Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

[jcbGM]

Last year we moved to a 34 acre hobby farm. Much of the 34 acres is wooded, with about 2/3 of an acre of finished lawn and maybe 12 acres of pasture and hayfields. My neighbor takes care of the hay, so no heavy tractor work required. My four sons take care of the lawn with a push mower and a craftsman rider. Snow management for our 1/4 mile long road is handled by a RTV with a plow. The tractor would be used for brush hogging around the perimeter of the pastures and fields, along with trail maintenance. We'd also be using a grader plane to maintain the road. Obviously, we have plenty of small loader chores (manure, gravel for the road, compost for the garden) at some point we'd probably get a tiller for the garden. It's small enough to till with a walk behind at this point.

I really don't have plans for a MMM at this point, and are considering the following models: B2650, L2501, and L3301

We'll get HST because my wife and oldest kids will be running it.

The B2650 and L2501 are nearly the same price with the L weighing more, but the B having greater 3pt lift. The L3301 is in the mix because I just don't know if the 2501 has enough PTO power to do what I want.

Thoughts?

 

[jeff9366]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

Fill in your tractor and location on TBN profile. Then actives here will have some idea of your soil and weather. Occaisionally they will refer you to used equipment which may interest you.

 

[jeff9366]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

Last year we moved to a 34 acre hobby farm.

1. The tractor would be used for brush hogging around the perimeter of the pastures and fields, along with trail maintenance.

2. We'd also be using a grader plane to maintain the road.

3. Obviously, we have plenty of small loader chores (manure, gravel for the road, compost for the garden)

4. At some point we'd probably get a tiller for the garden. It's small enough to till with a walk behind at this point.

The B2650 and L2501 are nearly the same price with the L weighing more, but the B having greater 3pt lift. The L3301 is in the mix because I just don't know if the 2501 has enough PTO power to do what I want.

1. A 25-PTO horsepower tractor is needed to power a five foot Bush Hog. Guideline: 5-PTO horsepower per foot of width. Smaller than five foot width will take a long time to cover much ground. Adult only to pilot a Bush Hog.

2. Ground contact work requires more horsepower and equally important, more tractor weight. How wide a LPGS are you considering? How long is your road? Dirt, gravel, crowned, average rainfall? You may want a Rear/Angle Blade rather than a LPGS.

3. FEL buckets do not cut well unadorned. The addition of a bucket Tooth Bar will make it easier to scoop a bucket of anything. The favorite Tooth Bar here is the Piranha Tooth Bar. For tearing out brush, trail maintenance and light grading a Ratchet Rake is a second excellent bucket attachment; however you cannot scoop with a Ratchet Rake attached. It has both horizontal and downward oriented teeth.

4. PTO powered roto-tillers require about 6-PTO horsepower per foot of width, somewhat dependent on soil type. More HP for clay and rocky soil.

In the tractors you are considering probably 95% are sold with a Front End Loader (FEL)

In the tractors you are considering probably 90% are sold with HST transmission, which is optimal for forward/reverse loader work and safer on hills than a gear tractor. Better resale than gear.

In the tractors you are considering probably 85% are sold with R4 Industrial Tires.

All the tractors you are considering are rather low in weight and horsepower for 34 acres.

Do you have hills or sloping ground in the equation?

 

[2funkids]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

I purchased a tractor recently in that category.
I liked a positioning three point, affordable price, and skid steer type bucket attachment.
One thing I would have done differently is to get a remote valve.

 

[Fallon]

Weight defines what a tractor will do. HP merely helps it go faster. Especially with a HST, you can just go slower if you are short on PTO HP to run a cutter or tiller. You can add weight to a degree for more traction, but starting with a bigger frame & tires counts for a lot. A tractor ends up basically being a teeter totter. If you lift something heavy in the loader it will tip forward unless you have weight on the back. Same goes for a heavy cutter on the back, ballast (or a loader) is needed to prevent you from doing a wheely.

What is the heaviest thing you want to lift with the loader?

