I did fence construction with my grandfather from age 12-25. My advice is get a skid steer for that work....

 

[IndyIan]

Going straight up and down a 40% incline is possible with most 4wd tractors, I've mowed on that and maybe a touch steeper with mine while watching the oil pressure light. But I wouldn't go across that slope and you have to be very careful the whole time and I'm not really interested in doing that regularly...

 

[RjCorazza]

I get the percent vs degree inclines confused, so I looked it up (again). A 40% grade is 21.8 degrees, which for me is no big deal going up or down. Across that slope on a tractor would make me nervous, but my pucker factor is pretty low.
All day long across 22 degree slopes on my zero turns though.

 

[Blue Mule]

The guys who came to install the farm fence for my father last year brought a 35 year old Ford tractor. It was rougher than a night in jail. I asked them why the hood was all mangled up and the exhaust pipe was bent. They said the week prior they had rolled it over on a job site. That’s when I realized why they were using a 35 year old tractor. If a guy rolled a new $55k tractor that would hurt his feelings really bad.

I would suggest NOT using a compact. They’re too narrow. Get a utility/ag class tractor so you can flip the wheels around and widen out the track width as much as possible. And consider different tires with more lateral bite. R1 ag tires suck for that purpose.