New tractor, how big?

PeteInNH · Jan 2, 2004

Looking at buying a new tractor with loader. The main use will be for a firewood business, moving and loading wood. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Pete

riptides · Jan 2, 2004

Well your in the right forum, /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, have a look at the general buying discussion and make your selection from there. Orange, Red, Blue or other....

My personal preference is orange, but that may not be yours, unless you look really hard and come to that conclusion yourself.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Henro · Jan 2, 2004

Welcome to a great place!

I don't really have a feel for what your needs are, but I would suggest:

Buy bigger than you think you will need [if you are not exactly sure of what you need...]

Don't buy more than your pocketbook can afford! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hope there is some merit in these suggestions! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

kevinj · Jan 2, 2004

I would look for an old 4 wheel drive payloader for that application

PeteInNH · Jan 2, 2004

Thanks for the input. I was looking at getting an old loader, but potentially large repair bills got me thinking something smaller, but newer might not be a bad idea.

Pete

RalphVa · Jan 2, 2004

I'm looking, too. Doubt you can overload even the smallest tractors with fire wood. The small ones will be lots more maneuverable in close quarters. You need to look at lift height though. Not sure how this is with the subcompact vs. compact, etc. You also want precise dumping, in order not to dent pickup side beds and all. Those with experience can comment.

I've about decided, after reading these forums and talking to my cabinet maker who just traded his JD for a BX2200, to probably get a BX1800 with FEL and 54" hog and ballast box for the 3 pt to use with the FEL without the hog attached. However, I plan to look at the MF GC3200, JD 2210 and NH Tz18. There are about 3 dealers not far away that sell all these. Told my CFO that I want it for my April birthday. Got her a new Dell to appease her.

Ralph

yellowsocks93 · Jan 2, 2004

I might suggest looking at the 4115 compact. It's very nice and you get a few more horses under the hood plus a larger frame.

GV40U · Jan 2, 2004

Pete, good luck with your search. Before you buy you might want to consider options for 4 in 1 buckets, grapples and bucket grapple attachments for handling brush and fire wood. Make sure the tractor you purchase will handle the optional equipment you might want to use.

rbargeron · Jan 4, 2004

Pete - I saw what looked to be a good wood-handling setup - the guy has a paved area with very large concrete blocks around the sides - he uses a skid-steer with a wide flat-bottomed bucket with an extended thin front edge. The skid steer is one of the more modern ones with a lot of vertical lift so he can fill trucks. The concrete barriers keep the wood from getting away when the bucket is pushing into the pile. The paving keeps the product cleaner. A tractor would work ok too but would need more room to maneuver.

rdam · Jan 4, 2004

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I've about decided, after reading these forums and talking to my cabinet maker who just traded his JD for a BX2200, to probably get a BX1800 with FEL and 54" hog and ballast box for the 3 pt to use with the FEL without the hog attached.
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Is the BX1800 rated for a 54" rotary cutter? That sounds kind of big for 13 or so PTO HP.