Tractor Sizing Utility Tractor for 21 acres

[BraveheartGN]

has been less than $10k. We have three horses. Another thing to consider is whether or not you get a lot of power outages - with the hurricanes that have been blowing through here it would be nice to get a 10kw or so PTO generator and run the house and the barn off it.

Good luck with your equipment search!

 

[ovrszd]

I'd go minimum 40HP and minimum weight of 3500lbs. Then I'd stick with my current lawn mower or buy another cheap one. Real hard to have a lawn mower and a work tractor in the same skin.

As someone mentioned, go to www.tractorhouse.com and look around. You'll get an education on used equipment values as well as what's available in new equipment. Great place to educate yourself on attachment costs as well.

I'll put on my Genie hat and get out my crystal ball...... If you buy a SCUT tractor such as a 1000 series Deere or BX Kubota you'll be on here complaining about having too small of tractor within a year. "See my first remarks".

 

[wolftree]

As others have said, I would look real hard at 35 horsepower and larger with weights in the 3500# range. There were some outstanding utility tractors in the 1970-1980s by John Deere and International Harvester. JD 1010, 1020, 1520, 2010, 2020, 2520 and IH 444, 454, 464. The size will handle many implements and there are many used implements out there still for these sized tractor. Definetely get a front loader no matter what. These tractor should run in the $4000-$8000 range. Even if they needed a professional engine rebuild, they are great tractors.

I would make a list of manufacturers and models that you are interested in, read up on them all you can so you are ready to move on one if you see it listed somewhere.

 

[treetrimmer01]

Take a ride around 5 or 10 miles out from your new place and watch for the brand of tractors you see the farmers using. what you see the most of is what brand you want to buy.
What you have found is the best dealer in the area that has taken care of their needs the best.
All the tractors are pretty good anymore, But there is a big difference in dealers and service.
Good Luck
I think you need approx 60 hp with loader and possably 4 wheel drive. cat 2 quick hitch.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Was in a similar situation about a year and a half ago. Needed to get a tractor to care for my childhood home horse farm, about 13 acres, a bit hilly in NY. Guy who brush hogged the place recommended at least 40 hp. Picked up a Ford 3000 about 48 years old off CL for about $4000 with an FEL. It has I think about 49 hp and 40 hp off the PTO (diesel) and I was concerned at first that it was a bit high in hp, that it was old, and only 2WD - and I am pretty much a newbie about this stuff. I paired it with a 6 foot Mott flail mower and a 6 foot box blade (also found on CL) and I have to say the work that I have been able to do with it is incredible. The property, which was pretty run down, needed better pasture management, so I thought the primary task would be mowing. A year and a half later the grass looks better than it ever has. I discovered all kinds of additional uses for the equipment - removing old fencing, disposing of manure, lifting junk onto the truck to get to the dump, preparing brush fires for burning, yanking out multiflora bushes by the roots (a particular scourge here). The box blade is fantastic for reconditioning old fence line, smoothing the gravel driveway, and taking the teeth out I was able to plow out the barn this winter of about three feet of snow. My total investment so far

I think you found the sweet spot for many and just goes to show how much one can get and do with a $10K equipment investment. The go part is if you needed to sell you would not take a beating.

 

[Notforhire]

I'd go minimum 40HP and minimum weight of 3500lbs. Then I'd stick with my current lawn mower or buy another cheap one. Real hard to have a lawn mower and a work tractor in the same skin.

As someone mentioned, go to www.tractorhouse.com and look around. You'll get an education on used equipment values as well as what's available in new equipment. Great place to educate yourself on attachment costs as well.

I'll put on my Genie hat and get out my crystal ball...... If you buy a SCUT tractor such as a 1000 series Deere or BX Kubota you'll be on here complaining about having too small of tractor within a year. "See my first remarks".

+1 Well said; Because of the cost factor I'm sure you will end up using round bales over small squares. I prefer a full size utility in 40-50 hp over a CUT in the same HP range, for moving, and stacking hay. You may be limited to a gear trans, where the CUT may offer a hydro. I also prefer gear, and the utility was cheaper than the CUT.

