Buying Advice Starting with 10 acres. Some clearing needed. plan is to have cattle and horse.

[cat fever]

I really loved living in SC. I would like to take my wife on a vacation there some day. Charleston is where I'd go, so much history. She would have to see the peach of course.

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks for the quick reply guys. I read that KIOTI is having part supply issues from over seas and they are difficult to work on. Does that info hold any water or is it false?

False on both counts.

Don't ever believe what tractor dealers say about other brands. Look instead on the tractor specific forums on TBN and get a feel for the types of issues being discussed. Kioti has been pretty good with parts as best I can tell. Haven't needed many in ten years but there has never been a wait when I did.

Kioti tractors are very easy to work on. I am not even a shade tree mechanic but I've done all the maintenance and repairs myself. My tractors have never gone back to the dealer for anything.

 

[IslandTractor]

I use it for growing hay. Running a bailer and swather, pulling a disc and spring tooth. But mostly for the future. (more land) Some of my property has a slope, I actually need four wheel drive when pulling the disc or spring tooth to make it up. No clearing here, it's all dirt! Heck I wish I could get a tree to grow.

For haying the bigger tractor makes sense.

 

[cat fever]

For haying the bigger tractor makes sense.

Trust me, I was going to get a smaller unit. My wife is the one who wanted me to get bigger and a cab. Who am I to argue with a woman that wants me to sit in an air conditioned/heated cab with a stereo?

 

[bertsmobile]

The thing you will be doing most is mowing / slashing so consider a dedicated unit for that alone so you can leave it set up and just jump on when you have a spare 1/2 hour ( Har har har ).
That way you can get an older smaller unit for mowing & a bigger newer unit for multitasking.
My land lord has 5 tractors , a dozer & a loader/backhoe
The tractors are left with a single impliment on most of the time and are all 60's/70's 40Hp bought with the impliment usually for peanuts
He has 1 big draught tractor a 100Hp Oliver from 1969 also bought for a song. That pulls the flail mower , rotary hoe, harrow, compressor , log splitter & seeder.
Pulls out bogged tractors & other vehicles, crosses the creek when flooded & drags logs.
The old Inters have a slasher on one , boom spray ( insecticide ) & fork blades on another , a boom spray for herbacides & blade on the 3rd.
The 4th currently has the fire tank & pump on it and gets used for the concrete mixer, post hole digger, ripper & pipe ripper as it does not have front hydraulics on it.
The dozer was bought to do the fence line when they moved in which was 1/3 the quote of haviing it done by an earth moving company.
I think they used it to level & compact the block for the house, packing shed, storeage shed & machine shed but that was all before my time on site.

The farm is 105 acres and they run yearling cattle , horses, alpacas ( fine wool ) olive trees , Chrismass trees & figs.

The other good thing about multi tractors is you are never held to ransom by the tractor mechanic when your 1 and only units packs it in Sunday at dawn.

 

[McREBEL]

I have visited the usual manufacturers around my area such as JD, Massey, Kubota and New Holland. From talking with them, Massey seems better due to ease of small maintenance at home like Oil, filters etc.

I would ask for clarification on that statement. I haven't had my Kubota long but I have done the routine maintenance myself so far and plan to continue to do so. I can't imagine changing the oils and filters in a Massey to be that much easier than the rest. Are you being told this due to warranty issues doing the maintenance yourself, ease of acquiring the oils/filters, or cost of the oil/filters vs. others?

 

[IslandTractor]

I would ask for clarification on that statement. I haven't had my Kubota long but I have done the routine maintenance myself so far and plan to continue to do so. I can't imagine changing the oils and filters in a Massey to be that much easier than the rest. Are you being told this due to warranty issues doing the maintenance yourself, ease of acquiring the oils/filters, or cost of the oil/filters vs. others?

I think Crelicc is just learning about tractor ownership and is likely being "educated" by the various dealerships he visits. He is likely just remembering a few sales points. I don't think I can recall anybody with any brand of tractor complaining much about ease of routine maintenace. Most tractors have one or two items that require a bit of contortion to reach or occasionally a special tool but I don't think there is anything special about Massey.

 

[McREBEL]

If you have an LS dealer anywhere nearby you should give the LS G3033H a look. I believe it would do what you have listed. I think you would like the price and from what I read here LS makes quality stuff. LS has actually been making tractors for other brand names for a long time. Add a back hoe and you could really do some serious digging/clearing. An LS G3033H with a backhoe might compare in price with a bigger brand name 50hp without a backhoe?

G3033H « LS Tractor USA

 

[terryknight]

i offer two things to think about - 1 buying enough tractor the first time around is always cheaper than buying 2 or 3 tractors to get the right size, though you will get more experience. 2 depending on what you want cab vs no cab, basic tractor vs a tractor with more frills you get more bang for your buck by looking at utility tractors (UT) than compact utility tractors (CUT). the 5000D/E series from JD, the Workmaster/Farmall A series from CNH, the 26xx series from Massey, etc

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Thanks for the quick reply guys. I read that KIOTI is having part supply issues from over seas and they are difficult to work on. Does that info hold any water or is it false?

hat's false. Kioti has expanded their parts warehousing and parts are easy to come by and the tractors, from my own experience, are child's play to work on.