Buying Advice Upgrading tractor advice

[AaronP]

We have a B7800 on 150 acres. We are going to plant 10 acres. We have been using to brush hog countless acreage, mow two acres, move snow and dirt.

It has been a great little tractor, but we are afraid that it won't be up to the task of planting 10 acres. The B7800 has 30 hours, 60in brush hog, finishing mower, ballast box and front end loader, what it it's trade in value worth?

We have found it to be a little light for some applications, but a good tractor.

We are looking at the L3400, L4400 and GL 3940. What do you guys suggest for our purposes? We really don't want to bigger than the 3940, but we are open to suggestions. Right now a farmer hays 40 of our acres, the other 110 acres are wooded. This is not our primary job, it's a hobby.

We want to be able to plant and harvest cor, potato's, tomatoes, asparagus, zuchinni etc...

What to we need?

 

[Bob_Young]

You've got a lot of acreage, Aaron. You might do more with it if you had a more capable tractor and some flexibility in its use. The L3400 seems to be too small a jump from the B7800, while the GL3940 is probably unnecessarily expensive. This leaves the L4400 and it's a good choice for bush hogging and light truck farming; though 110 acres could probably justify an M5040.

I'd say, do whatever's necessary to hang onto the B7800. You'll be amazed at how much more flexible you'll be with two tractors. One can load the wagon; the other can haul it away. If an implement is FINALLY set up properly and working well on the 3PH of one tractor, the other will still be available for chores. You're not constantly being held up by changeovers. One good thing; many of the same implements will work on both the B7800 and the L4400...though the B7800 may struggle where the L4400 finds child's play. If you can get some help from the wife, the offspring or a neighbor, you'll be amazed at what can be done in a brief time window with two tractors.

This would be another reason to avoid the more expensive Grand L...less need to trade the B7800. It would also be a reason to forego the more expensive HST version of the L4400. Gear will be cheaper and, if the B7800's still around, you can use it whenever HST would be a big help. You might even consider getting the L4400 without an FEL if the B7800 already has one.

I am Soooooo thankful to have both the L4300 and the MX5000 on hand. It seems like one or the other is always ready (or nearly ready) to do what needs doing NOW. When your tractoring time is limited, this can be a big deal
FWIW
Bob

 

[LBrown59]

I'd say, do whatever's necessary to hang onto the B7800.

1*You'll be amazed at how much more flexible you'll be with two tractors. One can load the wagon; the other can haul it away. If an implement is FINALLY set up properly and working well on the 3PH of one tractor, the other will still be available for chores. You're not constantly being held up by changeovers.If you can get some help from the wife, the offspring or a neighbor, you'll be amazed at what can be done in a brief time window with two tractors.
I am So thankful to have both the L4300 and the MX5000 on hand. It seems like one or the other is always ready (or nearly ready) to do what needs doing NOW. When your tractoring time is limited, this can be a big deal

1* Lot's of good reasons of why I like having 3 tractors.

 

[AaronP]

Well, I can definitely only have one tractor, so the B 7800 will have to go. I definitely want HST on the tractor I buy, because I will be moving dirt and in general I find HST much easier when brush hogging through old orchards and cutting trails. I know I will lose HP but that's a sacrifice I am okay with. the 150 acres is in western NY with some small hills, but mostly wooded with some old logging trails I will need to maintain. Since I can only have one tractor it sort of needs to be a jack of all trades for me, it needs to be good for agricultural work and utility. I can tow all three of those models behind my half-ton truck as well if I need too. I am just not sure what all of there pro's and con's are. The GL3940 has many nice features and is the largest (heaviest) of the three. The L4400 has the most PTO HP, but I don't see that as a huge factor for what I need to do, but it's darn cost effective. The L3400 is the cheapest and smallest in all respects, like you guys said, it's not much of a jump from the B 7800. So I'm hoping some of you are in a similar situation and can give me advice on what size tractor you use, and what size will be fit my needs. It seems like each dealer has a different suggestion for a different reason. That's how we ended up with the B7800, great LITTLE tractor, but too small. So this time I'm hoping you more experience tractor operators can provide some good guidance.

