Do I need a tractor?

[Gary Fowler]

I really doubt any of us tractor owners could really justify the cost of the tractor and equipment versus hiring any job done, but to me it is worth the cost to be able to go out, get on the tractor and get the job done rather than calling around for someone who may or may not show up and then half-axe the job. I have over $65K invested in tractors and equipment and don't regret buying any of them at the time of purchase. I could now divest my larger one if I wanted to as it doesn't do much but when I needed it a few weeks ago to finish putting a large oak on the ground that has split in half when it was blown over in a storm, the big LS 70 HP pulled it around and laid it on the ground without endangering me or someone who would have had to come cut it (it was too big for any of my saws to reach thru) I would have had to hire a dozer to come in and do that for me as substantial cost if I didn't have the tractor.
Like others have said, there is a certain satisfaction in doing things yourself and in a timely manner.
A small B26XX or B29XX series with FEL would do anything you needed around your place for around $16K or add in a quick attach back hoe with sub frame and be ready to dig whatever you need.
I just ran out this afternoon and fixed some areas that I found when mowing my 5 acre yard with my ZTR mower this morning. I saw several spots that had some embedded rocks that were just about up enough to hit the mower so I dug them up. I also had some landscaped rocks that I has gotten too close to with the mower and moved them about 10" before I could stop on the steep grade. They were too large to move by hand but by using the backhoe bucket with the thumb, I was able to pick them up and set them back in place without a back strain. Then I had a root coming off an Elm tree that was too high to mow over so I used the back hoe to break it and remove the above ground portion. Less than an hour later the tractor was back in the shed. I will get my Kubota RTV 900 with the hydraulic dump bed out tomorrow and load up the roots and rock for disposal.
Not something I would have hired someone to do and would have taken a lot of pickaxe work and chopping to get up the rocks and roots so likely I would have ended up not doing it and then ruined a spindle on my mower eventually.

Have I got my money back on my backhoe? Well, I have put about 150 hours on it doing backhoe or combination BH /FEL work that I couldn't do with my larger tractor, so if I had had to hire that done I would have paid a lot more because many of the hours were put on in increments of less than an hour. Most contractors have 4 hour minimum @$65 per hour. Some things you just don't want to let pile up and then try to do all at once. I put in over 200 feet of extra sprinkler system with it also, ran additional water faucets to outland locations, dug out a dry creek bed so it would hold some pools of water during drought, dug up trees, stumps, moved brush, dug holes for planting trees and shrubs for the wife (previously shovel work or if lots would borrow my B-I-L's post hole digger but the BH is so much more fun and practical. Folks that don't have a backhoe really don't realize the uses you have for one till you get it. They aren't that hard to take off either, at least not on my Kubota B26, maybe 5 minutes and then another 10 to install all the 3 PH arms and stabilizers.

 

[Blackjackfarm]

A few thoughts Doc:

1) Many years ago I was complaining to a dear Aunt about how busy I was and she said to me "You can hire someone to do some of that" - the light bulb went on for me, I haven't changed the oil in any of my vehicles since. Keep your lawn service. Same with the snow removal, let someone else do it, save your time for what you like to do, plus you're not out in the heat in the summertime or freezing weather in the winter.
2) If you buy something at the right price, you can always sell it later without losing much money. Buy a small tractor, in five years, if you don't use it much, sell it.
3) I wouldn't have a tractor without a front-end loader, there are so many things that you can lift, carry, pull, you'll find uses for it.
4) Another option for you would be a 4 wheeler, with a blade you can do snow removal, with a small trailer you can haul stuff, the kid can drive it, or get a side by side, you can tool around all over your acreage.

Good luck!!

 

[OldMcDonald]

cardiologist, Another thought - How important is it that you must not have damaged hands or fingers? Having known a few surgeons whose livelihood depended upon being able to continue to perform operations I could understand them not participating in the sort of activity where their work ability might be compromised. If you start messing about with tractors and equipment you will be like the rest of us and have the occasional damaged finger.

 

[hdmyers]

I need your help. I am not sure if I need a tractor, but would like one. Here is my situation...

I just bought a house on 5.8 acres. About 2.5 acres needs to be mowed, and we have a very cheap lawn service that mows it for about $65 every other week. They also snow plow our long driveway for about $45 each time. It's about 300 feet long. We do not have any farm animals. We have a fruit tree orchard and have about 10 apple trees.

My thoughts are that if we get a sub-compact utility tractor, we'd get the mid mower option, but I'd still rather have the company come do our lawn. They bring about 3 zero-turn mowers and finish in less than an hour. I can't beat that. But the tractor can be used to spray the lawn, spread fertilizer, aerate the lawn, and maybe even do our own snowplowing. The lawn service only cuts, they don't do fertilizers or aeration or crabgrass prevention. No one will care for your lawn better than you will, and I plan on making the lawn look a lot better. They don't care about weeds and crabgrass. I think it'd look a lot better if I did that other stuff.

Can a tractor with just a front loader do a good job at snowplowing? Or would a dedicated blade be necessary? Also, we do have to do some limbing and cutting down of limbs on our forest, could a tractor help in that? I do have a Cushman Haulster that I have been using to haul limbs, fallen branches, and all kinds of other stuff back and forth. Any thoughts on this?

We do have a pine tree forest, and the trees are infected with fungus and will eventually either fall down, or need to be chopped down. There are about 300 of these. I do not need to do this soon, but eventually it needs to happen.

Also, I want to plant more pine trees and other trees to replace the trees that have decayed. Will a front end loader suffice, or is a back hoe necessary? The prices I've seen to add a backhoe seem a bit crazy, should I worry about the backhoe later on? I don't want to rent a mini excavator every time I pick up a tree to plant.

