Farm/Retreat Soon - Then Tractor - Help

[ToadHill]

I wish you luck with your many projects. We have 87 acres with 60+ acres of woodland and keeping up with things will keep you and yours busy for years to come. Have fun along the way, and just role with the flow.

British sports cars, I had a friend who made his living restoring old British cars, every thing from Elva's to Morgans and even some exotic race only units. Me, well I'm an Alfa kind of a guy, I've had over 15 of them over the years and I love the sound of those high reving engines. By the way your Kubota will have a slightly different feel than your sports cars.

 

[ToadHill]

I forgot one thing, dating tractors is a lot like dating older foreign cars, it didn't matter when they were made, they were dated by the year they were first sold.

 

[sbakf]

Thanks guys for all your input. Have a lot to get done today, so must respond in general (not individually) - sorry. I have my fingers crossed that Kubota's 0% financing will continue - I need more time to evaluate my true needs. I've thought about getting a smaller tractor, but other posts on this site suggest that many have wished they had gone bigger with the HP. Do we ever have enough of anything - power (HP), gadgets (attachments) and space (square footage in our buildings and acreage).

It is my plan to bundle as many implements into the initial buy. Just want to be careful and not go overboard - like a kid in a candy store. FEL and bush hog are settled. My first priority on this property is to put in a perimeter fence. The clearing of the fence line will be contracted out - proper machinery is needed here. I may attempt the fencing myself - have 2 sons living nearby for help. Will need a post hole digger. Other postings suggest a hydraulic driven digger is the better option (i.e., reversible) vs the PTO version. I'm still undecided on where to mount it - side mount to bucket or 3 pt rear mount. A T-post driver is on my list, but think it will have to be bought separately. Trenching for my underground utilities could be done with a rented Ditch Witch - probably faster than me with a backhoe. A box blade and rotary tiller are moving up the list. Still reading posts on the benefits of having a grapple attachment - a lot of praises for these. The backhoe is moving further down the list - justifying the cost is difficult. Pallet forks are becoming more attractive to me. These would be quite helpful in the building construction phase and would easily rack and stack my MG body shells.

Regarding building sizes, I'm not planning on a large house - 1,800-2,000 sf would be enough with a 8'-10' wrap around porch. My barn style shop is where I want to spend some money. I'm shooting for at least 6,000 sf - hoping for 10,000 sf. I'm a retired biochemist, but make hobby money doing contract work for Sigma Chemical Company in St. Louis, MO. So need about 1,000 sf for my production lab. Would like to have another 1,000 sf for my wood working and a minimum of 4,000 sf for my automotive work - covered outside storage would also be added. Tractor and implement storage would go in a little red barn in the back pasture - probably 1,000 sf here.

Again, really appreciate your sharing of experience and ideas. I have to go for now, but am looking forward to reading more in the days to come.

Thanks Again

 

[buckeyefarmer]

sounds like you are in for some fun!

 

[Adiredneck]

Funny you should mention Toyota, as I often think of Kubota as the Toyota or Honda or the tractor world. Best Wishes

That's exactly what I told a friend of mine who is a mechanic who works on Fords all day long but has a Toyota pickup and a Honda for a car. He was looking at another brand.

 

[ovrszd]

Another thought is do you really need a 57 hp tractor? Once you are set up your biggest regular chore will be mowing pasture it looks like. You haven't mentioned crops or large animals. The rule of thumb is 5 PTO hp per foot of mower. A 40 to 45 hp tractor will run a 6' rotary mower just fine and will be more agile for your garden and trail maintenance. I mention this with the thought that the money saved might just let you buy a used full size industrial backhoe for initial projects. That type of machine can be bought very reasonably in this economy and resold when your big projects are done.
MarkV

I agree with Mark here. The L4240 is the same basic chassis as the L5740, even uses the same loader. Substantial difference in price!!!! Frees up money to be spent on attachments. A BIG new tractor without attachments isn't worth much. I didn't read anything in your description that screams L5740.

Rule of thumb, the smallest HP tractor in a like chassis size is the best bang for the buck.

Congratulations and keep us posted!!!

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I to wondered about a tractor that big for his needs/jobs but figured he had his mind made up about "more power". Some people think acres means number of HP or size tractor which ain't so. The jobs/needs should determine the tractor size and HP.