 

[AaronP]

I don't think I can get an M5040, because I will still have to trailer on occasion, and it is near the Chevy 1500 towing limit when fitted with implements (and my 18 foot trailers length and width limits). Also, I'm not sure I could mow the 2 acres I need to mow with the M5040, so I think I need something a little smaller, unfortunately.

 

[MarkV]

Aaron you are looking at a full time job if you want to plant 10 acres of vegetables. Plowing, disking or tilling 10 acres with the tractors you are looking at will be a challenge in my opinion. Is it possible to have the local farmer that does your hay do the dirt work for you with bigger and heavier equipment? Hope you will let us know your approach for the planting, weeding and harvesting. I have a hard time keeping up with a 1/4 acre garden.

MarkV

 

[MikeInEburg]

I agree that ten acres is fairly ambitious. Tractor will be useful for ground prep but not much more - unless you're willing to splurge for specialized harvesting equipment, which is less viable with such a mix of produce. Even ground prep will vary between crop species.

I'd recommend that you formulate a plan that includes each step of the process then decide exactly what you need to accomplish each step.

That said - I'm a big believer in growing food instead of grass.

Good luck!
Mike

 

[john_bud]

I would say keep the current tractor and use the "projected loss" that you would get with a trade and buy a used field tractor. You could get and old Ford in the 800 or 900 series or a newer one in the 2000/3000/4000/5000 series. Depending on condition, you can pick one up for $2000-8000. The lower end is bare tractor and the upper end is a nice 50-60 hp machine with some attachments.

 

[N80]

I think that the price difference between the HST L4400 and a basic M5040 is not that much and I would go for the M5040. Don't get me wrong, I have an L4400 gear drive and I love it, but as someone mentioned, 10 acres of ground prep is pretty substantial. The 4400 will pull a 7-8 foot disk just fine, but a 5040 might be able to pull a 10 foot disk and cut down on time committment. I think the 4400 could handle it, it will just take a good bit longer. I personally would not pay more for the HST on the 4400, but that's just me. I'm not sure how big a no-till drill the 4400 would pull.

The advice to get a cheaper, larger and heavier basic Ag tractor is not a bad idea either if you can keep the 7800.

But then there is the trailering issue and this is where the light L4400 kind of shines. It is small and light enough to pull with a '1' series pickup, but has the HP to do typical utility tractor and light ag work. And buying a new truck to pull a true ag tractor would not be a good fiscal option if you're on a budget.

Is the 5040 that much heavier than the L4400? I'll check the specs.

 

[Bob_Young]

If you're going to be trailering, be sure to take some measurements and give some thought to trailer balance as well. I do a fair amount of local trailering using a 20' Big Tex 10PI pipe trailer. Luckily I have an old Ram 2500 diesel to pull it with. Being a pipe trailer with a built-in rear ramp, it's fairly confined and no overhang is possible.

Though I can easily get the L4300 and a 5' bush hog on it (without the FEL), the trailer will not be well balanced. Loading tractor first makes it tongue heavy; bush hog first makes it tongue light. Maybe an 18 footer that permits overhang would work better, but best make sure first.

For short hauls, the old Dodge seems to put up with tongue heavy...if I'm careful...but it's no fun to trailer that way and can be dangerous if anything breaks. The locations mentioned in your profile leads me to believe your trailering won't be short haul. If true, make sure you work through a loading scheme for the least compact configuration. The tractor alone, with or without FEL, should be fine on 18 ft. Adding a compact implement like a rear blade or a tiller should be alright too; but the bush hog is the test. You might find that it would pay to have a second bush hog stashed at one of your remote locations.

Your trailering plans seem to point toward an L3400 as the best choice. Your tillage plans, toward an M5040 or larger. Maybe a larger Ag utility tractor bought used and left at the main tillage site would resolve this dilemma and reduce the stress on everything involved.
FWIW
Bob