Tractor Sizing Tractor Recommendation - 10 acres, mountains, VERY steep driveway

[zambien]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a tractor for my 10 acre mountain property near Boone, NC. My property is mostly wooded. The property is surrounded by 200 acres of undeveloped land with a mile long driveway that is not state maintained. The tractor would need to:

• Plow steep driveway (see youtube link of our driveway)
• Remove stumps from tree cutting
• Move logs and firewood around
• Possibly run a splitter
• Do minor excavating for gardening and projects
• Deal with steep inclines and declines
• Eventually plow the entire 1 mile driveway

Here is a youtube video of our driveway which will give an idea of the grade: Going down the driveway - YouTube

I'm curious what tractor and attachments I should get. Any recommendations? I was thinking a B or L series Kubota or equivalent JD. I'm hoping to get away with a tractor that I can tow with a V6 Tacoma which will tow up to 6500 lbs but I might go bigger if it is needed for my requirements.

Thanks!

 

[jeff9366]

You have not related your previous tractor operating and tractor maintenance experience.

Will you snow plow the entire mile driveway yourself, or will the neighbors do their share? How frequently will you need to plow?

 

[jeff9366]

I'm looking to get a tractor for my 10 acre mountain property near Boone, NC. My property is mostly wooded. The tractor would need to:


Plow steep driveway
Eventually plow the entire 1 mile driveway

Consider a snow plow mounted on your truck. Truck will be more stable than a tractor. You will be warm and dry in the truck, rather than exposed to rain/snow/sleet on a tractor.



Remove stumps from tree cutting

Any reason you cannot let stumps rot? A Backhoe adds $5,000 to $8,000 to the tractor price.


Move logs and firewood around.

Even a small tractor can drag large tree trunks, due to mechanical advantage of the large rear wheels and transmission geared for power, pulling, rather than over the road speed. Most small tractors are sold with Front End Loaders (FEL) which are used to move firewood. Consider the FEL a fabulous powered wheelbarrow.



Possibly run a splitter

Small tractors run slow hydraulic splitters. Larger tractors run faster, slow hydraulic splitters. Personally, I recommend buying a $200 Ryobi electric splitter from Home Depot and splitting billets in your driveway. If you have 220V available you can power a fairly fast electric splitter. I always seek the simplest solution.


Do minor excavating for gardening and projects

All tractors are capable. Small tractors slowly, larger tractors faster. Consider a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment. Sold by the T-B-N store, among many venders, delivery by convenient FedEx. Good for brush removal, light grading and preparing a kitchen garden.

VIDEO: ratchet rake brush clearing - YouTube


Deal with steep inclines and declines

TOUGHIE.

With large rear wheels, small front wheels and high ground clearance tractors are inherently unstable.

HEAVIER TRACTORS ARE LESS UNSTABLE THAN LIGHT TRACTORS.

The two most common ways to improve stability are 1) Move the wheels farther apart. This is a feature on deluxe model tractors, absent on economy model tractors. 2) Fill rear tires with liquid. Liquid lowers center of gravity for the tractor.


What tractor and attachments should I get? Any recommendations?

I recommend the Kubota L2501/HST/4-WD/FEL/FILLED REAR TIRES. $18,000

LINK TO KUBOTA WEB SITE: Compact Tractors | L2501 | Kubota Tractor Corporation

VIDEO: kubota L2501 tractor - YouTube

L2501 IN T-B-N ARCHIVE: Google:TBN

Purchase implements to meet specific needs, as needs arise.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

If I had that kind of topography, I'd swallow hard and buy a Ventrac and the necessary attachments. It won't be cheap, but neither are tractors and implements. And you'll feel a lot more secure on it than you will on a tractor in that type of terrain.

 

[zambien]

You have not related your previous tractor operating and tractor maintenance experience.

Will you snow plow the entire mile driveway yourself, or will the neighbors do their share? How frequently will you need to plow?

I haven't ever operated a real tractor or maintained one. I do all the maintenance on my vehicles and power tools (chainsaw, trimmer, etc.) including a John Deere LX266 lawn mower myself. I'm fairly handy and do a lot of DIY and am always eager to learn new things.

If I had that kind of topography, I'd swallow hard and buy a Ventrac and the necessary attachments. It won't be cheap, but neither are tractors and implements. And you'll feel a lot more secure on it than you will on a tractor in that type of terrain.

I will consider this for sure in the future. Thank you.

I'm looking to get a tractor for my 10 acre mountain property near Boone, NC. My property is mostly wooded. The tractor would need to:


Plow steep driveway
Eventually plow the entire 1 mile driveway

Consider a snow plow mounted on your truck.



Remove stumps from tree cutting

Any reason you cannot let stumps rot? A Backhoe adds $5,000 to $8,000 to the tractor price.


Move logs and firewood around.

Even a small tractor can drag large tree trunks, due to mechanical advantage of the large rear wheels and transmission geared for power, pulling, rather than over the road speed. Most small tractors are sold with Front End Loaders (FEL) which are used to move firewood. Consider the FEL a fabulous powered wheelbarrow.



Possibly run a splitter

Small tractors run slow hydraulic splitters. Larger tractors run faster hydraulic splitters. Personally, I recommend buying a $200 Ryobi electric splitter from Home Depot and splitting billets in your driveway. If you have 220V available you can power a fairly fast electric splitter.


Do minor excavating for gardening and projects

All tractors are capable. Small tractors slowly, larger tractors faster. Consider a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment. Sold by the T-B-N store, among many venders, delivery by convenient FedEx. Good for brush removal, light grading and preparing a kitchen garden.

VIDEO: ratchet rake brush clearing - YouTube


Deal with steep inclines and declines

TOUGHIE.

