3016 or 3616 or something else entirely??

[Caseyh]

Hello everyone. This is my first post but I've been lurking for a while. I've read quite a bit and hope you're not offended if I repeat a question that's already been asked.
I purchased 28.5 acres in north central Kentucky last February. I love it and really can't believe I actually have this place. Having said that I'm considering a tractor and I keep coming back to mahindra. The land is rocky, hilly and roughly 50/50 woods and fields. These aren't iowa type fields, more like hillsides that are good for hay, goats or cattle and not much else. My woods are tight and contain mostly hard wood trees. I have a lot of downed timber id like to move and I also need to be able to bush hog about 13 acres. I don't need to work 2000 acres in the shortest time possible and I'm looking at this as a hobby and not a job. I'm single with no kids (so I have time lol) and have some experience running tractors but I'm by no means an expert.
I'd like to know what the benefit of the 3616 would be over the 3016 if any. I would like to be able to run a 5 ft bush hog, a front end loader and a log splitter and maybe a post hole digger and box blade. I need to acces fairly tight quarters, drag downed timber and clear brush piles, be fairly stable on hills and still mow some tall grass. I also want to use a fel for various chores(gravel, burn piles, moving rock n stone).
Basically I'm trying to figure out if the 3016 is all I need or if the 3616 would be better suited to my uses. I've also looked at kioti, ls, john deere and kubota and would rather not spend a bunch for paint.
Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[camshawn]

Caseyh:
When we bought the 3616 came with a QA bucket on the loader. Best money we spent, change to forks from bucket in about 30 sec. We use the forks to pile brush onto to haul to the burning pile. The size between the two is not much different and the extra hp just sounded better as well.
Cam

 

[MtnViewRanch]

The extra HP is very handy to have for heavy PTO work such as mowing tall anything. (brush, grass whatever) If you are serious about ground work, then you will want to have maximum ballast, so with that comes an additional load for the tractor to move, another reason to have the extra HP. It's not that the 3016 won't do these chores, but it WILL NOT do them as fast. You said you have time on your side so going very slow may not make any difference to you. I have found that it is best to get as much HP that is available in the frame size that is chosen. Always better to have it when you need it than need it and not have it.

Just my :2cents:, good luck.

 

[N2DFire]

Hey Casey,

As you can see from my numbers I'm kind of a lurker myself.

I have recently found myself having to take over looking after my parents land and finally convinced my dad that our Beloved 8N Ford just wasn't up to the job any more.

Looking to work roughly 14-16 acres total, mostly hay field and pasture land, some still wooded.

Immediate uses are in cleaning / clearing brush piles & fallen trees that have gone neglected for a while. And long term would be mostly mowing (rotary cutter) and general upkeep.

I started off looking at Mahindra - specifically the 4035. Finally we agreed it was just too big physically for some of the spots we needed to get in so we went to the 3616 (Along with looking at models from MF, NH, Kubota, and Kioti in person and Web Shopping TYM & LS) As you can also see, we ended up with a Kioti CK35. Itand the 3616 were the top two contenders and the real final deciding factor was price. The features and specs between the two (when considering our planned usage). We never looked at a 3016 but I suspect that (as Cam says) Mahindra did the same as Kioti. The 30 & 35 HP models are the exact same tractor, they just have a slightly larger bore engine in one to get the extra HP.


Now - to address your question of 30 vs 36 HP - from most of the research we did (Depending on how thick / heavy the material you're trying to cut) the 36 HP is going to carry a 5' cutter better than a 30 HP.

Buying a new tractor is kind of like building a garage. After it's all over no one ever sits back and says I wish I would have gone smaller.

Best of luck with your purchase. I know we are thrilled with our new toy, but I'm sure we would have been just as happy with the 3616,

Steve

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you use the 5hp per foot of width rule, the 3016 doesn't get it for a 5' cutter at either 21 or 23HP. The 3616 has 29 or 31HP. The differences are manual vs HST.

Like I mentioned, how slow do you really want to get things done? :confused3:

 

[camshawn]

Casey
We run a 72" brush cutter on our 3616. Sometimes, in long grass, (36") I have to slow down to low and first gear and lift the cutting deck a little. A 30 hp machine would really bog down on this long grass. Cam

 

[oldpilgrim]

We never looked at a 3016 but I suspect that (as Cam says) Mahindra did the same as Kioti. The 30 & 35 HP models are the exact same tractor, they just have a slightly larger bore engine in one to get the extra HP.

this.

If you plan on a lot of "hoggin'", perhaps the 3616 would be better with a bigger blade, but I haven't seen anything that my 3016 doesn't do well....but I don't have a 'hog'.

I guess it comes down to whether you 'need' to get a 5 ft hog or if a 4 footer will do. Many people run a 5 footer on a 3016, quite well, maybe just a little slower.

If you're convinced a 4 footer won't do or a 5 footer won't work well, then you need to get the 3616.

It sorta depends on your budget and how much hoggin you'll need to do, if it's worth spending the extra several thousand for the larger hog and larger tractor.

 

[arrow]

I'd say this. Everything that has been stated is true. What cannot be ascertained is your own personality with some people having more patience than others. I have a geared 3016. It cut down my wood harvesting time by 66% over my smaller and less weighty JD 750. The 16 is carrying 8 to 9 hp more than the 750 but weighs about a thousand pounds more. This is the real difference in slow, grunt work. The 30 and 36 are the same framed tractor with the 36 having larger industrial tires making it look bigger. The fels are exactly the same. My main point here is that if you were considering hydro over gear, get the 36. If not the 16 will certainly do everything you're asking but slightly slower with brush hogging.

 

[AchingBack]

I've been using my 5' BushHog on my 2615 HST, 21 HP at the PTO, for nine years. I don't usually use it in high heavy grasses, but when I do, I take smaller bites at a slower ground speed. Never had a problem getting the job done.

 

[DavesTractor]

A 5' rotary is the standard on a 3016 and we never see complaints about lack of HP running a 5'. But if you are mowing hood high or taller grass or really thick stuff, no doubt slower speeds are needed. Or after the first round if it is really slow going, just scoot over and mow 4' at a time. Out west in California usually the tall grass at the end of spring is fairly dry and you can mow tall stuff easily with a 3016, and fairly quickly. But what I am describing is pretty easy mowing. Ya'll that actually get rain and mow brush and such are certainly doing much harder work and I can see the need for a 3616 in that application.

Hydraulically the tractors are pretty much equal. Loader speed, lift, etc. are the same. You will feel the HP difference in mowing and ground engaging tasks. 8 HP is quite a jump.