new guy north east PA

[ttamoneypit]

40 male married 2 kids 9 and 12 work at a juvenile jail 3rd shift--I hate it

5 yrs ago we bought our house in the country--big difference from living in a half double row home all my life with a small backyard, we only have 1 acre but the neighbor lets me cut wood from her 8acres the past couple months I have purchased 7 chainsaws and have been cutting lots of firewood--its fun

I would like to buy a small tractor around 30HP with a frontend loader I need/want it because I want to move dirt and level off an area of my yard to build a garage on my property has a slight incline--don't know how to measure it in degrees but its not to bad

I want 4x4 and front end loader

I'm a backyard mechanic type and have rebuilt engine (gas)

I'm in Danville PA 17821

 

[ragkar]

Welcome to TBN. I'm a bit east of you, about twenty miles north of Allentown.
there's some good tractor buys out there is you only want a FEL and are not too worried about the tractor's age. I'd start looking in the local papers especially those non-news ones that are mostly advertisements. Also talk it up in the diners and maybe put your want ad on the community bulletin board found in 7-11's and some gas stations.
You'll find that there's a lot of other uses for a tractor. Like towing your splitter out to your neighbor's place with your chainsaw and other tools in the bucket. And then you use the bucket to bring the firewood home.

 

[teststrips]

Welcome to TBN... I'm normally the quiet type 'round here, but had to say Hi to someone from my neck of the woods. I've got a Sunbury address, but two houses up the road is considered Danville.... I work at Geisinger, so I'm in Danville every week day.

I'm 29, male, married, and we just had our first kid (a boy) early this month on the 8th.

The best resources around here for finding used tractors are the shopper (local free classifieds only newspaper that a lot of gas stations carry... esp in the Sunbury area), and craigslist (Williamsport and Harrisburg sites). Word of mouth also comes in handy... there are a TON of older farmers around here that still have tractors sitting in the barns... some tractors haven't been used for 5-10 years, and it's difficult to get them going - but that also generally means that you'll get a good deal.

 

[js5020]

Welcome to the site. Not to far from you, Stillwater area. Good luck in your search for a tractor, looking for new or used? Can't beat some of the deals on the new stuff as many have low to zero financing at the moment. Any brand in mind?

 

[teststrips]

thought of another optoin for you.... auctions are getting full swing again... you could try hitting up one or two... I usually check out auctionzip (AuctionZip.com - Live Auction Locator - Fast,Easy, and Free!) for local farm auctions.

I don't currently see any tractors with loaders coming up this week/weekend, but there are skid steers in a couple of auctions coming up

 

[Greenmountain Farmer]

Welcome to the TBN "Neighborhood"

Tom in Vermont

 

[tommu56]

welcome Ill wave on my way past I drive by almost every other weekend

tom

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Welcome! I grew up in the Williamsport area (Ralston), currently living near Philly in Phoenixville.

 

[jas67]

ttamoneypit,

Welcome to TBN. I'm in Palmyra, PA (a few miles East of Hershey).
When you get that tractor, get a rear fork, or carry-all to move your firewood (click the link for the photos, I didn't want to hijack the thread with my photos):
http://gdx.dynalias.com/Tractor/scaled/IMG_0133.jpg
http://gdx.dynalias.com/Tractor/scaled/IMG_0134.jpg

I find that the Kubota B7610 that I just got (24HP) is the ideal size for my small property (also 1 acre). I have a G1800S (Kubota diesel garden tractor with 4-wheel steering) for mowing, as I have a lot of obstacles, and tight areas to get in, and the B7610 would be too big. I too got into the tractor thing, due to having put a large garage on my property, and the need to landscape around it. (still not done with that).

I now also use the tractor for snow removal (5' back blade, and a rear-mount snow blower), moving firewood, and distributing mulch around the yard in the spring time.

Kubota BX-series, and other similar sized units from JD and MF make great all around machines for properties from 1 acre to several acres. They look like oversized garden tractors, but are real tractors with a proper 540 RPM PTO, 3-point hitch, and 4WD, and can do way more than their diminutive looks would make you think.

I started with a Kubota B7100 (slightly smaller than the B7610), but wanted power steering, and more rear lift. I got a great deal on the B7610, and the B7100 is hopefully going to its new home today.

When you get your tractor, be sure and pick up a box blade for the leveling work that you need to do, and if you need to dig into that slope, get a toothbar for the front bucket.

You have come to the right place for good advice on tractors. Although, I'm partial to Orange, there are a lot of great machine available from several makes. I, personally would stick with Kubota, JD, MF, or Kioti, just because it is easier to find a dealer. If working with a small budget, and if you don't mind older equipment, there are lots of good deals to be had on Yanmars (Yanmar makes/made a lot of the JD compacts); mostly grey-market units. The Yanmars are tough tractors, and there are a couple of good dealers for parts (Hoye comes to mind). I also, would avoid the Chinese tractors (although there are many here that are happy with them). If you do consider a Chinese tractor, stick with Jimna, as that is the only Chinese tractor that I've seen anything good about (I'm sure there are others, as other members may point out).

Be sure and ask here about any model you are considering buying, to get the scoop on what to be on the look for on that particular model (or on what models to stay away from).

Good luck with your purchase,
Jay

 

[ratchetrake@comcast.net]

Just wanted to say "hello" to a fellow PAer.

My grandparents had a dairy farm in Millerstown PA--Halls Dairy. Or maybe you have heard of Hall's Ice Cream...