Stone cold Newbie

[Woodbeef]

I'd say no less than 40 pto hp in a mfd Utility tractor not a CUT for your application. Saying that I'd look at the new "00" series from Mahindra. http://www.mahindrausa.com

 

[pennwalk]

<font color="blue"> Don't buy too small </font>

On the other hand I used to work with a guy who had a full sized Ford pick-up with both sides of the front end bashed in. He liked to chase deer. If he has a Ranger he probably would have gotten that buck. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Some times the smaller tractor will be more useful. I guess it just depends on your situation.

Chris

 

[Anonymous Poster]

As a new tractor owner of 8 weeks I went through the same thing when deciding. Features were pretty easy to decide upon because many are personal preferences and of course based on your budget. The more difficult choice was the basic physics' of the tractor; it's height, weight, Hp, length, wheelbase and stability under torque and load. Your implement type, width, weight and your terrain should be the governing factor. Search on the topics that talk about using the attachments you are planning to own and there will be references to how a tractor/Hp/tranny/tire-type handles the attachments under the stated conditions. You are in essence working backwards. If you need to boxblade 10 acres of clay soil and want a 750 pound, 84 inch boxblade, you will need a heavy tractor with the extra Hp. If you do not want a FEL on your tractor, then you will need to examine topics on center of gravity. This forum contains a wealth of information where individuals can learn about what they really need. Good luck and thanks to all of you who helped me in making my decision.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

As someone who owns a 25 (actually 28) HP 4WD tractor with a loader the first thing I would tell you echos the sentiments of most here-go bigger, young man!

My land is pretty flat (corn belt, what more can I say?) and I'm not looking to do near what you describe and I wish I had more power and weight more times than not. Once you have your trees, stumps and dirt moved where you want it, a sub-30 HP machine would probably work well for you to maintain your drive, mow, etc., but you're just not there yet. I'd think something in the 40+ HP range might work better for you.

Another thing you might want to consider would be getting a much larger used machine now to get your heavy work done more expiditiously then replace it with a smaller machine when the heavy work is done.

You'd be amazed how those stumps pop out of the ground with a 100 HP machine on the other end of the chain. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif You can also move a lot more dirt a lot quicker with a larger machine with a loader. Of course, if you really want to move some dirt... can you say "dozer?" /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[riptides]

Gary is right.

I used a dozer to clear an acre of hardwood and grade it in a day job, plus he cut some trails for me. We had trees that were 100+ years old, say big stumps!

Cannot imagine doing that by myself with a tractor.

Rent a dozer, save your back and machine for the fine stuff.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I agree with Gary and Riptide. Stumps are a killer, but you will only have to remove them once. Rent/hire a big machine to do that, then get a reasonable sized tractor to do your normal stuff. We have a similar setup to what you describe, 40 acres of heavy oak forest in central Missouri. We cut down 175 trees for the house, then had the dozer and backhoe guys pull the stumps. We pushed them into piles, and soaked them with diesel, and lit them up. What was left after a few days, we buried in the low spots. As I have been clearing further back for a yard, I have found a few old stumps, and once again, drilling a few holes, soaking with diesel, and lighting a match takes care of them. I can then take the tractor/loader and scrape out whats left, and get on to the next one. A big tractor is always nice, but can be a pain in the neck when you are doing landscaping, and maintaining a yard/driveway, etc. After much shopping, and talking to lots of knowledgable people, I settled on a Kubota B2910HSD with R4 tires. It has been perfect for my needs. If you don't like orange, the JD 4xx, or a NH Boomer are a couple of other options in this size.

 

[wasabi]

Welcome to a great, spirited and well-meaning group.

I started my tractor search almost exactly a year ago..with criteria very similar to yours...(I was looking for >30hp, 4wd, multiple implements and a trailer to haul it all on....all for less than 15K) I stumbled onto TBN and changed directions altogether....and ended up getting all that I wanted, plus a backhoe, trencher and more /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

The search is big fun. The guys here are the best. Enjoy your hunt!!

 

[thcri]

Wasabi,

You might want to check out your attachment. I can't get it to work for me.

Murph

 

[wasabi]

Yea, I see that now Murph. I tried to tag the picture of the PT 2445 (at the end of "Best Mountain Tractor" thread - in this forum), but I didn't succeed. I can see the pic on TBN and thought I copied the correct link-stuff, but apparently didn't. I've learned a lot here on TBN, but guess I'm still too thick to figure out how to post a proper link /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

 

[thcri]

Wasabi,

Because of my limited knowledge I would probably download the pic to my computer and then upload it into the post. That is only because I only know of that way. Sometimes I just have to do things the hard way because I don't know any better.

Murph