What size tractor can we get by with?

[GeneSimm7]

We acquired a B8200 and proceeded to impoverish ourselves trying to take care of all the deferred maintenance. All in we have almost $6000 in a litany of fixes, all new hydraulic hoses, new water pump, rebuilt loader cylinders, refurbished gas tank, new water pump, custom fabricated rear wheels and brand new tires…and last week the hydraulics quit…had it hauled into the local dealer and $806 later they said there was water in the hydraulic fluid….brought it home started it up, lifted the loader and hydraulics proceeded to quit working again. Now, we are almost $7k into a tractor and I’m voting it’s time to move on. She’s been a good girl, but She’s a very expensive date.

So, we know we need at least a marginally larger tractor as the B8200 is about 18HP and it has always been really expensive to try and find attachments suitable for that small a tractor. Our needs are fairly simple. We need to loader for cleaning my sheep barn and for moving snow, and we need to be able to disk up our pasture to rehabilitate it. We have lots of rodent damage but the lay of the land is Flat and our acreage is smaller. We would anticipate renovating 1 Acre at a time and we will not be plowing because the topsoil is shallow and we don’t want to kick up any more rocks that we have to. We would like to be able to run a rear offset grade blade not simple back blade but one with adjustable offset illustration attached but we can’t find one that is suited for a smaller tractor. A snowblower would be heaven but unlikely.

With that in mind, will a 25 HP work or will we be much happier with a 30Hp? We are only looking at geared tractors at this point. I have a personal thing against anything that wreaks of having a CVT or hydrostatic drive…Thanks for any and all feedback.

Where are you located?

 

[tradosaurus]

I went from a Hydrostat 18hp New Holland that was getting burned out mowing hills (I would have to stop mid mow and let it sit an hour) to a gear drive 31hp John Deere and I couldn't of been happier with the upgrade. Not to big/small. Handles snow, stone/grading driveway, backhoe, mowing and never gets tired.

Curious if the higher HP made the difference rather than HST to gear drive?

 

[350c]

We acquired a B8200 and proceeded to impoverish ourselves trying to take care of all the deferred maintenance. All in we have almost $6000 in a litany of fixes, all new hydraulic hoses, new water pump, rebuilt loader cylinders, refurbished gas tank, new water pump, custom fabricated rear wheels and brand new tires…and last week the hydraulics quit…had it hauled into the local dealer and $806 later they said there was water in the hydraulic fluid….brought it home started it up, lifted the loader and hydraulics proceeded to quit working again. Now, we are almost $7k into a tractor and I’m voting it’s time to move on. She’s been a good girl, but She’s a very expensive date.

So, we know we need at least a marginally larger tractor as the B8200 is about 18HP and it has always been really expensive to try and find attachments suitable for that small a tractor. Our needs are fairly simple. We need to loader for cleaning my sheep barn and for moving snow, and we need to be able to disk up our pasture to rehabilitate it. We have lots of rodent damage but the lay of the land is Flat and our acreage is smaller. We would anticipate renovating 1 Acre at a time and we will not be plowing because the topsoil is shallow and we don’t want to kick up any more rocks that we have to. We would like to be able to run a rear offset grade blade not simple back blade but one with adjustable offset illustration attached but we can’t find one that is suited for a smaller tractor. A snowblower would be heaven but unlikely.

With that in mind, will a 25 HP work or will we be much happier with a 30Hp? We are only looking at geared tractors at this point. I have a personal thing against anything that wreaks of having a CVT or hydrostatic drive…Thanks for any and all feedback.

Whatever size you decide on, go to the next bigger size--you won't be sorry.

 

[Hermio]

We acquired a B8200 and proceeded to impoverish ourselves trying to take care of all the deferred maintenance. All in we have almost $6000 in a litany of fixes, all new hydraulic hoses, new water pump, rebuilt loader cylinders, refurbished gas tank, new water pump, custom fabricated rear wheels and brand new tires…and last week the hydraulics quit…had it hauled into the local dealer and $806 later they said there was water in the hydraulic fluid….brought it home started it up, lifted the loader and hydraulics proceeded to quit working again. Now, we are almost $7k into a tractor and I’m voting it’s time to move on. She’s been a good girl, but She’s a very expensive date.

