Implement Selection

[Hawkflyer]

The two primary attachments that are driving your selection process will be the backhoe and the chipper. The hoe is a heavy implement. I have one, and the best thing I can recommend for you is that you spend the extra money and get a sub frame. I have converted mine from a TPH connection to a sub frame, and the difference is like night and day. The Hoe is now like a part of the machine instead of an attachment. I can put it on and take it off in about 10 min. and the whole operation is a lot safer.But as I said this is a heavy implement. You need a machine heavy enough to carry it and sit solid while you are operating it. The chipper is also driving your selection. In this case the issues are weight as with the hoe, and PTO power. I have a bearcat chipper. The manual says it is for PTOs between 20 and 40 hp. On my old Kubota B7100, it would bog down with logs in the 5-6 inch range. These were at the maximum size the chipper could handle. The 7100 had 13 PTO HP. I have since bought a B2410 with 18 PTO HP and the chipper can chew any thing that will fit in the chute.Either the hoe or the chipper are heavy enough to justify adding a loader just to balance the weight.So IMHO, you should be looking at the horsepower range of a BX2200, but you may want to consider at least a "B" series for the greater ground clearance, and weight. Something in the B2410, B2710, or B2910 range. The B2910 may be a little larger than you need, and it is really a little over priced in my opinion. The B2710 might fit the bill. The B2410 gives you a little more flexibility in tire selection than a larger machine. I do not know what the equivilient machines in the JD line are but they should work for you as well. All of the other implements you mentioned would run just fine on a machine that can handle the hoe and chipper.Good luck.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Forgot to address the Mower RPM:

Belly Mounts have different gearbox ratio's than Rear Mounts.
In the end, the blade tip speed is about the same: 12000 - 16000 FPM.
Faster MAY cause excesssive wear, vibration and does not mow better. IF higher speed would help, someone would offer 60.000 FPM. No one does..!

The rational of the mid-mount PTO: why slow it down to 540 RPM if it only drives a mower that needs a high speed anyhow. So the Engineers left the step-down out on the tractor and therefore did not need a speed-up on the Mower gearbox. The gearboxes are very pricey and so are the connecting shafts..! Double or more than for the Rear Mounts.

I read with interest the really great advise from other TBN'ers.

Enjoy your decisons !

 

[Woody1]

my .02

snowblower.....dont bother
backhoe....if you can afford it, go for it, if not do it later when you can afford it.
rear blade.....get one. make sure it pivots, and swings. box blade? never had one, so cant advise on it.
mid mount mower? something that turned me off when i bought one....I couldnt run with my tires in the widest position. bought a 0 turn mower and got rid of MMM. Tractor is used for tractor stuff, not mowing. also if/when you get a loader(which you HAVE to have one of these) and you have lots of trees like i do, mowing around with a loader is ,well, challenging. found that was easier to take loader off, put mower on, mow, take mower off, put loader on and do the other stuff that tractor are sposed to do. like dig and haul dirt. Till, dig post holes, grade drivways, etc.......

When i bought mine, wanted a hoe too. But 3 yrs. later, woulkd have been nice, but a little hand digging to get the stumps dug out(good excercise), thats if i couldnt dig them out with the loader, and tradeing off my MMM/front blade/snow blower and the money i saved by NOT buying a hoe has paid for my 0 turn. 26 HP Gavely, 62" hydro. deck.
AND! my tractor wheels are now filled with fluid and in the widest position they can get, giving me more stability on sidehills.
Teeth on bucket? would be nice here on clay, but use the tiller to loosen the soil, then loader picks it up nicely, and also its not got clods in it

 

[BrettW]

Have a look at the largest Yanmar grey market tractors. If you buy from a good dealer, you cant go wrong, this will save you enough money to get any and all implements you want. No I dont sell them. bw

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"The BX22 "</font color=blue>

I think you'd be sadly disappointed in that model for your size property. My local Kubota dealer told me those aren't classified as a 'Compact' tractor but rather a relatively new classification of 'Sub-Compact.' When I first saw one I described it as looking like "a garden tractor on steroids." /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

If you like the Kubota line (and there's really no reason not to), you might want to look at the 2710 or 3010 models. I think you'd be far happier with one of those.

I happen to own a John Deere 4200 MFWD with FEL and BH and am very happy with it. Of course, like all tractor owners, there are days I wish it was the model or so up the line with more power, but that's just human nature.

