Newbie with a few q's

[Anonymous Poster]

Newbie with a few q\'s

First off,I've been stealth visiting for a while(ever since we decided to look for a place in the country). I frequent a few other net message boards(hot rod stuff etc) & I am pleased to say that this site is great. Not only for the amount of knowledge & advice given in a kind non-condescending manner,but also for the way everyone is just genuinely friendly & always willing to help. So my first question is this,what size tractor do you guys think i should get ? We'll have a little over 2 acres. As is, once we move in there is tons of work to be done. First thing will be to bring in dirt en masse. The house & driveway are built up roughly 2 ft above the rest of the place. I want to even it all out. There is also a huge piling of dirt, trees, crap etc that I need to get out of there. I want to move all the trees out of it & further from the house into a burn pile, and then spread out all the dirt that is in that pile. I'll also be doing alot of the same for a few neighbors who have recently moved into the neighborhood. Plus right now we all have crushed rock and dirt driveways, so they'll need to be tended to. I know I want 4wd, an FEL, a finish mower, a box blade & back blade, a rototiller, and a roller drum.Looks like I'll be one of the very few with a tractor in the neighborhood.Most are getting by with riding mowers & sears type garden tractors (ie limited attatcment capability). So I'm pretty sure I'm gonna gain a lot of new friends real quick like. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I have a riding mower for what will one day be our yard so the finish mower will be used on the stuff further out from the house plus some of the neighbors adjoining land. Right now there are very few trees ( a few oaks) & walking the land all the big stumps are gone,there's just a handful of small (10 " diameter pine stumps). Basically I'm looking for a tractor strong enough to handle the intial workload but not so big as to be cumbersome later.So far I went and looked at some blue tractors & some orange ones /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif (amazed that a newbie poster is hip to the "code"?). There also seems to be an ample supply of used tractors for sale by owner around here(this area is called the ArkLaTex due to being in the far norhtwest corner of La bordering Tx & Ark but you probably figured that out).Ok,educate this plowboy wannabe!!! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif BTW,wife just chimed in with PRICE IS AN OBJECT!!! Dang it!! I was hoping to sneak home with a Versatile 750 !!

 

[Bird]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

Tough to say what size tractor is best. I think that's one you have to work out for youself, depending on personal preferences, how much time you want to spend on the tractor, and how much money your wife's going to let you spend. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif You can do what you want with a sub-compact like the BX Kubotas, but you can do it quicker and more comfortably on a larger tractor. Sounds to me like you've pretty well picked the main features and implements. Personally, in addition to the 4WD and FEL, I'd be sure I got a hydrostatic transmission for that kind of work. And, personally, I'd eliminate the back blade and go with just the box blade, but you may have some use for the back blade that I don't know about. When I first bought a compact tractor, I thought I wanted a back blade, but neighbors told me to get the box blade instead. One of them even said he had a back blade I could use anytime I wanted since he wasn't using it. Sure enough, in the 8 years I lived there, he never once used that back blade and neither did I.

I did a lot of work similar to what you've mentioned with a B7100, then later traded up to a B2710. Now my personal preference in your situation would be the B2910, but unless you're going to do a lot of work for neighbors as well as your own place, you very well might be better off with something no bigger than a BX for the size of your property. Of course, sometimes the size of the property isn't as important as the size of the job, but you could always rent a big rig for the big jobs and have a small one for the routine maintenance after the big jobs are done.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your shopping.

 

[thcri]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

Leadfoot,

I have just a little over two acres. I have a New Holland TC29D. Yep it is a little big, the neighbors laugh at me until they need help. Actually I started out with a TC21D but found that to be a little unstable for my hills. If your property is level the 21 horspower would work good for you. You can go into some of the subcompacts also but I think for what you are telling me you might want to stay a bit bigger. You also have a riding mower to do the finish work. New Holland has their new TC24D out which is a pretty nice tractor and they have a TC30 now that doesn't have all the bells and whistles on it and your wife might like that. Kubota makes a good tractor and so does John Deere. I think you will find though that most of us believe the dealer is more important than the tractor. There is a lot of nice tractors out there and finding good dealers can be limited some. Others will talk more to you about the different tractors, but you have to get out there and price them, ride them and get comfortable. Yes take your wife along, start out with the Verstile and work your way down some, that way she will think your doing you best to watch the pocket book. Picking out a tractor has to be as much fun as using one.

Also if you have a budget in mind and you could share that with us we could help you in a direction also

murph

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

First, Welcome to TBN! You already know there is no shortage of opinions around here...

You already are well on your way to determining your needs. One suggestion is to look at several angles. Used can be cheaper, but usually you have to go very used to save a lot over new. (move up to larger tractors, and this changes...) There are lots of good buys in used tractors, just be ready to turn some wrenches. That isn't necessarily bad.

