New Purchase

[Agthacher1]

I can tell you from personal experience that you are in for the learning experience of your life. 12 years ago we purchased a rundown 6 acre horse property in rural Maryland, on a hill, at the end of a 3/4 mile unpaved access road and with a steep 550' gravel driveway. Looking back, we've had the best time of our lives with our horses on the property, but we made some mistakes along the way which you should probably consider.

- Tractor: living on a hill and having to maintain gravel roads changes all the rules about tractor horse power. On the advice of some farming friends and before moving here I purchased a 30 HP Bobcat compact tractor with a loader when Bobcat was trying to take over the compact tractor market by storm with huge discounts and incentives. I loved that little tractor but it struggled to make it up the hill with a box blade full of gravel or to mow the pasture with a second hand 60" woods mower when the pasture grass got ahead of me. After 3 years of complaining, my wife asked me to please get a bigger tractor. I purchased a Kubota L4701 and a 72" Land Pride rotary mower and have never looked back. My only regret now was not getting the 3rd function auxillary hydrolics for the front (for a snow blower, grapple, etc.) when bought the machine.

- Box blade: you can't maintain your gravel roads without a box blade (e.g. Woods BSS72) - a 3 pt implement that scrapes up the gravel and containes it in the "box" while you spread it where you want it, not out each end of a conventional blade. After that, you may also want to consider a standard rear mounted blade (RBS60) for general grading, snow removal (angled to the side of the road), etc.

- Chain saws: I have 2, both by Sthil - a powerful, but relatively light aborist saw that I use most often and a beast that I use occasionally when a big tree falls. I also have a contract with a Tree company that can take down 6 24" diameter, 50' tall dying oak trees in a morning, grind the stumps leave the property looking like they were never there. Try doing that yourself.

- Fencing: When we moved here there were wooden fence posts around the pastures partialy connected with sun-rotted, electified nylon web tape. We opted to replace the tape with 4 courses of EnduraSoft rope from a great company named Premier1 (premier1supplies.com) that specializes in safe, electric fencing for farm animals from chickens to horses and cattle. Our four horizontal tiers of rope are attached to our posts by insulators and terminate at the endposts with spring connectors. The horses respect the fence and won't lean on the fence posts, even when the power is off. We have a treed lot and have had a number of storms where branches (and even trees) fell on the fencing which, because of the spring connectors, didn't break but just got pushed to the ground. As soon as the trees were removed, the fences sprung back to their original position. We were back riding while our horse friends were out buying replacement fence boards.

My advice to you is to purchase the best essential equipment you need to manage your property and to pay reputable companies to do the rest until you figure out what you really need to own. You'll have lots of opportunities to buy other equipment to manage your property (e.g. sprayers, spreaders, tillers, etc.) in the future once you see how the pro's do it.

Best of luck,

Art@WayBackFarm

 

[Doug62]

Another good thing about the Toolcat is having the 6' finish mower out front:
View attachment 741884View attachment 741885

The view from the seat in the air conditioned cab:
View attachment 741888

Nice!

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Another good thing about the Toolcat is having the 6' finish mower out front:

Trying to “finish mow” with a 5600lb machine would destroy my yard.

 

[Hay Dude]

Trying to “finish mow” with a 5600lb machine would destroy my yard.

Yeah thats a heavy lawn mower. I’m seeing some compaction from the weight of my Kubota F-3680 and its 1/3rd a toolcat weight.

 

[rScotty]

Trying to “finish mow” with a 5600lb machine would destroy my yard.

It's all about the right tool for the job. I'm not sure why anyone would tryto mow a yard with a machine that heavy. Trying to use a single machine to do too many functions is simply inventing problems that don't need to exist.

The universal tractor is a good general purpose tool, but no one tool does everything best.

For a grassy yard, you will probably be happier using some form of lawn mower. There are lots of those from pushers to zero turns and they do an excellent job.

For fairly flat land, hay, crops, and pasture, with the normal the chores involving ag and flat land use a tractor with part time 4wd, a FEL and 3pt hitch. Add implements as necessary. Mow with a bush hog. A tractor can pull most anything.

For landscaping and maintenance where a lot of work involves rocks,trees, lifting, carrying, and digging look at TLBs and FELs and hoes with thumbs and grapples. TLBs push well.

For steep slopes, wet ground and especially with lots of slippery clay soil, with at things that have a wheel base designed specifically to deal with that type of ground. A wide stance with full time 4wd and 4 wheel steering makes sense there. A toolcat is an example of a special purpose machine for that type terrain. More costly, but solves more problems in difficult land.