So, we know we need at least a marginally larger tractor as the B8200 is about 18HP and it has always been really expensive to try and find attachments suitable for that small a tractor. Our needs are fairly simple. We need to loader for cleaning my sheep barn and for moving snow, and we need to be able to disk up our pasture to rehabilitate it. We have lots of rodent damage but the lay of the land is Flat and our acreage is smaller. We would anticipate renovating 1 Acre at a time and we will not be plowing because the topsoil is shallow and we don’t want to kick up any more rocks that we have to. We would like to be able to run a rear offset grade blade not simple back blade but one with adjustable offset illustration attached but we can’t find one that is suited for a smaller tractor. A snowblower would be heaven but unlikely.

With that in mind, will a 25 HP work or will we be much happier with a 30Hp? We are only looking at geared tractors at this point. I have a personal thing against anything that wreaks of having a CVT or hydrostatic drive…Thanks for any and all feedback.

Have you considered Mahindra? In general, they are about 20% cheaper than Kubota. Don't just think about Hp. Think about weight. While more weight is not necessary for mowing, it helps a lot for hauling, grading, etc., where pulling force is needed. I also suggest that hydrostatic drive is safer and more reliable than gear drive or shuttle drive. The hydrostat acts as a brake, keeping the tractor from running away on a slope, which can happen if you try to shift gears on a gear drive tractor. And you can avoid potential injury when working in the woods by just taking your foot off the hydrostat drive pedal; with gear drive, you have to push in the clutch, which might be hard to do if your tractor is starting to turn over due to hitting an unseen object, or if you are being impaled by a tree branch.

 

[rocco611]

I have B7800 Kubota with the Hydrostatic trans, its been great for 20 years with just maintenance. It is 30hp and does fine with most implements. I do wish I had bought a larger L series tractor though. The B7800 weighs about 1000lbs less than the Ferguson it replaced. The weight makes a difference when using ground engaging implements or pulling out a stuck vehicle. If you don't need a small tractor to get into tight places bigger is better.

I bought the Kubota as a lease return and got a great deal on it. I went to a New Holland dealer first that tried to sell me a lease return manual trans tractor with a new loader. (they had nearly a dozen in stock) When I asked if they had any with hydrostatic transmissions, he said, "son the heat here in the valley destroys all hydrostat transmissions within in a year. You gotta a get a manual trans if you want it to last". Glad I passed on the New Holland. looking back I think he was trying to sell me what they had, not what I needed. I have been wary or salesman since then.

 

[Gord Baker]

We acquired a B8200 and proceeded to impoverish ourselves trying to take care of all the deferred maintenance. All in we have almost $6000 in a litany of fixes, all new hydraulic hoses, new water pump, rebuilt loader cylinders, refurbished gas tank, new water pump, custom fabricated rear wheels and brand new tires…and last week the hydraulics quit…had it hauled into the local dealer and $806 later they said there was water in the hydraulic fluid….brought it home started it up, lifted the loader and hydraulics proceeded to quit working again. Now, we are almost $7k into a tractor and I’m voting it’s time to move on. She’s been a good girl, but She’s a very expensive date.

So, we know we need at least a marginally larger tractor as the B8200 is about 18HP and it has always been really expensive to try and find attachments suitable for that small a tractor. Our needs are fairly simple. We need to loader for cleaning my sheep barn and for moving snow, and we need to be able to disk up our pasture to rehabilitate it. We have lots of rodent damage but the lay of the land is Flat and our acreage is smaller. We would anticipate renovating 1 Acre at a time and we will not be plowing because the topsoil is shallow and we don’t want to kick up any more rocks that we have to. We would like to be able to run a rear offset grade blade not simple back blade but one with adjustable offset illustration attached but we can’t find one that is suited for a smaller tractor. A snowblower would be heaven but unlikely.

With that in mind, will a 25 HP work or will we be much happier with a 30Hp? We are only looking at geared tractors at this point. I have a personal thing against anything that wreaks of having a CVT or hydrostatic drive…Thanks for any and all feedback.

Like a Standby Generator, always get one size bigger than you think you will need. Get the options you want.

