What 4 wheel drive tractor do we need?

[TheKuhnFamily]

We/re looking for a 4 wheel drive tractor. It will be primarily used for mowing & bailing hay. Our mower is a GEHL 2412 which weighs around 3 ton's. We have some pretty pitchy hillsides and when the ground is wet it's "slimy" because there is soooo much clay in our soil. Eventually we would like to get a front loader for the tractor because we're overworking our Farmall Super "M" to move and feed our round bales. The bales weigh between 600 & 800/lbs. We would like to stay RED but a John Deere would work for us just as well. The big issue is we have a budget of only $13,000. We're a very small (80 acres) family farm and obviously on a tight budget. Any suggestions?

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[RoyJackson]

Welcome to TBN!!!

$13K is going to limit you, but I think you should look for a Deere 1070 or equivalent in another brand. You should be able to get a tractor/loader for the budget you mentioned.
I assume you're using a bale spear on the 3PH to move those bales...is that correct?
What are you currently using to tow the GEHL 2412?

 

[creekbend]

Welcome aboard.

 

[art]

First question would be what are you running the 2412 with? I'd say about the best that you could do would be a 1066 or so to runn the mower as well as tackle the baler issue.

You might get lucky and find a good loader on one for the money.

 

[Briana03]

WELCOME to TBN

I moved your thread to the Buying/Pricing/Comparisons Forum.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

If weight's that much of a factor, you might consider switching to a side sicklebar mower instead of that GEHL 2412 mower/crusher.

 

[Depmandog]

You will want an ag tractor in 100HP range. You can find some nice tractors, 4W and cab for the money your are wanting to spend.

A good place to search is www.tractorhouse.com

If you are wanting red, look at a Case 1896 or something similar. Yes, they will have some hours, but most ag tractors do. See if you can get the previous owners name and call him for a report.

With your baler and those slick hills - YIKES, get something with some heft!!

Good luck!

 

[mad_planter]

100hp? That seems excessive. My father owned and worked a 300 acre dairy farm for 40 years and he never owned a tractor that size. Mostly side hill as well.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Welcome to TBN!!!

$13K is going to limit you, but I think you should look for a Deere 1070 or equivalent in another brand. You should be able to get a tractor/loader for the budget you mentioned.
I assume you're using a bale spear on the 3PH to move those bales...is that correct?
What are you currently using to tow the GEHL 2412?

A 1070 isn't going to pull a 12' disc mower....

100hp? That seems excessive. My father owned and worked a 300 acre dairy farm for 40 years and he never owned a tractor that size. Mostly side hill as well.

They need a tractor that size based on the equipment they are pulling with it. The disc mower they are using is pretty big center pivot model which needs a substantial tractor. We are making about 100ac of hay and use 45hp, 65hp and 95hp tractors, but our equipment is smaller too (8' disc mower, 4x4' round baler)


To the OP, you should be looking for something with a minimum of 100 PTO hp. I'd personally want 120-150hp to really handle that mower well. Your problem is going to be that most of the tractors in your price range will be older and before 4wd was available and/or popular. Not sure if there are many in your area, but the 8000 series Allis Chalmers were great tractors and could be had at a reasonable price. Something like an 8010, 8030 or 8050 would give plenty of power and weight, and most of them had a 12spd powershift transmission, which is really nice for field work.