Tractor Sizing 12 New Acres.... what size tractor

   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #1  

andyz171

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I have 12 acres of land in South Louisiana and it is about to be cleared with dozer. I am going to buy a 4X4 tractor with HST transmission and am leaning towards the Kubota but my mind is not made up. The major question I have is what size should I go with and should I opt for smaller tractor with numerous features or larger with bare bones features. I will be getting a front end loader, a 5-6 ft bush hog and a box blade to start.
The plan will be to keep land cut with bush hog until we develop it to be ready for home site then get finishing mower. I will be busting open an existing pond, letting it dry out for a few months and then digging a new one (where I want) and filling old one in with dirt from new. There is a old brick house and old barn on the property that I want to salvage the brick, the slate roof tiles, the old cypress wood from house and barn. I will use the loader to move all this material. I will eventually build a driveway and maintain it with boxblade.

So I have been looking at tractors between 32Hp and 51Hp, I am historically rough on equipment and just don't know if I should believe salesman trying to sell me a Kubota L3240 Grand. This thing has tons of features but I can get other tractors with 44Hp or 38Hp for same or cheaper price but they basicly have the HST transmission and that's it. Also the smaller ones have class 1 hitches but the larger ones have class 1 & 2 hitches, should this worry me? What should I do, what should I think about???
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #2  
Have you looked at the MX series Kubotas
I have a MX 4700D and I love it I use it in my tractor business and it is very tough there is also the MX 5100 which is the same tractor but with a turbo and has about 3 or 4 more horsepower, the horsepower is 47 on my tractor and it does everything I ask of it
I think you would be happy with a little more horsepower than what the dealer is trying to sell you
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #3  
sounds like your going tobe doing some rough hard work with the tractor.theMX5100 4x4 with an LA844 loader will fit you.
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #4  
Andy,

Are you having the place thinned out? Will you be mowing around alot of trees?

May I ask where in South Louisiana?
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #5  
I think a 40-60 HP with FEL would be a good fit for your needs. A big tractor can do most small jobs, but a small tractor cannot do most big jobs....

I would get a John Deere or Kubota personally. I have owned both brands and they are both good.
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor
  • Thread Starter
#6  
The land is in Hammond, LA. We are having them clear anything under 1 Ft in diameter, but there really are not that many trees..... I've crawled through the brush front to back and side to side of the property. Secondly I was told as a first time tractor owner and driver I should go with the HST transmission, what is FEL? I have looked at the MX4700 and MX5100. I am personally leaning towards the Kubota 4240HST Grand or the MX4700. I just want to find out if I am missing something in another brand and what the rest of the world would suggest in terms of HP. Thanks and please keep all this awesome info coming!!!!
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #7  
FEL is Front End Loader.

HST is an excellent choice for transmissions. Especially for FEL work.

It is not obvious to me that digging out a new pond and filling the old one is a job for a FEL. If you really want to do it with the FEL, get a toothbar for the bucket, which makes digging much more efficient. The box blade is probably a better bet if the distance is not too great. Otherwise think about renting an excavator and a dump truck.
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #8  
Andy,

I spent alot of time there as a kid years ago, my dad and I used to fish the Tangipahoa river and Bedico Creek when there were only a handful of camps on them combined about 1960-1970. Loved those Ponchatoula strawberries too.

Back to your tractor issues, all the brands seem to be good and I would suggest a 40hp hydro tractor with R1 tires. This could be a a good used model too. For the mowing I would recommend a separate machine altogether with turf or hdap tires and light weight. A good zero turn mower should be a good choice for your area. Much faster than mowing with a tractor setup. I would suggest you buy the best mower you can and prioritize this over the tractor. You will have more free time this way.

I should point out that clearing is done once but mowing is an ongoing thing. In your locale delevoping a lawn area is easily done with a 40 hp tractor and a few implements for cleanup and tilling. If the tractor is setup for a fel and weighted to handle the implements well it would be too heavy for your lawn. Your ground is soft and will rut easily, thats why I recommend the separate mower.

About the ponds, I wouldn't buy equipment for this work instead I would hire it done. While you have the dozers there for the clearing get an estimate for the pond work. Tractors are not good choices for building ponds imo.
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #9  
I have 12 acres of land in South Louisiana and it is about to be cleared with dozer. I am going to buy a 4X4 tractor with HST transmission and am leaning towards the Kubota but my mind is not made up. The major question I have is what size should I go with and should I opt for smaller tractor with numerous features or larger with bare bones features. I will be getting a front end loader, a 5-6 ft bush hog and a box blade to start.
The plan will be to keep land cut with bush hog until we develop it to be ready for home site then get finishing mower. I will be busting open an existing pond, letting it dry out for a few months and then digging a new one (where I want) and filling old one in with dirt from new. There is a old brick house and old barn on the property that I want to salvage the brick, the slate roof tiles, the old cypress wood from house and barn. I will use the loader to move all this material. I will eventually build a driveway and maintain it with boxblade.

So I have been looking at tractors between 32Hp and 51Hp, I am historically rough on equipment and just don't know if I should believe salesman trying to sell me a Kubota L3240 Grand. This thing has tons of features but I can get other tractors with 44Hp or 38Hp for same or cheaper price but they basicly have the HST transmission and that's it. Also the smaller ones have class 1 hitches but the larger ones have class 1 & 2 hitches, should this worry me? What should I do, what should I think about???

PTO (power takeoff) hp is what you should be looking at for running implements like mowers, balers etc. Drawbar hp is important for ground engaging implements (disc, plows, scrapers, etc). Engine hp is more an advertising number.

What's your tractor budget?

Rough on equipment: be aware that Kubota's tend to be fairly lightweight machines compared to other brands, such as Mahindra. My Mahindra is a 2008 model 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, power steering, gear tranny 8F/2R) with the ML250 FEL (6-ft wide bucket, 2950 lb lift to 10.5 ft height). My FEL has three chain hooks welded to the top of the bucket and has a skid steer adapter setup on the FEL arms (both features strongly recommended). That 5525 weighs over 6000 lb with FEL and water filled rear tires and cost about $19K new plus tax. BTW: my first tractor was a new 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydrostatic tranny, power steering) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 800 lb lift to about 6 ft height). Cost: $12,600 plus tax.

Hydrostatic tranny is not an absolute necessity, but it's nice for a first-time tractor owner who plans to do a lot of FEL work (constant forward and reverse motion changes).
 
   / 12 New Acres.... what size tractor #10  
Consider a few more HP for your situation. After the dozer gets done you may end up doing some cultivation to smooth things out. It would also help with the driveway construction.

How big will the pond be and what type of dirt must be handled. This may determine what equipment will be required for making one.:)
 
 
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