Tractor Sizing First Time Buyer - What Size?

[earthmaster1]

I think you need something in the 35hp range if you looking at running a decent chipper, something with power feed and a 4" to 6" capacity usually take around 30 pto hp from what i have read. Take a look at the Mahindra 3510 or Kioti dk35 both very nice machines think they would do the job .

 

[chrisjbell]

Ah, I love my JD lawn tractor (LX255). Never use a wheelbarrow any more - the trailer is a wonderful thing. Plus it will hold more firewood than the bucket on the Kubota. That one is actually (officially) my wife's tractor.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Last year having torn up the lawn near the house using a nearly 3000" tractor for lawn mowing, )</font>

Yikes... grass in other parts of the country must be less hardy than grass in florida. My grass in my front yard is essentially pasture grasses.. fescue, argentine and pensacola bahai, and a few others mixed in.. Greens real nice and makes a good ground cover, and the animals eat it up. I drive my 3300# NH 1920 all over the place... the only place I leave tracks is in sand... and i have big lugged ag tires....add a mower to that and you are approaching 4k#'s.

Yall's soil real wet or heavy with lots of organic components ( peat, etc )

Lets hear from all over the country. " What effect does tractor traffic have on your grass?

Soundguy

 

[chrisjbell]

<font color="blue"> Yall's soil real wet or heavy with lots of organic components ( peat, etc )
</font>

Must say that I have more clay than I'd like in my soil, but isn't there supposed to be lots of organic components in soil? I have to keep my little Kubota B7300 (maybe 1500 lbs?) with ags off the grass or I've got nasty ruts that nearly match the holes my neighbor's bull left in the lawn /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

 

[WCarlson]

On chippers, Iam extremely happy with the trailerable 18 HP DR. Looked at PTO driven, however chose the DR as the PTO chippers were too large to easily maneuver in the woods and I liked being able to chip into the FEL bucket vice into the woods and then try to load a pile of chips. Chipping into the FEL also necessitated a break to empty the chips every half hour, or so, which was most welcome at my age. Consider maneuverability and the ability to use the tractor to spread chips a bucket at a time to be well worthwhile in my case.

Bill

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I've got 40 acres of heavy oak forest. I am only going to work on about 3..around the house, 1/4 mile drive, 1 acre food plot for the deer and turkeys, and will brushog a 1/2 mile walking trail around the property so we can watch all the critters. I looked at a lot of units for over a year. I decided on something in the 30hp range. After looking at lots of green and blue machines, I settled on the orange..Kubota B2910HSD. It has been flawless, so far, and done everything I asked of it. Plus, the dealer network and service/parts situation, if I ever need it, is excellent. I would definitely stay with one of the majors, JD/NH/Kubota, as opposed to some of the less common brands..Mah/Ki/etc. There is a reason why Orange has the majority of the compact tractor market, and after owning mine for a few months, I know why.

 

[JeepOne]

Soundguy, sand has a tendency to dry out rather quickly as opposed to loam or clay. I lived in Florida for awhile and noticed the grass roots are much tougher and more forgiving as compared to northern grasses. When I lived in Georgia we had mostly clay (holds the moisture) and damaged the fescue grass with a lawn tractor, when I turned quickly, so I sodded with zoysia and that did the trick. I now live in Pennsylvania on a furtile farm (3ft loam) and must be VERY careful operating a tractor on our wet lawn, especially during the spring melt. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Ken

 

[DK35vince]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I would definitely stay with one of the majors, JD/NH/Kubota, as opposed to some of the less common brands..Mah/Ki/etc. There is a reason why Orange has the majority of the compact tractor market, and after owning mine for a few months, I know why. )</font>


Why ??
Having spent a fair # of hours on Kubota( L-3000 my father owns also L-3600 and L-4200 from my last job, the latter two being 4x4 with sycro. tranny and reverser very similar to my Kioti.)

Did I like the Kubotas = sure I guess so.
Are they better than my Kioti Dk= sorry aint seeing it !!

 

[GregJ]

TractorTruck,
I started out with a minimal budget and when I was done we had a new Kubota B7500, FEL w/ removeable toothbar, BH and a Bearcat PTO Chipper. Cost justification is an art. I love every piece and have used them a lot. The chipper is creating mulch that we landscape with. We go through 10-15 yards of compost and bark every year, so.... at $25-$30 a yard it will pay for itself in no time. See where I'm going with this. Next... a BH. Just think of all the money you spend on Advil and other pain relievers when digging, etc. Imagine not have to rent a trencher or hire a ditch dug. That's worth something. As far as tractor size, since I use mine for landscaping I need to get into a lot of tight spaces and I would rather have it as small as possible and still have enough power to do some serious work. Also, the smaller footprint makes it easier getting around in the woods. The B7500 has been perfect for me. I have dug some pretty serious stumps with it, moved a lot of rock, move pallet loads of firewood and it seems to run the chipper just fine. I have killed it a couple of times with long, hard limbs about 4+ inches, but otherwise I just drop in the limbs and they disapper. Good luck with your shopping.

Greg

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I checked with a local Dealer (<15 miles), they carry Green & Blue and quoted a price of $17,100 for the 29 HP Blue w/HST, Supersteer & FEL. I have seen package deals on Kioti's around that size including, FEL, Box Blade, Tiller, Finish Mower, and a double axle trailer for less than that. I think I really want something with better visibility in the front, though. Definitely need to go get some seat time, there is also a Kubota dealer near the other one.

Anybody know if the Supersteer on the NH affects stability?