tractor choices

[seca111]

I'm new here but have been lurking for a couple of months, reading peoples reviews on tractors and trying to get a feel for which ones are good and which are not.

I'm currently thinking about buying a tractor, I live on 5+ acres in colorado, at a high elevation 6800'+. We have 3 horses on the property.

The recurring jobs that I need the tractor for is snow removal, we get 4-5 snowfalls a year of over a foot, in the spring it is very wet heavy snow. We live on a road that isn't county maintained so as well as clearing my driveway which is probably about 300 yards, the road is about a 1/2 mile long.

Scraping the corral and pasture.

One of the reasons for buying now is I have a bunch of projects that need to be done this year and I think that if I'd have to pay someone 3-4k to do these things I might as well put that towards a new tractor and get it done. I have a couple fences that I need to put in so I'd need to dig some post holes, I need to re-gravel the driveway, put alot of dirtt around the barn because its eroded alot, and I clear a bunch of bush and put a road into the lower part of the lot.

I had a JD NP301 (or 305, I never can remember) for the last 5 years but I sold it last year thinking that I could just use the atv for plowing and scraping. it works okay however in the spring the snow is just to heavy for it to move, and it takes so long because the plow isn't that big. the JD worked fine but it was only 2wd so when the heavy snow came it was short forward and back and forward and back on angles to try to clear the snow. It took forever.

The only dealers in the area are JD, NH and Montana, actually I used to have a Montana and JD dealer within 4 miles of my house but they both closed. But there are some about 20 miles away.

I'm leaning towards the montana because of the price and the 0% interest offer they have running. I'm looking at the 4340, which might be overkill however I'm tired of plowing snow in a blizard and freezing my *** off. and as far as I can tell this is one of the smallest ones that comes with a cab.

I'm a little concerned that Montana bought branson and I'm told will be coming out with a montana tractor with some branson tech on it. this concerns me on buying a montana before this happens because I don't want parts and service on mine to be hurt because its no longer made, however from reading on here I've found alot of people saying the parts are common to alot of tractors and so they are not going to be discontinued.

Is there anything I should be concerned about on buying a montana?
I'm sure the JD and NH would probably retain their value more than the montana, but the are quite abit more expensive to start with.

Any suggestions or advise would be appreciated.

 

[Gittyup]

I think, given you elevation, you are in the right HP range. From what I understand, turbos are better for high altitudes. Something to consider. Cab is a good idea. With the amount of snow you get a snow blower might be best, and with that a cab is almost a must.

Don't know the specifics about Montana. Seem to be in a state of flux. But, those that have them seem to like them OK.

There is nothing wrong with the Branson name either. They make good strong tractors too. With the horses, a good strong loader to handle hay would be a big part of my decision process. I suggest:

QA loader with 2000 lbs or more lift
HST
chains (maybe)
fluid filled tires
rear remotes (at least one set)
snow blower instead of a snow plow
get the stand for the PHD - much easier to handle

 

[seca111]

what is the stand for the PHD?

Just some more information, I went to the JD dealership today.

and I can get the JD 3320 for about the same price with the same equipment as the 4340 Montana.

it only hass 35 hp compared to 43 of the montana, but obviously the JD is a better name, for what that's worth

The dealership used to carry JD and NH but now just JD so now I have one less choice.

 

[bp fick]

Horse power alone is not everything. You've likely read that here before and it so true. Features, comfort, reliability, practicality all figure into the equation. I didn't read anything on your "to do" list which that Deere couldn't likely handle. I do question your FEL lifting capacity figure though. How did you arrive at that?

 

[seca111]

I didn't post a lifting capacity because honestly I don't lift much. most would be pulling fence posts out of the ground.

I think Gittyup posted 2000lbs which might be for big hay bales, which I don't use, however might if I had a tractor that could manage it

 

[bp fick]

I didn't post a lifting capacity because honestly I don't lift much. most would be pulling fence posts out of the ground.

I think Gittyup posted 2000lbs which might be for big hay bales, which I don't use, however might if I had a tractor that could manage it

Ah, so he did. It wasn't you seca

 

[CowwFace]

Hey Seca,

I have a Kioti DK40SE HST and love it for snow removal. I live in Colorado as well, and use my tractor for snow and private road maintaince. I don't have a cab, so I just bundle up for snow plowing.

I would hightly recommend hydrostatic for moving snow.. I actually like using the tractor over the ATV now.

Give Vic Keoting<sp> a call at hitchin post trailers in Lake George Colorado, good folks.

Phill

 

[MtnViewRanch]

While I like the Montana tractors, until the Montana Company gets straightened out I would be leery of buying a tractor from them. The Deere sounds good, does it have a turbo? At your elevation I would seriously consider only looking at tractors that have a turbo.

As far as a stand for a Post Hole Digger, I highly recommend one. Hitching up a PHD without it being suspended in some manor can be a nightmare. The factory stands can be somewhat costly, many people build their own. I will post a pic of mine for about $20, but there are many others also.

Taking care of your driveway and road can be done with several different implements. Most common would be a box blade or a rear blade. Some others use a landscape rake. A few use a road grader blade that is pretty much intended for the maintenance of roads and driveways. Not knowing what your budget is, I recommend getting a rear blade, it will grade the dirt-gravel along with clearing the snow. If you can swing more than one implement, then I would get a road grader blade also. (pictured) I have all of the implements listed, and while they each excel at their intended purpose, if I were in your location and could only have one, a rear blade would be my choice because of the snow. Normally I recommend a road grader blade, because they work so well at maintaining a dirt-gravel road, but would be worthless in the snow.

 

[seca111]

thanks everyone for their input.

I am thinking about going to the kioti dealer tomorrow just to look at the tractors, they are not near my house, neither is the one you listed however they are only about 40 miles from my work so I'll make the trip.

I was planning on getting box blade and a rear blade. I like the rear blade for scraping the corral and the box will be good for the driveway. I think I need one with the points on it as our sole is really hard and rocky so I'm not sure if the grader blade would work very good.

I am liking the idea of an HST just for ease of use and also when I'm out of town it would be easier for the wife to operate if we got a big dumping of snow.

the PHD stand is a great idea, I never though of that and will definitely remember it.

I don't see anything in the JD lit saying the yanmar diesel engine has a turbo or that it is an option.

 

[shaqer74]

I have been using a rear blade for 3 years now for snow removal. It absolutely sucks for removing deep snow. I typically end up turning the blade around and driving backwards to use as a sort of front blade, uncomfortable, and hard on the back. If it is really deep, say 2-3 feet, I have to use the front loader to move snow, before I can use the blade to clean up. Get a front mounted snow blower, I don't think you will regret it. I am sure it can be thrown into the financing package.

I have a BX2350 for what it is worth.