Multi purpose tractor

[nwngunner]

Sounds like you have years of work a head of you. I would for one, find a nice used 80hp+ tractor with a cab heat and ac with cat 2 3point with a loader. Also i would be investing in to a skid steer. The skid steer will out work a tractor for loading material and digging punching posts ect ect. The speed advantage they have over a tractor and being able to turn around in a tight place is second to none. As for a track unit vs no tracked unit. I have a tracked unit and i would would never want a wheel loader of a track. Dont care how expensive they are to repair. The stability the traction ect ect is a big advantage. Also you dont tear the crap out of everything with them.

I would not get a back hoe for a skid steer. They are way expensive. One for my t250 used is as much as buying a 310 back hoe or a good chunk of change on to a mini ex.

Plus having that big rear boom you will find many many uses. The thing about a skid steer back hoe is the getting out of the seat and getting in the seat of the hoe, then moving, ect ect. It is a lot of work. It will make you tired after all day of doing it. You might even be better off with a small 7ton mini ex. I have ran a few of those and thought how usefull they would be to have around.

 

[MBTRAC]

MBTRAC

A couple more questions.

I rang a local distributor of Challenge grader blades and they are quite pricey about $12,000 for the 2400 wide blade and no stock until March next year. Even though their brochure said this blade needed 60-90 HP, they were saying should have the top end of this range and that more power would be better.
- how does this fit with your experience and have you used with 80 HP tractors (sounded like you might have from earlier posts)?

This distributor also sells Mahindra and when I started at looking at these on their website and from comments on the Mahindra forum here it looks like they have a pretty good reputation and that they are solid and heavy machines with quite high lifting capacity on 3 Point linkage (quoting 2500 kg). They sell for $59,000 (inc GST) with FEL and cab compared to 80 hp of the type you were suggesting (under 2300 hrs) that seem to sell for $46,000 to $50,000 (inc GST with FEL) plus freight and no warranty eg. MF2235 2300 hrs $46,000 and JD5520 1100 hrs for $50,000. A JD5083E (cab and FEL inc GST) costs about $69,000. Of course the actual price you pay will depend on a lot of factors but this is a guide.

Have you heard much about Mahindras in terms of how they would compare to a good second hand 80 HP tractor with low hrs?

1. You should run the 2.4m Challange blade on a decent 80hp FWA (Frt Wheel Assist) tractor without a drama for general road maintenance (smoothing, eliminating corrugations & hole filling), though if it's constant heavy road building (i.e. creating a road/track from virgin ground or heavy drain clearing/forming) you will need to take it a little easier - a bit slower & multiple shallower cuts....we run our 3m units on anything from 80hp (gravel road maintenance) to 150hp (road creation)
If possible wrap the blade & any implements into a deal if you're buying a new tractor & bargain hard (once you get close to the bottom $ for the dealer request a few extra primary & secondary air + maybe oil & hyd filters + engine & hyd oils/coolant & grease are thown in free to close the deal - these cost the dealer minimal amounts but they sell them at high margins.....)

2. Don't get too hung up on 3PL lifting capacity for 80hp c.2300kgs is generally fine for most needs (2300- 2500kg is c.mid range c.2800 is upper range) as over 2T it's most likely going to be a trailed/drawbar implement than 3PL, focus more on the hyd pump capacity/flow as it will determine the speed/response of hyd flow "hungry FEL's & fully hyd graders

3. Mahindra ? I haven't owned one & don't know anyone who has, maybe in a 50hp unit for light work but I'm still a bit dubious about the product/support in heavy commercial faming applications- The fit,finish & engineering on the Mahindra's I've seen in dealers seems a bit wanting", also I understand their hyd pump flows are fairly minimal in their larger tractors, which is something you'll notice running a FEL & fully hyd grader ..etc, consider also their resale is abysmal s/h & Mahindra's seem a lot harder to sell s/h (on the private ads they are listed for many months......)

4.If you're consider Mahindra, I'd suggest comparing Daedong/Kioti (again no direct ownership experience yet, but I know a few owners who seem happy with their 80hp+units & the dealer netwrk/support seems ok), we're close to doing a deal on a our first Korean tractor a Daedong DK1002 FWA 100hp Perkins based 4.4l engine A/C 16x16 shuttle shift 3PL quick hitch, extra remotes & 4/1 FEL @c. $54K new less GST- sure the resale is maybe going to be poor & maybe there's a couple of things better made/slightly stronger on JD's & like major brands - but@ c$54k it's a lot of spec/value & we're prepared to risk the "experience" as a trial as one unit isn't going to make or break us.......& the dealer is giving an extra good deal in the hope of getting more orders from us, the DK1002 with all our spec'd extra gear normally retails @c.$61K

5. In S/H units it's a buyers market & you should be able to negotiate hard say 15-20% easily off the asking price putting the $50K gear back to c.$40K

 

[Robert M]

Thanks for all the replies they have been very helpful in deciding what to buy.