 

[tradosaurus]

Have you considered Mahindra? In general, they are about 20% cheaper than Kubota. Don't just think about Hp. Think about weight. While more weight is not necessary for mowing, it helps a lot for hauling, grading, etc., where pulling force is needed. I also suggest that hydrostatic drive is safer and more reliable than gear drive or shuttle drive. The hydrostat acts as a brake, keeping the tractor from running away on a slope, which can happen if you try to shift gears on a gear drive tractor. And you can avoid potential injury when working in the woods by just taking your foot off the hydrostat drive pedal; with gear drive, you have to push in the clutch, which might be hard to do if your tractor is starting to turn over due to hitting an unseen object, or if you are being impaled by a tree branch.

Why are you on a Kubota forum pitching Mahindra and giving false information?

Looking at the MSRP of the Mahindra 5565-4L it runs about $45K
MSRP of the Kubota MX5400 runs about $45K. Dealer priced of ~$38K

Weight listed for 5565 is ~6000 lbs which includes the loader (which is deceptive) and the weight of the MX5400 with loader is listed as 4,200 lbs. Where is the extra 1,800 lbs Mahindra is claiming coming from?

Mahindra also lies about their no DPF technology as if they aren't still required to meet emission standards. They don't have a regen which forces the tractor to burn hot for a period of time to burn the soot off of the collector but MF (and Mahindra) has a mCRD (DOC system) system which runs hotter all the time to burn off the soot. This is not new technology and is really is dishonest for a tractor mfg to tout this as a benefit over DPF.

So to the OP, stick with the premium of tractor quality and honesty, Kubota.

 

[Stormy873]

I guess I still don't understand. My view of getting older and retiring is that it generally gives a person more time to do things. Plus money goes farther too when you have time to do things for yourself.

Maybe do both? Build a machine shed AND fix up that old tractor? If not now, then aim to do so when you retire. They haven't made a law yet saying we can't do things for ourselves....

BTW, we were just up in Oregon not too far from you. Last month we spent a day at the maritime museum in Astoria.

It seems to me that an older couple would want to use a tractor rather than a shovel. Doing without seems like a less desirable option. I will say that having a loader to lift & move things is important in rural life. In fact I can't over emphasize the value of a loader.

rScotty

 

[Stormy873]

It was consoling to read your post as I too have a b8200. I’m $5000 in on repairs and still no end in sight. Full rebuild on hydraulics, rad reconditioned, new glow plugs, starter replaced, new rear wheels, and all round tires plus more. I’ll get it working one last time and sell

 

[Bushbunnie]

I have B7800 Kubota with the Hydrostatic trans, its been great for 20 years with just maintenance. It is 30hp and does fine with most implements. I do wish I had bought a larger L series tractor though. The B7800 weighs about 1000lbs less than the Ferguson it replaced. The weight makes a difference when using ground engaging implements or pulling out a stuck vehicle. If you don't need a small tractor to get into tight places bigger is better.

I bought the Kubota as a lease return and got a great deal on it. I went to a New Holland dealer first that tried to sell me a lease return manual trans tractor with a new loader. (they had nearly a dozen in stock) When I asked if they had any with hydrostatic transmissions, he said, "son the heat here in the valley destroys all hydrostat transmissions within in a year. You gotta a get a manual trans if you want it to last". Glad I passed on the New Holland. looking back I think he was trying to sell me what they had, not what I needed. I have been wary or salesman since then.

I have a B7800 and I love. Don't anything bigger.

 

[C79]

If it's any help, I had 25 and 30 hp Mahindra for 18 years. They did what I wanted them to do with a few exceptions. Two years ago I upgraded to a 55 hp and there is pretty much nothing I can't do with it. It might be good to make a list of what you want to do and what you might want to do after that so are only buying a new machine once instead of only going up 5 or 10hp to find out you still don't have enough tractor. Weight and ballast means a lot for certain things but if you need to limit height for barn cleaning you might want to just keep what you have and add another.

 

[DougMahindra2545]

My rule of thumb is 1HP per acre. I have a heavy 45HP Mahindra for my 46 acres, and I think it's been perfect. And the mechanically simple and power efficient shuttle shift is my preference.

