What tractor do you recommend

[JHohler]

I have about 15 acres I want to take care of. 3 acres are yard that I will need to mow once a week. 12 acres I will bush hog about 2 to 3 times a year.
I also have a vegetable garden that I need to till from time to time. Talking to different deales, they recommend the JD4100 or the Kubota B7510. Any suggestions?

 

[isucrazy]

I just paid off my 4200 H.S.T 4x4 . 500 HRS. I have no problem recomending it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ronjhall]

12 acres of Bush Hogging with a 4' Rotary Cutter will take many hours. If the brush is heavy.
I would recommend something bigger than either of those tractors.
I have a <font color="orange"> Kubota </font> 30 hp B2910. Even that would be small for the Bush Hogging part of the requirements.
3 acres of lawn can be cut with my 72" MMM in about 1 1/2 hours.
Have you considered a dedicated mower and a larger tractor for the heavy duty work?

 

[frank_f15]

LIKE RONH says, 12 acres of brush hogging will take some time, if you do 2 or 3 time a year as you state then the rush should be kept down and make it easier and faster, what is it like now?

 

[Henro]

Like Ron, I have a B2910. On 3.7 acres.

If I were in your shoes I would probably decide on a larger size, and buy a L3130...BUT I don't think I would be happy with a tractor that size for finish mowing. But again, I might be...

Actually, my B2910 did a pretty good job finish mowing with a RFM, but I had too little to cut and too many things to cut around or close to, so I bought a smaller tractor to mow with and use the larger tractor for the grunt work. That works well for me.

You almost always want to go larger than you first think you need, when you don't know what you need.

When I was tractor shopping a couple years ago, I saw the B2910 and I wrote it off as TOO BIG for my needs. On a whim, since the cost increase over a B2410 was not that much, I decided to buy the B2910 without even test driving one. Best thing I could have done. Little did I know that at the time though.

The fly in the ointment in your case is the need to finish mow that three acres. Can a larger tractor do it to your satisfaction? Larger means heavier, heavier mean possible tire tracks/ruts in soft earth...

Keep in mind that you get a lot more tractor per dollar spend the larger you go.

Best to get it right the first time as changing later costs a lot.

Once you have a tractor, those fifteen acres will offer possibilities that you never thought of before. Bigger tractor makes for easier work.

"Go West young man..." rings in my ears right now for some reason...Well, not exactly...what I am hearing is "Go bigger young man..." /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bigger than the B7500 size tractor that is...color doesn't matter...

 

[thcri]

I guess I would have to agree with the other guys. I think you need 2 tractors. One for mowing, one for bush hogging. You could look at the New Holland TC24 series. Wonderfull mower but yet can handle some of the bigger tasks, just takes longer with the smaller tractor. The 12 acres brush hogging is the killer. I do mow with my New Holland TC29D and yes I do have to be careful somewhat in the wetter times. Or you could look at some of the sub-compacts as your mowing tractor then get a good used two wheel drive for brush hogging. As Henro said though earlier spending money on a sub-compact doesn't go as far as the larger tractors.

Take your time on this decision. This is one where it will be easy to buy and then be sorry later like me.

murph

 

[To20Chris]

That is a tough one, but here's what I think - Since you need to do a lot of mowing, go for as much power at the lightest weight you can find (Bob, are you reading this? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif). You may have to get weights for the tilling. If you are hogging that off 2-3 times a year, it could still get pretty thick, so how much HP do you need to pull a 6' brush hog? It depends on how fast you go, but I'm thinking you need more than 30hp. On the other hand, if you go over 30hp, you're moving into bigger heavier tractors, which is a problem for the finish mowing. I'd look at the Kubota B7800, or the New Holland TC30 gear. I don't know enough about the JD lineup to figure out which model of theirs fits best. The B7800 is lighter, but loses a little PTO hp that you may need for this use, and the TC30 is a bit heavier.

Also, if you are only trying to keep the fields from getting completely overgrown, you can cut it at the end of the year when the grass and weeds are dry, and then you don't need as much power to get through it.

