What size tractor should I buy?

[txcowgirl]

My husband and I bought 5 acres of Mesquite last summer 2013. This summer we hired out a gentlemen to clear off 4 acres of that crap and he did but ugh.... he left the property a mess. Roots sticking out everywhere. I had told him I wanted the land prep so we could seed it and get it ready for horses. So now my husband and I are sitting here trying to figure out our next step. He wants to buy a small tractor and root rake the property himself. We want to keep the tractor on the smaller size but will need to use it for general up keep of the property. As you can see most of the heavy work is done. We plan to have a couple of horses, maybe a cow and a few goats. I'm attaching photos of the property in case that helps. If we get a tractor with an FEL, bushhog, box blade what would we be looking at in cost. I would like to get something about 20,000 or under. We're also looking at Kioti,Kubota and John Deere (even though it's expensive).
Sorry the pictures are huge and thanks for the help.









We were thinking of ordering something like this to root rake with.

 

[TJP89]

I would suggest something in the 30HP range, judging from the really rough look of the property. You'll need it to handle the decent ground engaging tasks you have right now, and decent loader lift is useful with livestock. As it looks like you'll be building and improving the property, and bigger tractor is nice. A 25HP SCUT is probably not going to cut it on something that rough.

JD is out of your price range, unless you go for one of the crappy little 30XXE series. Those are cheap in more ways than one and I would never trust one for serious work. Kubota has the LXX00 and the LXX01 series which are in your price range. The 00 series is very basic and very reliable, but with no little niceties that make life a lot easier. I'm not sure about the 01 series, but I believe they are a little nicer. The GLXX60 series is very impressive, but also very expensive (30K @35HP) Kioti has 2 30HP tractors, the DS and the CK. The DS is a basic gear tractor that I know almost nothing about. The CK30 is a step down form my CK35, the only difference being 5HP and a couple of pounds. The CK is a basic tractor with a few niceties (telescoping 3PT links, tilt steering, cruise control) standard, at about the same price as the L3200 and the JD 3032E. Basic tractor w/ loader is going to run about 20K +/-. with a little more for a brush hog (not name brand, just generic term) and box blade. Unless you get a steal, new for your setup is probably going to be about 20 to 23 thousand, depending on dealer and brand.

Used is another option, but be careful there, and only if you're at least slightly mechanically inclined and equipped. However, you can get some good deals on nice used equipment, if you look well enough.

I assume the brands you mentioned are the ones with dealer close to you. If not, branch out, there are a lot of tractor companies out there, most of them good.

Once you know your HP, start looking based on features, specs, and prices. Others will chip in here, and add to their opinion to mine, and the JD people will go ballistic over what I said about the E series.

:welcome: and don't rush tractor buying, enjoy it.

 

[merlynr]

Everything PJ said in concur,but I have a Kubota L3800 with the things that I desired. 4wd,fel(front end loader),quik-tach bucket which means you can drop the bucket and hook up other tool in about a minute or two. Upper 30's hp range. I don't need or want cruise control because it already has hand and foot throttle plus I've never had a tractor with hst tranny except on a lawn mower. More bells and whistles to go wrong.
Bought new almost 3 years ago with no problems except seat and they replaced it. $18K

 

[TJP89]

I forgot about the SSQA, that is very useful. and merlynr, I'm guessing that you have never hooked up an implement with telescoping link ends, adjustable stabilizers, and crank adjustable lift link, cause it makes all the difference in the world. Not to detract from the LXX00, they're a very solid dependable tractor.

 

[davrow]

Instead of the rake you show I suggest a real grapple. You'll need it to move all that detritus somewhere (hopefully you are allowed to do burns).

You should be able to come in at $20,000 with very few compromises ... but you won't be getting a nice new 50 HP cab tractor with A/C. I too would suggest 30-35HP to do the work and meet your price point.

That land will look real purdy once you've put some cleanup time into it.

 

[boggen]

agreeing and adding to what others have already said...

Tractor Attachments And Skid Steer Attachments For Any Tractor Or Skid Steer = a good place to do your homework / research what type of attachments are out there. it is a good start point with videos and a good amount of text for the various stuff.

www.tractorhouse.com = a lot of used and new stuff, something to gauge against, when pricing stuff out.

SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & more = search multi nearby cities via craiglist / ebay.

TractorData.com - information on all makes and models of tractors = a way to compare general specs of tractors

Messick's | Dealer for New Holland, Case IH, Kubota, Cub Cadet and More | Online Parts, Sales & Service. = find online part manuals for many types of tractors in one spot. can be easier going through there website than actual manufacture website for find part manuals.

