Greetings from Alabama

rhettoneal · Jan 3, 2011

This my first post. I'm looking to upgrade from an old 70's David Brown 990 and a Ford 4500 TLB. Both are in need of repair. I want to down size a bit ( not really, the wife says I have to ) but still use my 5 foot rotary cutter and 5 foot box blade. I have a John Deer 6 ft ( I believe ) cutting disc that may just be too big to continue using. I want one tractor that has a loader and a detachable backhoe. I'm thinking 40 hp. ? I used to have an Oliver 550 which I liked for size and power, don't know how much hp it was rated though. I'll be happy to search the forums. If anyone can give me some direction, I would greatly appreciate it. My wife says I don't know how to ask for help, so I'm learning to. Thanks in advance for any help, Rhett

Muhammad · Jan 3, 2011

Hello rhettoneal, welcome to TBN! Glad to see you posting. Hope you enjoy being a member of our community.

k3nn3y · Jan 3, 2011

Welcome Rhettoneal. :thumbsup:

CompactTractorFan · Jan 3, 2011

Welcome to TBN!!! Are you planning to buy new or used? A 3ohp tractor with loader/backhoe would be a good fit to run the rotary cutter/box blade.

blueriver · Jan 3, 2011

Where in Alabama ???

rhettoneal · Jan 4, 2011

CompactTractorFan said:
Welcome to TBN!!! Are you planning to buy new or used? A 3ohp tractor with loader/backhoe would be a good fit to run the rotary cutter/box blade.

I don't know yet if it will be new or used. Every tractor our family has bought has been used. Sometimes we bought somebody els's problems. It's just me now, Dad and Brother have passed, so I might just buy new. I'm 53 so I hope it will be the last tractor I buy. Oops, it's a 6 foot box blade if that matters much.

rhettoneal · Jan 4, 2011

blueriver said:
Where in Alabama ???

North AL., Cullman County.

LD1 · Jan 4, 2011

rhettoneal said:
North AL., Cullman County.

If its any help, the oliver 550 was about 42 PTO HP and weightd 3700lbs to give you an idea on what to look for when shopping.

Newer tractors in that HP range are going to be physically about the same size and weight.

TractorData.com Oliver 550 tractor information

But keep in mind that new tractors are 4wd. So for the same size, you get a MUCH more capable machine that can pull more as well. So given the size of the implements you have, I'd back it down to te 30HP range and you will still be able to do everything your old oliver did and then some.