Vineyard Tractors?

[ganodave]

Greetings!

New to Tractorbynet here and I am specifically interested in finding a tractor that would be suited for vineyard work as well as the usual bush hog, backhoe loader, tiller and cultivating work for a 25 acre property in South Eastern Ontario... Had an Old Massey Ferguson 165 for a few years but looking for a smaller, narrower and more maneuverable for the vineyard.

Any insights, opinions and collected wisdom would be much appreciated from all of you folks here on TractorbyNet.

Thanks for looking in...

GanoDave

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[PossumHound]

:welcome:

 

[houstonscott]

I have been looking too. JD F76, or F85 look good to me. The JD M5105ML is outstanding all around tractor. I like the NH TK4030V to, but can't find anyone who owns one. For real orchard work on 25 acres I would look hard at the NH TK4030V.

HS

 

[flusher]

Greetings!

New to Tractorbynet here and I am specifically interested in finding a tractor that would be suited for vineyard work as well as the usual bush hog, backhoe loader, tiller and cultivating work for a 25 acre property in South Eastern Ontario... Had an Old Massey Ferguson 165 for a few years but looking for a smaller, narrower and more maneuverable for the vineyard.

Any insights, opinions and collected wisdom would be much appreciated from all of you folks here on TractorbyNet.

Thanks for looking in...

GanoDave

Kubota BX series is your best bet to handle the multitude of chores you've listed. These tractors are in the 25-30 hp (engine) range so you'd be limited to 4-ft wide implements for your field work. But they're narrow, maneuverable and come with backhoes. A 2006 BX24 TLB sold for $12K on eBay a few months ago.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Knowing the area your talking you will be looking at similar equipment that we run across the lake. Any narrow tractor in the 60-80hp range will work for you with that size farm. Your going to want to find a good sprayer and make sure the tractor you get can handle the sprayer. The 300-400 gallon sprayers will use all of the 50pto hp available and you will have the weight to handle that size sprayer, and you will find if you have any mud you may use more. If you end up helping with harvest you will need all the weight and hp available to pull the cart.

If your looking new I prefer the narrow JD and narrow Kubota currently because of their cabs. If your in a double curtain then you may want to look at the ultra narrow New Holland or Case-IH. I know from personal experience the John Deere 5420N fits down our double curtains without any problem.

I would avoid the Kubota BX for the main fact it is too small for the acerage your talking. Yes, it can be done but in our area when its not raining you need to be spraying and the BX won't be able to handle the size sprayer you will want. When the canopy starts to fill in you will want to put on around 100 gallons of water per acre and the BX will be limited to a very small sprayer.

The NH TK line looks impressive and if your dealing with mud or steep hills then it may be worth considering but the reason their hard to find around here is because they are not really needed in this area. Even the Kubota with rear tracks doesn't seem to be used around here. I know of a dealer that had one but I don't know who bought it and for what purpose as I have never seen it in any vineyards locally.

The JD F series I didn't like because their are very low and the cabs are cramped. If your dealing with an orchard then yeah, they would be a good option but for a vineyard you don't need to stay that low for our trellis systems. The JD narrow tractors cab feels large inside and you have a lot of foot space and their easy to get in and out of as is the Kubota. The CNH tractors make you feel like you have to twist yourself in and out of them (unless they changed the cab drastically in the last couple years). Before my back injury I didn't mind but since I hurt my back I dispise the CNH cab as the tractors are uncomfortable to me now to be able to get in, sit in and to get out. The JD I can sit in all day long (13 hours was the longest shift) and not feel bad because I can move around and shift my body as needed. The CNH cab you sit in it like a cockpit on a fighter jet, you are sunk down and it feels like the cab is hugging you completely.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Also, the John Deere and New Holland tractors have factory loaders available to them. I have seen aftermarket loaders on Kubotas as well.

I have never seen anyone put a 3pt backhoe on a vineyard tractor but it has a standard 3pt hitch so if it will clear the cab (if it has a cab) then I don't see it being a problem.

 

[Soundguy]

many older tractors were made with vinyard fender options, as well as narrower stances.

soundguy

 

[Briana03]

Hello & WELCOME to TBN!

I moved your thread to the Buying/Pricing/Comparisons Forum.

 

[ganodave]

Also, the John Deere and New Holland tractors have factory loaders available to them. I have seen aftermarket loaders on Kubotas as well.

I have never seen anyone put a 3pt backhoe on a vineyard tractor but it has a standard 3pt hitch so if it will clear the cab (if it has a cab) then I don't see it being a problem.

Many thanks to all who have responded to this introduction... most helpful! I will take a look at all the tractors suggested here!