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looks like ya got it pretty good, it doesn't look like a bunch of dirt all put into the piles of trees and garbage that were made. just a couple inches of top soil scrubbed over, and looks like no major ruts / holes to deal with.

your big ticket items generally are.... tractor itself, cab, FEL (front end loader), and a 3pt hitch backhoe with subframe. everything else can be third party bought. or bought at later date without much gain/loss as for as $$$ if ya order the big ticket items at same time through same dealer, you are more likely to get a bigger discount overall. vs if you got the big ticket items as you saved up cash.

a lot of the little "add on options" can be extremely nice, from lights up on the ROPS (front and rear), to larger alternator, to TNT (top and tilt for 3pt hitch), to 2 to 3 rear hyd (hydraulic) remotes, to possibly 3rd function joystick for FEL (if running a grapel or like)

most manufactures have some sort of "build your own tractor" on there website. go through and figure out the options ya want... along with familiarize yourself with different options.

most likely a HST (hydro-static transmission) would be best for you.
for me R1 / agriculture tires are better, due to all the dirt roads/lanes and being on the farm. though R4/industrial tires might serve you better. if you can handle some spinning of tires in mud. during initial getting everything done and setup and go into general maintenance mode.

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you have a big list of things to deal with...
from electrical, water, dealing with water drainage on property, barn/shed for livestock, road/driveway, dealing manure of animals, and feeding of animals, putting in fencing, etc...

you most likely have enough tasks to justify a 3pt hitch backhoe with subframe, vs renting some sort of machine as needed for stuff ((a few rentals vs backhoe)). on other hand some folks save up a year or two of tasks and rent a excavator, and go weekend warrior plus maybe a day or two off work to get things done via rental machine.

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about only limiting factor that could come up, is if you wanted to deal with bigger round bails of hay to feed the live stock. and that is having a tractor with a strong enough FEL (front end loader) and unloading a trailer of round bails, and stacking round bails, beyond that. any tractor should work for ya. and with other notation, staying up in the CUT (compact utility tractor). there is a grayish line between SCUT's (sub compact utility tractors) and CUT's. SCUT's = riding lawn mower on steroids, when ya get into cuts, the frame of tractor is different, and you end up with more ground clearance (distance between ground and bottom of tractor), and a heavier overall tractor. (weight is a good thing, more clearance is a good thing).

 

[SRMN8R]

I have a Kubota L3200 with FEL and I wouldn't think twice about tackling that job. I love my "Little L"! She continues to surprise me with how much work she can accomplish, while being small and nimble enough to get into really tight places.

Best of luck in your journey! It looks like a lot of work - and a lot of fun.

 

[holeycow]

it looks like a proper clearing job. Really good, actually.

Now you have to clean up the roots and work it down to seed it. If you are allowed, then burn those piles after bucking them up a little with a saw, then probably re-pile and burn again... Clearing land is a process. If you want nice, smooth pasture land that you can work on without bouncing through holes and generally careening around for years and years to come, then make sure you do an excellent job of preparing the land for seed. If you get a good catch of grass you probably won't be working it up for many, many years.

You have the first stage completed. There's a lot of work to do yet before that's ready for seed. Do a good job, you'll appreciate it later.

I would pick those roots by hand (you'll need an axe) and spend your money on a disc and some harrows.....the guy that cleared it probably knows how to take it from there. Maybe ask him what equipment works well in that dirt. There were thousands upon thousands of acres of rocks and roots picked by hand in clearing operations........

Pick the right seed mixture. If the force is with you you'll get a good catch of grass. In my experience any and all of the new varieties of grass are crap. Try to find old varieties locally that have been bred on the land, not engineered in a lab. That old kind of grass does way, way better in the long run.

I'm excited for you! Good Luck!

my 2c

 

[txcowgirl]

Thank you everyone for all the great info! I have a lot to learn still. The land is a lot of work and sometimes I wish we would have went with some land that was farmed on instead of this mesquite orchard!LOL

There will be no more burning of the brush. We tried that and almost burnt down the neighbors house, well not the house, but they lost a couple large palm trees and an income bearing grapefruit tree and a lamp post. It was the scariest moment of my life, and we were supper careful about burning. We got burn permits and all but the wind picked up and everything got out of control. We just plan to cut up the big mesquite to use for BBQ and pay to have someone haul it off. It's just not worth it to burn.

Tjp89 - Thank you for all the info!

Holeycow- picking those roots by hand would never work. It's just to many and by the time we get half done those dang mesquite would have grown back. I'm glad to hear that the first stage looks proper. We have one more acre to clear and a resaca to clean out so water can fill it. It's over ran with a weed that looks like a cross between catstail and sugar cane. My husband would love a bh to do that job.LOL

davrow - will a grapple get under the roots and pull them out?

boggen - thank you for the links. I'll be looking over them.

Ok back to the tractors. Tomorrow we're going to look at the Kioti at a local dealer. My husband told me tonight John Deere was out due to cost. I still may have him look at some used ones if the local dealer has any but I think his heart lies with Kubota. So a Kubota B series wouldn't be big enough for the job we need done? I'll have him look at the L series.

In case you all were interested. This is the land before we bought it and it was way thicker. We cleared all the red area and the top right corner outside the red box. The resaca is at the bottom right corner and needs cleaning out.

 

[holeycow]

could you run that brush through a chipper?

as has already been said, get a real little tractor, not a big lawnmower. Get a lawnmower after you have some lawn to mow......keep the tractor.