Buying Advice Howdy, new to the forum and new to tractors

[dan daly]

Well, we just bought an old fixer upper of a farm house that sits on 22.5 acres. I've never owned anything more then .5 acres before and neither my wife or I are farmers by trade. I mow my current yard (at the house we're moving from) with a manual push reel mower! That's not going to cut it at the new place

About 1/3 of the property is woods, so that leaves roughly 14 that is cleared. Of that much of it was farmed for corn last year, and I'm not worried about it at the moment. What I am worried about right now is mowing the area around the house, to keep it looking civilized. Like it says in the thread title, I'm new to tractors, and trying to figure out what to get. Obviously don't want to spend money on something I don't need, but also don't want to spend money on junk and have to replace it anyway.

Here's what I'm looking to do:

1. Mow grass-mandatory
2. Plow snow-mandatory(we have a fairly short gravel driveway up to the house. House is pretty near the road with pretty much all the property back behind it. Woods in the far back)
3. Attach other implements for farming- plow, etc. We're interested in growing more and more of our own food, have done some gardening in the past, and now we have the space to do whatever we want. Since I'm really working on the house, now this isn't a top concern at the moment, but being able to do these things with the tractor I get now would be nice.

The property sits on a hill side- bottom of the hill at the road, top of the hill at the rear of my property in the woods.

So right now I'm not sure where what I need falls on the spectrum of riding mower-lawn tractor-garden tractor-farm tractor.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A few I found on craiglist near me are:

1990 John Deere 318 with 46" mower deck, 54" snow blade, rear wheel chains, rear wheel weights- asking $3500

1969 Wheelhorse 12hp elector, hydrostat, hydraulic lift, wheel weights, tire chains, cart, snow plow, snow blower, leaf catcher, rototiller- asking $1500

1965 Model 2000 Ford Farm Tractor,36 HP four cylinder gas engine, 4 speed transmission, 540 PTO, top link, 3 point hitch, over-run clutch on PTO, front wheel weights, nice matched AG rubber all around, good battery, headlights and brakes work, no slop in steering, good comfortable seat, non-working hour meter has about 500 hours on it,- asking $3500.

Understanding everything depends on condition, even if those tractors are in good condition (as the listings all state), I don't know if those are good deals, or even what I'm looking for.

Thanks for any help.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

There are a lot of good used tractors out there but, if you can swing it, buy new.

I would recommend something in the 30 to 40hp range.

The size of your property will dictate what size tractor you need. I suggest a tractor that will accomodate 6 to 7 foot attachments.

For reference go online to TractorHouse.com and MachineFinder.com. There you will find lots of tractors for sale and it will give you some things to talk about here...ask lots of questions.

Buying a tractor can be very :confused2:. But, it doesn't have to be confusing.

Sounds like a nice place and a nice size of property. You will enjoy operateing a tractor and a tarctor is such a big help.

Best wishes...:thumbsup:

 

[bigbull338]

you need a 30 to 40hp tractor.that size tractor will do everything you want it todo.do you know if you want to go new or used.the best thing todo is go to all your local tractor dealers,look at ask qs about tractors an equipment an get prices.also sitt on the tractyors an see how they feel to you.

 

[Localmotion]

Congrats on getting your new land :thumbsup:

There are plenty of members at TBN who can give you better advice than me on the best tractor / machinery for your needs (especially as I'm in Spain and we don't generally need to plough snow here) :laughing: But I'd just like to say to you what I say to everyone (regular readers of my posts will be getting bored of it by now)...

Don't buy based on colour or badge alone! Seeing the tractors you've already looked at I'd guess you are savy and are definately looking for the best machine at the best price - with the land you have (including the woodland) I'd suggest at least 25hp, so rule out the smaller garden tractors.