I agree with advice that 2 machines is the way to go.

1. 80 to 100 HP tractor to use mainly for road grading but also for other 3 point linkage implements such as: slasher, plough/direct seeder, pipe layer, ripper, post hole digger and tractors that seem to fit the bill are:
- Case JX80 (80 hp)
- John Deere but quite confused about which models, as there are so many
- Daedong DK1002 (or 90 HP)
- Landini (Ghilbi 90-100 HP) which look like they can be good value from a couple have seen for sale
- Massey Ferguson (4245 85HP or 6445 90 HP that have seen for sale)

Bonus if get FEL with tractor but probably don't need FEL if have a skid steer as well - if have to add FEL will add $10,000 to cost of tractor but sometimes FEL will not add much to the cost.

Looking at cost of $35,000 to $55,000 depending on brand and condition.

2. Skid steer for loader work, level sites for water tanks, landscaping and lots of possibilities of adding attachments later on - second hand around $25,000

cheers
Robert

 

[RedNeckRacin]

make sure you compare tractors very closely. I was in a similar situation last year when I bought my 5083E. I was torn between a M8050 Kubota and the Deere. They both seemed to be very similar in horsepower and capabilities. The kubota dealer is even closer to me (about 5 miles) versus about 25 miles for the deere. What the deciding factor for me (besides the 0% interest for 72 months) was the weight difference in the tractors from the factory. IIRC, My E outweighed the M by over 1K lbs. That is SIGNIFICANT! You dont make that up in tires and a cab. What that told me was that the tractor was built much heavier and would take more abuse in my opinion.


I will ALWAYS recommend getting more horsepower than what you think you need. I never dreamed that I would need more than 83hp for my needs but I'm always kicking myself for straddling the middle. I can pretty much tear up anything that tractor supply sells (local hobby farmer store) but the implement that are rated for that horsepower work well to do alot of chores. I recently bought a 84" cat 2 box blade from (Temporarily blocked due to reports of company closure) because I couldn't find a comparable box blade for the cost that was rated for an 83hp 4wd. It was over twice as much as a cat 1 blade but it is STOUT. On the other hand, I couldn't pull "real" farm equipment well. aka, a 16ft transport disc, granted it was not set up correctly, but it would completely stall my tractor out running at rated rpm in 4wd going up hill if I didn't bump the hydraulics to pull the discs out of the ground. My point being, if I would have spent an extra couple grand for another 20hp, I don't think it would have even have been an issue.


My other recommendation would be to get the skid steer quick attach coupler for the loader. If you ever get a skid loader it is handy to only have to buy one set of attachments and have two machines be able to use them. You can't beat a dedicated digging machine versus an attachment.


Summary: Get the most horsepower you can afford. There is always a good deal on something for a slightly bigger tractor than what you have. Don't just compare horsepower numbers, you HAVE to compare weights in a tractor.
A dedicated digging machine is hands down the best for digging versus an implement.
Which ever tractor you decide on, get as many hydraulic remotes as you can possibly afford. Minimum 3 on the front (loader) and minimum 2 on the rear, but 3 is better.

 

[Robert M]

RedNeckRacin
Thanks for your advice.

The benefits of getting more horse power echoes what some other people have said on the forum, I wonder if there are any issues with fuel consumption and safety with a bigger tractor?

Can you expand about what "skid steer quick attach coupler for the loader" is about and are you saying you can share attachments with a skid steer and a tractor? Also what did you mean by a dedicated digging machine being better than an implement - are you comparing a skid steer for digging vs a back hoe?

cheers
Robert

 

[nwngunner]

I am not sure of where you are, but i was recently looking at a white 2-135 rebuilt everything 6,000 hours with new rubber heat ac with loader was like 20grand. That is a lot of tractor and with the 4wheel drive would be more then enough tractor for w/e you wanted to do. I would watch tractor house just keep looking. I would be looking at some good used farm iron. You can find a lot of tractor in good shape for decent money.

I would also suggest getting as much hp as you can. I have a 1650 oliver and while its been a good tractor, it was not enough horse power to do what i needed it to. The added hp really doesnt eat any more fuel, when you can do the job faster it can actually save fuel.


The older style loaders had pin on buckets. You can buy an adapter plate to be able to use the new ssqa attachments on the loader tractor. That way when or if you get a skid steer the attachments work on both.

 

[Robert M]

nwngunner
I am in south east NSW Australia. The consensus seems to be that the best fuel consumption is achieved when the implement and tractor are well matched and you can use less with a bigger tractor comapred to a smaller tractor that is struggling under the load. The Nebraska Tractor test laboratory website is good for fuel consumption.
Robert