Buying Advice advise on1st tractor.. buying new. Deere/kubota tx. or other?

[GManBart]

Again tks guys keep the advice coming..GManbart i clicked the link you sent they responded right away an seem very helpful ..haven't heard of ls or yanmar but will be going up there to take a look soon.

Yanmar is actually very old (100yrs), and primarily a manufacturer of Diesel engines (Deere uses a lot of Yanmar engines). LS has been around since the mid-70s, but didn't start selling tractors under their own name until 2009. LS makes many of New Holland's smaller tractors (the Boomer series are made by LS).

You have a lot of good brands to choose from close to you, which will make it harder to pick, but more likely to get what you want!

 

[WinterDeere]

With 3 acres cleared, and wanting to clear even more, I would not even consider mowing with a tractor. That is, unless you're looking to make it a full-time job. Pick up a nice 25 hp zero-turn ($8k), which will make 3+ acres of mowing more fun than a chore. I can do 2 acres per hour with my Deere Z-Trak 757.

Then, for the rest, I would not buy a machine that can do all of the tasks you're looking to do. Most of these (septic, trenching, stumps), are one-time jobs. Buy a tractor sized for your permanent jobs (moving mulch, dirt, firewood, snow (perhaps not in Texas, but you get the point)), and rent a bigger machine for those very rare jobs when you need something bigger. With 8 acres, I'd be looking for a 25 - 35 hp machine, and save the money you'd have spent on the 50+ hp machine you'd have needed to pull stumps or rocks for your zero-turn mower.

Just my $0.02, from a guy who has a property that sounds very much like your own. For credibility, I also have a 72" mid-mount mower for my Deere 855, and a 48" mid-mount mower for my Cub, but neither ever get used, unless my 60" zero turn is out for repair or service.

 

[newbury]

<snip>8 mostly heavily wooded acres,sandy soil with clay not very far down. I have had about 3 acres roughly cleared with dozer, i want to do some more clearing,move the stumps/rocks and debris from the dozer in a pile for a 2ed burn. move gravel to redo drive way, dig trenches to re do water line/drain field that is to shallow,smooth cleared land .then maintain cleared prop. mow, some tilling ,ect.. i know i want 4 wheel drive as when wet the ground is real soft easy to sink .<snip>

You might be able to get by with about a 30HP tractor w/ FEL and maybe a grapple. In your price range I'd advise against a backhoe unless you are getting a used package and it's bundled in cheaply.

A backhoe is a wonderful toy, I love mine but don't get to use it enough. But if your trying to stick within a budget it's $6K to $8K that can be spent elsewhere. And if you REALLY find you need it can be added later, unlike 4 wheel drive, an HST transmission or more HORSEPOWER.

For example compare a new Kubota B3200 (32HP) w/ FEL and Backhoe with a new Kubota MX4700 or L4600 w/ FEL but no backhoe.

Plus you'll need a box blade, plow, disc or tiller.

 

[murphy1244]

Find a Kioti dealer and sit your butt in a DK40

 

[bigbull338]

i can solve the prob quick.with as much clearing an clean up your wanting todo id look for 50hp 4x4 tractor with a quicktatch fel.

 

[lantxinNETX]

Peanutbob - those ads in the Texas Co-Op Power got me to thinking about a tractor too . . . . then I started to look at what kind of power it actually took to do certain types of tasks. I have 29 acres in SE Oklahoma. About 6 cleared, the rest woods. Rather than start with a particular tractor or brand, I decided on what I wanted to do with the tractor. You seem to have a good start on that list. I agree with several points made by others. Skip the backhoe. Rent one as needed. 30-40hp sounds like what you need. Do you really need a trailer? Where are you planning on taking the tractor? Those packages with the trailers look nice, but do you really need it?

And I'll throw in another brand that no one has mentioned here - Mahindra. Probably a little prejudice since that is what I ultimately bought (4035). I know there are several Mahindra dealers in central Texas. My decision came down to Kubota L4300 or the Mahindra 4035. My 4035 with FEL was about $25K, which would leave you a lot of money left for implements and such.

One thing about those tractors in the package ads - they are in those ads because of their low price - which also means they are not as full featured and powerful as what you might otherwise need.

Martin

 

[Biggreenavalanche]

I have to agree with both Winterdeere and Lantxinok...recommend you purchase the tractor for long term repetitive tasks, rent or contract for one time type tasks (Winterdeere)

Check out Mahindra, Lil biased here too, but I think you'd be pleasantly surprised (Lantxinok)

Regardless, make damm sure you've got a reputable dealer, do some homework and ask local tractor owners their opinions along wit a BBB check...

Finally, drive and test before you buy...

My :2cents: worth...Rich

 

[NCRidgeRunner]

I just had a Kubota L4600HST delivered today. My first tractor and I have 96 acres that is mostly timber (about 55 acres clear cut 4 years ago) with 2 miles of road to grade. I only have about 3 acres to disc for food plots but a lot of road to maintain. I looked at various models of JD and the Kubota 5640, L3200, MX4700 and after grading about 3/4 mile of mostly rocky clay road (except for creek bottom roads with the LandPride GS1560 land plane grader ($1080) for 5 hours today I am pretty happy with my choice. Cost for the L4600HST with LA764 FEL was $24,200 ($1000 cheaper if you don't use 0% finance). Also picked up a 66" 850# DiscHarrow Hardees with 20" disc (great deal for $1600 retail was $2300) and LandPride RCR1860 Rotary Cutter ($1625). I went with 5' implements since most of my roads are about 8' wide and that is also where I will do most of my bushhogging. The total width of L4600 is 62" so I can still get through the woods pretty good without sticking out too bad.

Try to get something with the interim Tier 4 engine as opposed to the Tier 4 that Kubota is moving to later this year and I think some of the JD already have.

Good Luck with your choice...I think the Backhoe package on the L4600 is around $7000. From what you described I don't think you need anything bigger than the L4600...you might want to get someone in with bigger equipment to dig out any big stumps.

 

[murphy1244]

If you buy a L series Kubota have the dealer put on a heavy implement on the 3 point and slowly raise it. If it jerks try another tractor. Some have the jerky sickness and some don't.

 

[Notforhire]

i will be doing more field work than grass ( lots of brush sapling and yupon here) maybe hay bailing when every things is down and clear.

I don't know what type of bales you want, round or square, and what type of mower/haybine ect. you need to power. I think you may be looking at a utility size machine with some HP and weight.
Make sure you mention all the tasks you want to do, to your dealer.
I tend to agree with the members who suggest that you rent or hire out jobs that are a one time thing. I would love to own a backhoe, but I would have used it only three times in the last ten years. Much better for me to find another way, than to have a $10,000 attachment sitting outdoors on standby.

Bill