My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y.

   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #1  

John Joseph McVeigh

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
339
Location
Butler, Maryland
Tractor
Ventrac 4500Y
Hello, Ventracians.

This is my first post.

For the past couple of years, I have been reading here and in other tractor fora, trying to learn about tractors, and about what type of tractor would be suitable for my needs.

I have never owned a tractor. Until the past several years, I never had a need for one, and never even thought about owning one. I spent my first 28 years in New York City. There's not too much need for a tractor there. I spent my next 28 years in suburbs, in houses on modest-size lots. No real need for a tractor there, either.

Then, things changed. About eight years ago, seeking quieter surroundings, I and my wife moved to a rural location in Northern Maryland.... in the "Hereford Zone."
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereford_Zone,_Maryland>.

Our lot is 8.7 acres in size. Most of the property is moderately to steeply sloped, and heavily wooded with oaks and hickories. The lot is called a pipestem lot. The bulk of the property is set well back from the two-lane road that is our access to the larger world. A thin strip of our property is where much of our driveway is.

The driveway is about 1600 feet long, paved, and has three slopes, two of which are moderate (about 7 degrees), and one of which is fairly steep (14 degrees, with an S-curve). For part of the driveway, there are strips about five feet wide on each side. These strips have a mixture of moss, grass, and wild plants like violets and strawberries. Beyond those strips, there are woods. Closer down to the road, the strip on one side widens out to about twelve feet, and it is grassy.

There is a relatively small cleared area where the house is, at the top of a hill. The soil is heavily acidic and rocky. Between the acidity and the heavy shade from the trees, grass does not do all that well in some of the cleared area. Moss and ferns do better. However, there is some grass in other portions of the cleared area. In the Fall, there are a lot of leaves to either blow into the woods or to shred for use as mulch and for composting.

Much of the cleared area around the house is moderately to steeply sloped. My digital level says that one relatively small area varies between 25 and 30 degrees, and most of the rest is about 15 degrees.

Two small streams flow through the property, well down the hill from the house. Alongside the larger of those streams, a path runs. I and my wife have cleared some of that path using a combination of chain saws and hand saws. At some point, I might want to widen and lengthen the path. I also would like to use wood chips to define at least part of the path, and to help keep down the growth of weeds.

In this setting, my primary tasks for a tractor are mowing grass, clearing snow off of our driveway, and hauling things like a wood chipper and a splitter, firewood, mulch, etc.

I intend to get a wood splitter and a chipper/shredder to deal with oak trees that we have had to have taken down due to their having died or their being in the process of dying. (The trees were too large and too near the house for comfort's sake.) There are also other trees that will inevitably come down and that can be harvested for firewood and wood chips. And there is brush to be cleared and its material recycled. Also, strong winds tend to bring down sticks, and we can end up with quite a pile. I have been looking on-line at Wallenstein equipment for the tasks of splitting, chipping, and shredding.... self-powered via Honda gasoline engines.

In this setting, my primary tasks for a tractor are mowing grass, clearing snow off of our driveway, and hauling a wood chipper/shredder, a splitter, split wood chips, mulch, etc.

I have been doing the job of clearing snow from the driveway with a walk-behind, rubber-treaded Honda snowblower. The Honda is a very good machine, but it takes quite a while to clear the entire length and width of the driveway. It is getting old (as am I -- although using the walk-behind certainly gives me plenty of exercise).

I have also been using a Honda walk-behind self-propelled lawn mower to keep the grass/weeds/wild plants trimmed, and to suck up and shred leaves for use as mulch and compost. That, too, takes some time, and is also getting old.

At some point, I might want to widen and lengthen the trail.

I concluded a few years ago that a tractor would come in handy for mowing, snow-moving, wood-hauling, and related tasks.

Since then, I have been reading. I have considered getting: a Lawn Tractor like the Deere X748, X749, or one of their successors; or a SubCompact Utility Tractor such as the Deere 1025, or the Massey Ferguson GC 1705. I also considered the Ventrac 3400Y, and the Ventrac 4500Y. From my perspective, the prices of some of this sort of equipment is pretty eye-watering, especially if one equips the tractor with a heated cab (which would be ideal for snow-blowing, but perhaps not so ideal in other contexts).

I recently became aware of a Deere 2320 that is a few years old and that has very few hours on it and that is available for sale about 45 minutes from here. I read up on that model of tractor and seriously considered getting it. I also visited a Massey Ferguson dealer and a Ventrac dealer.

After a lot of going back and forth in my own mind, I today visited J&R Sheds & Equipment in Churchville, Maryland and made a deposit on:

-- a Ventrac 4500Y diesel tractor with HDAP tires, ROPS-mounted strobe beacon and work lights, and a 12-volt front port for feeding attachments;

-- a Ventrac KX-523 snow blower with linear-actuator control of chute angle;

-- a Ventrac HB-580 power broom;

-- a Ventrac MC-600 60-inch rear discharge finish mower with mulching kit; and

-- a Ventrac HG-150 120-volt/240-volt generator.

