Buying Advice Yup. Another newbie.

[extrareserve]

Hi all

I'm a former farmer wife now looking for a small tractor for my boyfriend as a retirement gift. I've never sat in a small tractor before and want to do the right thing.
There is no grass there so no mower needed at this time. It's remotely possible we may need one in the future. We need a loader. He thinks he needs a blade too, but I know he needs a backhoe
New isn't necessary, but a well cared for machine is.

Budget (10k) but for screaming deal could go up to 12,500.
Acreage to maintain and type ( 7, foothills/treed)
Terrain (rolling hills)
Climate/location (California foothills. I don't need a snow machine)
3 primary uses (pulling trees, stumps, clearing, making quad trails, moving firewood, etc)
Skill set w/ tractors (little) but very smart and handy guy who can operate and repair equipment
Support other than dealers (fix anything son in law)
How soon (next few months)
Business or Pleasure (pleasure)


Thanks for any assistance. If I should provide more info, please let me know.

 

[Thomas]

:welcome: to TBN from the other coast line.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day extrareserve and welcome to TBN from Downunder. Each and every member here was a newbie at one point.

I note that you spotted and read the thread suggesting a "Newbie Advice Checklist". Well done! That member will be chuffed.

Enjoy the site.

 

[Grandad4]

Welcome! With patience and diligent searching, you may well find a used compact tractor that would work for you, but your budget really doesn't allow for a backhoe, which is a $7-8k option on new equipment and adds quite a lot to the value of used equipment also. As an alternative, I'd suggest a) budget for the rental of a small excavator to do your clearing/stumping/tree removal work, if you can plan the work so it's done in one block of time, or b) initially buy a used full-sized backhoe for the land clearing chores, then sell it and get the small tractor to maintain the property.

 

[extrareserve]

Thank you!!

 

[boggen]

TractorHouse.com | Used Tractors For Sale: John Deere, Case IH, New Holland, Kubota. = agirculture tractors were backhoes come up giving access to 3pt hitch
MachineryTrader.com | Backhoes for sale, skid steers, excavators, dozers. = industrial equipment, = TLB (tractor loader backhes). more of a chance backhoe may come off but no 3pt hitch.
www.cragilist.com = make sure you enter miles and zip code to get multipule cities.
check your auction websites around, normally they list pictures and details of a tractor is involved due to cash value.

Welcome! With patience and diligent searching, you may well find a used compact tractor that would work for you, but your budget really doesn't allow for a backhoe, which is a $7-8k option on new equipment and adds quite a lot to the value of used equipment also. As an alternative, I'd suggest a) budget for the rental of a small excavator to do your clearing/stumping/tree removal work, if you can plan the work so it's done in one block of time, or b) initially buy a used full-sized backhoe for the land clearing chores, then sell it and get the small tractor to maintain the property.

i am on option B. roughly 80 acre farm, the farm looks rough and tattered. but it is what it is. large size backhoe to get tree stumps, move a descent amount of dirt. i really wish i had access to 3pt hitch on the tractor. but it is what it is.

==========
used tractors. never buy, without physically test driving machines.
make sure you go look at 6 dozen or more tractors to see the power and get some experience of what stuff is like. some stuff you will find out you want to run away from. while others look awesome.

used tractors = rust buckets may run like new and run mechanically good. and old shineys maybe restored and run ugly.

there are sloppy loose backhoes. you go to move backhoe and release lever and it continues to move (holes warped out, pins bent and thinned down).

you most likely will not find a used backhoe that is not "leaky" and have oil spots under it.

transmission and power it can actually get to the wheels and range/gear selections can be an issue. make sure you test drive!,

good chance brakes may not work. and if they do, barely work.

tires can be costly for tractors. take it into consideration. if tires are worn out, be excepting to pay for new set of tires.

make sure you let unit run 15 mins and drive it around, dig a little hole with backhoe, use the FEL to fill hole back in. raise the FEL up into the air, raise the backhoe up into the air. with engine on just set there for 5 plus minutes and see if anything falls down, if they fall raise them backup, and turn off machine and see if they fall in 5 minutes plus. this is more to get an idea if hydrualics are good. if they fall quickly, there be some issues.