Buying Advice New Tractor Suggestions

[bushhog28]

Shop around, invest wisely.

 

[bushhog28]

You need a loader, I know they are a lot of money, but you'll be glad you got it vs more power.

 

[bushhog28]

I know I might be opening up a can of worms on this one. But, does anyone have any votes for competing manufacturers & models??? If so, why?

I have owned the tractor you are thinking about buying, I dumped it after 8 months. E series.....

 

[Garandman]

You can get ALL of what you need done with a smaller tractor, unless we've grossly misunderstood you original post. Yes, people generally say it's better to go a bit bigger than the minimum you think you need to get your work done, but in this case, you may be looking at almost double what you really need.

There are others who can tell you more about some of the other uses, but I can tell you a bit about using a tractor in the woods. Maneuverability is just as important as total HP and weight, unless your woods bear more of a resemblance to NYC's Central Park than a real forest. There are pro loggers here who have modified 50-65 HP tractors for work in the woods, and are quite happy with them. There may not be a whole lot of them around anymore, but that's because guys with chainsaws, tractors, and skidders seem to be giving way to Feller-bunchers, harvesters and forwarders for logging in our area. That profession seems to be getting a whole lot more mechanized.

If you are setting up a tractor for real work in the woods, you'll want to get a belly pan installed, limb risers, and FOPS. Going with just ROPS is taking a real risk in the woods, though many (including me, up until recently) have done it for years. I also find a logging winch indispensable for bringing in saw logs and firewood efficiently and safely.

There are many places on our land where I'd have to do a lot of work to get a bigger tractor through. And when we hired a logger to come in and clear some trees near the house and power line. I had to take out some of the logs because his 50hp JD was too heavy for the wet ground.

32hp is too small for big logs, I've had to cut some large logs into shorter lengths to move them.

 

[meyerld]

I can vouch for the larger Deere E series. I have a 5065E and it has been a delight to own and operate and has experienced zero performance issues or defects with several hundred hours of hard service including cutting many hours of thick chest high grass at 5 mph on economy PTO (using an 8' wide cutter). I also pull an 8' cat 2 box blade with it and it pulls like a champ. This is mostly a Kubota forum so most of the recommendations you get will be in that direction but you should weigh all your options as others have said. Also, 50 acres is enough land that you do not want to get too small a tractor and end up wanting to buy a larger one a few years down the road. A 5065 or 75E would serve you well.

 

[ragingrooster]

Many thanks everybody for all of the great information. It certainly shined a new light on things for me. I took everything that was said into consideration and finally pulled the trigger on one.

Anyone care to guess what I got???

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

The original deere?

 

[ragingrooster]

75C

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Congrats! Must be very excited to play... Uh I mean 'work' with it. Have fun and let us know how it does for you. I know essentially nothing about that machine.

 

[coolnature]

Congrats! My neighbor has the NH version of your tractor and absolutely loves it.