Needing advice on tractor size

[Texasmark]

Skid steer isnt what i would recommend for installing food plots.

I honestly think the MF 2850M/2M50, or 2860M, will do 90% of what you want, without being unwieldy. If there is 10% that its just not enough machine for (im assuming that means clean up), hire or rent. Dont know what you are saying on your mill, but 2570# at pins/1880 at bucket edge; probably about 2250 with forks, is a good sized log. You probably arent saying 30 ft whole logs, im assuming you saw 12/16 ft logs.

Its not that the 4707 won't do the job, but it sounds like its size might be a disadvantage in the future

I didn't see the origin of this thread said anything about food plots........so why did you bring up the subject?

 

[paulsharvey]

I didn't see the origin of this thread said anything about food plots........so why did you bring up the subject?

". I am about to buy my first tractor. I have a 90 acre tract that was just logged and I plan to manage it for hunting (food plots), timber, and Christmas trees. I have a lot of slash to clean up and stumps to grind as the initial surge of work. Longer term, I will be maintaining roads and moving logs to a portable sawmill."

From post#1

 

[paulsharvey]

I am not saying skid steers dont have a place, but the bullet points for our OP, IMO, really seem to point to a 2860M class machine. Enough power to run a good sized bushhog, disc, strong enough to move logs to the sawmill, and grind stumps.

My Only hold back on that, the slash clean up, if thats tree tops, fine. If thats root raking, thats a JD 544 wheel loader job

 

[paulsharvey]

I see; food plots, stump grinding, Christmas tree farm, and sawmill as the bullet points.

Food plots; IMO; 4,000# and 40 hp, is fine. Smaller works, bigger works, but thats kinda what im using as a guideline

Stump grinding, HST or Power shuttle are is not a requirement, dang near one, but HP, not that picky; stability, and rear remotes for side shift are wanted/needed

Christmas trees; 90% I assume that is mowing, but maybe a front auger would be nice? Mowing, HP is directly tied to size, which is dictated by spacing. Not knowing much, 10 ft rows between trees and 6 ft inline is what I saw. That says 7 or so ft bush hog to me; or about 45 hp

Sawmill; I see that as a max of 16 ft rounds; cleaned in the woods, and not transporting whole trees. Even still, these are often going to be 8 or 12 footers. So, honestly, 2000# max, but again, maneuverability is a big plus, on both ends; at the tree cut and at the mill, and then again stacking the cut lumber

 

[Yander]

I've owned two Massey's, a small one and a larger 50hp, and liked them both. But if you have a Yanmar dealer nearby, go check out the YT359. We have the YT347, and it punches well above its weight. It bushhogs better than our former Massey 1750M.

The iHMT transmission on the YT Yanmar is an engineering genius. If you will be bushhogging large areas, you will want to put a large bushhog on so you are not out all day. That is where the Yanmar excels.

I have more Yanmar dealers within 45 minutes of me than I do Massey, which is one of the reasons we switched.

But, if you end up with either of the Masseys you are looking at, you will have a very nice tractor. Where are the Massey's being made nowadays anyway?

 

[WVH1977]

How big are the food plots you want to make? If you are just doing a couple of acres or less of food plots, rent a big mini-ex for a couple weeks (3 to 4K) and dig the stumps out. Then you dont have to worry about anything in the ground. Also, you could buy a 12K track loader and get yoru heavy work done and sell it or keep it and buy the tractor to go along with it.

Use the 2m.50 or 60 cab for road maintenance, bush hogging and moving around brush. I really like my 2860m. For a compact tractor, it is strong. I live in a smaller cut-over in VA and cleared with the excavator and did the clean-up with this tractor and an older 40hp tractor. Excavator was old and free. Put 7K in it while I had it and then sold it once I was done. It did a LOT of work for me, just expensive to work on.

 

[LNSTrees]

I am not saying skid steers dont have a place, but the bullet points for our OP, IMO, really seem to point to a 2860M class machine. Enough power to run a good sized bushhog, disc, strong enough to move logs to the sawmill, and grind stumps.

My Only hold back on that, the slash clean up, if thats tree tops, fine. If thats root raking, thats a JD 544 wheel loader job

Slash cleanup is tops. I plan to use a grapple to pick up loose stuff and move it to burn piles. Any serious roots or stumps I need gone will see the stump grinder.

 

[Texasmark]

". I am about to buy my first tractor. I have a 90 acre tract that was just logged and I plan to manage it for hunting (food plots), timber, and Christmas trees. I have a lot of slash to clean up and stumps to grind as the initial surge of work. Longer term, I will be maintaining roads and moving logs to a portable sawmill."

From post#1

Ok. Thanks!

 

[LNSTrees]

Drove them both today... lots to think about. The 4707 is really nice... like a Cadillac. The hydro 2M60 will be really nice for cleaning up slash and mulching, although I expect I'd get pretty good with the power shuttle with practice. 4707 has the buddy seat so one of my boys could ride with me, but I'd feel pretty good teaching them to operate the hydro pretty much right out of the gate.

Decisions decisions decisions

 

[LouNY]

Drove them both today... lots to think about. The 4707 is really nice... like a Cadillac. The hydro 2M60 will be really nice for cleaning up slash and mulching, although I expect I'd get pretty good with the power shuttle with practice. 4707 has the buddy seat so one of my boys could ride with me, but I'd feel pretty good teaching them to operate the hydro pretty much right out of the gate.