 

[sbakf]

John,
As you can see from my posts and being totally inexperienced in tractor physics, I'm reaching out for help, advice, reading all I can and trying to formulate what I truly need. Like buying the appropriate sized bush hog, is the L5740 too big for my needs? Perhaps now, but what about in the future? In the late 60's, I was unmarried and had a 14' Boston Whaler with a 30hp motor. Although I didn't use it for such, my MGB had the power to pull it. In late 1972, I bought a full size K5 Blazer. I was then married with one child. Really didn't need something that big to transport the family. Going forward to the summer of 1976, I still had the wife, but now 3 kids and a dog. We just couldn't all fit in that little Boston Whaler. So meeting my current need and looking to the future, I bought a 21' deep-V, wide beam Slickcraft. At nearly 2.5 tons (boat & trailer), was glad I had bought the big K5 in 1973. I generally think big - like most things in life, things and needs change. Could I get by with a smaller tractor? Probably!

What do you (all) think of this offer - received this afternoon from an Alabama dealership (not local)?

Steve,
I got with Kubota and found a New (2010)L5740 cab and Kubota LA854 quick att. loader, the price is going to be $36,385 plus 2.75% sales tax, we can't get the rebate, but can get the 0% for 60 mo. Please let me know if you would like to get this one. it will take about 3-5 days to get everything ready. Thanks

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

John,
As you can see from my posts and being totally inexperienced in tractor physics, I'm reaching out for help, advice, reading all I can and trying to formulate what I truly need. Like buying the appropriate sized bush hog, is the L5740 too big for my needs? Perhaps now, but what about in the future? In the late 60's, I was unmarried and had a 14' Boston Whaler with a 30hp motor. Although I didn't use it for such, my MGB had the power to pull it. In late 1972, I bought a full size K5 Blazer. I was then married with one child. Really didn't need something that big to transport the family. Going forward to the summer of 1976, I still had the wife, but now 3 kids and a dog. We just couldn't all fit in that little Boston Whaler. So meeting my current need and looking to the future, I bought a 21' deep-V, wide beam Slickcraft. At nearly 2.5 tons (boat & trailer), was glad I had bought the big K5 in 1973. I generally think big - like most things in life, things and needs change. Could I get by with a smaller tractor? Probably!

What do you (all) think of this offer - received this afternoon from an Alabama dealership (not local)?

Steve,
I got with Kubota and found a New (2010)L5740 cab and Kubota LA854 quick att. loader, the price is going to be $36,385 plus 2.75% sales tax, we can't get the rebate, but can get the 0% for 60 mo. Please let me know if you would like to get this one. it will take about 3-5 days to get everything ready. Thanks

I understand better now. You bought a Blazer in 72(73) and you paid all those extra costs for gas since 72 and was glad you did because 4 years later you needed a vehicle that big. Same fuel consumption usage applies to tractors. Bigger use more fuel which is a big factor when you start pouring it in that hole on a real regular basis. Are you saying you kept the same vehicle for over 4(3) years??? Having traded/bought over 120 cars since 1965 as desires, money and demand came forth and having purchased/traded 9 Kubotas in six years as tractor applications have been determined/refined I come from the other side of the mountain than you. I've also been up the scale and back down on size of tractors and found trading back down in size is much more expensive than trading up in size. Contact Barlows and get a price which you can use to determine if the price you are getting locally is high, low or in between and if they are way low they'll deliver one to you. They also don't charge sells tax for out of state sales. I also love porches across the front of a house. Here's how much I love front porches.

 

[TripleR]

I apologize if I am missing something, but in spite of what some may think, you can easily buy the wrong tractor and go too big. Several years ago my father in law decided he wanted to get a different tractor. After choosing one, I told him that while it was certainly a nice machine, it was too big unless he was going to keep his original tractor.

He decided to ignore my advice and one week with his new tractor he recognized it was not for him and he was allowed to swap it out for another one which cost him a little money. About a month later, he decided he really needed a smaller tractor and kept the bigger one and bough his old tractor back again costing him even more money.

Sometimes multiple tractors are needed, we have several, but if you can get by with one, it is going to save lots of money.

My preference is for a smaller tractor even if it takes a little longer as there are places a bigger tractor just can't go or if it can, it doesn't work well. I have the broken fences and skinned or downed trees to prove it.

Footnote: This was about the only time I was "right" my father in law was an exceptional man. I learned a great deal from him.

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

"Get as small a tractor as practical, but not smaller." - Larry