Buying Advice First CUT: Sizing and Used Options

[FreedomFamilyFarms]

Hello TBN!

I've been reading a long time and getting close to purchasing my first CUT. I plan to purchase used and would like any advice or strategy for locating the perfect used machine. I'd entertain new as well if the savings on a used machine are negligible.

I am building a home that will be completed in November on 17 1/2 acres. We have a 1000 ft white rock driveway I will maintain with the tractor as well as snow removal in the winter. My home is in the 46706 zip code and we can get up to a foot of snow overnight here (unusual, but possible). 10 acres are wooded and I want to clear a couple trails and maintain them. I also have the ability to heat my home entirely with cord wood so I'll be moving wood around with the tractor.

I plan to keep a small lawn (1 acre or less). I have a Toro Z Master ZTR that my wife likes to use so there's no need for a finish mower on the tractor. However, I plan to flail mow the areas outside of the lawn. The Caroni flail mower discussed on this site seems perfect for my needs.

I split as much wood by hand as I can but some wood is just too unruly for a maul so a 3 point mounted hydraulic splitter is on my wish list. The TSC model (~$700) seems adequate for my needs.

My brother lives 2 counties away and I'd like to be able to trailer the machine occasionally with a half-ton pickup. My dream setup is a Ram Ecodiesel with a dump trailer I can haul the tractor with. I'll need to play the lottery more often to achieve this, but its good to have vision just in case. I have a single axle trailer and half-ton pickup now. Food for thought, one of the local Kubota dealers is also a PJ trailer dealer...

Must Haves:
- SSQA loader & pallet forks
- HST (Want the wife and kid(s) to be comfortable on it)
- Means of snow removal: Loader might be fine most of the time, want 3 point blower for deep/heavy snow
- R4 tires


Wish List:
- Rear remote(s) for splitter, future power beyond
- Bucket spade
- Ratchet rake
- Friend or neighbor with a rototiller I can borrow (won't need one often enough to own it)
- Flail mower
- Box blade

We have many local dealerships. Kubota, John Deere, Massey Ferguson, LS (Bobcat dealer), & Mahindra are all a quick drive from my home. I also have a Cub Cadet dealership around the corner I've done business with that will work on "anything that fits through the overhead door". He doesn't sell CUTs so I can't buy a Yanmar from him. I've had equipment serviced by both the local Kubota dealer and the local Mahindra dealer just to see how their service departments perform. Both were easy to work with. My experience with the local Deere dealership has been less than impressive. I've purchased a Honda generator and a Stihl chainsaw from them and they seem to feel it's my privilege to shop there. I've called the Massey dealer to work on my ZTR but their service dept. is always 4 or more weeks behind.

I'm thinking for my needs I'm looking at roughly 30 HP. I could get by with smaller, but I plan to take the sage TBN advice that tractors get smaller when you get them home. I'm not loyal to any brand but I'll admit I have an affinity for orange paint.

With this information in mind, where should I start my search? Is it worth my time to price new then look for used as a comparison? What are the best venues for used sales? I'm willing to be patient and travel to acquire the right machine for the right price.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jeff9366]

Here are used tractors for sale on eBay, those closest to zip code 46706 first:

Tractors | eBay



Nice Kubota: Kubota M5040 Tractor 4WD LA1153 Front Loader Skid Steer Mount 475 Hours Nice | eBay

Specs Kubota M5040: TractorData.com Kubota M5040 tractor information


VERY FINE FIRST POST.

 

[KennyG]

I think you are on target to look at 30 to 35 HP if you can. Since you are not mowing and with the amount of property you have, weight is an advantage. The only downside is you will probably be looking at a trailer upgrade if you only have a single axle trailer now. Sorry to hear your JD dealer is not friendly - it's probably important to work with a dealer who's interested in working with you.

 

[nybirdman]

Something along the lines of a "L" series Kubota,30+or - HP,3,000lbs,4WD.The L2501 has been popular because of no DEF.Sounds like it is down rated but has a lot of HP for the size.
With only a chance of one foot or less of snow a rear blade would suffice and could be used for other projects.
Lots of completion in this segment of tractors;I would purchase from what dealer you are comfortable.

 

[gladehound]

Obviously many options to choose from and you've done your reading... Just three comments for now...

- Snow blower - do you really need one. I see it sitting most the time and as previous poster mentioned, a foot of snow isn't much. You will need a rear blade or box blade to maintain your drive. If you get the rear blade that's your snow solution also. Then get yourself a big mulch bucket and use that for wood, mulch, snow. That and a rear blade and you have two attachments that are useful for a lot of things and combined cost less than a snow blower that will sit most of the time.

