Where does it stop?

[Deezl Smoke]

So I started out intending to buy a 25hp tractor with a loader and backhoe. The pricing was somewhat close between the brands I had narrowed it to. But then one salesman says he can get me into a larger frame for the same money, just that it will be gear drive. (which I prefer) So I take that and ask the other salesmen, and then that bidding war starts, until one of them again says, well if you're willing to go that much, for a few bucks more you can have the 30hp and step up even further. Read deere 3033r. Now Kubota comes back with the L4701. Maybe if I wait another week or so, I'll be quoting a 600hp quad track.

So for a lower hour usage, loader, hoe and mower tractor, about where is the "best bang for the buck"? Is the small framer like the BX25D and 1025R the better value, or with all other things equal like trailering capacity etc., is the better value in like the L series lower numbers or the deere 3 family? Other brands included.

I do want to get into some custom work, but only for hobby money. Stuff like clearing a pad for a small out building or mowing down briers and digging a trench for a water line etc. I like the idea of full cat1 three point vs. cat1 limited.

I'm not a small person. 5'11" and will be back to my more normal weight of about 240 soon now that I got my hernia fixed. But I am large framed and pack that weight pretty evenly.

 

[KennyG]

If you are looking at digging/excavating as a lot of the use, I think you definitely want to move to the 30HP class. And full Cat I is an essential because of the greater range of motion. I do a limited amount of ground work with my 24HP tractor and it's good but if I did a lot, I would want more weight.

 

[s219]

If you plan a lot of front loader work, don't get the gear drive, it will be slow and tedious. I'd need a longer list of the type and size of your projects to give proper advice. Think about the implements you would need, then the sizes and HP required, and pretty soon you will find the zone you should be shopping in. Shop based on the uses of the tractor, not for the tractor or price.

 

[jmc]

I prefer gears too but my first tractor (Ford 1920) had to be almost stopped before changing gears without grinding. You definitely want some kinda synchronized transmission, preferable between forward and reverse too, for loader and trimming work.

A 30 HP tractor might have better resale than the smaller one.

Also compare loader capacities and hydraulic flow rates to run the loader.

 

[Gator6x4]

During your research also check and see at what RPM the tractor produces it max horsepower. There is a lot of difference, noise wise and vibration wise in setting on a tractor you have to run at 3200 RPM's to develop 30 horse power and ones that develops 30 horse power at 2600 RPM's.

 

[teg]

Don't forget about the weight of the machine and attachments, you'll have to get to the job site.

PS. TBN is also good about spending other people's money...

 

[arrow]

Ok, straying from the hydro vs. gear discussions, I'll go by what you are saying and will stay with your preference. To me, a smaller tractor that will be used occasionally for heavier work but most of the time will be used for lighter duty things like lawn cutting, I'd get the smaller. Even if you are on the side of the Oregon mountains that get snow, a small tractor with a snow blower can move a lot of white stuff. If it is a constant diet of heavier stuff such as digging dirt, clearing, skidding logs, etc. you'd be better off with the larger. If it is a major part of your plan to do outside work, I'd go larger. Do not let price get in the way of how you are going to use your tractor as that is like you going to different restaurants because one throws more food on the plate than the other. Your body only needs what it needs.
There are alleged axioms such as "get the biggest tractor you can afford" but the reality of this statement is that the owner is doing more and more strenuous work with the tractor as he/she gets the idea of what the tractor is capable of. Invariably it's not the size of the tractor so much as the appetite for what the owner wants to do with it that has increased.

Your bodily size should be accommodated no matter what tractor you choose. Your criteria for ownership seems to be all over the place e.g.: price, tractor size, usage and ergonomics. I would suggest formulating a clearer picture of your desires and then go from there.

If I weren't skidding logs out, and speaking to a line of tractor I know (Mahindra) and not trying to make another tractor brand recommendation , I would have gotten the Max 20 something series which is more like the BX series. One of these with a snow blower, rototiller, backhoe and mower deck would fit in like a glove for how I would use a tractor more so than the Mahindra 3016 I have now. But my largest criteria (making firewood from scratch) would not have been fulfilled nearly as well with the smaller tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

If you plan a lot of front loader work, don't get the gear drive, it will be slow and tedious.

If you buy a tractor with an FEL and gear transmission you will be in a small minority, perhaps 2%. Should you decide to sell in a year or two upon figuring out all your needs, the market for your FEL/gear tractor will be limited and the offers you receive LOW.

FEL/HST/R4 Industrial tires are purchased together 90% of the time, with tire choice being the largest variable.

I started my tractor experience with a sub-compact John Deere 750 gear, no FEL. If I were good size physically I would find shifting gears all day in the tight operator's station of a small tractor uncomfortable. The 9" ground clearance on sub-compacts is limiting.

 

[sea2summit]

Never heard of anyone complaining about their tractor being too big....

BX25 wills every thing you have time for it to do, but if you want several projects done Ina few weeks/months a bigger tractor is better. I've got the BX and an MX and while I use the MX for 90% of the stuff I do now I still won't get rid of the BX.

 

[jeff9366]

I do want to get into some custom work, but only for hobby money. Stuff like clearing a pad for a small out building or mowing down briers and digging a trench for a water line etc. I like the idea of full cat1 three point vs. cat1 limited.

Do not solicit paid work until you have purchased ample LIABILITY INSURANCE. Inevitably you will rip out a fiber-optic cable, back into a house wall, or something else and be liable for big bucks. People lose their homes and land in damage suits.

 

[DK35vince]

I started my tractor experience with a sub-compact John Deere 750 gear, no FEL. If I were good size physically I would find shifting gears all day in the tight operator's station of a small tractor uncomfortable.

