Do I need a tractor?

creekbend · Aug 18, 2013

Here is a website that might aid you in your selection. www.TractorData.com If it were me, I would get a rotary mower and a Tooth Bar for the FEL. You can buy a Box Blade later on. Best wishes. Please take your time and purchase what you need for both present and future needs.

cardiologist · Aug 18, 2013

What about if I just was going to mow the lawn, aerate, move dirt and mulch around, maybe till. No tree moving or grappling. I don't think I'm willing to move up to the L3200 series/size and spend over 20k.

jeff9366 · Aug 18, 2013

Shoot, I was having such fun with your money.

A Kubota 'Grand L' is more fun than any Lexus.

chim · Aug 18, 2013

Back in 1989 we built on 2-1/4 acres. Whatever isn't taken up by the house, driveway, creek and sheds is grass. Moving here from a 1/2 acre lot I realized the 30-some inch riding mower needed replaced. I've had a few different tractors. One had a 5' belly mower, two had 5' rear finish mowers and the current one has a 6' RFM. Snow here ranges from nothing to an occasional blizzard. A front blade did OK and I managed to make it through a memorable winter with only a rear scraper blade on a 4WD. Both the current tractor and the one it replaced had loaders and rear blades. Without going the snow blower route, a loader and rear blade are the hot setup.

Mowing roughly 2 acres took me nearly an hour and a half with the 5-footers. With the 6-footer it's around an hour. The loader has been more useful than I thought it would be, and is frequently used for loading and unloading heavy things from my pickup or a trailer. My wheelbarrow has been given away. I've used the loader to mix and pour concrete. Recently built brush forks have been a big help handling trimmed limbs. I'm in the process of expanding the yard another 1-1/3 acres with the recent purchase of adjacent land. So far I've cut off some high spots and stockpiled topsoil. It's a place to go and play when I need some tractor time.

I'd feel "nekkid" without a tractor and seat time is theraputic for me. It's sometimes handy to have two tractors. I kept the old Ford 1210, and it can wear the york rake or other implement while the Kubota has the loader a different implement.

jeff9366 · Aug 18, 2013

cardiologist said:
I don't think I'm willing to spend over 20k.

All right, all right!

Kubota B3300SU, what I drive. $19,000 with everything; bottom line price.

Kubota Tractor Corporation - Tractors | B Series | B3300SU

Still, I'm holding an L3560 for you......

cardiologist · Aug 18, 2013

jeff9366 said:
All right, all right!

Kubota B3300SU, what I drive. $19,000 with everything; bottom line price.

Kubota Tractor Corporation - Tractors | B Series | B3300SU

Still, I'm holding an L3560 for you......

Ok. That sounds decent. Found some of those on tractor house even cheaper, lime even just 10-12k. Can you mount mowers I those?

jeff9366 · Aug 18, 2013

Yep.

Mid-PTO, which i do not recommend, is optional on B3300SU. This is a small, real tractor. Real tractors do not have mid-PTOs.

You need to buy a Finish Mower or a Flail Mower to mount on the Three Point Hitch. Both are powered by the PTO.

I use mostly 60" implements. You can go 72", possibly wider, on a Finish Mower. I have not purchased a Finish Mower yet, so I cannot offer very valuable advice on widths.

Another Tractorhead will chime in on Finish/Flail Mowers, I am sure.

B3300SU has a Category 1 Three Point Hitch. Every new implement is produced first for Category 1 tractors, the largest category.

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Tractor-Finishing-Mowers-Grooming-Mowers-Finish-mower-s/242.htm

http://www.iowafarmequipment.com/tractor-skidsteer-boom-disc-flail-zeroturn-mowers.html

orezok · Aug 18, 2013

Ask any Cardiologist "Do you need a heart?" Of course you do, can't live without one. Same with Tractors!

chim · Aug 18, 2013

cardiologist said:
What about if I just was going to mow the lawn, aerate, move dirt and mulch around, maybe till. No tree moving or grappling. I don't think I'm willing to move up to the L3200 series/size and spend over 20k.