 

[jeepcoma]

Been doing some reading, looks like the Mahindra units are pretty beefy for the price. Not too many reviews though. For a small compact, the Max 28 seems pretty powerful and capable, and both the 3535 or 4025 4WD seem reasonable too if I want to go larger. The basic simplicity of the 4025 I find appealing, less stuff to break. Sure, something like a 3720 with all the bells and whistles looks great, but for the money and considering I'm not spending my working week on the seat for a living, do I NEED that kind of stuff? The 4025 appears pretty stout with plenty of loader capacity (way more than any JD in the price range), lifting capacity, and implements for anything I could conceivably do, giving me room to grow into. It's really really heavy though, should I be worrying about turf damage or soil compaction with that much weight (almost 5000 lbs, tractor only)? I realize you need weight to do bigger chores, but is it overkill (i.e. under powered for its weight)? How about the transmission, will I find a constant mesh difficult or frustrating to use on a regular basis?

Basic idea from the group seems to be that while I could technically, get by with a SCUT, everything will take longer. Makes sense to me. I'm looking to find a good balance between not being frustrated with chores and not spending too much money to shave 10% time off the job (which would matter under other circumstances, but I'm just a regular homeowner with some time to burn). I guess ideally I will come across a great deal on a used model with implements and attachments included, use it for a few years and find out what I like and what I'm limited by, then buy something that addresses those weaknesses. Here's hoping!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Sounds like a good plan. While I lean to old iron for a great cost/performance ratio I grew up with it and know how to get what I expect from it. Some shops will not have techs very experience with old tractors not made in years or have dealerships any longer.

Parts and service are the most important when buying machines. They all break from time to time. Finding hidden stumps, holes, etc can make the time to time come more often.

 

[mud23609]

The 4025 specs out great for its price point. A tractor that size will compact the soil some but I run much larger tractors all over my place and expect for my tractor roads you can't really tell the difference.

As for the transmission I believe the next step up in the utility line offers a forward/reverse shuttle trans which is for sure nicer to operate. Is it needed? Not really. There are guys around my place that are still farming hundreds of acres and raising hundreds of cows with constant mesh transmissions like that one.

That tractor is low on power for its weight compared to most of the other tractors built today but it will certainly do any of the tasks you need it to do. Plenty of power and traction for six foot implements and more importantly the weight to do your tasks safely. Load the rear tires and slap a loader on that machine and it will easily handle any job you need to do. The reality of it is none of the tasks you're going to do are going to require big hp but the weight is helpful when traction is needed and for stability doing loader work.

Like I said I would recommend going for a tractor at least 5000 pounds operating weight (this one will well exceed that after adding the loader) It really does help if you're going to be handling big bales. I really like my TN75D with the power shuttle for doing the types of chores you described. Not for the HP because truthfully I rarely run it at full power (I have other bigger tractors for that kind of stuff) but because the weight makes it a very stable platform and provides good traction. I'll admit to the power shuttle makes me prefer it even to my TD5050 which is ten years newer and has far fewer hours.

 

[Notforhire]

The reality of it is none of the tasks you're going to do are going to require big hp but the weight is helpful when traction is needed and for stability doing loader work.

:thumbsup:

 

[Piston]

I guess ideally I will come across a great deal on a used model with implements and attachments included, use it for a few years and find out what I like and what I'm limited by, then buy something that addresses those weaknesses. Here's hoping!

Nailed it! :thumbsup:

I would never recommend buying your first tractor brand new, unless you really don't care about losing money down the road. You can read until your blue in the face about what tractor to buy, but until you really get out there and put some seat time in, do some jobs, work the tractor, figure out your preferences etc, you really won't know what aspects and features you find that you want/need. It is very rare for someone to purchase a brand new tractor for their first tractor, and end up owning the "perfect" tractor right off the bat.

Implements lose a certain amount of value right off the showroom floor, just like anything else, but then they quickly stabilize and unless they are beat to death, really don't lose much value over time. If you can find a "package" deal you will save even more.

The nice thing about buying a used tractor (it doesn't have to be 40 yrs old with 6,000 hrs on it either) is that you can figure out what you want in the tractor and what you can expect with a larger/smaller machine. Then, when you really know what you want, you can sell it for what you paid for it (or pretty close) and go buy that brand new machine!
Not to mention you'll have money left over for implements! :thumbsup:

 

[newbury]

<snip>
Not to mention you'll have money left over for implements! :thumbsup:

This can be one of the MOST important things. Unless you have only 1 task you are going to need implements. When I started on my "40 HP" quest the wife and I set a budget of $15K for the tractor. Since the purchase price was $11.5K she allowed I had $3.5K left over.

Chipper - 1.7K
Plow - .5K
Tiller - .8K
Pallet forks = .2K

I think I've gotten a lot of functionality out of the implements in just 3 months.

