Girl needs sub compact tractor purchasing advice

[rfk]

Have you looked at the massey 1528 or 1532. Either will do what you want and you won't have to upgrade in a year or so. Dealer service is so very important

 

[jimmyj]

Hi Outfox

Like I was you are probably more confused than ever.

Some advice from a risk averse cheapo who took a year to buy:

a) don't get too small
b) stay with a major brand that is proven reliable and a "favorite" such as Kubota, JD, Kioti, New Holland
c) find the best dealer in your area - that means way more than most people think
d) warranty is important if you are on a budget (and who isn't)
e) get something common, something that there are a lot of out there
f) don't buy into any deals that are too good to be true - like the no warranty deal
g) don't be scared of buying used for major brands such as listed in b)

I would look at the Kubota BX or Kioti CK 20 unless you have a good JD dealer near you.

Good luck!

 

[kozak]

OutFOX, Welcome to TBN .

Congratulations on the property....sounds nice.

The wife & I have somewhat similar interests to yours although at a smaller scale. We have 2.3 acres with two horses. Definitely a small lot size with the horses. But when it comes to maintenance.......you want a larger tractor than alot of Dealers or others will tell you because they just don't have the experience.

Now to qualify that statement, it all depends on what you are going to do with the horse poooop. With only 2.3 acres we have to clean everything up if we want to make the most of the pasture we have as Horses do not like to graze where they have pooped. (You may well already be aware of this) Now with 6 acres, you may not have the same problem......depends how many horses you have. All I know is that I am sure GLAD I have the weight, size, power & lift capability of my Tractor to take care of the MOUNTAINS of Poooop for only two horses.

Granted, you don't get snow so that's a plus. However, what are you going to do with mountains of horse poop. We compost ours & make some of the most incredible dirt ever know to man-kind. Very nice for landscaping & of course TREES. To do this a larger tractor makes sense.

I guesss after all the above, if you have horses DO NOT GET A SUB COMPACT......too small. You will not regret the feel of a REAL tractor when working on your land & taking care of your horses.

Remember.......I only have 2.3 acres.

In so far as Cub Cadet......unfortunately I don't think your looking at the right brand. Massey Ferguson, Mahindra, Kioti, NH, Kubota, John Deere.....there are many....Cub Cadet is more for SCUT type machines.

Just my 2 Cents.

Good Luck & Happy Foxing !!

Vic

 

[kozak]

If you ordain a tractor does that make it holier than others? if it is holier does that mean it has lots of leaks?

Buck

 

[tornadowatchranch]

does this tractor have to be big enough to move round bales for the hayburners?

 

[LBrown59]

OutFOX, Welcome to TBN .

1* We have 2.30 acres.
2*Cub Cadet is more for SCUT type machines.
Vic

1*Got ya beat we have 2.33 acres.
2*I would not even want a CC for that.

 

[john_bud]

Words of advice. Go to the close large dealers and talk to them. Look for something in the 35-45hp range. Used and under 10 years 1500 hours would be fine. Given your experience, I would say to get a HST. (Hydrostatic) as they are the easiest to get comfortable and productive with. In Florida, you don't need 4wd, but it will be more productive with loader operations. Otherwise you will need a rear weight 150% of the FEL lift capacity.

Ask if you can try out a used tractor or two on your property.

If you are wanting to get a post hole digger, DON'T get a tractor with cat 0 or "near" cat1 sized 3pt hitch. Go ONLY for a full spec Category 1 three point hitch. The smaller ones have trouble going full up and full down.

Cub Cadet has a long history of jumping in and jumping right back out of tractors. I wouldn't go with them for just that reason. Especially if they are doing some odd ball no warranty deal. Shiver, gives me the creeps.

Last point, tractors shrink with use. The first time you set on one, it's huge. After a month it's pretty normal size. After 6 months you are wondering why in the world you bought such a tiny toy.

Keep asking questions, we love to talk.

(Sometimes it's even worth listening to - not often, but sometimes.)

jb

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

TYM had a batch of 233 & 273 hydrostat ("automatic" tranny) machines left out in a hailstorm they're selling cheap - but still with most of the warranty. I saw one local for $10,500 with the QA loader and the only place I saw paint damage was on the edges of the cup holder.
TYM, Kubota Bx, & MF GCseries, etc... machines are all small enough to get in and out of confined spaces pretty easy, but won't pull more than a 5' box blade or finish mower.
Branson and Mahindra 3510's (different machines, just shared model number) are great workers, but may be bigger than you want at 10' plus loader. I saw a Mahindra TLB on Craig's list a couple weeks back for $12,500 and heard about a Branson up in Iowa at a dealership that went for the same $$.
When shopping, avoid the "refurbished" machines with no ROPS, as there's no real quality control on some of them and no way to know how much life they have left. (some are great buys, some aren't)

good luck!

 

[outfox]

Thank you everybody for your comments, I'm learning a LOT! Keep the ideas coming.

OK, everybody has convinced me that the no warranty deal on the CC 5264DE is a BAD IDEA.

Comments have also led me to believe this little tractor (CC SC2400) may be just that......too little, BUT,

my property is cross-fenced so much that pulling a bush hog/rear finish mower isn't really feasible, I would have to come behind it with another machine to get into the corners & then a weed wacker for fence lines as well, what a pain in the *****!

So, next uninformed question:

Does the next class size up even offer belly mowers? I haven't seen one.....

 

[IH3444]

Several manufactures offer belly mowers, I believe New Holland, John Deere, has up to 72" for the 35-45hp tractors.