- Pallet forks - hard to beat the bang for buck! A must have. However, keep in mind that things get heavy fast when way out on pallet forks, loader specs are important and there is a lot of variation in loader spec among ~30 hp CUTS. If you up to 40hp or down to 25hp you can get a hug range in loader capability. Be mindful of what you want to pick up and note that you may not be able to lift a pallet off the ground that weighs less than your loaders rated max height lift at the pins. Size accordingly.

- HST - wonderful - but a budget killer. If you are dead set on HST than get it. Just know that you can get real deals on gear tractors on the used market. My daughter could operate my hydro reverser well enough at 9 yo to load implements on trailers. So it's not like your family can't learn something other than HST. I got a dealer demo 45hp with hydraulic reverser tranny for $4000 less than a similar 40hp with HST from the same dealer.

Definitely get prices on new tractors before shopping used! (Ok, that was 4)

 

[4570Man]

I really like my HST. I was pretty decent on the old L2550 by the time I was 15. HST is easier to use though. You didn't mention needing to make any heavy lifts. Obviously the more the better, but it seems like you'll be able to make do with any loader offered in the size range. The heavier the tractor the better. I'd wouldn't have anything but R4 tires, but that's a personal opinion that gets pretty personal around here.

 

[DieselBound]

PTO log splitter - they're not very fast; I thought about this but decided to go with a dedicated splitter- I can move it around with my Polaris and split, then pick up with the the tractor (I use palletized wire crates and move around with pallet forks on the tractor [going to be getting a larger tractor than my 30hp B7800 because it can't stack the crates]).

If you have to do a lot of maneuvering in the woods then an HST would be a big plus. With HST I literally let off the travel pedal and start jumping off the tractor before it's even stopped (which it'll do): my Polaris Brutus is also an HST and the same with it- I can start bailing out before it's come to a complete stop.

Assess how you're going to create trails. Much of the work might be possible with rented machinery.

Ballast in the rears. Tooth bar on the bucket. Life would have been much better for me had I done these two things from the start (tooth bar was like 2 years after having the tractor, and ballast was like 4 years!).

 

[newbury]

Like jeff wrote - pretty good first post.
Questions -
What's your terrain like?
How big are your trees? Mature 150' tall oaks 5' in DBH or 30 year old 20' tall one foot DBH? Try take a SWAG to figure out the max you need to lift with a FEL (include a safety factor) using a grapple or forks. Here's a calculator for log weight. But basically an 8' oak log 24" in diameter will be around 1600 lbs.
What are your wrenching skills? If you can do some moderate maintenance a used tractor may not be as frustrating.
And directly connected to this how much do you want to spend on the whole shebang (including maintenance and repair)?

Right now we may be at a cusp in new versus used tractors cost. With interest rates at rock bottom it actually is not a bad time to buy new and get that new tractor smell, warrantee and service.
Especially if you don't have wrenching skills.

A tractor is not like a passenger car. If a passenger car breaks down it will probably be very near a road. If your out busting a new trail half a mile back in the woods and you tear off a hydraulic line your tractor may be down for a while. If you can handle swapping out the line a repair might be only a day or so, but if it's not driveable and you can't fix it yourself it will often take a while to get somebody out there.

I've bought two used since I always have other uses for my money.

 

[4570Man]

Like jeff wrote - pretty good first post. Questions - What's your terrain like? How big are your trees? Mature 150' tall oaks 5' in DBH or 30 year old 20' tall one foot DBH? Try take a SWAG to figure out the max you need to lift with a FEL (include a safety factor) using a grapple or forks. Here's a calculator for log weight. But basically an 8' oak log 24" in diameter will be around 1600 lbs. What are your wrenching skills? If you can do some moderate maintenance a used tractor may not be as frustrating. And directly connected to this how much do you want to spend on the whole shebang (including maintenance and repair)? Right now we may be at a cusp in new versus used tractors cost. With interest rates at rock bottom it actually is not a bad time to buy new and get that new tractor smell, warrantee and service. Especially if you don't have wrenching skills. A tractor is not like a passenger car. If a passenger car breaks down it will probably be very near a road. If your out busting a new trail half a mile back in the woods and you tear off a hydraulic line your tractor may be down for a while. If you can handle swapping out the line a repair might be only a day or so, but if it's not driveable and you can't fix it yourself it will often take a while to get somebody out there. I've bought two used since I always have other uses for my money.

If you can't handle swapping out a hydraulic hose you better hire out the trail building.

 

[DieselBound]

Here's the kind of stuff you can expect. About 1/4 mile from home, blazing a new trail. Salmon berry cane snapped up an went inside the tractor's center channel (not a big target) and slipped back and managed to pop the hose right off the pipe! Was "dead in the water." And I'd been circling back toward the house, which meant I had to pull the tractor out through uncut brush, which included a couple of large logs: wife and I took machetes and a chainsaw. Pulled it back home with the truck.



I couldn't see any of this out in the brush. And even when back home it took me a while to figure out what had happened. With a bigger tractor these kinds of things get more expensive: more fluid loss possible!