Flip-flopping on tractor choices: it's a tough decision!

[BoneDigger]

I am looking at used tractors in the 30-40HP range. Hours range from 50 to 2,000 (or more). Brands and models mostly have good reviews, then I'll read some negative post and rethink it, only to come back to it again later after reading a negative about another brand. I'll decide I really have to have hydro, then later decide I really would be fine with gears or syncro. I'm so freakin lost!

Here's my need:
I own approximately 60 mostly wooded acres in east Texas. I have maybe two acres of food plots in very sandy soil. No rocks to deal with. The ground is a little hilly but nothing horrible. I plan to disc for food plots and rough cut mow maybe 5 acres. Other tasks would imclude occassionally using a box blade to maintain the road and occassionally a bucket to push brush or dirt around. I suspect the latter would be fairly rare.

Right now I'm looking at a NH Workmaster or an older T1520. Kubotas are awesome as are Deere, but most are fairly expensive.

Ideas?

 

[dodge man]

The best thing is to talk to owners. It's hard to do but stop and talk to a couple of strangers and ask their opinion. Also if you plan on keeping it a long time think of it as a long term investment.

 

[Texasmark]

I started with a Farmall Super A (25 hp) which was a basic setup tractor made primarily for cultivating truck farming type operations....vegetables, best I can remember. My biggest tractor was a 1979 JD 4230 100 hp 2wd diesel with cab. I had a rainbow of fillers over the years, maybe 20 all total. My current lineup is visible and they are here for a reason.

I downsized and retired (sort-a) in 2007 and bought the 6530. Tractor data . com tells you what it has and I bought it for those reasons. I kept the Fords, which I have had for well over 15 years as they are there when you need an extra tractor when haying, or doing an odd job around the farm when everything else is tied up.

I started in gas and will not go back, period. Diesels are superior and it is obviously a superior engine as witnessed by all the newer tractors available: diesel, 4wd, usually a mounted loader in the offering from the factory.....if they didn't sell something else would surely be offered that did.

Every tractor/mfgr. has their good and bad points and they are driven a lot of times by the owner. One owner may have a style of usage that puts pressure on a weak point in a design whereby another person wouldn't meaning that one person is happy with his/hers and another not. You also have the family tree involvement where "my great grandaddy drove a Model T and Ford is what is going to be in my driveway" syndrome.

What works in your soil, topography, climate, usage and all is unique to you. You can't expect responses from folks in other situations to fit your needs exactly.

It's a crap shoot. Take your best shot and be happy with your decision. If not, sell it and move on. No big deal. Happens every day.

Good luck.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm also in East Texas and have seen dealers come and go in my area. Kubota and Deere have a well earned reputation that should be considered when looking around. Mahindra is also a good brand. I went with Century because I felt it was as good as the others, but $4,000 cheaper. Over the years, I've struggled with getting parts, dealers closing down and finding some silly things that should never have been done when building it like a plastic hydraulic tank for the power steering. I've replaced it with a metal one.

Go with 4 wheel drive. You will still get stuck, but you will have more days that you can work with all the rain we get, then just sitting around waiting for it to dry out enough to run a 2 wheel drive tractor. Be careful of anything with a lot of hours on it. Small tractors are mostly weekend use and rarely get 100 hours a year on them. The more hours on a tractor, the more time you will spend wrenching on it.

My next tractor is going to be at least 80hp, 4x4 with a cab so I can pull a 15 foot batwing. Currently I'm battling bugs, the heat or the cold with my 35 hp tractor and 6 foot bush hog. Some days it's just too hot and humid to go out and spend a couple hours sweating, so I put it off until it cools off. I'm mowing at night more and more too. My favorite place to day dream and keep up on pricing is J & K Sales, Ltd

 

[BoneDigger]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I am watching J&K Sales since they are local for me. I'd kind of like to find a low hour, single owner tractor so I know more about its history and usage. I have a line on a NH Workmaster 35, 4x4, with loader, brush hog, and box blade for $15k. It only has 70 hours on it. I think that model was made by LS in Korea. But, reviews seem positive. This one has a shuttle shift, not hydro, but not sure if I'll need hydro since I don't plan to do a ton of bucket work. For most of that I would rent a backhoe.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I am looking at used tractors in the 30-40HP range. Hours range from 50 to 2,000 (or more). Brands and models mostly have good reviews, then I'll read some negative post and rethink it, only to come back to it again later after reading a negative about another brand. I'll decide I really have to have hydro, then later decide I really would be fine with gears or syncro. I'm so freakin lost!

Here's my need:
I own approximately 60 mostly wooded acres in east Texas. I have maybe two acres of food plots in very sandy soil. No rocks to deal with. The ground is a little hilly but nothing horrible. I plan to disc for food plots and rough cut mow maybe 5 acres. Other tasks would imclude occassionally using a box blade to maintain the road and occassionally a bucket to push brush or dirt around. I suspect the latter would be fairly rare.

Right now I'm looking at a NH Workmaster or an older T1520. Kubotas are awesome as are Deere, but most are fairly expensive.

Ideas?

There is a reason Kubotas are more, you actually get what you pay for. Buy what feels best in the end, and don't rule out the gear drives.

 

[tcreeley]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I am watching J&K Sales since they are local for me. I'd kind of like to find a low hour, single owner tractor so I know more about its history and usage. I have a line on a NH Workmaster 35, 4x4, with loader, brush hog, and box blade for $15k. It only has 70 hours on it. I think that model was made by LS in Korea. But, reviews seem positive. This one has a shuttle shift, not hydro, but not sure if I'll need hydro since I don't plan to do a ton of bucket work. For most of that I would rent a backhoe.

70 hr - good find. I have a NH TC30. Great tractor. - Sometime tractor discussions are like listening to the fine points of a GMC pickup vs a Silverado. Get's in to prestige. Go try it out. That will tell you more than anything!

 

[BoneDigger]

Thanks again for the replies!

One more thing I'd like to mention. Although I realize one should always go bigger than they think they need to, I'm not really able to spend that much and my truck is a 4x2 2003 Tundra. The towing capacity isn't all that high. I'm not a farmer or a rancher, I just own some hunting property. I doubt I would often need to tow it, but I certainly don't want to have to invest in another truck too.

Also, although I have a wildlife exemption for property taxes, I don't have an ag exemption for sales tax. So, if I buy from a dealer, I'll have to add another 6-8% depending on the county.

I'm meeting with the guy selling the NH tomorrow.

 

[EddieWalker]

New Holland seems to keep disappearing from the Tyler area. Rose County Tractor used to sell them, but now they are strictly Kubota and nothing else. Then a few years ago New Holland had a dealership on 69 between Tyler and Lindale that was around for a little bit, but they closed up shop. I saw a dealership along 20 going towards Dallas, and that's the only one I'm aware of. How far are you from where you can get parts for it if you buy the NH TC30?

 

[BoneDigger]

There's one in Longview, Kelly Tractors. There's one in Sulphur Springs. And, there's one in Terrell, all of which are about 45 minutes away. Sulphur Springs maaybe more like an hour and a quarter.