Buying Advice Help with Tractor purchase - newbie

kminnick · Sep 21, 2015

Hi. I have 60 acres of rough/wooded land in N.Idaho and really need a tractor for clearing & maintaining. I feel I need a least 40 HP (weight factor as much as anything) to ~60. I have a line on a NH TN75S with loader & cab, but worried about the power shuttle and it's issues. Also, is it too large to maneuver? I'm also considering a Kioti DK 40/45/50 or a Mahindra 4530 (yes, my budget forces me to go used). It seems that many of the smaller tractors have limited weight and hydraulic systems. Thanks in advance for all your help. Kelly

jeff9366 · Sep 21, 2015

If you intend to clear all of your sixty acres, hire a forestry mulching company. There will be nothing but mulch on your land after their machines pass through.

If you do not plan to clear all, how much?

After you clear a portion, what will you do with the land?

Yes, larger tractors are heavier and have stronger hydraulics.

It is pretty easy to smash up a cab in the woods.

Have you prior tractor operating experience?

roadhunter · Sep 21, 2015

I've got my Bobcat CT-445 for sale. Something like it might work for your application.

CT445 Bobcat Tractor Loader Cab Heat AC Skid Steer

kminnick · Sep 22, 2015

Hi Jeff-
I don't plan on clearing all the land, but where we will be building, cleaning up fallen timber, place for a garden, etc. There will be snow removal, in which case a cab will be nice. Your point about damaging a cab off-road is well taken. That glass isn't cheap!

My prior experience with tractors is with BH & excavators - not so much with farm tractors. I used an older Massey years ago to dig a fence line.

w1ebb · Sep 22, 2015

You may be fine with a larger compact tractor of about 45 - 50hp. 4wd and load the tires with beet juice. Bigger is usually better, to a point. My crazy neighbor with his 23hp scut borrowed my middlebuster. He took off with it it high gear, snagged a root, rared the front end way up, and flipped it over. How he didn't kill himself, I don't know. Larger is better, can use full size implements, etc. Also more stable and will have a roomier driver station.
I'm a fan of gear tractors. The idea of constantly holding a pedal down to go, just doesn't appeal to my knee that needs replacing!

Good fortune!

Scott

keg99 · Sep 22, 2015

I have a NH TC40DA. 40 Hp and hydrostatic. I love it for loader work. But if you are going to do much farming, you don't want to go with hydro. Gear drive is what you want.

Sounds like you might be doing more loader than farm work. You can add a lot of weight to a tractor in various ways like filling the tires or even attaching a 55 gall drum filled with concrete to your three point

. But most important for loader work is having 4 wheel drive.

And widen those wheels. Whatever you do, if you have any hilly ground, set the wheels to a WIDE position. You will be amazed how much more stable the tractor is. Factory settings are for shipping (narrow width), not for using.

If you are thinking it might knock down trees, probably not, unless they are really small. You need something big for that. But if you are just doing light grading/snow removal, clearing brush, moving loads of dirt, etc. 40 Hp should do you fine.

Also, consider a front grapple on that bucket. I wouldn't go back to a simple bucket. You can grab logs, piles of brush and even use it to hold extra dirt in the bucket. Highly recommend a grapple to anyone doing loader work. Try "Add-A-Grapple" since they just bolt on. You will need an extra set of hydraulic couplings to operate the cylinder. But WELL worth it.

roadhunter · Sep 22, 2015

w1ebb said:
You may be fine with a larger compact tractor of about 45 - 50hp. 4wd and load the tires with beet juice. Bigger is usually better, to a point. My crazy neighbor with his 23hp scut borrowed my middlebuster. He took off with it it high gear, snagged a root, rared the front end way up, and flipped it over. How he didn't kill himself, I don't know. Larger is better, can use full size implements, etc. Also more stable and will have a roomier driver station.
I'm a fan of gear tractors. The idea of constantly holding a pedal down to go, just doesn't appeal to my knee that needs replacing!

Good fortune!

Scott

I think it just depends what you are doing. For using the loader regularly the hydrostat is really nice. Easing up on a load so you can carefully fit the forks under it the hydrostat is hard to beat. The hydrostat is also much easier for novice users.

jeff9366 · Sep 22, 2015

kminnick said:
Hi Jeff-
I don't plan on clearing all the land, but where we will be building, cleaning up fallen timber, place for a garden, etc. There will be snow removal, in which case a cab will be nice.

How many acres are you going to clear? How many acres will remain woods? How big a garden? What area will require snow removal? How much snow do you expect in an average year?

You cannot make a very good selection based on generalities.

kminnick · Sep 25, 2015

Snow ranges from 6-8" to 3+ feet to clear. I would like to clear ~3 - 4 acres. Garden will be small (1/4 acre). It's wooded with a lot of downed firewood that needs cleared along with heavy brush (was tree farmed years ago). I found a good deal on a NH TN75s with cab & FEL (power shift), but this no small tractor. The supersteer might help..(?)

I'm also looking at a Kioti DK50 SE (HST - about $4K more), Kubota L4240 (HST, also ~4K more) and lastly, a TYM T450 (about $1500 more, shuttle shift). The value seems to be in the TN75, but is it too big? Is it a beast to use? Thanks for all of your comments!

kminnick · Sep 25, 2015

One more thing... Maybe it's my perception, but it appears that many of the compacts have marginal FEL lift, hydraulic FEL, etc. That's why I'm looking at the above list. A Mahindra 4530 might also be good. I rented a Kubota L34XX with backhoe and it seemed more like a toy. Thoughts?