Buying Advice What SHOULD I buy? Many questions from a newbie...
- Thread starter MossflowerWoods
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Farmwithjunk
Super Member
I need to clarify something I said in earlier postings.....I suggested "bigger".....That does NOT mean an 80HP 10,000lb+ rig, nor a 300hp 4wd......I'm talking "bigger" than an undersized compact....I'm talking 50/60hp RATHER THAN 25 or 30 hp...
You're looking for something "flexible" in what it's capable of doing, but some of your chores are rather specific. With that, you need enough "heft" to do the bigger chores AS A MINIMUM. In many cases, people still tend to look at hp ratings in terms of "old school" tractors. 25 years ago and farther back, a 60hp tractor would most likely be a large, high clearance, HEAVY row crop farm tractor. Today, it's far more common to find tractors that are in the 50 to 60 hp range that have the physical size and weight of what WAS a 35 to 40 hp tractor in days gone by. (Also keep in mind I'm talking the REAL hp standard....PTO hp)
Gonna run a snow blower...? No substitute for hp
Gonna mow heavy weeds and brush on hilly ground....? No substitute for hp.
The list goes on...
Smaller tractors can get the job done (finally) but at the cost of time....You have to run smaller implements, and often at slower ground speeds. (Hills can absorb hp too...Try mowing flat land, then try mowing up a steep hill....see which one bogs down the quickest)
If you want only ONE tractor for now, developing a plan around the smaller jobs will leave you WAY short on the big end of your needs. There'll be compromises to be made. Sure, a 50 or 60 hp tractor isn't ideal for working a small garden, but it WILL get the job done, where a 20hp sub compact probably isn't gonna be able to handle a bush hog in heavy brush and saplings on a steep incline nearly as well as you'd like, muchless a mower of enough size to get the job done in a respectable time frame.
Implements sized for smaller tractors have to take in to account the ability of that tractor to handle weight.....ie, you have to use lighter weight/lighter duty rated implements... In the conditions you describe, that'll equate to damage prone equipment over time.
Go back to my original post in this thread....Note that I've "BTDT" in regards to starting out on a freshly cleared piece of land. You're gonna find stumps, rocks, irregular terrain...plain and simple....ROUGH GROUND....for the first few years. That's hard on a tractor compared to a well established, manicured property. 5 years down the road, you'll be able to downgrade your needs, but in the first few years, you're gonna see the need for heavy duty and durable equipment. Toss a light weight, smallish tractor and implements in the fray at the outset, and chances are you'll regret that move sooner rather than later.
There is one alternative.....get TWO tractors....One smaller compact as the "yard tractor" and then a bigger "farm tractor" for the heavy stuff. Worth noting, you're more apt to find good USED bigger tractors at a reasonable price (relative to "new price")
Give me a couple more months with the "too little" Kubota 7510 I have sitting in the barn and I'll just about give it away....As I said, after using bigger, more capable tractors, this thing is darn near useless.
You're looking for something "flexible" in what it's capable of doing, but some of your chores are rather specific. With that, you need enough "heft" to do the bigger chores AS A MINIMUM. In many cases, people still tend to look at hp ratings in terms of "old school" tractors. 25 years ago and farther back, a 60hp tractor would most likely be a large, high clearance, HEAVY row crop farm tractor. Today, it's far more common to find tractors that are in the 50 to 60 hp range that have the physical size and weight of what WAS a 35 to 40 hp tractor in days gone by. (Also keep in mind I'm talking the REAL hp standard....PTO hp)
Gonna run a snow blower...? No substitute for hp
Gonna mow heavy weeds and brush on hilly ground....? No substitute for hp.
The list goes on...
Smaller tractors can get the job done (finally) but at the cost of time....You have to run smaller implements, and often at slower ground speeds. (Hills can absorb hp too...Try mowing flat land, then try mowing up a steep hill....see which one bogs down the quickest)
If you want only ONE tractor for now, developing a plan around the smaller jobs will leave you WAY short on the big end of your needs. There'll be compromises to be made. Sure, a 50 or 60 hp tractor isn't ideal for working a small garden, but it WILL get the job done, where a 20hp sub compact probably isn't gonna be able to handle a bush hog in heavy brush and saplings on a steep incline nearly as well as you'd like, muchless a mower of enough size to get the job done in a respectable time frame.