Or get an old MF35 and a good lawnmower.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I use a TC24 and a B2910 and I think both of those are on the small side, but given the finish mowing requirements you have you are looking for a compromise machine. One that has enough power to do the tasks and one that is still small and light enough to mow the lawn.

To put things into size perspective, my New Holland TC24 is slightly larger than the B7510 you are considering, but has mower power which would allow larger PTO powered implements. For mowing you want lots of power and little weight. The B2910 is the same size as a B7800 and is about 12" longer & 6" wider than the TC24, so it is still a fairly small tractor. Both will easily power a tiller without the need for added weights, and I use a fairly heavy side shift tiller with both machines with equally good results. Both size tractors will power bush hogs, but the larger the better for the field mowing. On the other hand, the smaller quicker turning machine is going to mow the lawn faster, especially so if you have lots of landscaping to mow around. On my property, I have lots of stuff to mow around and very little open field type mowing, for me it is faster to mow with smaller tractor than a larger one, but each of us has different requirements so if you "lawn" area is basically 3 acres of open grass, the B2910/B7800 would be fine because it is fairly small.

So far I think lots of the stuff already posted is great advice. I normally advocate smaller tractors as I think many people buy big and later regret it. In this case I think you are looking at tractors way too small and need to move up to the 30hp machines. I would favor a light weight 30hp tractor and I would favor the smallest 30hp tractor I could find. I know of nothing better than the B7800/B2910 that fits that criteria.

 

[RalphVa]

I vote for the JD 4100. I didn't like the pedal positions on the B7510: brakes on same side as hydro and small reverse pedal back near the seat.

You might look at getting one of those 3 pt finish mowers, about 60", and "bush hog" your fields high. Or get a 5' hog and a MMM. The 4100 isn't too terribly high for mowing, particularly with turf tires (about an inch lower).

I know a guy with a B7400 with HST who uses it with a 5' hog. He said the main problem is the weight and that it'll bog down in heavy grass. The B7400 is 18 hp. He put some liquid in his front tires to give it stability.

Ralph

 

[Dargo]

Well, reading some of the posts caught me before I could post something that would have been in error. I was going to post that I'd recommend a much more powerful tractor and that you wouldn't need two tractors. But....after having rain for nearly a week now, I can't do my last mowing of the year with my L5030HSTC. My yard now is just too soft. During 90% of my mowing season, I love the power and the size finish mower I can use. However, in the early spring and late fall, I do use my "trim" mower for all my mowing. It is a 321D G2 Grasshopper. It is a zero turn radius mower with a 61" mower deck that is powered by a 3 cyl. 21 hp Kubota diesel. It can mow in all but the wettest and softest conditions without making any mess. So, I'd by giving advice that I do not follow if I didn't say that you need two tractors like some of the other guys said. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Soundguy]

Nh tc 30.. or other 30ish hp tractor.

15 ac is a decent amount to take care ok. 30 hp gets you into 5' and 6' implements.

Soundguy

 

[Moon]

I agree with TBN wisdom on the 30hp. The Kubota 3130 would do you nicely. I used my 3010 for the same chores your mention plus 4 acres of finish mowing with a 6' RFM. The weight of the 3130 would make bush hogging a breeze.
JMHO ...

Moon of Ohio

 

[RICHARDG]

This is what I have kinda settled with and works good,,,25 h.p. nortrac 4 wd tractor,,,,8,000 dollars,,,it pulls a 5ft hog with power to spare,,cut about 10 acres about 4-5 times a year with it past two years,,,,it also runs a 5 ft tiller,,,I have a 1/2 acrea garden,,,big,,,,,,,,,it keeps snow off 1/8 mile drive,,,,,,then I got a 25 h.p. sears riding mower,,,had it for about 8 years,,works great,,my yard is about 2 acres,you can buy all of the above for about 12-13,000 dollars,,,,,,,riding lawn mower works better on yard than over sized subcompact,,regular sized tractor works better for other things, thingy