Buying Advice The trouble with choices! First time buyer

[cooljoe00]

Hello, First time buying a tractor of this size; I been abusing lawn mowers for to long need something more. To the simplest I am looking for a tractor between 45-60 HP; and it must have a cab and 4WD and quick attach. I have 35+ acres, 10~ is 3ft tall saplings/weeds; the rest is tick heavy woods, with some wet areas. I looking to get some implement (hopefully bundle in) at the time of purchased. Front-end loader (Bolt on blade edge, Forks, Root grapple), Backhoe(replaceable teeth with thumb"hoping hydraulic thumb"), fixed back box blade, 6-7ft Rotary cutter, Landscape Rake. Will get other implements later. Transmission type don't bother me one way or another (PST, HST, SST, CVT), I do know that HST kill a few HP in the PTO speed and can degrade in performance after a few years. I have several different dealers in a 40 mile radius around me (Mahindra, New Holland, Kubota, Kioti, Messey Ferguson, John Deer). I not really looking for a john deer, I hear they are pretty pricey and they have aluminum rear ends now. My Financing budget is ~60,000 hopefully. The models I looked at are as followed not in any order (Mahindra - 3540 PST/HST, 3350 PST/HST, 2555 PST/HST), (New Holland - Boomer 47 SST/HST, Boomer 3045 CVT, Boomer 3050 CVT), (Kubota - L4760, L5460, L6060 HST), (Kioti - NX4510C, NX4510CH, NX5010C, NX5010CH, NX5510C, NX5510CH), (Messey Ferguson - 1749 PST/HST, 1754 PST/HST, 1758 HST, 1759 PST). Alright now for the questions.

1) Are there any brand tractors whos implement I should shy away from and get 3rd party implements. if so who's and which ones. Ex. I know some of the rotary cutters (tractor branded) ones are not very good?
2) knowing that I want a root grapple, and a backhoe with hydro thumb; What extra levers/functions/remote do I need on a tractor ( I may get a log spliter/ post hole drill later too) ?
3) Are there features, item or anything in general I should take in consideration. Ex. what maintenance cost per X/hrs, Weights for tractor anything before buying?
4) Any other information/Comment/Experiences is appreciated

 

[dickfoster]

That's a good size tractor, what are you going to be using it for? If you're going into the woods with it, the cab might make getting around a problem. Unless you'll be out in the fields all day and need the AC, do you really need a cab where you live? The cab also complicates the backhoe a bit.
Don't know about that size tractor but a mechanical thumb was the only option I could get on the hoe for my Mahindra 1538 shuttle with FEL and backhoe.
The loader and backhoe were made in Kansas while the tractor itself was made in Japan but final assembly of the big hunks was right down the road here in CA, USA but you have a different distributor in your neck of the woods. One thing to do to narrow down the choices a bit is to visit some dealers and figure out which ones will give you better service then concentrate on those brands. Most of the tractors are good ones but poor support is gonna make your life **** even with the best tractor you can buy regardless of price.
I went to the Mahindra site and priced out a 3550 HST cab, a 49HP tractor, with all the goodies and it came up to around $72K. That's with no implements except the loader and hoe. You might want to sit down and sharpen your pencil a bit to see if you can get closer to your price target. Dumping the hydro will only knock about a grand off the price but dumping that cab will save ya more like ten grand.

 

[cooljoe00]

The tractor might be overkill but I don't want to end up with something gutless. On the ~10 of 3' tall bush it'll be a lot of mowing; land leveling clearing trash/debris . I can see the cab being a problem too but the summers reach 110* degrees and the humidity can kill you. On the thick woods, making paths removing stumps, leveling, digging ditches to burn and clear, hauling large logs to be cut, road maintenance.

 

[KennyG]

For the amount of property you have, you are probably looking at the right size. There is always a transmission argument here, but for any reasonable amount of loader and rotary cutter work, I wouldn't go with anything other than HST. And that's coming from an old guy who grew up with gear tractors. Don't count out JD until you look at them. It's all about the dealer. When I bought it was cheaper than Kubota or New Holland.

Good luck. If you are really a first time tractor owner, you are jumping in to the big leagues with your want list.

 

[ustmd]

cooljoe00

That is a lot of tractor.

We maintain 30 acres, 0.75 miles of road and a horse arena with a Kioti 27 HST. I have all of the same implements other than the grapple (not a lot of tree work in central TX).

As dickfoster mentioned, $60K is tight budget for a tractor and all of those implements.

Any reason you are in the 45-60hp range? A bigger tractor is usually better, but if you had just described what you wanted to do, I imagine the brain trust on site would have recommend 35-45hp--with a few arguing for even a 30hp tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

The models I looked at are as follows, (Kubota - L4760, L5460, L6060 HST),

1) Are there any brand tractors whos implement I should shy away from and get 3rd party implements. if so who's and which ones. Ex. I know some of the rotary cutters (tractor branded) ones are not very good?