Implements sized for smaller tractors have to take in to account the ability of that tractor to handle weight.....ie, you have to use lighter weight/lighter duty rated implements... In the conditions you describe, that'll equate to damage prone equipment over time.
Go back to my original post in this thread....Note that I've "BTDT" in regards to starting out on a freshly cleared piece of land. You're gonna find stumps, rocks, irregular terrain...plain and simple....ROUGH GROUND....for the first few years. That's hard on a tractor compared to a well established, manicured property. 5 years down the road, you'll be able to downgrade your needs, but in the first few years, you're gonna see the need for heavy duty and durable equipment. Toss a light weight, smallish tractor and implements in the fray at the outset, and chances are you'll regret that move sooner rather than later.
There is one alternative.....get TWO tractors....One smaller compact as the "yard tractor" and then a bigger "farm tractor" for the heavy stuff. Worth noting, you're more apt to find good USED bigger tractors at a reasonable price (relative to "new price")
Give me a couple more months with the "too little" Kubota 7510 I have sitting in the barn and I'll just about give it away....As I said, after using bigger, more capable tractors, this thing is darn near useless.
foreman Etexas
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2011
- Messages
- 3,273
- Location
- texas
- Tractor
- Kubota (2010)M7040,(2012)M7040,New Holland(2004)TL100
Here is a picture of my 50hp(M5040)...
OP
MossflowerWoods
Super Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2011
- Messages
- 5,419
- Location
- Fredericksburg, VA
- Tractor
- Kioti DK50SE HST w/FEL, Gravely 60" ZTR Mower. Stihl MS290 (selling), CS261, & FS190 + Echo CS400 & 2010 F-350 6.4 PSD snowplow truck
That is a NICE ride Etexas!
PS - [when TX declares their independance, I believe I will be moving somewhere in East TX]
foreman Etexas
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2011
- Messages
- 3,273
- Location
- texas
- Tractor
- Kubota (2010)M7040,(2012)M7040,New Holland(2004)TL100
Come on down,mite bring you some water right now but usually is really nice,things will come around. :thumbsup: on the Independence issue....
Piston
Elite Member
MossflowerWoods said:
Your wife sounds just like mine!
I was told the same thing and I still think I went a little too small. I find myself needing more lift capacity and wish my tractor had a more 'heavy duty' feel to it. I'm very happy with what I have but knowing what I now, I would have stepped up to something with more FEL capacity, maybe around 3,000 lbs or so.
Are you going to do much log handling? If so, forget the idea of doing it efficiently with a small b series or similar size. Also I recommend a FEL grapple, in my opinion, they are worth there weight in gold for woods work!
Dslate
New member
Here's my perspective,
I have 100 acres of trees, rocks and hills in the Ozarks. I'm hacking out a home site and building a retirement home. I've never farmed or owned a tractor but my first purchase was a CUT tractor. I looked at most of the major brands and thought they were all good but I liked the price and features of the Bobcat CT235 so that is what I bought.
I purchased a used 5' brush hog to clear the brush. I then cleared the building site down to stumps using the tractor. Digging the foundation hole and removing the stumps done by a dozer contractor.
I also purchased a TB6 backhoe and dug a 600' water line electrical lines and drains.
My ground is very rocky and I've use the tractor or clear many tons of rocks. To help, I bought a used rock rake and I added a tooth bar to the FEL.
I really like the HST, especially in the woods where I am clearing trails and mowing with the brush hog.
I hardly ever put the tractor into 2WD, always have it in 4WD
I'm planning on putting in a garden and have come to the conclusion that the tractor won't be of much use. I don稚 plan to use it in the garden or mowing the yard (3 acres) of the home site. I will probably get some sort of small garden\mower tractor for that.
We have about a 1/3 mile of driveway and about 1 mile of a shared private road. My neighbor uses a box blade on his 38 HP tractor to box blade the road. I'll help as soon as I get settled in.
My neighbor also use his 38 HP Framtrac to clear the private road after a 24 snow. He didn稚 have a blower so he use the FEL.
Long story short, the 35 hp with a 28 hp PTO, HST, FEL, used Brush Hog, Rock Rake, and Backhoe does OK for me. The size of the CT235 allows me to move around in the trees pretty well.
I have about 250 hr on the tractor and can't imagine being without it.
So far, has done everything I expect it to do.
Hope this helps.
