What kind of tractor do I need?

[John Kiwanis]

Hello: I am a new user that would like some help. I volunteer for a local Kiwanis club that owns a 60 acre property we use for local school, boys scouts, and community activities. We need a tractor to help maintain it. The property has about 15 acres of grassland that requires mowing and the rest is mature pine and hardwood forest that needs to be managed. The property is somewhat hilly and has a number of low wet areas. The tractor would be used for mowing, clearing dead and fallen trees and brush, grooming trails, maintaining service roads, and performing general site improvements. We recently received several donations for a total of about $15,000. This is not enough to buy a new tractor so we will have to make due with a used one. What would you suggest we buy?

 

[TheMadOne]

You'll really have to see what's available in your area. A quick Google found me this:

199 John Deere 2555 Tractor For Sale >> Maple Valley Implement, MI

That would be what I'd consider a good size for the acres and tasks in question. Unfortunately it blows your budget a bit. It's simply hard to find something that both has a FEL and is a decent size for your budget. I really suggest both another round of funding and visiting the local dealers. Maybe somebody was a scout and they'll throw in a brush hog as a gesture of goodwill, or maybe one of the scout parents has one growing weeds behind grandpa's old 8N.

 

[Doc Snerdley]

If your Kiwanis Club is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, run an ad in an agricultural publication and ask for a donated tractor. Surely you have a farmer or two among your membership that would take the time to help you evaluate offered tractor donations. You can also go visit the local equipment dealers and big rental agencies and see what they can offer. Most dealers get trades that are too ratty looking to sell, but are operationally sound that they just might be willing to donate instead of hauling to the salvage dealer. Dealers also have lease returns that carry new warranties and are deeply discounted. Rental companies routinely replace five year old equipment with shiny new to be attractive to the customer. You are looking for a 35 to 40 PTO horsepower unit to effectively mow 15 acres two or three times a year. If you are looking at lawn type mowing, that is a different animal and your local golf course would be a potential donor of the appropriate type mower unit..

 

[Budweiser John]

As a former service club president, I would have been overwhelmed to have the club be a recipient of a 15K grant wheather it be for a tractor or other purposes.
As such, there is a significant fiduciary responsibility placed on the officers of the club to manage the asset IE tractor and accessories. At the risk of preaching to the choir, I trust the club officers have funded suitable housing for said machine in addition to theft, Fire, liability, and maintance costs.
Most importantly, is there a user training program or an established list of authorized operators? Everyone on this site is aware of damage to equipment inflicted by well intended amateurs.

Service clubs provide untold benefit to communities through out the USA, and as such a hearty thank you for your club痴 efforts. My comments are simply intended as a reality check.
Congratulations on your grant.
B. John

 

[John Kiwanis]

Thank you hall for the excellent information. Your suggestion for 40+ HP and 6000 pounds seems heavy but I agree that too heavy is better than too light. It seems we will have to trade years and hours to get the power and weight we need. At what point do you feel a tractor is too old or too heavily used to be a good reliable buy? Is 1990 too old to be reliable?

Your suggestion to get online and ask for a donation is also a good one. We are a 501 (c) (3) and will definitely explore that avenue. We will also try to get dealers to kick in a donation when we get close. I will also check with local rental companies to see if they have anything ready to trade in.

We do have suitable secure storage for a tractor on site and a number of members have farming experience so we think our tractor will be in good hands. However if we want the property to be of any meaningful value to the community, we will have to manage and maintain it, so we really have no choice.

Thank you again for your valuable feedback
Sincerely
John

 

[MESSMAKER]

You could get by with a tractor with less hp. A 45-50 hp 4wd unit with a loader will do the job best, but a large compact would work. It would just take longer for some chores. The problem is it may not be cheaper.

 

[TheMadOne]

You could get by with a tractor with less hp. A 45-50 hp 4wd unit with a loader will do the job best, but a large compact would work. It would just take longer for some chores. The problem is it may not be cheaper.

This +1. The reason I posted the JD above is that it's the cheapest 30+ HP tractor I could find in your area with a FEL. It just happens to be an actual utility tractor instead of a compact, and has more than needed horsepower. Neither of those things are negatives for your stated use.

There's a very real "compact tax" you pay for things like grand Ls and 3Rs.

And to answer your question about 1990 being too old for a tractor, tractors are graded on maintenance and hours. The website didn't list hours, but you can expect most tractors with proper maintenance to go about 10K hours without a rebuild, minimum. Maintenance is one of those things you have to talk to the dealer about and eyeball.