I went with a L3200 (pretty much identical to the L3301 minus the tier 4 emissions stuff). I wouldn't be happy with anything smaller on my 5 acres. But my needs might be different than yours.

Also the L3200 has a SSQA on the loader (may be optional, don't remember). Its so handy to swap from bucket to pallet forks in about 60 seconds. Pallet forks might be more useful than the bucket & is on about as much. Even if a lesser tractor has a SSQA their lift capacity is so low impliments eat up a lot of that capacity.

 

[jeff9366]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

SSQA = Skid Steer Quick Attach

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

1. A 25-PTO horsepower tractor is needed to power a five foot Bush Hog. Guideline: 5-PTO horsepower per foot of width. Smaller than five foot width will take a long time to cover much ground. Adult only to pilot a Bush Hog.

2. Ground contact work requires more horsepower and equally important, more tractor weight. How wide a LPGS are you considering? How long is your road? Dirt, gravel, crowned, average rainfall? You may want a Rear/Angle Blade rather than a LPGS.

3. FEL buckets do not cut well unadorned. The addition of a bucket Tooth Bar will make it easier to scoop a bucket of anything. The favorite Tooth Bar here is the Piranha Tooth Bar. For tearing out brush, trail maintenance and light grading a Ratchet Rake is a second excellent bucket attachment; however you cannot scoop with a Ratchet Rake attached. It has both horizontal and downward oriented teeth.

4. PTO powered roto-tillers require about 6-PTO horsepower per foot of width, somewhat dependent on soil type. More HP for clay and rocky soil.

In the tractors you are considering probably 95% are sold with a Front End Loader (FEL)

In the tractors you are considering probably 90% are sold with HST transmission, which is optimal for forward/reverse loader work and safer on hills than a gear tractor. Better resale than gear.

In the tractors you are considering probably 85% are sold with R4 Industrial Tires.

All the tractors you are considering are pretty light in weight and horsepower for 34 acres.

Do you have hills or sloping ground in the equation?

Weight defines what a tractor will do. HP merely helps it go faster. Especially with a HST, you can just go slower if you are short on PTO HP to run a cutter or tiller. You can add weight to a degree for more traction, but starting with a bigger frame & tires counts for a lot. A tractor ends up basically being a teeter totter. If you lift something heavy in the loader it will tip forward unless you have weight on the back. Same goes for a heavy cutter on the back, ballast (or a loader) is needed to prevent you from doing a wheely.

What is the heaviest thing you want to lift with the loader?

I went with a L3200 (pretty much identical to the L3301 minus the tier 4 emissions stuff). I wouldn't be happy with anything smaller on my 5 acres. But my needs might be different than yours.

Also the L3200 has a SSQA on the loader (may be optional, don't remember). Its so handy to swap from bucket to pallet forks in about 60 seconds. Pallet forks might be more useful than the bucket & is on about as much. Even if a lesser tractor has a SSQA their lift capacity is so low impliments eat up a lot of that capacity.

I've owned many BXs, Bs and one L. Can't add much if anything to these two posts, they cover most every thing.:thumbsup:

 

[tractorshopper]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

For your size property, desired work, and the advantageous weight needed, I'd be seriously looking at the L or even a small MX.

 

[jcbGM]

Re: Yet another, "Which tractor should I buy" thread. Thanks in advance....

Thanks everyone for the input. We'll focus on the "L" series and maybe the 3901. I know 34 acres seems like alot, but as I mentioned, much of it is woods and my neighbor takes care of the heavy work (cutting and baling hay). My needs are primarily for utility work, so we'll stick with the L. The "M" is just much more than we need.

 

[Fallon]

Thanks everyone for the input. We'll focus on the "L" series and maybe the 3901. I know 34 acres seems like alot, but as I mentioned, much of it is woods and my neighbor takes care of the heavy work (cutting and baling hay). My needs are primarily for utility work, so we'll stick with the L. The "M" is just much more than we need.

See my L3200 vs L3800 comments at http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums//showthread.php?t=331582