There is no one simple solution for all types of land and all chores. The traditional tractor is a good compromise.....not a perfect solution.
rScotty

 

[Xfaxman]

Trying to “finish mow” with a 5600lb machine would destroy my yard.

Wide turf tires are an option. No problem here with the red clay as long as it is dry:

Easy to check under the deck:

 

[Xfaxman]

Moved some of that red clay yesterday with the 6 foot wide, one cubic yard bucket:

 

[2manyrocks]

That land looks flat!

If the OP really has 17 degree slopes, I'm thinking he needs some horse drawn implements.

 

[Xfaxman]

If the OP really has 17 degree slopes, I'm thinking he needs some horse drawn implements.

Here is the Toolcat and brush hog on a 18° slope. The chain hanging from the work light shows true vertical, even if the camera is not level:

I usually offset the rear a little, felt better with the out front weight farther downhill:

 

[Torvy]

@Xfaxman - That's a nice piece of equipment. Too rich for my blood, though.

Another consideration for the OP. If you are like me and not a natural mechanic, it may be better to have fewer engines with which to fiddle. I have been switching my small engines to batteries because for me they are less headache and the new ones are plenty strong enough and last longer than me. (no workout to pull start them either)

I don't plan to have enough 'finish mower' style grass to bother with anything beyond a simple push mower. The bush hog (note, not Bush Hog) will handle all of my needs and so the MMM would be a waste. I also don't have enough snow to bother with a blower. I've lived enough years up north to know that if I was back there I would get the mid PTO just for the blower potential.

Good luck!

 

[blue9steel]

You guys are awesome, really enjoying the discussion. I went to the local Kubota dealer on Friday, got a good impression of the salesman. I gave him plenty of opportunity to sell me things I don't need but he didn't take the bait. Good reviews online and my wife reports two of her co-workers bought tractors there and are happy. MMM decks are out of stock and have a five month wait, which means getting B2601 as a do it all machine wasn't a realistic option. They didn't have any LX machines in stock, but I looked at the L3302HST they had and decided that would fit the bill nicely. I'm filling out the paperwork this weekend but I'll be getting that machine with a FEL W/QA & grading scraper (60" GS15). Wheels will be at widest setting, filled R14s. (60 Gallons Rimguard) Buckets are on backorder but they're going to look around to get me a smaller one to hold me over until the larger model comes in. (Ordered a cutting edge as well) Passed on the backhoe, no where to store it properly really. Tractor and mower will go in the lean-to off the barn. In addition the tractor I decided to get a 60" Zero Turn Mower (Z422KWT-60) to go with it. A lot of things were not in stock, so those choices were guided by what they had available since we can't wait forever. No obvious consensus on this thread but that combo seems to be within the bounds of the options considered workable.

 

[blue9steel]

If the OP really has 17 degree slopes, I'm thinking he needs some horse drawn implements.

I briefly considered it since we have some pretty big warmbloods but I don't think I have the patience to mess with that.

Oh and to the poster earlier, the horses, and thus the wife, are staying so that cost saving option is out. (Funny though)

 

[4570Man]

That land looks flat!

If the OP really has 17 degree slopes, I'm thinking he needs some horse drawn implements.

17 degrees isn’t that steep. Equipment can safely work that if it’s setup properly and care is taken. I didn’t measure this hill but it’s probably 20 degrees if not a tad more.

 

[blue9steel]

17 degrees isn’t that steep. Equipment can safely work that if it’s setup properly and care is taken. I didn’t measure this hill but it’s probably 20 degrees if not a tad more.

Only the steepest portions of my property look like that, and they're small areas, most of it is less aggressive.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Seeing that you have/made the plunge, I don't know how much that I can offer but here goes. I had 30 acres all hill with 25 in fenced pasture. I had a small Massey 40/33PTO HP and a 2096 4x4 Case, 108HP, 8 tons of tractor. I had a six foot bush hog for the Massey and a 15 foot batwing for the Case. Even with the tires (no ballast) all the way out on the Massey, I would resort to as said earlier, mowing up and down the slopes. With the Case I could cut across the slopes albeit with the dual battery box on the high side. I also had a front mount ZTR. The front mount was much more stable than my current belly mount Scag. I also used the front mount along with a tow along mower to maintain 13 acres of pasture at my last place. The mower would loose traction pulling the tow along on some of the steep areas. As long as any ZTR has a deck that can cut six inches high, it would be fine for mowing two acres of pasture.

