Buying Advice What SHOULD I buy? Many questions from a newbie...

[MossflowerWoods]

Here is my situation...

I have just under 51 acres. ~42 acres is mature loblolly pine (85%) and hardwoods. I am managing the timber for harvest in 5-10 years then reforest.

I have hills and small streams, multiple ponds. Largest pond in stream fed beaver poond approx 1 acre. I also have a wide variety of dirt access roads, perimeter paths, and many horse/bike trails I need to keep clear for timber management purposes (and hunting of course).

I have ~3 acres of yard/grass very hilly, and my wife has extensive food and flower garden now and it will only get bigger.

I also have ~5-6 acres of flat area I clearcut in Nov '10 I want to convert to horse pasture.

I have a VERY LONG gravel drive with steep hills to get from the house to the gate, I'm almost .5 miles from pavement (I have a long easement driveway through a couple of neighbors property). We do get significant snow here and I must drive to DC for work a couple days a week.

I plan to have 3-5 horses, I currently have guinea fowl & plan to add chickens. I'd like to have a cow for meat also.

So... My qurestions start with the following...

1) New or Used (if used, how old is too old etc.)

2) Four Wheel Drive? I've been told I MUST have 4x4 due to my terrain...

3) What attachments?Which are MUST HAVE, which can be borrowed or rented later ase needed? Front Loader is MUST, as is bush-hog and???

I'd really like to buy once, and have a tractor that will serve my needs for the forseeable future. I plan to USE it, not polish it or let it sit and collect dust.

PLEASE advise me, I am VERY OPEN and want to LEARN.

Thanks in advance,
David

 

[teg]

1) New or Used (if used, how old is too old etc.)

2) Four Wheel Drive? I've been told I MUST have 4x4 due to my terrain...

3) What attachments?Which are MUST HAVE, which can be borrowed or rented later ase needed? Front Loader is MUST, as is bush-hog and???

1- Used if you can get one at a good price, that takes some time or luck. If you don't have time or luck, buying new is quick and financing can take the sting out of buying. I wish I took my time to find a used one.

2- 4x4, I tried this past wk/ed to get along without it... forgot it was off, and slid down a 50' gravel section. (I've done it before so it wasn't too scary this time) HST, I would say is also a must have. I can work a lot longer and not be as tired.

3- I buy very few attachments new. Post Hole Digger was one since I needed for a project (should have bought it used!). If you are doing a fence, I'd be looking at Craig's list now. Do you have enough snow to justify a snow blower? Box Blade or Rear Blade for maintaining a gravel driveway.

There was a really good deal on a B3030 not too long ago... I would look at something like that... :2cents:

 

[MossflowerWoods]

There was a really good deal on a B3030 not too long ago...

TEG,

What's a really good deal on a B3030 look like? I like Kubota and I have 2 dealers nearby. How much $$$ is a good deal?

Yes, I will need a PHD (don't we all?) I plan to do lots fencing...

For the gravel, I thought a "jake rake" was what you used. Not sure what a box blade is...

 

[Hog86r]

ditto what teg said. i have a 30 HP Kubota hst 4wd w/ front end loader. i own 125 ac woods. perfect. narrow width makes it perfect for tight work. Kubota has 60 months no interest financing. do the math. can not beat that.

 

[TripleR]

Very good advice from Teg, but I just have to say that any one machine to cover all your bases well simply does not exist; wish it did. Anything that works well in your lawn/yard and garden is going to fall short in the woods dragging and pushing wood and doing dirt work. My wife and I tried it for a few years, but kept having to bring another machine from one of our other farms.

As to attachments, spend some time looking at the videos on Everything Attachments to see how they work. I use a box blade for roads and such; haven't used my back blade in years. If you need to do ditching though a back blade may work better for you, also consider something like a grading scraper for ease of use.

You will need a good bush hog/rotary cutter. Unlike some, I usually buy new equipment.

Spend a lot of time using the search function here as many have posted threads similar to yours.

Consider renting a tractor for a day or two to establish a frame of reference if you are new to tractors.

Also, while my preference is Kubota, consider other makes especially when buying used.

Can't help you on the snow as we get so little here.

Good luck.

 

[teg]

TEG,

What's a really good deal on a B3030 look like? I like Kubota and I have 2 dealers nearby. How much $$$ is a good deal?

The guy started at 15k, dropped it to 14k and the last one he listed was 12,5k, it had a brush hog and two other attachments... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/private-party-ads/213473-sale-kubota-b3030-4-wheel.html

His Craig's list was delete, so I assume it sold at that price.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

The guy started at 15k, dropped it to 14k and the last one he listed was 12,5k, it had a brush hog and two other attachments... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/private-party-ads/213473-sale-kubota-b3030-4-wheel.html

His Craig's list was delete, so I assume it sold at that price.

Sorry I missed it... Do you think my F-150 could have towed it home (I would have had to rent a trailer, my 5x12 would not cut it...

Hmmm...

 

[teg]

Sorry I missed it... Do you think my F-150 could have towed it home...

That's the nice thing about the "B", they are lighter, with the loader and other goodies, it's around 3,000 lbs so your truck would have been fine.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Here is my situation...

I have just under 51 acres. ~42 acres is mature loblolly pine (85%) and hardwoods. I am managing the timber for harvest in 5-10 years then reforest.

I have hills and small streams, multiple ponds. Largest pond in stream fed beaver poond approx 1 acre. I also have a wide variety of dirt access roads, perimeter paths, and many horse/bike trails I need to keep clear for timber management purposes (and hunting of course).

I have ~3 acres of yard/grass very hilly, and my wife has extensive food and flower garden now and it will only get bigger.

I also have ~5-6 acres of flat area I clearcut in Nov '10 I want to convert to horse pasture.