The generator should come in handy when ice storms or other events cause us to lose utility power, which also means losing water pressure due to the well pumps not working, and losing forced-air heat because the oil furnaces won't run. I'll have to make arrangements for a transfer switch and possibly a third circuit-breaker panel to handle only those items that I would want to receive power during generator operation.

In the future, I would like to get other attachments. Tops on my list are an excavator bucket and a stump grinder. But first I need to get two tow-behind items... the wood chipper/shredder and the log splitter.

I have been a long time coming to this decision, but I feel that I have made the right one.

I am looking forward to the arrival of my tractor and the attachments that I have ordered. From my perspective, it is a very large investment in equipment, kind of mind-boggling actually. But the equipment looks very solidly built, and as I have learned in other contexts, quality design and manufacture cost money,. At the same time, quality design and manufacture also yield their own returns... the time saved in getting a job done, the ability to take on tasks that one could never do oneself unaided, the satisfaction that comes from problem-free use, and the inherent virtue and of good engineering. (I have an engineering background.)

I also appreciate the fact that Ventrac is an American company... one that puts fellow Americans to work in the type of manufacturing (and related) jobs that are so important to our health as a nation.

I want to thank the participants of this forum for your contributions over the past couple of years. I have learned a lot from reading them. Hopefully, as I become more experienced in using and maintaining my own tractor, I can be of some help in this forum to complete newbies like I was not all that long ago.
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #2  
Oh Lordy you have spent some dough! Those machines are built in the next county from me. Pictures when you get it,
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y.
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Yes, Murph, it was a significant expenditure. I had a good experience discussing the acquisition with Jim and Roy Hutchins of J&R Equipment and Sheds. They provided good advice on various aspects of the situation. Pictures will follow after the tractor arrives.
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #4  
I have owned two wood chippers. My current PTO wood chipper is a Wallenstein BX42s. Wallenstein is considered one of the top brands. With eight acres I would not consider a PTO powered chipper unless it is larger than the BX42; RE: BX62. With small chippers too much effort is required to feed material. These days I rarely have the chipper mounted. I chainsaw the trunks for firewood, much of which I give away at the curb as 4'-6' lengths, the branches are burned. Chippers are fairly high maintenance; which gets old fast.

I have never owned a stump grinder but once again you are chipping wood with knives. I have a service come in to stump grind; generally about $400 per visit. I am sure $100 of the $400 is devoted to equipment maintenance. Your maintenance will be the same.

When you chip a trunk you will inevitably encounter rocks with the knives.

You need to keep chippers and stump grinders under cover, preferably garaged with humidity control, or the knives will dull from rust. Very expensive storage space.

Do a lot of research before deciding on a chipper or stump grinder. Understand that a CHIPPER and a CHIPPER/SHREDDER are NOT the same piece of equipment.

As you plan to buy a generator, consider an electric powered log splitter. They are much cheaper per ton of splitting capacity and simpler than a tractor unit. Personally, I would chain saw into manageable lengths in the woods, haul the billets home and split at home with an electric splitter, then rick to dry. With the generator you could also split in the woods.

For trimming branches nothing beats a battery powered Milwaukee Sawzall with a 9" wood only blade.

Wallenstein BXS Series 3 Point Hitch Wood Chippers (BX32S, BX42S, BX62S, BX92S) - Wallenstein Outdoor Power Equipment Made in Canada

You have not addressed an all-terrain trailer. Here is a LINK to MUTS in Canada.
I have worked a single axle MUTS for three years and it has been indestructible. I occasionally pull the MUTS behind the tractor in addition to the RTV500 Utility Vehicle.

MUTS - Multi-Use Trailer System for your ATV, Quad and 4 Wheeler - Welcome (chips in Photo #2 from Wallenstein)

Good luck with your Ventrac. "Murph------" loves his, and he is The Man.
 

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   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y.
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thank you for the suggestions, especially about the possibility of using an electrically powered log splitter in the woods, powered from the generator. That had not occurred to me.

And thank you for the link to the MUTS. I have been thinking of an Ohio Steel poly trailer, 12.5 cubic ft capacity, but I will check out the MUTS. I had not heard of it before.
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #6  
If you take the generator into the woods you can use a corded chainsaw, corded Sawzall and corded wood splitter.

The winch dumping feature on the MUTS is worth a lot. You speak to Larry Edgar himself, designer, when you call.

Freight was a bit high, Canada to Florida, but worth it.
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #8  
John,
We are excited to hear of your decision to purchase a Ventrac and attachment package. We appreciate your business and are confident that your tractor will give you years and years of use and lots of fun!
If you are ever in our area and would like to see our manufacturing facility, please feel free to give us a call. We would be happy to give you a tour.
Thanks for being a Ventrac customer!
Ventrac Customer Service
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #9  
John,
We are excited to hear of your decision to purchase a Ventrac and attachment package. We appreciate your business and are confident that your tractor will give you years and years of use and lots of fun!
If you are ever in our area and would like to see our manufacturing facility, please feel free to give us a call. We would be happy to give you a tour.
Thanks for being a Ventrac customer!
Ventrac Customer Service

What # to call, I would love to see it.
 
   / My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y. #10  
You can call us at 1-800-393-0893 or 1-866-836-8722.
 
 
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