Researching my first tractor

Welcome, and enjoy your quest. Check out dealers first, find out how long they have been in the area and talk to locals about their tractors. A good dealer is as important as a good tractor. Service after the sale and warranty work. For small tractors I am a Kubota fan, for bigger ones I like green or blue paint. I am on my second Kubota on the farm that I live on and I have nothing but good things to say about them and my dealer. If you have any farm shows in your area check them out before you buy.

I really can't improve on the advice so far, spend time reading similar posts on TBN and consider all makes. If you are not that familiar with tractors, rent one the size you are considering for a weekend. Lots more people buy too small than too laerge and a tractor seems to shrink once you use it a while. Good luck.

Welcome from Oklahoma.

Ken

Welcome to TBN :)

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

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Originally Posted by whitet101

Hi everyone, New to the site, love the info gained so far.
Probable purchace will be a Kubota L3200 with Fel, Backhoe and rotary tiller.

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It's not clear from your post whether it's the case but if you've had little or no experience with tractors in the past, then my suggestion to you would be to give your quest some time. There's allot to know about tractor features, tractor brands, new versus used, tractor dealers etc... It's only due to a lack of cash that I've spent the better part of a year researching my purchase choice. I'm happy circumstances were such that I've had to wait. Good luck whitet101

"Probable purchase will be a Kubota L3200 with Fel, Backhoe and rotary tiller."

Do you REALLY need a backhoe? Heavy, expensive and ties up the three-point hitch. Trust me, you will not want to remove/replace that backhoe, so the rotary tiller will sit.

FEL, on the other hand, is always useful. Four wheel drive is essential with FEL.

Rather than a backhoe maybe a <$400 bucket spade on your FEL will suffice. L3200 is excellent size and weight to optimize bucket spade.

Link to bucket spade:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/a...using-fel.html

Keegs, I have the same lack of cash dilemma, I have never owned a tractor but, have been using them for many years.

It is likely i will postpone the backhoe till later. for financial reasons.

be sure to check out the Yanmars...you can often get a lot more tractor for the same money compared to other brands....well built with great value

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Originally Posted by jeff9366

"Probable purchase will be a Kubota L3200 with Fel, Backhoe and rotary tiller."

Do you REALLY need a backhoe? Heavy, expensive and ties up the three-point hitch. Trust me, you will not want to remove/replace that backhoe, so the rotary tiller will sit.

FEL, on the other hand, is always useful. Four wheel drive is essential with FEL.

Rather than a backhoe maybe a <$400 bucket spade on your FEL will suffice. L3200 is excellent size and weight to optimize bucket spade.

Link to bucket spade:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/a...using-fel.html

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Jeff, this is a great tool and would be a perfect interum fix until I could afford the backhoe. I have very rocky soil. Any thoughts on how it works in rocky soil?

BIG rocks or gravel? Bucket on my B3300SU weighs 216 pounds + 110 pounds for bucket spade + FEL down hydraulic pressure [ ? ] + limit of tire traction pushing FEL [ ? ] = Total Available Force To Push Bucket Spade into ground. A pretty large force pressing on a sharp edge.

L3200 has a heavier bucket, heavier frame and larger tires. Yes, I think the bucket spade would work in gravel soil. If the rocks are granite boulders the sharp edge may be battered dull and require regular if not frequent sharpening. Learning to finesse the FEL joystick is important.

My soil here in north/central Florida is sandy-loam with some limerock, up to cantaloupe size. The bucket spade cuts right through limerock.

RE Backhoe: The three point hitch is where most interesting implements mount. You want it readily available; not tied up.

What is your projected use for a backhoe?