It makes a big difference in what type of gear transmission IMO.
Sycro shuttles and glideshifts, power reversers are a big improvement for easy to use vs the crash box on that 750.
My previous tractor was a JD 850. Had to stop to shift, shifter on the floor and only 2 reverse gears (low reverse was often to slow, high reverse was often to fast)
My current tractor has the synchronized shuttle and synchronized transmission. 8 speeds forward or reverse, shift on the go, no need to stop to shift. Flip the shuttle lever and your going the other way. Whatever gear you are in going forward, that is the gear you are in when you reverse.
I like it SO much better than the crash box on my previous 850 for speed and ease of use.

 

[jeff9366]

Are there 25-horsepower to 35-horsepower tractors with Synchro Shuttles or Glideshifts?

I do not know. I am seeking enlightenment.

I sometimes operate a 50+horsepower, 2-WD, John Deere (no FEL) with Glideshift, so I realize these convenient transmissions are available on larger machines.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would for sure want an HST transmission for back hoe work. I love the HST 3 range transmission in my Kubota B26. I have a short rod that I use to reach up to the HST pedal and move the tractor forward when I need to while digging ditches or just to relocate it a bit without getting out of the seat to move it. It would for sure be a PIA to have to get off the hoe, spin the seat around, get back on the tractor to move it a bit. For sure, you can use the hoe to push forward, sideways etc sometimes but that means having the transmission in neutral which allows the tractor to roll if the stabilizers are up and you may not want it to roll back into a ditch or something.
As for FEL work, I have used shuttle shift on my first tractor and it was OK but not nearly as good as the HST.

HST is surely worth the extra initial cost that you will recover upon resale.

 

[Oldpath05]

My L3400 DT has the basic prehistoric transmission, ok for wood harvesting and a little FEL work, but if my main job was bucket and backhoe work I'd want a better transmission, what ever that is.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Ok, I'm new to this site, so I keep in mind that I have no history here......yet, and as such it is difficult to make recommendations when you dont know anything about me. But say what's on your mind anyway. It will just take some time for my personality and history to come about.

That said, I have farmed my whole life on smaller, family size farms with some livestock history.I started way too young and without regard for safety. I could barely reach the clutch on the old jd 2020 with a loader that had a home made bucket way too big for it. Then the 4430 with a loader, then an IH 786 fel etc. So gears are my "comfort" type trans.

We have a deere 955 here on the farm I work on. We bought a fel for it, but it sucks. Though the 955 hydro has been bullet proof and in 3k hours never a hickup, it is not very foot friendly, and somewhat jerky on rougher terrain. But gears, either dry clutch or torque converter, with a foot throttle, just work for me. I think the new, more refined hydros are way better and smoother than 25 years ago. I can, and am more than willing to get used to them if I need to. But if I dont need to, then I think I will be happier to spend time on the tractor if it has a foot throttle and a shuttle or "johnson bar" type reverser of some kind.

Here's a link to a machine finder ad for a 4 family deere without a hoe at a dealer near me. Maybe an hour drive and with the rainy windy weather, I'd happily be driving to check things out than cleaning gutters and picking up sticks. It's a low hour used rig, so the price reflects it and I can deal from there a bit. Then buy an aftermarket hoe or something maybe?

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Also just to ad, this purchase is for me personally. We have downsized the farm some and I will have more time to take care of some personal projects. Figured I better ad that as many may wonder why I want to buy this tractor when I have access to so many on the farm. It's just something I want to do. I dont smoke or drink, so I'm not much fun at parties, but I'm not broke.

 

[jeff9366]

tractor data.com: Deere 4520 = TractorData.com John Deere 452 tractor information

Nice tractor.

 

[Baby Grand]

I guess the first thing I'd want to figure out is if you expect your future tractor to cut lawn, by which I mean around the house kind of cutting?

If yes, then I'd stick with a smaller frame size with turf tires. I see you live in the western part of the state, where the weather can be like a cool jungle - not so much heat, but lots of rain. If this is the case, you'll want to keep tractor weight on the lawn as low as practical and have a big tire footprint to keep from rutting the yard.

Or you could get a pretty good used lawn tractor for the price of a larger frame tractors' optional mid mount mower & optional mid PTO kit. This would allow you to get tires optimized for lawn cutting on the mower and tires optimized for FEL/backhoe/construction/land clearing/contouring/growing work on the larger machine.

-jim

 

[bcp]

There are tractors and there are lawn mowers. Too many compromises for one machine to do both well. Like using your circular saw for food preparation. Even something like a BX is probably 1000 pounds heavier than a mower.

:2cents:

Bruce

 

[dickfoster]

Are there 25-horsepower to 35-horsepower tractors with Synchro Shuttles or Glideshifts?

I do not know. I am seeking enlightenment.

I sometimes operate a 50+horsepower, 2-WD, John Deere (no FEL) with Glideshift, so I realize these convenient transmissions are available on larger machines.

Well I just bought one. A Mahindra 1538 with shuttle shift. I started out with HST but I got the gear because much of my property slopes. Many who should know, say hilly terrain can be sometimes be a problem for HST. Even my dealer who was pushing HST before said I'd be better off with the shuttle shift. However I won't be doing a lot of FEL work requiring a lot of back and forth like mucking out horse stalls. It also shaved a thousand bucks off the price. But seeing as how you're in Florida I doubt you have any hills or slopes to contend with.
I also started out shopping lower power but ended up with the 38. I'll probably see more like 35 at my altitude, another problem you don't have.