 

[jeepcoma]

How hard is it to add HP to a tractor? Say for example, you are very satisfied with a tractor's performance and capabilities, but would just like a little more power driving the PTO for mowing or whatever. For an automobile, aftermarket mods to bump up HP are very common, from easy cheap things like a cold-air intake to more complicated things like heads and camshafts. Does anybody do this to tractors?

Take for instance the Mahindra 4025 and 4525. Both have a 167 CI I4 engine. Engine power and PTO power are rated at the same 2300 and 2058 RPMs respectively, with 41/31 and 46/36 HP for the respective machines. Both have 19.5:1 compression ratio. My guess is it's the same engine, but with different components. The 4025 is available in 4WD, the 4525 comes in 2WD only. What if you were happy with the capabilities of the 4025 4WD over the higher HP of the 4525 2WD, but later on realize the need for a bit more oomph? Are you stuck? Besides transplanting an engine, are there common (or less common) ways of increasing HP? This one is a good example because cubic inches is cubic inches; if you make the intake, exhaust, cam, and fueling the same, you should get the same HP. Even if it costs some bucks to get a new heads and cam, it should be possible to make the tractor you want that nobody makes, a 4525 4WD.

I'm just curious about this because I've seen a few models from various manufactures available that appear to use the same engine, but offered in various states of tune. Don't people hot rod their tractors for more performance?

 

[wolftree]

jeepcoma,

While it is possible to increase horsepower, it is usually not advised. Unlike a car, tractors are designed to work hard, hour after hour, day after day. Increases can be had with just turning up the injector pump and adding a turbocharger. But, do not forget to increase the radiator size and add 250-500 of weights to be able to use that new power.

If you need more power, buy a bigger tractor and save yourself money and grief.

 

[Piston]

The general consensus is that it's not worth it to add power. Like wolftree said, your better off selling it and buying a more powerful one. I'm sure there are some exceptions to the rule.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

How many of those Hot Rods run at 100% for hour after hour? None that I know of. Tractors are a whole different mentality vs cars. You need something with more oomph, best to buy something that comes OEM with that oomph. One of the reasons to buy the max HP in the class size of tractor that you are looking at.

Just my :2cents:

 

[Notforhire]

You could do this, to add more HP;

 

[Coyote machine]

You could do this, to add more HP; View attachment 322471

The ONLY viable way to add more horses, is to add more HORSES!

As a for instance it seems that now manufacturers of medium to large outboard engines are using the same block and vary only the metering of fuel and other tweaks to get more HP from a given engine. I have a 225HP Yamaha which is the same exact engine all the way to 300HP. Same weight, block etc. Only differences are factory mods and price mod- with 300HP bringing top $. This is again a weight to power issue, because on most outboard motor boats engine weight and size hanging off the transom are key factors to consider. Same weight and more HP comes at a premium, when buying, and when using fuel. 1-3 gallons per hour is a factor for some, and not so much for those with cubic $ to match their engine's HP!

Tractors are work horses, not race horses. Get the HP needed when you buy.

 

[ovrszd]

Hmmmmmm,,,, I guess I'll take the "different path" with this HP discussion.

In my case I have the M9540. TripleR has the M8540. There's no doubt in my mind that it's the same engine. I'm 99% sure it's the same Turbo. Where it gets a little hazy for me is, did they boost fuel pressure and volumn or did they add larger injectors or boost turbo pressure to get that power. I'm guessing larger injectors with a minor tweak of the fuel delivery. If so, then TripleR could buy M9540 Injectors and install them in his tractor and match my HP.

Would that harm the tractor in any way?? Nope. Would it shorten the life in any way?? Nope. I am 100% confident that Kubota believes their 95hp version will last every bit as long as the 85hp version.

So in answer to your question. I'd say yes, it's possible and feasible to add the 5hp you are talking about with no permanent damage to the lifespan of the tractor.

I'm sure it will immediately void your warranty. But if I'm buying a new tractor just because of it's warranty program, I'm buying the wrong tractor. I buy what I believe will be least likely to require warranty service.

 

[Piston]

Richard,

I'd be surprised if it really is as simple as changing out the injectors. I imagine there is more to it than that. It seems easy to do but I have yet to see anyone accomplish it, let alone try. I remember a lot of discussions on the 5x40 grand L's and the 4x20 JD's about trying to add power. Maybe it's different on the M series though?

It seems like it wouldn't be hard to add power if a company came out with a programmer like on diesel trucks though.