What Type and HP Tractor?

[ronmueller]

I grew up on a dairy farm in PA back in the 60's and early 70's and have since then lived the urban life. I've now retired and will be relocating from San Jose, CA to a 107 acre mountain property in NM in April. I'll be needing to get a tractor. I've been searching the web and have to admit that I've lost touch with what's out there over the past 40 years! I can't believe how many strange makes there are now (what in the world is a Hurlimann Prince 455?).

I could really use some advice on what hp and make I should be looking at. My property is at 8000', so I assume a turbodiesel is a must. I will be using the tractor to maintain my private dirt road, clear trees, dig footing trenches for my new house and barn, put in a septic tank, put in a driveway, etc. I know a 4x4 and a FEL is a must, as is a box blade. I'd like a backhoe but I'm not sure what size tractor would be best. I've seen some very small tractors with backhoes that look more like toys than anything useful. Also, if I get a used rig, what is the most number of hours I should be looking at to avoid a lot of issues? I'm remote, and the nearest dealer is JD (132 miles). The furtthest is the NH dealer (285 miles away), so it looks like NH is out. Most of the others are 150 miles away in Albuquerque.

Sure could use some help/recommendations! Thanks in advance...ronmueller

 

[Egon]

Whats your budget? New or used?

The dealers shop area will work on different makes of tractors and will order parts.

 

[ronmueller]

If I make a cash purchase, $25k. But I see there is some really attractive financing available on new purchases. I'm open to used, but not sure what max hours I should consider. I saw on another thread that CUTs are built to go 2000 hrs before needing an overhaul.

 

[Egon]

For some of the jobs you list a backhoe would almost be essential.

Consider something of about 35 HP with a hoe.

 

[manganos]

Wow 107 acres ....I'd say around the 50 plus HP range. I think you will be in the upper end of "compact tractor" with that amount of acreage.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

I'm not sure, but at 8000ft, I'm betting that winter can get pretty chilly up there (I know this from elk hunting at 9500ft in Idaho). You probably should be looking for a a full sized utility tractor 50-75hp with a Cab w/heat. If you get snow a lot, opt for 4WD. BobG in VA

 

[bp fick]

Well, many of the makes you remember are still around, although everything is outsourced, pretty much.

John Deere, Massey Ferguson, (Ford) New Holland-Case.

Joining that group is Kubota, a Japanese name that's been here a long time and has the credibility of stability and quality with a capital Q. Kubota is the leading CUT and subCut builder. Seems to me you are indeed looking in the 45-50 hp range for your described tasks.

The Korean based Kioti also sells under the BobCat name. Mahindra, an Indian company, has established itself fairly well. That ought to give you the basics and a whole lot to consider. Orange (Kubota) Blue (New Holland) and Green (John Deere) still dominate the market with dealer support to match.

The rest divide the spoils. Their market share is pretty small. It would be up to you to consider if a Big Three or Four is important to you for future support and parts. It was to me. Given your remote location, I would think reliability would be Number One. Best Regards and good luck shopping.

One last thing. In the end, you are going to have to find a dealer you like and trust and get along with.

 

[flusher]

I grew up on a dairy farm in PA back in the 60's and early 70's and have since then lived the urban life. I've now retired and will be relocating from San Jose, CA to a 107 acre mountain property in NM in April. I'll be needing to get a tractor. I've been searching the web and have to admit that I've lost touch with what's out there over the past 40 years! I can't believe how many strange makes there are now (what in the world is a Hurlimann Prince 455?).

I could really use some advice on what hp and make I should be looking at. My property is at 8000', so I assume a turbodiesel is a must. I will be using the tractor to maintain my private dirt road, clear trees, dig footing trenches for my new house and barn, put in a septic tank, put in a driveway, etc. I know a 4x4 and a FEL is a must, as is a box blade. I'd like a backhoe but I'm not sure what size tractor would be best. I've seen some very small tractors with backhoes that look more like toys than anything useful. Also, if I get a used rig, what is the most number of hours I should be looking at to avoid a lot of issues? I'm remote, and the nearest dealer is JD (132 miles). The furtthest is the NH dealer (285 miles away), so it looks like NH is out. Most of the others are 150 miles away in Albuquerque.