 

[Stormy873]

If it's any help, I had 25 and 30 hp Mahindra for 18 years. They did what I wanted them to do with a few exceptions. Two years ago I upgraded to a 55 hp and there is pretty much nothing I can't do with it. It might be good to make a list of what you want to do and what you might want to do after that so are only buying a new machine once instead of only going up 5 or 10hp to find out you still don't have enough tractor. Weight and ballast means a lot for certain things but if you need to limit height for barn cleaning you might want to just keep what you have and add another.

 

[Stormy873]

I think i may have given people the incorrect impression I am looking for an excuse to buy a new tractor…actually, the purchase of a new tractor is about last on my list but we can really get ourselves in trouble if we can’t manage “dependable” with our existing tractor…so, I want to be educated about what it takes to get certain jobs done…just in case that’s the only answer.

Due to our age we hate to get over zealous about buying a tractor because well, it’s cutting into our budget to buy another place better suited to our long Term goals.

 

[Stormy873]

Where are you located?

I’m in the Cascade foothills of Oregon.

 

[Stormy873]

BIG mistake not considering a hydrostatic,, especially for your type work.
i have both,,
I let my novice son-in-law use the hydrostatic anytime he wants it,,
The pic is his first ever attempt at using a landscape rake, after an excavator took out a bunch of trees,,

BUT,,
he NEVER gets near my gear drives.

Hydro is just so much easier to do work with,,

You will have fewer mechanical failures if you have a hydro,,
especially if you use a loader,,
Loaders are hard on gear drive tractors.

 

[Stormy873]

I had to chuckle about the gear drive…we are old school. I refused to buy a new 4 runner for years because it had an automatic transmission. I barely tolerate the automatic but I drew the line at CVT and it just seemed to me that the hydrostatic is kind if the tractor equivalent of a CVT.

 

[Eagle1]

Hydrostatic drive is essentially a hydraulic motor with a variable drive pump controlling the output and distinct gear ratios. While I dislike CVT (on ATV/Golf cart) it works but I am very comfortable with hydraulic motors, been around a long time and just works.

 

[2manyrocks]

HST which relies on pumping hydraulic fluid isn't the equivalent of a CVT relying on a variable belt and pulley transmission by a long shot.

5030 brought up the hydraulic shuttle shift which is a good transmission, but I'm not sure it is available on the smaller tractors. However, there is a case to be made for buying a larger tractor that will be less stressed in operation than trying to economize by buying a smaller tractor to save money, but that won't hold up as well as the larger tractor.

 

[rScotty]

I think i may have given people the incorrect impression I am looking for an excuse to buy a new tractor…actually, the purchase of a new tractor is about last on my list but we can really get ourselves in trouble if we can’t manage “dependable” with our existing tractor…so, I want to be educated about what it takes to get certain jobs done…just in case that’s the only answer.

Due to our age we hate to get over zealous about buying a tractor because well, it’s cutting into our budget to buy another place better suited to our long Term goals.

A used tractor can do a person just fine, but there are caveats:

Most small tractor dealers don't have the level of mechanical expertise to deal with troubleshooting even the very common old Kubotas - and all those older tractors were pretty much identical for 20 years except for size. But the person in the shop today is different from 20 years ago. He is now a technician - not a mechanic - and does his troubleshooting with software. His hands-on wrench work tends to be more as a parts changer than as a diagnostician. Expecting today's tech to to diagnose a subtle problem in a pre-computer model tractor is simply asking for a skill that no longer is common in the homeowner size tractor business.

Luckily for all of us, tractors are still built to last, and even with old tractors most problems are minor. But to successfully enjoy an older tractor - or a new one after the warranty - means that the tractor owner needs to expect to study up and be capable of doing his own simple maintenance and troubleshooting. Or have a neigbor who does. That means becoming conversant with hoses, belts, switches, batteries, filter, and fluids ... things like that. Those things will eat your budget up with no value to you if the dealer does them.

Let the dealer do tires once a decade. You get to do the rest. Or buy a new machine as so many would rather do today.

rScotty - getting old is a mixed blessing with or without a tractor - but better with.