Decisions decisions decisions

The buddy seat comes in real handy quite often.

 

[paulsharvey]

Lot to think about. I would maybe mentally, or on paper, kinda built out the package of impliments you will buy/want to buy/possibly add; and see what works with which machine.

 

[EddieWalker]

In three years I've only used my buddy seat a few times. It's nice when you want to bring the Grandson for a ride.

Here is a picture of me and my Grandson in my 4707 that won us a bunch of fun Massey stuff in a photo contest.



When comparing the two Massey tractors, remember that the 4707 is the lowest HP for their Ag tractors. It's the exact same tractor as the 4708, 4709 and 4710. Same engine just tuned differently. With a tuning kit, people have brought the 4707 up to over 100 hp. It voids your warranty, but for those baling hay, it's been a significant upgrade.

Everything about the 4707 is bigger, heavier and stronger.

 

[Bighat!]

Well, let me put it this way, you only go around once in life. My first tractor was a JD2555 open. Nice machine but I feed cows and when it was raining and snowing, it sucked. I was working at the time and made good money, not to mention my buddy bought a cab tractor and I drove it, so I updated to a cab tractor. That was over 20 some years ago. I tell my wife now that if I didn't have my cab tractor I would of quite farming a long time ago. Guess I'm not as dedicated as the old timers before me. Get the cab, it's a no brainer.
Now as for hauling, I can you tell you that the 4707 Cab and loader will be well over 10,000, maybe 12 to 13,000. I've heard all kinds of weigths on the internet but I have MF4710 an on the cab the GVW is stamped on a tag saying 9920 lbs. So, all this means is your gonna need a 18K to 20K trailer because the trailer will weight 4500 to 5500 itself, then add the tractor. That means a ton truck aleast. I have a 3/4 that's rated for a little over 18000 towing but you should never be towing your limit all the time. Just my 2 cents. Go back the first sentence. "You only go around once in life."

 

[kenhar]

Tractors. The bigger. the better if you have room to operate it. The extra hp you rarely use will save a lot of wear and tear on a smaller machine. Stumps usually respond better to a track machine.

 

[outdoorsman123]

It depends... That's what you'll end up with. Depends on what all your use cases are and what you'll need once the site is complete and in operation.
I keep upgrading my tractor to something bigger that can handle more each time, and I don't do that much with the tractor. I'm not a farmer.
To prepare the site you'll likely want the larger tractor as it will do the chores with ease and you won't stress the smaller ones.
Once the operation is in full swing, the smaller tractor will likely be better to handle the chores.
I know you say you will grind the stumps, but the roots and the base of the stump will likely be in the way later. A tractor does not do well with stumps or larger roots, unless you have the right setup . An excavator is the better option. Rent one, clear the stumps and roots out. Move the heavy items at the same time.

If you have the cash, get the smaller tractor and a mini excavator. Can use both to prep the site and run it after. The mini will help with drainage along the way and to pull out any new stumps as needed.

 

[LNSTrees]

Thank you all for your input. I ended up going with the 2M.60. The biggest deciding factors were:

1. hydro transmission will be way easier to teach my boys to use and it better fits my use case of mostly grapple work
2. the smaller tractor will be much easier to haul around in the future
3. I am going to hire out the most heavy duty land clearing work as rates are not as bad as I had initially feared
4. ~$20k in cost savings with the smaller machine

 

[paulsharvey]

Thank you all for your input. I ended up going with the 2M.60. The biggest deciding factors were:

1. hydro transmission will be way easier to teach my boys to use and it better fits my use case of mostly grapple work
2. the smaller tractor will be much easier to haul around in the future
3. I am going to hire out the most heavy duty land clearing work as rates are not as bad as I had initially feared
4. ~$20k in cost savings with the smaller machine

Congratulations. I think it will be a good fit.

 

[David in KY]

Thank you all for your input. I ended up going with the 2M.60. The biggest deciding factors were:

1. hydro transmission will be way easier to teach my boys to use and it better fits my use case of mostly grapple work
2. the smaller tractor will be much easier to haul around in the future
3. I am going to hire out the most heavy duty land clearing work as rates are not as bad as I had initially feared
4. ~$20k in cost savings with the smaller machine

And 5. Implements will cost less.

Enjoy your new adventure.

 

[outdoorsman123]

That's great. Enjoy the new machine. Hopefully it works well for you.

 

[RayIN]

In three years I've only used my buddy seat a few times. It's nice when you want to bring the Grandson for a ride.

Here is a picture of me and my Grandson in my 4707 that won us a bunch of fun Massey stuff in a photo contest.

View attachment 4573639

When comparing the two Massey tractors, remember that the 4707 is the lowest HP for their Ag tractors. It's the exact same tractor as the 4708, 4709 and 4710. Same engine just tuned differently. With a tuning kit, people have brought the 4707 up to over 100 hp. It voids your warranty, but for those baling hay, it's been a significant upgrade.

Everything about the 4707 is bigger, heavier and stronger.

I agree, the tractors made in Brazil are much heavier and sturdier than from other countries, IMO.