handcuff
Member
Hey All,
I'm in need of some tractor advice, and had been reading here for a while so figured I'd sign up and post. I'm looking to find out specific recommendations for size/type of tractor to buy.
My land:
We've signed contract on a 7 acre plot outside of Louisville, KY. 5 acres is currently flat (very flat, was used as pasture prior to this) and 2 acres border a stream and are fairly heavily wooded and have fair rolling hills to them. The seller indicates that their father used to brushhog the portion closest to the creek to keep it clear of underbrush (and the ensuing ticks/bugs/critters) so the kids had a place to play. It hasn't been cleaned out in several years, though.
My needs:
We plan on brush-hogging 4 acres, finish-mowing 1-1.5 acres around the future house, and then doing a regular (once every few weeks) clearing of the 2 acres bordering the stream - after taking out some of the smaller trees and making it easier to access. Additionally, while I'm not a farmer and am not planning on farming the land, I am planning on having a fairly large garden and a greenhouse, and am planning on building some cool stuff for our 4 boys (bike track, shooting range, volleyball court, etc) in the 'back pasture'. My guess is that this pasture will continue to 'morph' into new things as they get older and want different things out of it.
Finally, there's more than a decent chance that I'll end up buying an additional 6-12 acres immediately across the street (or rather that my inlaws will buy it and we will have use of it/take care of it since they live out of state). It is roughly 6 acres of flat and 6 acres of very wooded (no machine has been in there for a couple decades).
With all of these things, I know I'll be mowing, some tilling, some re-grading of driveways, digging post holes for fences, and moving a fair amount of dirt around. I'll also be doing the other assorted things around a hobby-ranch/farm that one would expect.
My questions:
Any help is really appreciated.
Please feel free to simply point me in the direction of previous threads, if that's easier...I have gone looking at several, but obviously I don't know what threads may be valuable vs worthless since my knowledge-base is fairly minimal.
Thanks,
-Scott
I'm in need of some tractor advice, and had been reading here for a while so figured I'd sign up and post. I'm looking to find out specific recommendations for size/type of tractor to buy.
My land:
We've signed contract on a 7 acre plot outside of Louisville, KY. 5 acres is currently flat (very flat, was used as pasture prior to this) and 2 acres border a stream and are fairly heavily wooded and have fair rolling hills to them. The seller indicates that their father used to brushhog the portion closest to the creek to keep it clear of underbrush (and the ensuing ticks/bugs/critters) so the kids had a place to play. It hasn't been cleaned out in several years, though.
My needs:
We plan on brush-hogging 4 acres, finish-mowing 1-1.5 acres around the future house, and then doing a regular (once every few weeks) clearing of the 2 acres bordering the stream - after taking out some of the smaller trees and making it easier to access. Additionally, while I'm not a farmer and am not planning on farming the land, I am planning on having a fairly large garden and a greenhouse, and am planning on building some cool stuff for our 4 boys (bike track, shooting range, volleyball court, etc) in the 'back pasture'. My guess is that this pasture will continue to 'morph' into new things as they get older and want different things out of it.
Finally, there's more than a decent chance that I'll end up buying an additional 6-12 acres immediately across the street (or rather that my inlaws will buy it and we will have use of it/take care of it since they live out of state). It is roughly 6 acres of flat and 6 acres of very wooded (no machine has been in there for a couple decades).
With all of these things, I know I'll be mowing, some tilling, some re-grading of driveways, digging post holes for fences, and moving a fair amount of dirt around. I'll also be doing the other assorted things around a hobby-ranch/farm that one would expect.
My questions:
- What 'size' tractor should I be looking at? I was initially looking at a 20HP Kubota, but my father has one and suggested that I get something bigger. I don't have to finish mowing in 30 minutes, but I also don't want to spend 6 hours mowing the lawn each week. Now I'm looking at the Kubota 3130. Is that sufficient, or should I go with something bigger? It seems like it should be big enough for what I want, but I don't live this life yet and don't want to 'underbuy' and be sorry later.
- My wife is stressed about a pull-behind mower (believing that it's less safe than a belly mower). Is this concern legitimate, and/or are there reasons to go with a belly vs. a pull-behind mower?
- What attachments should I be looking at? I'm looking at a FEL, BH, brushhog (48-60 inch so I can get between the trees), finish mower (72 inch, if I can find it), and an auger. Are there other attachments that I should initially be focused on? I was thinking about the thing that looks like a FEL, but has the teeth on the top and bottom (here's my ignorance popping out) to help clear out the brush. Also a rototiller, and a few other 'toys' but I don't know what's really helpful vs what's useless junk.
- Are there things I should stay away from, given the size tractor I'm looking at? i.e. Will a 30HP tractor have the power for a 60" brushhog? I hear that (for the most part) Chinese attachments are to be avoided. Are there other things that I should be aware of?
- Finally, what considerations should I be making when looking at tractors in general? For instance, I hear a lot of talk about a 3 point hook-up with a back-hoe, but don't understand that. Also a quick-disconnect, and a way to quickly swap between attachments (or maybe that IS the quick disconnect).
- What are the major functional differences between the differing types of transmissions? I see a lot of discussion about HST and Gear, but don't know what the differences are or (more importantly0 how those differences would impact a novice like myself.
- Are there any specific tractors that I should be looking at that directly compete with the Kubota L series, or ones I SHOULDN'T be looking at? For instance, I've also been looking at the JD, Kioti, and Mahindra tractors (but other than HP, I don't know how they compare/differ). I've also looked at the Kubota B series, but don't know what the significant differences are between B and L of their line-up (besides just weight and size)
Please feel free to simply point me in the direction of previous threads, if that's easier...I have gone looking at several, but obviously I don't know what threads may be valuable vs worthless since my knowledge-base is fairly minimal.
Thanks,
-Scott