Buying Advice Help with picking what type/brand/Horsepower Tractor

[Mountain Garden]

Hi All,
I have recently purchased a house with 4 acres on a slope in Mount Shasta and would like to get a tractor for the property. The main uses for the tractor would be for snow removeval in the winter, and in the summer, clearing the the property of brush, hauling wood, attaching a chipper, and I would like to carve out a flat garden area.
I am completely new to tractors and have never even driving one before, So my questions are:
What Size tractor would be adequate for this application?
What brands would be good for this?
I believe that I need a 4wd because of slope, but not sure.
What else should I be considering?


Thank You for all your help, I feel like a kid looking for a new Bike!:thumbsup:

 

[robs660]

You are going to hear that Deere is better then Kubota or that MF is better then Deere or that someone loves their New Holland. At the end of the day they are all quality products with pros and cons to each. I based my decision on the closest and nicest dealer around. I bought a used Kubota and it's been fine for everything. There are tons of uses you will find once you have a tractor so all I will say is get the biggest hp model you can afford because you can't upgrade power unless you buy a new tractor. It's fun tractor shopping and my dealer will let you test drive and offers "newbe lessons" when you buy your first tractor. My neighbor had rep at his house for 5 hours when his Kubota was delivered just showing him how to drive and use it. you will get plenty of advice here. It's a great place to learn from others mistakes and successes

Good luck and when you buy it we all love pictures of tractors

 

[Hoosier Hay Man]

A nice 25hp to 35hp model would probaly work. Sounds like definitly a loader and I would look into a backhoe also if you are doing property improvement.
As far as what brand I would start on what dealers you have in your area. Since this is your first tractor dealer support will be important to you. There are a lot of very good choices and quite a bit of parity between brands. Deere, New Holland and Kubota have very good dealer networks and Mahindra and the Korean brands such as Kioti, Branson, TYM, LS are coming on strong. A lot of choices so I would wait for responsives from others, read this forum alot, visit dealers, test drive and since you are in California the Welcome to the World Ag Expo: Tulare, CA World Ag Expo would have many of the tractor manufactures there with displays to veiw and ask questions. :thumbsup:

 

[bp fick]

Your situation is not unique. We get a lot of new property owners here on TBN asking similar questions.

The difficulty is this. You are starting at ground zero, information wise. You have yet to be more specific, in your own mind, about the precise nature of your tasks. Snow plowing? Even the smallest sub compact tractors can push or blow snow. Garden? If your serious about that, you should consider a slighty taller compact tractor. Not for more horsepower, per se, but for the extra ground clearance.

No tractor is big enough to pull stumps and move large round bales and still be small enough to replace your riding lawn mower. And so it goes.

Start there. Start with tasks that flow from your dreams for your property. The relative size of the tractor needed will come into better perspective.

Brand, at this point, is totally irrelevant.
The top 4 or 5 manufacturers all make good products.

So, what we SHOULD be discussing is helping you better describe your tasks and vision for your property.

 

[TripleR]

Again, all it seems I can do is to reinforce the excellent advice given so far. My initial inclination is something along the lines of a Kubota Grand L 3240 or 3540 or its equivalent in any of the brands mentioned by others.

Decide if you need steering brakes/split brakes, which side, type of operator station, open station or cab what you are going to handle the snow with such as push plow or snow blower and a lot of other things like how much you need to lift and stuff I can't even think of off hand.

I usually recommend that if you don't have any experience with tractors to go rent one of the size you think you might need and use it to get some frame of reference. Really any time spent on any tractor will be helpful.

Of course once you decide on which tractor, you have to decide how to configure it such as tires, weights, rear remotes etc.

One other thing, it is easy to look at acreage and buy too small, it really isn't about acreage, but tasks to be performed.

As to a backhoe; lots of people love and use them. We have one that hasn't been used in years, we just rent an excavator on the rare occasions we need one. You have to determine the difference between need and want.

Good luck.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

With the AG Expo being next month, I highly recommend that you go to it if at all possible. You can do all of your tractor shopping in one location.:thumbsup: Real easy to look at all the different makes and models, great for comparing, no driving from dealer to dealer, everyone is in one big location. Only a few hours down the road.

 

[RobertN]

As I look at this, lots of good advice already. Where are you? In Shasta City, Dunsmuir, or McCloud area? I have extended family in McCloud.

For four acres, a Kubota B2710, older B2150 size would be more than enough. That 24-27hp range, in a mid size compact frame would be perfect. Any of the similar size/power tractors from the other manufacturers(JD, New Holland ect) would be a fit.

There's a B8200HSTD in Shingletown that would be a good fit(I had that model tractor for 12 years). I like the newer models for the extra HP, but that same size chassis.

Look at the dealers in Redding. One(Daves Tractors) used to post here. I think he is in Red Bluff though.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Yep, try out Dave's Tractor, He has ALL sizes that you would be looking at. He is the West coast distributor for Mahindra. He currently has a small used John Deere for 10K. Smaller than I would recommend though. Dave still posts here once in awhile, not as much as he use to though. Still think that you should make the trip down to Tulare for the World AG Expo. Literally 100's of tractors to look at, a one stop shopping event. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Mountain Garden]

Thanks for all the help, I am narrowing down to the 22-28 hp range, I will not be able to make it to the Ag Expo, although it sounds like a lot of fun.
RobertN - we are out north old stage almost to Hammond Ranch. I will look at Daves.
Again thanks for all the help so far

 

[rogerL1961]

I will say for sure get a 4 wheel drive. If you put weight into a loader a two wheel drive will spin the rear tires because their won't be enough weight on them. Also being in the snow country moves you towards a 4 wheel drive plus you said your land is not level.

i suggest checking out youtube.com and looking at some of the videos of what the smaller tractors are capable of doing. I was amazed at how the kubota bx 25 was able to push a very large rock. look for that video on youtube. Lots of videos of the smaller tractors moving snow. Some videos on moving dirt and brush.

The specs for each tractor is posted all over the web. Lifting capabilities and such. I agree with the above that says look for support in your area. The Bx series for kubota is a smaller version than the B series. The B series has higher ground clearance. One disadvantage of you get the smaller frames (subcompact) is that i hear they might be limited on the attachments.

Maneuverability is another factor. Smaller tractors better in this area of course. Weight of the tractor is another issue. The more the tractor weighs the more it can push. Tire size also plays into this.

How much do you want to spend? I say start with youtube and watch the cool videos... my .02 worth