I also had a backhoe attachment for the Massey. Only able to dig to six feet deep, it was not no Case 580M but better than a pick and a shovel. With the subframe (a must), it took seconds to mount up.

I used a six foot 3pt blade and a seven foot York Rake to maintain my 1500 foot long driveway. I always wanted to but never got around to putting hydraulics on them. Getting on a and off to change the direction gets old. Also, I used a shoe kit on the blade and wheels on the rake.

I am down to about 4 acres now. I only have the Scag to mow. I still have some horses for lawn ornaments. If I need to bury one, I go rent a backhoe.

Enjoy your new venture. And yes, keeping horses is cheaper than a divorce!

 

[TeamJZ]

The L3302 is a fine machine. Many people feel it’s not enough more power than the L2502 to justify the addition of emissions equipment. So the recommendation is often to either drop down to the 25 HP or jump up to the 39 HP. If you are spending enough to justify the L3902/L3901, the L3560 really is a lot more tractor for the money. Heavier, wider, and with more lifting power. (Which depending on your needs are often the three weak points in the standard L 01/02 series.) I really do think that the smallest of the L grands is the sweet spot for property of that size. If you have the opportunity to try any of the Lxx60 series, do your self a favor and just try it. (Specs don’t justify the cost, but when you sit in a grand L you’ll likely see why they are so desirable.)

I absolutely recognize that availability can influence our decisions but sometimes two days on the road is worth the investment for a tractor that will likely last the rest of your life. I checked the dealers 15 minutes away and all over the state, but ended up driving 800 miles away two states away to get what I wanted, (no regrets there at all).

Don’t get me wrong, I think the L3302/L3301 is a great tractor and if that’s the way you go I expect it will bring you happiness for many years. In any case, welcome to the club and congrats on your new helper!

 

[HighTwelve]

Very smart move and welcome to the group. I just looked it up and your L3901 is the current model successor to my L3010. You will do well with it. Filling the tires with Rimguard is also a smart move. It is very, very easy to get yourself in deep trouble with no weight in the rear and a full bucket up in the air.

if I had it to do over again a zero turn mower would be the way to go. As I stated in my earlier post, I bought the L3010 used, actually at the bankruptcy sale of a horseback riding academy. It came with both a finish rear mower and a Bush Hog and I inherited my father’s JD325 lawn tractor which goes where a full sized tractor can’t to tidy up the edges. I do have some experience with a mid mount on a Ford 9N and taking one on and off the tractor is not fun.

 

[IndyJay]

I own a John Deere so people tend to recommend what they have. I don’t think Deere and Kubota are price gouging, like a lot of things, prices have gone up and discounts have gone down. I got my JD 2025r, 60” mower deck, front end loader, loaded tires, and pallet forks for a little less than $21k three years ago. I suspect you can add at 20% to that now, maybe more.

Other brands? I’d sure look if I were you. I think of JD and Kubota as the best but they are also local for me. They aren’t the only ones making good tractors. For some reason I like the look of Kioti. (Pronounced coyote). I’ve never ran one but have looked at them. They always looked like quality machines to me.

Dodge Man, I looked at and drove Kubota, Deere and Massey, thought I'd settled on Kubota. My neighbor suggested I check out Kioti.

Kioti? Made in Korea? Started looking on internet, saw a few bad reports but then noticed that the bad reports were several years old. All recent reviews were very good. Did a "build your tractor" type thing on their website and got sticker shock in a good way. I went and drove the CK and DK models and was very impressed. Would up buying the DK4510 and have been very happy with it.

 

[rScotty]

You guys are awesome, really enjoying the discussion. I went to the local Kubota dealer on Friday, got a good impression of the salesman. I gave him plenty of opportunity to sell me things I don't need but he didn't take the bait. Good reviews online and my wife reports two of her co-workers bought tractors there and are happy. SNIP

Glad you made a decision to get on with it. As we get older we realize there is always plenty of money to be had, and they are making more every day. It's TIME we are all short on.

There's no better way to educate yourself than to just jump in and do it. I'd be curious to hear what you think of the opinions and advice we've shared if you re-read this discussion thread a year from now.

We've got friends at horse facilities not too far from you... a few hundred miles away over in Idaho.
rScotty

 

[Torvy]

For some reason I like the look of Kioti. (Pronounced coyote).

It took me a while, and a visit to a dealer, to get this. Where I grew up, it is pronounced ki- YOT. Long i, long o, two syllables. Home state University (USD) is the Coyotes, or 'Yotes for short.