I have a VERY LONG gravel drive with steep hills to get from the house to the gate, I'm almost .5 miles from pavement (I have a long easement driveway through a couple of neighbors property). We do get significant snow here and I must drive to DC for work a couple days a week.

I plan to have 3-5 horses, I currently have guinea fowl & plan to add chickens. I'd like to have a cow for meat also.

So... My qurestions start with the following...

1) New or Used (if used, how old is too old etc.)

2) Four Wheel Drive? I've been told I MUST have 4x4 due to my terrain...

3) What attachments?Which are MUST HAVE, which can be borrowed or rented later ase needed? Front Loader is MUST, as is bush-hog and???

I'd really like to buy once, and have a tractor that will serve my needs for the forseeable future. I plan to USE it, not polish it or let it sit and collect dust.

PLEASE advise me, I am VERY OPEN and want to LEARN.

Thanks in advance,
David

OK....My $.02 worth....

You won't find ground much hillier than this part of Kentucky. While not as HIGH as some mountainous states, we're every bit as steep.

For 40 + years, I farmed over 200 acres, and currently live on a 45 acre place. (Sold the old farm, bought new place) I also still farm right at 175 acres of fairly flat ground about 10 miles east of where we live. The old place had a 1/4 mile of gravel road, ponds, pastures. woods, ect...I clear cut over 125 acres of it in 1970. We have a large garden, wife does the flower garden thing, and part of the current place is being logged this fall.

So....I have a good idea of what you're up against.

I own a business where we mow highway right of ways. Because of that, I have several newer tractors that just happen to be MFWD and of various hp's.

I also own 6 different older tractors, 2 non-restored (in need of restoration) and 4 ranging from 40 years old to 29 years old.

So what do I use to take care of my place.......? 99% of the time it's the 40+ year old, 2wd, open station MF150 (Avatar photo) Using good judgment and common sense, it will SAFELY do anything I need done. Granted, come snow movin' time, I break out my '81 Deere 4440 (cab, 130hp) just to make life easier. For ages I used a smaller (60hp Deere 2440, has a loader) for snow removal. It never seemed to be outmatched.

Long story short, even on our hills, even when feeding cattle in the dead of winter, I always used 2wd tractors. Until just recently (4 years) I used the 60 hp 2440 as my biggest tractor.

As of last week, there are now 11 MFWD tractors, ranging from a smallest of 85hp to the largest of 110 at my disposal. One has a loader, and is used to move round bales, but I don't recall using the MFWD yet.... It's a nice luxury to have, but I just don't see it as "life or death". I did use the MFWD on one tractor this past spring, pulling a 15' no till soy bean drill.

My suggestion is to get a tractor in the 50 to 60 hp range (I'm only interested in PTO hp...) That way you're able to use CATI implements in most cases. You'll find them to be more abundant, less expensive, and in most cases, more than adequate for your needs. I'd stick with a 6' or at the absolute biggest, a 7' mower. Wider mowers tend to do a lot of scalping on irregular ground. Wider is OK on flat, open ground, but not so handy in wooded, hilly, irregular terrain. (I've got 10' and 15' bat wings at my disposal, and have NO use for them on my place.) You'll want a 6'/7' tiller at some point. Also suggest a rear blade and possibly a box blade. Handy as a shirt pocket are those items!

A front loader is priceless....I'd just make sure to get a good heavy duty loader. With operator experience (or lack there of) in mind, MFWD is a bit more valuable on a loader tractor. And the smaller the tractor, the more important MFWD seems to be.

I DO NOT believe in buying "just barely big enough".....You rarely hear anyone complaing of buying a tractor that's just a tick too big, but you'll hear multitudes saying they wish they'd have bought a BIGGER tractor. Again, I'd look at 50hp AS A MINIMUM.....

You'll also find there are a zillion different "strategies" on picking a tractor....MOST of which are right to some degree of another.....

Find a brand that allows you a local dealer, even with used.... Unless you have an unlimited budget, don't let them "over sell" you. A tractor is a tractor is a tractor.....I've seen all I need to see to convince me a good operator can do ANYTHING with a basic, "plain jane" tractor as they could with a Techno-wonder machine. It's just a matter of convenience (and PRICE) once you start loading them down with bells and whistles.

JMHO (arrived @ after 64 years of spending way too much time on tractors) YMMV

 

[Bigfoot62]

1) New or Used (if used, how old is too old etc.)

2) Four Wheel Drive? I've been told I MUST have 4x4 due to my terrain...

3) What attachments?Which are MUST HAVE, which can be borrowed or rented later ase needed? Front Loader is MUST, as is bush-hog and???

David,
N/U depends on what is available. Often, a good, clean, nearly new tractor will have a nearly new price. If that's what you're looking for, then buy new. Hog86r mentioned that Kubota has 0% interest. I think that JD, an maybe NH does as well. Most new tractors come with a 2 year warranty. That may help you decide. Also consider which brands are locally supported. (good dealers with good service depts) Around me, it's JD, NH, and Kubota. That's it.
BTW, I'd stay away from the copy-cat, look-alike, wanna-be, and gray market tractors. When something breaks, and it will, you don't want to have to wait 3 months for a part to be shipped in from Tim-Buc-Tu.
Too old? My Ford 2600 is 30 years old, and it's still a good tractor. (I hope my two newer ones do as good)

MFWD will mean the difference between "almost made it" and "got 'er done."

Get a brush-hog. You'll always use that. You can always add implements and attachments as you need them.

I DO NOT believe in buying "just barely big enough".....You rarely hear anyone complaing of buying a tractor that's just a tick to big, but you'll hear multitudes saying they wish they'd have bought a BIGGER tractor.

^ +1 Absolutely