I'm sure there are many other brands you can consider that would do you a fine job. All of the advice you've gotten above is worth considering. I agree with others that my backhoe is a lot of fun and a very useful item, too.

 

[puter]

ok, I'm convinced, a larger tractor is in order for the uses I'm anticipating. What sways my opinion most, in addition to the near unanimous feedback I've received here, are several older threads (in particular <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?cat=&Board=buykubota&Number=13202>this</A> one) in which someone describes purchasing a smaller tractor to do tasks similar to mine, which they are then disappointed with and very shortly trade-in for a larger one. Save for the counsel received here, I suspect that would have happened to me as well, so I'm very grateful to all who took the time to respond.

That said, moving to a larger tractor w/ a BH significantly changes the economics involved and causes me to reconsider some of how I've attempted to justify this purchase. I was kidding in my initial post when I said I was attempting to "rationalize" a tractor purchase,... now I'm not so sure.

My initial thoughts were that if I took the cash that would otherwise go towards purchasing a good mower or paying someone to mow the lawn, plus the cash for snow plowing, and for digging the drainage and utility ditches, and for pulling the stumps, and for clearing part of the lot, and for cleaning out the pond... well, I'd be a long ways towards the price of a tractor.

Now it's not going to be nearly as close as I thought (10K buys a lot of excavating) and I've learned that this tractor is probably minimally suited for some of the tasks (i.e. digging out 36"+ stumps) and probably not at all suited for others (like cleaning out the pond). Further, I get the impression that these tractors are really not very good at one of the primary tasks for which I'm considering it: mowing the lawn. For lawns, (as opposed to fields or trails that need brush cutting) something like a 7K Exmark ZTR would accomplish the task better, faster and cheaper.

This really isn't a criticism of the tractors, it just reflects my ignorance going into this process about the capabilities and costs of these machines. I suspect that my approach to justifying the purchase of a tractor parallels that of many others who are considering a tractor for non-commercial use. So, given the limitations of my first attempt, here's "take #2" at justifying the purchase of a tractor (guilty of thread-creep in my third post... is that a record?):

I very much believe that a tractor is an "enabling" piece of equipment; that there are numerous tasks and projects that would never be considered or accomplished (despite the availability of rental units) without one being readily available. So, what I'd like to do is try to calculate, as best I can, what it will cost to have this piece of equipment available each day.

As a real simple example, if you assume that the tractor costs $25K, lasts for 20 years, requires no maintenace, and you steal your fuel from a neighbor, that tractor costs about $ 3.43 per day to have available.

For a more realistic example, I'd need some estimates as to how many hours you can expect the engine to last, maintenance costs, fuel usage, etc. This sort of information is readily available for small planes, I know that I can go buzz around the sky for an hour in a Cessna 172 and it costs about $60 including the engine reserve. Is this sort of information available for tractors?

I figured that I could get an estimate by looking at the monthly rental rates, minus 20% or so for margin, but that left me at $50+ per day and without an hours of use/day estimate and a tractor life expectancy, it's tough to turn that into anything meaningful.

So, does anyone have, or know where I can get that kind of information? Thanks again!!

- Mark

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"if you assume that the tractor costs $25K, lasts for 20 years"</font color=blue>

Just for your information, what are probably the most popular tractors of all time, the Ford 'N' series (8N, 9N, 2N, Jubilee, etc.) cost an average of around $1400 new, are now averaging over 50 years old and, in good condition sell for $2000-3500 today.

 

[mikim]

I bought the implements I knew I'd be using on a very regular basis and they didn't cost a fortune. mower, boxblade, and phd -- I'd love a backhoe but can't justify the cost vs. how much I'd use it. The backhoe I'd get for my TC45 would run $7000+ and I can rent a full size commercial for $300 a day. That works out to about 24 days is all - but - I don't see me using a backhoe even that much. You have to compare cost vs usage for your own personal situation. Everybody does different things with their equipment. For me - when the equipment cost tops $1000 -- I'd better use the devil out of it, otherwise I'll be feeling foolish and guilty seeing it sit idle, and figuring that money could have been spent better elsewhere. I like the idea of "try it before you buy it" rent a piece and see if you really will use it enough to justify buying and it gives you a good idea of size & options needed too.
mike

 

[Boondox]

A backhoe is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

And useful? I used to clean out the garage only to find my wife right behind me dragging crap back in. But ever since I started burying the junk six feet under my garage has been spotless! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Pete

 

[BrettW]

But ever since I buried the wife six feet under, my garage has been spotless!

you can bury, but you cant hide!!