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?

Can the front end loader actually dig, grade land, or be used to remove the top 4-6 inches of sod? Do these tractors 17-26 horsepower have enough oomph to dig up dirt and sod and remove it?

What else can tractors do around the property? What all uses have you found for them on non-farm type properties. Just a house, some land, and some woods. I don't want to be one of those guys that buys everything just to have it and let it sit in my garage. But for about $250 a month, I don't see it as a huge expense. I'm just wondering if it will add enough value and earn it's keep.

I'm thinking of a tractor in the range of 12-16k or so. Any thoughts? Do I really "need" one, or is it more of a luxury item that will just sit in my garage and do nothing? I'm sure if I had it, I could find random stuff to do.

You all are more experienced than me, so please chime in and let me know. I am a new homeowner and need some advice.

Leave the trees standing....even dead. they provide a refuge for wildlife...and will eventually contribute to the forest. i used to pull standing dead trees for firewood...now i leave them where they are to feed many creatures.

 

[OldMcDonald]

hdmyers, No disrespect intended, but I have noticed a few people on this forum copy complete very long posts. Why? The more space that a post uses, the longer it is for those of us in the backwoods to see them appear. Please everybody, copy as little as possible to help us poor peasants to keep up to date.

 

[Reddernecked]

I would vote for you to get a tractor, 30 HP 4wd, that is like new less than 500 hours or there about, well taken care of. If you take care of it, and service it when required you will regain quite a bit of your money invested when it is time to sell. The attachments are something you will just want to learn by trial and error, but a blade for snow plowing is something that you can certainly do and feel good about. You will very likely come to trust and enjoy a decent compact tractor as a good "friend" as you use it and learn it. Always operate safely, and you will learn things about operating a tractor that you never imagined possible. I say get the tractor Doc. I also say ask the knowledgeable folks here for questions about anything. Well done, and Good luck! Keep us posted!

 

[flusher]

You sound conflicted. Here's a thought--buy a cheap used tractor (Ford 8N, Farmall A or Super A, Massey Ferguson 35 or 135, there are many, many others you might consider) and a used 5-ft wide brush hog and see how it goes. If you take to the "Green Acres" experience, then maybe get additional implements. If you find that it's not working out, you can sell the stuff on Craigslist or eBay and move on with your life.

Good luck.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Reddernecked, You advocate buying a "nearly new" tractor, so I assume there are a few available. Why?

Can I suggest it is because people like cardiologist have bought them, rarely use them because they do not really need them, have little spare time anyway. and then sell them on, losing a lot of money in the process.

Gary Fowler says at the top of this page that very few of us could justify the cost of a tractor and equipment. I could not run my farming business without a tractor and necessary equipment.

You see it all depends on what you are doing and why. "Boys' Toys" is an expression used in some countries for those people who just want to play around with things - and why not? I am sure everybody on here who does not really "need" a tractor is doing a lot more to increase their financial worth than if they spent the same money on a boat and just went wandering about the ocean in their spare time. If you work like crazy for somebody else for 40 to 60 hours a week or more then you deserve to be able to enjoy yourself in the little spare time you have.You want a tractor, so have a tractor. You are a long time dead so enjoy life when you can. But, all this does not mean that it is a good idea for cardiologist to have a tractor too.

 

[Reddernecked]

Old MacDonald,

The good Dr. came here to get advice on buying a tractor, and asking if he needs one. You are implying the Dr. doesn't need one. Am I right on that implication?

I've personally driven many tractors and I certainly have enjoyed the fun and experience that comes from that very thing. You are right, I am absolutely saying there are deals out there, and buying a good used tractor certainly takes the cost of new prices off of the investment, by thousands. The Dr. stated he wanted to spend 12 to 16k, but mostly came here asking if he needed a tractor.

Again, I vote for the Dr. to enjoy buying a nice used, well taken care of compact tractor, and if he doesn't use it later down the road, then its going to be a deal for someone that will, and the Dr. isn't losing a lot of money for his stab at proudly owning a tractor.
I am thinking the Dr. will enjoy owning it, and use it, and experience some pretty fun stuff with it. He also states he has children, and they too can learn to operate a tractor, which all of us tractor operators learned when we were 8 or 9 years old, or there about.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
Can I suggest it is because people like cardiologist have bought them, rarely use them because they do not really need them, have little spare time anyway. and then sell them on, losing a lot of money in the process.

There are also a lot of people moving up in size and selling the small one and people getting just too old to need one.

I daresay most of the people who lose lots of money are easily separated from their money in other ways.

In another thread:

A friend has a 2008 B-7610 with front end loader, 60 inch belly mower, grader box and blade. On Monday he had his dealer service it with 400 hours.
He wants $12,000 for everything. It's a 2 hour ride so I was wondering if it might be worth making the trip to look at it.
Thanks for any opinions !

and I replied:

I paid 11, 500 for my 2007 B7610 (240 hrs and just serviced) w/ FEL, boxblade, chains and 2007 18' trailer back in 2009.
I paid 11.5k for my M4700 (1,400hrs) in Jan 2013.
I'm amazed at prices now.

so:
in 2013 a 2008 B7610, 400 hrs, FEL, BB, MMM, grader box for 12K
versus
in 2009 a 2007 B7610, 240hrs, FEL, BB, 18' Hudson 12K trailer for 11.5K

My point is if you buy used with care you may not lose money. Buying NEW is different, but from reading here most seem to get about 10% to 15% off list. (also I'm pretty sure I could sell my tractor, BB, and trailer for what I paid 4 yrs ago)

Well cared for tractors have not been depreciating greatly. But the bargains are there because some people can't think very far ahead and find they "have to sell it now", and if you are standing there with the cash you can take advantage of the situation.