Sure could use some help/recommendations! Thanks in advance...ronmueller

Looks like a no-brainer to me since dealer availability and proximity is an important factor in making an expensive buying decision like the one you're contemplatiing.

JD has the 110 TLB, but new it's pretty pricy. Pre-owned 110s are more in your price range

DEERE 110, Used DEERE 110, DEERE 110 For Sale At MachineryTrader.com

Lotsa luck.
Have fun in NM. I always enjoyed my time there (working with LANL in the 1980s and 90s).

 

[ronmueller]

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Unfortunately, Santa didn't leave me a tractor

I've been doing some on-line research and put together a spread sheet to compare similar products from the various manufacturers. It looks like JD is to only one that has turbodiesels in the lower hp ranges, the others start around 55hp. Two tractors that looked good was the Branson 5530 and the Challenger MT315B. They are both turbodiesels with similar hp, and they are both over 5000 lb tractors. Unfortunately, the Branson is a new model, so there isn't anything used and a used Challenger is rare.

Manganos wrote---Wow 107 acres ....I'd say around the 50 plus HP range. I think you will be in the upper end of "compact tractor" with that amount of acreage.

It's a mountain property with nothing suitable for farming. At the very most, I may be able to put in a 1/4 to 1/2 acre garden if I brought in top soil. And then the wildlife would probably eat it all. I have antelope, deer, and elk that graze there all the time. My primary use of the tractor would be road and driveway maintenance, construction, and forestry management (i.e., cleaning up all of the dead wood).

Bob_G_in_VA wrote---I'm not sure, but at 8000ft, I'm betting that winter can get pretty chilly up there (I know this from elk hunting at 9500ft in Idaho). You probably should be looking for a a full sized utility tractor 50-75hp with a Cab w/heat. If you get snow a lot, opt for 4WD.
Actually, the average daily high for JAN there is 46 and it's usually sunny, so it's not that bad. The summer is the rainy season. I'll average two snow accumulations each winter with about 6" to 12" accumulation that only lasts about one to two weeks (except where the snow is in the shade). So I didn't consider a cab as a necessity. Besides, I figured an open tractor with just a ROPS would be much easier to navigate between the trees. But you're right on with the FWD, I won't consider a 2WD.

bp fick wrote---One last thing. In the end, you are going to have to find a dealer you like and trust and get along with.
Absolutely!! I'm planning to make the rounds over the next couple of months to check them all out. I may start another thread to see if I can get NM member's comments on the their dealers.

flusher wrote---Looks like a no-brainer to me since dealer availability and proximity is an important factor in making an expensive buying decision like the one you're contemplatiing.

JD has the 110 TLB, but new it's pretty pricy. Pre-owned 110s are more in your price range.
I've been looking at 110s, but the ones for under $25k have some hefty hours and I'm not keen on getting someone else's problems. Also, the 110 is not turbocharged so I'd be down to 76% of rated power at 8000' (3% per 1000' is the thumbrule I've heard). For the price of many of those 110s I could have this, and it's only 50 mi away. Although I think it's waaaay more tractor than I need.
2001 KUBOTA M9000 40 HP to 99 HP For Sale At TractorHouse.com

The search continues! ronmueller

 

[JoeinTX]

2001 KUBOTA M9000 40 HP to 99 HP For Sale At TractorHouse.com[/url]

The search continues! ronmueller

The ironies, Ron.

After reading your post this morning I did the same thing and went to Tractorhouse, searched NM listings...........and pinpointed that very tractor too. Thought about coming back and linking to it but I too figured to much tractor from what you were saying originally.

Not much for sale used in NM it appears.