3) Are there features, item or anything in general I should take in consideration.

Ex. what maintenance cost per X/hrs, Weights for tractor anything before buying?

The Kubota Grand L xx/60 series are desirably heavy. They come with almost every option standard, including the marvelous "HST+" transmission. However you will need optional, extra cost, hydraulic plumbing for grapple and log splitter.

I like Everything Attachments (brand) implements. Not inexpensive but generally built heavier than the competition. I have four ETA implements, the most from a single implement supplier. I like to shop Farm Equipment 24/7: Farm Equipment 24-7.com

In terms of Rotary Cutters. Most components except the deck comes from China for venders in Cat 1 and Cat 2 Rotary Cutters. So you are paying mostly for weight and assembly quality. If you are going to cut over 2" saplings, buy heavy. Heavy work regularly demands backing into the verdure, so pay particular attention to the tail wheel and its bracing. If you are just going to mow fields, medium duty is enough. These implements are sixty years from birth and simple. I do not believe branding adds much value, given the China pool of components.

I always have my Ratchet Rake mounted on the bucket when I mow. Ratchet Rake will knock down brush and saplings several times more effectively than an unadorned bucket. With more time applied, the RR will tear out brush and saplings by the roots. R/C will grind horizontal residue efficiently. Ratchet Rake is also a premier brush gathering and piling attachment.

Rather than a FEL Root Rake, consider a Three Point Hitch Field Cultivator or a dual or triple tine subsoiler. A tractor is designed to PULL. Heavy loads are better applied at the rear, PULLING, rather than PUSHING the front via (relatively) weak FEL arms.

Preventive maintenance is pretty much the same for all tractors. Repair maintenance is dependent on the skill and prudence of the operator. If you have an employee operating your tractor, repair maintenance will be much higher than if your are operating same.

Weight? Buy the heaviest tractor in the budget, then consider horsepower second.

 

[TripleR]

As mentioned, there is going to be a conflict with your needs/wants and budget, so you might need to regroup or look at used. I love my L5740HSTC, but the Grand Ls are really tear your budget up, so my next choice would be a Kioti. New Hollands in the size you are talking about are now made by LS, good tractor, but the LS is cheaper, so consider that. I'll defer on the Massey Ferguson as I've really not studied them very much, we own an old model, but whole different animal.

I'd get a minimum of two rear remotes and prefer three, hydraulic top link will be one of the best things you will ever buy.

We have cutters from 4' to 10' and for that size tractor in the woods etc., would stay with a 6'. 7' takes more power and is pretty unwieldy in my opinion.

I've been to SC and sure understand wanting a cab, my last two were cab tractors and love them.

Arguments can be made for gear and HST, but in my experience new operators do better with HST and I've run some old HSTs that haven't degraded over time though that seems to be brought up all the time.

 

[aarolar]

TripleReply...

 

[TripleR]

TripleReply...

Yep, Gateway 504 has been doing that and I couldn't get back in to delete until this morning.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Check out the XU5055C in the LS lineup. That tractor will do all you need to do and will likely be cheaper than any other brand. I cant believe how much tractors have went up in price in the last 5-6 years. I only paid $35,500 for my LS P7010C in 2010 (no backhoe). It is a brute of a tractor but a bit unwieldy in the woods. I bought a backhoe separate (Kubota B26) mainly because I wanted a much smaller foot print than the P7010. I love the little B26 and am amazed at what it can dig up and push and I can operate all the tractor controls while setting in the seat (same seat, just swivels around)operating the backhoe. I have to go slow and really watch out for large overhanging limbs with the LS but have no problem with the little Kubota.
We have trimmed all the trees up now to be able to go under them with either tractor with no problem but that was a 6 year project which included letting some of the trees grow up a bit in order to trim to the height needed. Now it is just the trimming of the branches that like to grow toward the ground about every 2 years. That might be too much to undertake on 35 acres but it would sure make your forest look nice with 10 feet of clearance under the branches. I used the backhoe to thin out a thicket taking over 50% of the trees and in some cases with the sweetgums over 75%. Man that was fun removing and stacking the trees out of the way. Be sure you get a hydraulically operated thumb on your backhoe, handier than the pocket on your shirt. NO getting down to adjust the thumb for different sized material or getting down to fold it up in order to dig.
I am not sure how well you are going to like a backhoe on a cabbed tractor. I think you will be operating it from outside the cab since I have only seen the operator controls inside the cabs on big industrial machines. This is going to mean a lot of getting on and off to move the tractor.