My L3200 with R4 tires, loader and HST was under $16K. Less than $2K for a 6 foot rear finish mower and you can be in business for less than $18K.

murphy1244 · Aug 18, 2013

Do you have a Kioti dealer near you? Check out the DK line.

OldMcDonald · Aug 18, 2013

cardiologist, Just to put a spanner in the works - a UK expression. I know you call them wrenches. Why on earth do all you people over there insist on having so much useless grass? Half your property in something that produces nothing but work and expense? It might look nice, but it would look even better if there was some livestock (that you can eat or sell) grazing on it. Snow clearing 100 yards? How many times a year? Leave a vehicle at the gate and walk. FEL? Everybody in the US says you must have one. I have not owned one since 1979 and never missed it -even on over 3000 acres + another 2000 sharefarmed.

Your time is valuable. You must work long hours. When you have spare time you should just play around otherwise you are likely to need the help of some of your colleagues. You cannot be short of the odd dollar. Help the local community and continue employing the local grass cutters until you see the sense of just sitting watching your animals graze the grass and imagining what they will taste like, various recipes for the different cuts of meat. Grow your own vegetables to go with the meat too. I am sure you do not get enough exercise, given your occupation. Spend part of your free time digging a garden and growing and harvesting crops. That will do a lot for your cardio-vascular system. Coming home and knowing the lawn needs to be cut after you have put in umpteen hours as a cardiologist (with the risk of being called back in an emergency) is not conducive to good health. Believe me - I am not a doctor.

I am not joking. This is not a wind up. I am, as my monicker says, old. I have been (farming) around the world and back again, and am part way second time round. Life is short. Enjoy it. I am sure the world needs you far more as a cardiologist than it does as someone able to cut grass.

As for the make of tractor - I have never owned a Kubota (favoured as they are on this site) and have no intentions of doing so. I do not like the look of them, the odd drive I have had did not impress, and neither have I been impressed seeing them working.

Now I know this post will upset some of those who "need" an FEL and would not own anything other than a Kubota, and "must" have a lawn big enough to hold a football match on, but then they are not peasants as I am.

murphy1244 · Aug 18, 2013

You need 2 Tractors. One big, one small

jerrybob · Aug 18, 2013

You're a cardiologist for God's sake........buy a couple tractors.....park them by your plane and yacht!! :thumbsup:

k0ua · Aug 18, 2013

You need a FEL, I seldom go a day without using mine. If nothing else it is a motorized wheelbarrow that can go darn near anywhere, and can lift darn near anything.

cardiologist · Aug 18, 2013

Along the lines of what oldMcDonald said, is it cost effective? If I can pay a service to mow the lawn every other week, and just get home and enjoy my free time, it's better than getting home and wondering what stuff needs to be done outside. I can enjoy doing nothing. I may be a cardiologist, but I don't want to waste money on unnecessary stuff. I live giving back to society, giving free talks, free clinics, helping out wherever I can. That is really enjoyable. So is running around playing with the kids. They love doing stuff outside. They are outside all the time. A tractor or other ride on toy would just add another thing to play on.

I tried planting tomatoes, peppers, and other stuff. Not very successful. Will need to be more productive to justify a veggie garden.

murphy1244 · Aug 18, 2013

cardiologist said:
Along the lines of what oldMcDonald said, is it cost effective? If I can pay a service to mow the lawn every other week, and just get home and enjoy my free time, it's better than getting home and wondering what stuff needs to be done outside. I can enjoy doing nothing. I may be a cardiologist, but I don't want to waste money on unnecessary stuff. I live giving back to society, giving free talks, free clinics, helping out wherever I can. That is really enjoyable. So is running around playing with the kids. They love doing stuff outside. They are outside all the time. A tractor or other ride on toy would just add another thing to play on.

