New guy from Louisiana needs small tractor.....

[LongueCarabine]

Hi everyone:

Been lurking here a few months and I need to get a decent small tractor. My situation is this: I live on a couple acres and will soon be adding at least another acre and a half or two acres. I currently have an old JD 160 lawn and garden tractor mower, and a Craftsman 15.5 hp riding mower.

Both have given decent service (the JD is a 1986 model!) but they are starting to need constant work. I know there is no way they will be able to keep up when I add a couple acres.

I am also going to use the tractor for light bush-hogging on a couple pieces of family property. I have access to our family's 20 acre plot for deer hunting, I just want to be able to keep a small part of it clear for camping and for putting in a deer food plot.

Also have ownership in a 110 acre farm that has been neglected for nearly the last 20 years. There is a road / path going down the entire length of the property, and is in danger of being overgrown. It is roughly one mile in length. As of right now, most of the acreage is overgrown with small trees and there is nothing I can do about that right now. But I need to keep the road open for future use if nothing else.

I will also be using the tractor to help maintain our gravel drive with a boxblade.

Local fellow is selling a JD 770 with 5 foot bush-hog for $6300. Seems like a decent price to me compared to the newer 2300 series JD's, but I would like some advice. Will this tractor fulfill my needs, and does the price seem reasonable? If not, can you recommend some other options?

ETA: I know that I am going to have to get a rear finishing mower in order to mow the yard, so if any of you can make recommendations on that, I'd be grateful.

Thanks,
Brian
LC

 

[jenkinsph]

I think you might be better served with a used larger simple gear tractor and heavy duty brush cutter to deal with most of the overgrowth. I don't think a 770 has enough pto power to handle your tasks. I would prefer a 50 to 60 pto hp tractor 2wd with a 6' cutter and slip clutch. A brush cutter rated for 4" saplings would be of great help to you in clearing.

 

[flusher]

The price for that 770 seems OK for a 10-20 year old tractor and mower, but it's pretty underpowered (20 hp pto). I would step up to at least 30 hp pto. Since you're shopping for used tractors, you should be able to find something from the 1980s with more hp.

 

[whodat526]

where at in louisiana i probably can find you quite a few to look at if you are close

 

[Martian]

As others mentioned for brush hogging I'd look for a 50s - 60s Ford, Deere, Case etc in the 60 HP range... Depending upon your budget. They will be relatively the same as the 770 you are looking at. I think you'd really want a large compact though. Deere 4700 or 4710 for a little more of a budget but if you want the newest model anything from the 4320 up. You can get a mid mount mower for the lawn and a loader on these CUTs as well - and hydrostatic:thumbsup:

 

[whodat526]

As others mentioned for brush hogging I'd look for a 50s - 60s Ford, Deere, Case etc in the 60 HP range... Depending upon your budget. They will be relatively the same as the 770 you are looking at.

yea i've got a big dash 2040 johndeere which is basicly a 2150 i am asking 6k for but would sell it and a 6 ft bushhog for 6500. also have a 4000 ford with loader for 5k and a 3400 ford with loader for 4500 i believe he would be better off with a old model ford or deere in the 45/55 hp range parts will be cheaper and easier to find in the long run

 

[LongueCarabine]

Thanks for the replies everyone, but I think I might need to clarify things a bit. I am not planning on doing any heavy duty brush hogging, that is for sure. The road on the farm is still fairly clear and only needs a few saplings trimmed with a chainsaw. All I want to do is keep tall grass off of it.

Likewise, for the deer plot, there is currently some small brush, but certainly no 4" saplings. I just plan on clearing out a few patches to plant food plots.

80% of the work this tractor will do is mowing a yard and doing a little dirt leveling with the box blade.

Hope this helps, thanks for your assistance.

Also, for Whodat, I am in Evangeline Parish, about 40-50 miles east of you. There are a couple of used tractor dealers in this area, I assume there are others near you?

Brian
LC

 

[Martian]

There's a lot that will get the job done, but without knowing your budget we're just throwing things off the wall. If we knew your budget we could inform you more on the "best tractor for the money."

 

[whodat526]

Thanks for the replies everyone, but I think I might need to clarify things a bit. I am not planning on doing any heavy duty brush hogging, that is for sure. The road on the farm is still fairly clear and only needs a few saplings trimmed with a chainsaw. All I want to do is keep tall grass off of it.

Likewise, for the deer plot, there is currently some small brush, but certainly no 4" saplings. I just plan on clearing out a few patches to plant food plots.

80% of the work this tractor will do is mowing a yard and doing a little dirt leveling with the box blade.

Hope this helps, thanks for your assistance.

Also, for Whodat, I am in Evangeline Parish, about 40-50 miles east of you. There are a couple of used tractor dealers in this area, I assume there are others near you?

Brian
LC

i would call tom klump and see what he has. i believe the 770 will be to small for what your wonting to do

 

[Soundguy]

I bet a nice ford 6xx or 8xx or 2000/4000 4 cyl.. or 2000/3000 3 cyl and a 5/6' mower will be a bang up match for your needs.

likkely get those models, in la for 2500-4500 MAX. in florida..1500-3500$ with mower possibly.

soundguy