With large rear wheels, small front wheels and high ground clearance tractors are inherently unstable. HEAVIER TRACTORS ARE MORE STABLE THAN LIGHT TRACTORS. The two most common ways to improve stability are 1) Move the wheels farther apart. This is a feature on deluxe model tractors, absent on economy model tractors. 2) Fill rear tires with liquid. Liquid lowers center of gravity for the tractor.


I'm curious what tractor and attachments I should get. Any recommendations?

I recommend the Kubota L2501/HST/4-WD/FEL. $18,000

LINK TO KUBOTA WEB SITE: Compact Tractors | L2501 | Kubota Tractor Corporation

VIDEO: kubota L2501 tractor - YouTube

L2501 IN T-B-N ARCHIVE: Google:TBN

Wow, thank you so much. This is exactly the sort of recommendation I was hoping to find. The recommendation to use a plow on the truck and a separate splitter will allow me to hold off on the bigger tractor purchase until I really need it. I may be able to get by with an ATV w/dump trailer and the truck for a good while. I was looking at that exact tractor you recommended yesterday!

Thanks again!

 

[jeff9366]

While you are at Kubota, check out the RTV500/HST.

The "best of class" all terrain dump trailer is the MUTS from Canada.

LINK: MUTS THE BEST ATV WORK TRAILER EVER!


However, as much as I use my RTV500, I recommend applying that $10,000 toward the $18,000 L2501 tractor/loader; much more "bang" for the buck in the L2501. Get the L2501 FIRST, add the RTV500 later. You can tow a trailer behind the tractor, using a Handi-Hitch or something similar. You run chain through the clevis shackle on the Handi-Hitch to pull trees, with the tree butts elevated.

 

[sikmusicfreak8]

Jeff, very thorough information. Well done.

I will differ slightly in my recommendations, and a lot will come down to how much money you plan on spending.

My first thought, your truck is sized too small to haul a decent sized tractor, especially if pulling implements along with it. Also, if planning on pulling around a dump trailer, I cant imagine getting much done with an ATV or even the Taco.

Next, if you have 10 acres of land, especially mountainous, along with a 1 mile driveway to maintain, you will want a larger tractor. I am not saying you cant get a lot done with a small 25hp tractor, but its going to take you SO MUCH longer. You want to be able to pull a 5-7ft box blade, and also a plow to cover a lot of ground quickly.

As far as excavating goes, again, you can really never go too small in this department especially. Digging stumps is a lot of work, and a tiny tractor will have a very hard time depending on the size of your trees, let alone in a timely matter. I recommend going ahead and purchasing a good sized backhoe with the tractor, you'd be amazed at how much work you can use it for, especially with a thumb.

Since you are in a wooded area, and it sounds like you will be clearing some trees and most likely chopping them for fire wood, look hard into a grapple bucket. This way grabbing large logs will be a breeze, and you wont have to drag them all over with a chain. Will make your life a lot easier.

My recommendations are:

35hp+ tractor
1 set of remotes on the loader
at least 1 set of remotes on the rear (attaching log splitter, etc)
7'+ backhoe w/thumb
Grapple bucket

You can choose any brand you like, I really doubt these days you will buy a tractor and be disappointed. I will say if you go Massey, Kubota, or John Deere, you will spend a LOT more money for the same if not inferior tractor. You can get great warranties with all brands, and specs aren't always better just because you spent more money, so shop around. A good dealer in close proximity is a great thing, but being in NC, I am sure you have the pick of the litter close by.

 

[holeycow]

I don't know the weather in NC, but I suspect you are susceptible to wet snowfalls. Plowing wet snow can create sheets of ice sometimes. Those sheets of ice can linger for a long time and make traversing terrain like that treacherous. A pickup with 4 sharp tire chains on will be a safer bet than any small tractor. Don't get a light weight tractor. Sometimes it is better to not plow when conditions can create a glare ice trail. A pile of gravel to gravel the steep part might be something to have on hand.

Get some tire chains with the v-bars on them and buy good ones. Make sure they are on tight and tie-in any loose tails or they will flap and destroy your fenders.

I would want a heavy tractor chained all around on that steep part. Rubber is pretty much useless on wet snow and so are light weight machines.

Me: More than 30 years of experience working in the bush doing oil exploration under all weather conditions and in all terrain. Surveying and supervising construction.

Be carefull on that driveway! You can get into big trouble in the winter on that! A snowplow on a fully-loaded pickup would be the safest bet (chained all around with real chains, not those mickey-mouse pos cheapies). And avoid building an ice road under wet, freezing conditions. It happens right under you and behind you very quickly without you even realizing it...once. Then you will never want it to happen again.

Oh, and make sure your trail is perfectly level side-to-side so you don't slide off the trail.

 

[jeff9366]

If $27,000 is in your budget for a tractor, consider the smallest Kubota 'Grand L' offering, the L3560.

L3560 has Kubota's heaviest small tractor chassis and every productivity and comfort option as standard. Wheel width is adjustable in four increments.


LINK TO KUBOTA WEB SITE: Compact Tractors | Grand L60 Series | Kubota Tractor Corporation

 

[oosik]

The first part of the video - the steep part of the driveway looks like the valley in my driveway. My mile long gravel driveway is flat as a pool table except for the entrance/exit on the valley. For 25 years I plowed snow on my driveway with a 28 hp Ford 1700 4WD tractor with no problems what-so-ever. You must know the limitations of your tractor, your limitations and proceed accordingly. Unless you get inordinately deep snows - plowing your driveway with a 4WD tractor should be no problems. In the winter that heavy gravel surface will definitely be your friend. Put skid shoes on a rear blade so you don't blade that gravel into the ditch.