I tried planting tomatoes, peppers, and other stuff. Not very successful. Will need to be more productive to justify a veggie garden.

What is it you want to do?

newbury · Aug 18, 2013

cardiologist said:
What did you end up with? I'm not looking for any specific brand. I just happen to have a dealer less than a mile from my house. I looked at JD too. Any other options to be able to get more tractor for you're money?

Danger!! That's TOO close. Look up JohnThomas http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/members/johnthomas.html he is recovering from "Kubota trading" disease. It's almost an addiction brought about by proximity to an excellent Kubota dealer.

cardiologist said:
What about if I just was going to mow the lawn, aerate, move dirt and mulch around, maybe till. No tree moving or grappling. I don't think I'm willing to move up to the L3200 series/size and spend over 20k.

A small B would be a good starting point.

A MMM option is about $3K, or 46 mowings by your service. Snow removal is similar, but if you get a FEL you can move snow in an EMERGENCY then wait for them to get around to you for a good job.

With a FEL, tooth bar/Piranha ($300), and clamp on pallet forks ($300) you can move a LOT of dirt and brush.

You can move up to a quick attach grapple etc. but it will push your $16K starting price.

Add in a pallet fork for the 3pt and you can move small logs with ease. And trees, like snow, are one of those things that sometimes HAVE to be moved because of a storm. Grass on the other hand can genrally wait a few days.

cardiologist said:
How good are the wood chippers that you can get for SCUTs? I'm thinking John Deere 1 series or Kubota BX series. What size wood will they chip and is it worth even doing that? Or just pile up the wood and rent a serious wood chipper?

Again for $2K to $3K you can get a woodchipper, but around here you can rent one for a couple of hundred for the weekend.
I bought one because I produce a lot of bark/cants with my sawmill that I need to dispose of.

If you are a practicing cardiologist I suspect you have more money than time. So you probably want to buy new. But don't disregard used because they just came out with a "Tier IV" emissions thing that may be affecting the newer tractors.

It's VERY HANDY to have a tractor. I live on a 1/4 acre lot near Washington, DC. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one within about 2 miles that owns a tractor (bought in 2009 for my retirement to Mississippi in ???). We've had a couple of record snowfalls since I bought it and the plows don't get down the side courts for days. No problem

. You might also want to get chains

Once you've got the basic tractor the world of attachments opens up. For instance maybe you need to move a trailer on occasion. No problem with a 3 pt hitch trailer mover.

SWMBO wants a flower bed, no problem, rent a tiller or buy one.

A 35+HP 4wd tractor would be great for you, but a low end B (2320, 2620) would probably do everything you need to do.

lilranch2001 · Aug 18, 2013

cardiologist said:
Along the lines of what oldMcDonald said, is it cost effective? If I can pay a service to mow the lawn every other week, and just get home and enjoy my free time, it's better than getting home and wondering what stuff needs to be done outside. I can enjoy doing nothing. I may be a cardiologist, but I don't want to waste money on unnecessary stuff. I live giving back to society, giving free talks, free clinics, helping out wherever I can. That is really enjoyable. So is running around playing with the kids. They love doing stuff outside. They are outside all the time. A tractor or other ride on toy would just add another thing to play on.

I tried planting tomatoes, peppers, and other stuff. Not very successful. Will need to be more productive to justify a veggie garden.

Ya know, if ya gotta ask why you need one I say, YOU DO NOT NEED ONE.

Its just not in your blood

Pay everyone to do it, like a good doc can! Do not get your hands dirty!

allen6634 · Aug 18, 2013

i.m.o. i wouldn't get the hoe i feel it will limit the capabilites of the tractor, once you get one of your own you will find tons of things to do with it , there is so many things that i do with my tractor that i wouldn't have even attempted . one thing to keep in mind most of your implements connect to the back of the tractor by the 3 point hitch ,(something a backhoe will be in the way ) .