I am bias when it comes to Chinese tractors, as we import the Jinma range (badged as Siromer) into Spain. That said, they do offer excellent value for money, and a tractor such as the Siromer / Jinma 254 would be perfect for your needs, at a fraction of the cost of a better know brand. Many people will tell you to stay clear of the Chinese tractors, but to be honest that is an out of date argument as mechaically they are sound and the Chinese are constantly updating their models, often providing a more advanced machine than their counterparts. Quality control can be an issue at some of the factories, but if you buy new with warrenty that's not an issue.
There are lots of videos of Siromer & Jinma tractors on youtube:
YouTube - Siromer 204S & Loader

Whatever make & model you go for, I'd definately recomend a FEL (front end loader) - with 22 acres and especially the woodland, you will find it invaluable. Also be sure to get one with ROPS (roll over protection) - you should never need it, but if you do have a tippy situation it'll most likely save your life. Many manufactures produce folding ROPS - so you can still work under the trees without problem, but remember to put it back up afterwards!

Finally, being new to tractors I'd definately suggest getting some tips / lessons from friends or neighbours who have used tractors for several years. They (along with TBN members) will be able to help you get the most out of your new machine, in the safest way - operating a tractor properly is nothing like driving a car, truck or lawnmower :laughing:

Best of luck, and be sure to post us some photos of your new tractor at work :thumbsup:

 

[TripleR]

That really sounds like a nice piece of property, but not one that lends itself to one machine. Whatever you get is going to be a compromise of one sort or the other. A tractor small enough to do all of your mowing is not going to be really good at the larger chores and one big enough for the larger chores is not going to work well on mowing without another machine for the close in mowing around your house.

Without seeing your property or knowing your ultimate goals, my initial recommendation would be something along the lines of the B Series Kubota as you can get them in configurations from 23 to 30HP with a variety of features and pretty wide price range. Of course, look at all of the competition as what fits one person will not fit another. John Deere, Kioti/Bobcat, Massey Ferguson, New Holland/Case etc. all make excellent machines.

Being new to tractors, you do not want to throw in learning to operate a tractor at the same time you are learning to fix them, so I would go new or only with a few hours in excellent condition.

You will get a lot of good advice from a lot of very knowledgeable people here, they sure have helped me, read their posts, use the "search" feature and come back to ask for clarification etc.

 

[dan daly]

Thanks for the feedback. How did you guys arrive at the 30-40hp range?

Looking around at different manufacturers, and looking over my bank account, I think I'm going to go with a zero turn mower for under $5k to fill my immediate need for mowing the grass. Put the money and time I need to into fixing up the house for right now, and put some away with the goal of having $12-$15k available for a tractor in the next 5 years if I decide I still need/want one. My personal philosophy is not to go into debt for anything other than a house. It's served me well so far, so I'll need to be patient for the tractor.

As far as the zero turn mowers go, I'd looked at several and hadn't seen any mention of snow plowing with them, so I assumed I would need to get something else for the snow- a walk behind blower for example. Then I was reading up on Gravelys and they do list snow plows as available attachments for their zero turns.

Has anyone on here plowed snow with a zero turn?

One more question for now, when I look at tractors, even the big ones, I rarely see PLOWS listed as an attachment. I see rototillers, but not plows. Do you generally get a plow from a company that just does plows and attach it to your tractor?

 

[TripleR]

Thanks for the feedback. How did you guys arrive at the 30-40hp range?

Looking around at different manufacturers, and looking over my bank account, I think I'm going to go with a zero turn mower for under $5k to fill my immediate need for mowing the grass. Put the money and time I need to into fixing up the house for right now, and put some away with the goal of having $12-$15k available for a tractor in the next 5 years if I decide I still need/want one. My personal philosophy is not to go into debt for anything other than a house. It's served me well so far, so I'll need to be patient for the tractor.

As far as the zero turn mowers go, I'd looked at several and hadn't seen any mention of snow plowing with them, so I assumed I would need to get something else for the snow- a walk behind blower for example. Then I was reading up on Gravelys and they do list snow plows as available attachments for their zero turns.

Has anyone on here plowed snow with a zero turn?

One more question for now, when I look at tractors, even the big ones, I rarely see PLOWS listed as an attachment. I see rototillers, but not plows. Do you generally get a plow from a company that just does plows and attach it to your tractor?

Sounds like a good plan and you can always rent a tractor to get an idea as to what size will work best for you. Our local rental place has a L3240 with FEL and box blade, so it would be a good comparison tool for many.

I am not familiar with snow plows, so someone else will have to advise on that. I do know some tractors have that as an option and there are aftermarket ones, front and rear.