Buying Advice Why do I keep 'what if-ing'?

[k0ua]

By the way, what does T-B-N search mean?

OK you are on TBN (tractorbynet) so we want to search past posts on TBN to find what has been posted in years past about a subject. So go to the top of this page and click on the little magnifying glass labeled "search" and it will take you to a page where you can enter keywords and other parameters to narrow or refine your search to hopefully find past posts about a subject you are interested in.

James K0UA

 

[k0ua]

I need to learn to organize my thoughts and type faster

 

[SARG]

Bigger is better. I bought a 28 hp T1030 NH .......... Seems like it's the same with motorcycles.. motorhomes and tractors...... you always wish you'd gotten the next bigger.

I now wouldn't buy another with less than 40 hp.

 

[Piston]

I would also suggest a larger tractor than the CK30, however, there are a few (very few) people that really enjoy using the smallest tractor they can for the job. You may be one of those?

Regarding searching this forum (or anything for that matter) click on the link in my "signature" below that says how to search TBN.

 

[hawkeye08]

Since you are new to tractors, my advice is not to go too big. The bigger the tractor, the more expensive the tractor and the attachments are. A spreadsheet is nice, but however you do it, start to make notes about what you want. Determine if there are "showstopper requirements", for some this might be a cab, for others it might be HST or gears. You only have 10 acres so you don't need a big tractor. Get one that is easy to maneuver. If you are wanting to blow snow, plow snow and mow lawn, then the lawn mowing will point you to a smaller tractor. You would be better off getting a good zero turn mower for the lawn and the right size tractor for the other tasks, than trying to compromise for everything.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I bought a Bobcat CT230, with is the same tractor as the Kioti CK30. Everything on the CT225, CT230, and CT235 is identical to the CK25, CK30, and CK35, except for the engine hp; with some minor cosmetic differences.

It was a combination of immediate need, funding and delivery time compromise; otherwise I might have waited a few months and bought the 35hp one. That said, there hasn't been any jobs that I couldn't do with 30 hp that I needed to have 35 instead.

 

[Piston]

I recommend listing your needs, determining what implements you'll need to accomplish those tasks, and then matching the tractor to whatever size/type implements you will need to run. Remember that the tractor is just an engine that drives the implements, a tractor by itself is virtually useless.

Most people decide what tractor to buy, and then try to figure out what implements they can use with it, and are restricted to certain size (this goes both ways, just as a tractor can be too small to run implements you want, it can also be too big, to the point where your implements won't cover your tire tracks).

The better way to decide on a tractor, is to list the size and type implements you need, then match the tractor to those implements, this is also a good way to weed out many tractors, it makes the "decision" much easier when your not faced with 30 different models in all sorts of different size ranges.

If you don't know what implements you need, you can start determining that with our help, just list what jobs you will want to do now, as well as jobs you can see yourself doing 2 or 3 years from now. We can point you in the right direction. :thumbsup:

 

[DavesTractor]

Buy a tractor for which the size will do your most important and frequent tasks without straining it. For the odd task that comes up occasionally, you can either rent or just struggle a little with the tractor you own. Snow blowing and tilling take a certain amount of PTO power and there is no way around it. Figure the size of blower and/or tiller you want and then do some figuring. Likewise on the loader. But with a loader you can often break down the size of the job and just make more trips. Works well for gravel and dirt and such, but if you regularly need to unload a 1500 lb pallet, then you have a minimum in that regard. Keep in mind that loads on pallets put the load center way out further than a bucket of stuff, so de-rate your loader capacity a bit when figuring palletized loads.

I'm a Mahindra dealer. We used to sell a 2015 model. It was heavy for it's size and just a really nice unit, similar to the CK20. If a customer came in and needed a stout tractor with good lift capacity and pulling power, that did the job. If he then said he wanted to run a large'ish mower or tiller or blower, we knew we had to go up in HP. For your needs, I think a medium frame (vague term I know) compact such as an "L" series Kubota or a 3016 size Mahindra or the equivalent Kioti/Bobcat would suit you well.

The spreadsheet idea? Well, I do that sometimes, but you can get "sucked into the vortex" as we like to say, and end up splitting hairs about a small difference in hydraulic flow, turning radius, ground clearance, etc. The key is to just pay attention to the things that matter for your application. 7.2 vs 7.5 gpm on a pump really doesn't matter to most folks. Nor does 8.3 vs 7.9 inches or ground clearance. Narrow the search to a few quality tractors that will do the job, then further narrow by available quality dealers, then go sit on the tractors and make sure your knees don't bump the steering wheel or the loader control isn't in a bad spot for your bad right arm or whatever. Drive it also, some HST tractors are quiet, some have loud pumps, some are smoother than others.

I bet whatever you get you will love, as long as you do not short yourself on PTO HP for your snow blower.

 

[RoMad]

I also have 10 acres and I had a ck20. I bought it used and put 750 hours on it in three years. I used it to clean up my second 5 acres of brush, old fence, and a bunch of other junk. I used it to hold up one end of an aluminum scaffold plank while I worked on buildings and also to clean out my pig pen and barn stalls with the front end loader. For the work in the barn and the pig pens it was fantastic. It got in the tight places easily and the loader was very strong for the size tractor. As a test one day I wrapped a come-a-long chain around a round bale of hay and picked it up with the loader, but only about a foot off the ground. I dug 6 foot deep burn pits and then covered them back up with the loader and box blade when I finished with them.
The areas it was lacking was in using my 5' bush hog. It ran it okay but it was a load on it. It really would have been better with more HP for that application. The other was the lack of enough gears. It had a high range, a low range and three forward speeds and one in reverse. There were times when the high range was too high and the low too low.
Recently I found an L2900 Kubota and bought it. For a while I had both tractors and it was nice to be able to compare them. At first the L2900 seemed very big and hard to manuever around when picking things up from the back of a truck and other delicate work. After a very short while I got used to it and now it just seems normal.
It does take up more room in the barn and is a bit of a squeeze getting into the same parking space I made for the ck20.
I really enjoyed the ck20 and did a lot of work with it, but all in all the L2900 is much nicer to work with overall.
My advice would be to buy your first tractor used, but buy something in the 30HP range.
If you shop around and get a good used tractor you will not take a financial beating when you figure out what you want in your next tractor.

 

[3930dave]

TBN is this website (TractorByNet). At the top of each page you'll see an option for "search". Click it, then you can type what you like in that field to search the site for any information pertinent to your subject. Good luck in your tractor hunt!

Crank - if you are still in heavy research mode, and are trying to find things here on Tractor By Net, then look up that Google command for searching a specific site only. It was available on Google a long time ago.... with my lousy memory I can never remember the syntax of the command.

The Search on this site works, in a fashion, but there are bettter tools to use esp. if you are in a hurry.

Rgds, D.