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By all means though, get as much weight and HP as you can afford, which indecently is the answer to pretty much any "which tractor should I buy" type question.
On that note, I have reassessed my needs and put in an offer on a tractor that I think will best handle the tasks I have in mind, have the transportability I want, and give me some room to grow into.
I talked to a cousin mine who has a NH TC75 he uses on his 150 acres for skidding, lifting logs, FEL work, mowing, & hay baling. Based on his advice, I figured that I needed pretty much said--as much weight & HP as I can afford.
So, I scratched off the back-hoe off the list so that I can afford more tractor. I'll rent a mini-ex in the short term and look to buy a used mini-ex later if I find I use it alot.
And the winner is...
A Kubota M6040! 4x4, gear drive, R1 tires w/ FEL, bucket & forks, & post-hole digger. It feels to a newbie like me to be ALOT of tractor, but at 6-2" I feel more "at home" on it than the much smaller tractors I started with (the B3300SU, GL3240, & even L4400.).
Hopefully, the sale will go through without a hitch and I'll take delivery in two days, and then can design a forestry cage for it.