New benefits from great deals in financing. If that is a good angle from you, check it out. I found that some brands were better deals when financing factors in, some "cheaper" brands, ended up costing MORE.

I ended up with green, it was what I ended up wanting, and was the lowest price of the quotes on "big three" tractors. Go figure, eveyrone told me that green was great, but way overpriced. In your area, it is likely to be another color, the point isn't to get you to buy green (I don't get greenie points...) but to check out several angles. You might be surprised what you find!

As to size, figure out the size of implements (4 foot cutter, or 12 foot batwing?) That will set you in the right direction as to size. Usually a smaller machine will do anything a bigger one can, just in smaller bites.

If you get a chance, be sure to add the Kioti CK20 to your list, it looks like it will really be a winner, it hasn't hit the ground yet., but may make it in time...

The biggest factor of all, is finding that RIGHT dealer, but you already know that, you've certainly seen that over and over in TBN.

 

[frank_f15]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

u have to make the final choice of size, but for all practical purposes don't suppose u would need more than a bx. for all big jobs u could rent or hire it out, just my thoughts. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif welcome to the forum and let us know what you decide .

 

[chrisjbell]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

OK, so despite the fact that I'm lusting after a bigger tractor... For two acres, you should be just fine with one of the smaller versions. I have a Kubota B7300, which doesn't even have power steering but can handle lots of attachments. It is more than up to the job of maintaining 10 acres.

I think the Kubota BX2200 sounds like something you should consider seriously. On the other hand, I can't say that going bigger would be a Bad Thing, as long as your budget can handle it.

My personal opinion (and you can guess what that is worth /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) is that you'd be best buying one of the name brands new and financing it with one of the great deals these guys have going right now.

Welcome to TBN - this is a great way to get information. Good luck and let us know what you decide...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

Hitting all the local dealerships today(within 50 miles or so). I have found a few package deals online that have piqued my interest but I'd really prefer to buy from a local dealer. I'll let you guys know what I find. May have to swing by my doc's office too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I do believe I've got tractor fever!! P.S. Thanks so much for all the great input so far!!! I looked at the bx series online & I'm thinking I might go a little bigger,along the lines of an L3000.My grandmother reminded me last night she always has use for a grandson with a tractor & she has approximately 10 acres herself,some garden,some pasture. As is her wonderful neighbors take care of plowing, bush hogging etc & I do the main yard with my rider.Man,the "hey there good buddy,would you mind " list is already growing.....lol. By the way bird, thanks for the heads up on the back blade. I think I may drop it from the list based on the amount of use( or non use) you've gotten out of one. Once again everyone thanks so much for the advice.It's greatly appreciated.

 

[GregJ]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

Leadfoot,
For what it's worth, I have 2.5 acres and a Kubota B7500. For my use, this machine is perfect.

Greg

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

With only 2 ac to care for, any 4wd with a loader should do you.. Even a TC 18.. ( which look nice by the way ).. and they can come with a finish belly mower as well.

Pretty much just a matter of what flavor ( color ) you prefer, as all the 'big' names are winners.

My neighbor.. who by the way is one of the only neighbors with a tractor has 2 ac and uses a small 2wd jd with a loader small.. like 855 or something.. less than 20 hp... does nice lawn mowing and loader work even with 2wd and turf tires.

let us know what you decide.

Soundguy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Newbie with a few q\'s

I just got done reading some reviews here on tbn of various tractors.One factor I hadn't given a lot of thought that I noticed to be an issue for some people on some of the smaller tractors is the size of the operator.I'm a big old boy,6'3" tall & 240#. So the operator station area is gonna be a factor for sure.On my riding mower I made some new seat brackets so it fit me better.But on that there's not much in the way of controls to worry about. I'm really thinking I might buy a used bigger 2wd tractor such as one of the ford 6000 series (my granmpa had one for years that I got to use for plowing & bush hogging etc )or something similar as well as a new model like a b7500,tc21 or similar.That way I could leave the bigger of the two at grandma's for plowing & bush hog work.I'd only need it at my place occasionally(plus grandma will probably help with the purchase on that one).Then I can have a smaller but more equipped 4wd (fel, finish mower etc) at my place.I'm also thinking if both have the same class 3pt I could interchange imlements. We only live roughly 20 mi apart so getting either of them back & forth would be no problem.I already have a 20 foot utility trailer & a heavy duty 454SS pickup. Any thoughts on this plan? I have seen some of these older workhorses for sale locally in what seems to be fair shape for as lttle as $2500. On the new unit,I have been restricted to a budget of approx. 15 to 17k by my wife.I'll be putting in the neighborhood of 3 to 5k down to keep the note reasonable.That price is inclusive of attachments.