I have 100 acres of trees, rocks and hills in the Ozarks. I'm hacking out a home site and building a retirement home. I've never farmed or owned a tractor but my first purchase was a CUT tractor. I looked at most of the major brands and thought they were all good but I liked the price and features of the Bobcat CT235 so that is what I bought.
I purchased a used 5' brush hog to clear the brush. I then cleared the building site down to stumps using the tractor. Digging the foundation hole and removing the stumps done by a dozer contractor.
I also purchased a TB6 backhoe and dug a 600' water line electrical lines and drains.
My ground is very rocky and I've use the tractor or clear many tons of rocks. To help, I bought a used rock rake and I added a tooth bar to the FEL.
I really like the HST, especially in the woods where I am clearing trails and mowing with the brush hog.
I hardly ever put the tractor into 2WD, always have it in 4WD
I'm planning on putting in a garden and have come to the conclusion that the tractor won't be of much use. I don稚 plan to use it in the garden or mowing the yard (3 acres) of the home site. I will probably get some sort of small garden\mower tractor for that.
We have about a 1/3 mile of driveway and about 1 mile of a shared private road. My neighbor uses a box blade on his 38 HP tractor to box blade the road. I'll help as soon as I get settled in.
My neighbor also use his 38 HP Framtrac to clear the private road after a 24 snow. He didn稚 have a blower so he use the FEL.
Long story short, the 35 hp with a 28 hp PTO, HST, FEL, used Brush Hog, Rock Rake, and Backhoe does OK for me. The size of the CT235 allows me to move around in the trees pretty well.
I have about 250 hr on the tractor and can't imagine being without it.
So far, has done everything I expect it to do.
Hope this helps.
TripleR
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
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- Missouri
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- Kubota M8540HDC, L5740HSTC, BX2200, BX2660, John Deere 425&1025R, Case, Massey Ferguson, Ford
That sure makes it easier. On our next to last purchase, I began looking for a 32-35 HP tractor to keep from running other tractors up from another farm all the time. Like you, I was trying to save money and was going to go 35 max open station.
After crawling all over a bunch of tractors one Sunday, we decided we really liked the L3940. My wife kept trying to talk me into a cab, but I bravely resisted as we already had a cab unit on another farm and I "was trying to save money".
We noticed an L5030 sitting off to the side and she fell in love with it, but upon looking at it, I dismissed it as "too big and too expensive." We also couldn't tell if it was for sale from where it was sitting.
Monday morning I had decided, after much persuasion" to go with a cab and since I was going with a cab, I "needed" the L4240 and was going to place my order. My wife said, while you are talking to Scott, ask if that other tractor is for sale and how much. Being the "tractor expert" that I am I humored her, "knowing" it was "too big and too expensive". Now I don't really have to tell you how this ended do I.:laughing:
It does everything I need and have only brought the M8540 up once and that was to have my son help me muck out a pond and we used both tractors.
Of course my next tractor will be a L5740.
I do agree with FarmwithJunk on the two tractor idea as we have a minimum of two on each farm and it works great for us, but that took quite a few years as even buying used the costs mount up.
Good luck in your search.
bigbull338
Elite Member
1 of these days im going to have to quit reading these threads because they give me tractor fever.an i have a new tractor.
OP
MossflowerWoods
Super Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2011
- Messages
- 5,419
- Location
- Fredericksburg, VA
- Tractor
- Kioti DK50SE HST w/FEL, Gravely 60" ZTR Mower. Stihl MS290 (selling), CS261, & FS190 + Echo CS400 & 2010 F-350 6.4 PSD snowplow truck
OK I stopped at the local Bobcat dealer...
I sat on some tractors, spoke extensively with the manager directly...
He has offered me a CT450 w/FEL & 72mo 0% for ~$26,500.
49hp, pto 38hp, 2600lbs lift in the bucket.
Nice man, comfy seat (he upgrades all the seats on the lot), and a nice tractor.
Plus he is very close, ~10 miles or so.
Thoughts?
I plan to visit Kubota and Kioti at a minimum before I decide.
Thanks in advance,
David
I sat on some tractors, spoke extensively with the manager directly...
He has offered me a CT450 w/FEL & 72mo 0% for ~$26,500.
49hp, pto 38hp, 2600lbs lift in the bucket.
Nice man, comfy seat (he upgrades all the seats on the lot), and a nice tractor.
Plus he is very close, ~10 miles or so.
Thoughts?
I plan to visit Kubota and Kioti at a minimum before I decide.
Thanks in advance,
David
