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

[zambien]

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.

Thanks. We are sitting at around 4000 feet elevation but it still warms up quite a bit many days. Our neighbor said that we get a mix of types of snow but that generally the snow doesn't stick around a long time. I think last year there was 3-4 feet of snowfall at our elevation... a lot more than Boone proper. We aren't living at the cabin permanently yet. Right now we live full time near Baltimore in Maryland and we try to get down there as often as we can. The trail is pretty level on the way down so I think we are good there. There used to be problems with the road washing out from what the neighbor said but then they started using larger sized gravel so the road stays in pretty fair shape. There is a lot of gravel pushed into the dirt so it is almost like a cobblestone road with gravel on top. We do plan on getting some extra gravel just for general maintenance of the

Currently we own a Subaru Forester. I'll be getting snow tires and wheels in a few weeks so we can make some trips down over the winter and hope that will suffice for the time being. You can't put real chains on a Forester so If the snow gets too deep we'll have to adjust our plans or just park at the bottom and walk up. My wife and I are young enough that we can handle that pretty well.

We will plan to get all the right equipment for our taco when we buy it... plow, good chains, etc. Sounds like that will be the best options for all the variables involved with snow. Then I can use a lighter tractor for other work.

 

[Deere Dude]

If most of the recommendations are appealing to you, consider the weight of the tractor and then the weight of a trailer. A light trailer will probably weigh minimum 2000# so the size of tractor will be restricted considerably or you will be overloaded for your truck. Then consider if you want to pull the tractor up and down the hilly driveway with that truck on gravel.

A smaller low to the ground tractor with a front end loader would probably fit the bill in both accounts. Those JD models are probably around 25 horse and are stable and easy to get around with. I am not sure how steep your woods are but you may not be able to navigate in the woods with any larger tractor.

A lot can be done with a front end loader on a 1000 or 2000 series JD but with smaller bites than a 35-45 HP tractor, but the larger tractor would need a bigger truck to pull it with.

 

[zambien]

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.

Thanks for the advice. When I had mentioned a dump trailer I was thinking a smaller trailer geared towards ATV use for moving around 1/4-1/2 cord of logs at a time. My wood needs will work out to around 3-6 cord a year once we move down there permanently. I know, big range but I'm not sure of the performance of the stove in the cabin yet. The cabin has an older VC Defiant 1945 and a Monitor brand propane heater (as well as electric heat in each room I don't plan to use). The heated space is around 1900 sq ft. We heat with wood at home... currently in MD we have a Hampton HI300 insert and burn around 4 cord a year to heat 2100 sq ft with our heat pump only running on mornings when we are lazy and sleep in.

Most of the work I plan on doing will be getting our wood supply stocked up, maintaining our part of the driveway, and eventually doing some shared maintenance on the long driveway. Will also clear some land for gardening but I can take my time with that. We live near the TN state line so I may just buy some M80s to help with the stumps. JUST KIDDING!

I'll take a look at some other trailer brands too!

 

[flusher]

Select the 4WD tractor that meets your size, horsepower and price requirements.
Then remove the wheels and replace them with tracks. This will give you a lot safer setup for work on your steep slopes.
There are several manufacturers that produce these tractor options. I'd start here

Track system for all kind of vehicles | Soucy track

Good luck and be careful out there.

 

[zambien]

If most of the recommendations are appealing to you, consider the weight of the tractor and then the weight of a trailer. A light trailer will probably weigh minimum 2000# so the size of tractor will be restricted considerably or you will be overloaded for your truck. Then consider if you want to pull the tractor up and down the hilly driveway with that truck on gravel.

A smaller low to the ground tractor with a front end loader would probably fit the bill in both accounts. Those JD models are probably around 25 horse and are stable and easy to get around with. I am not sure how steep your woods are but you may not be able to navigate in the woods with any larger tractor.

A lot can be done with a front end loader on a 1000 or 2000 series JD but with smaller bites than a 35-45 HP tractor, but the larger tractor would need a bigger truck to pull it with.

Thanks, that is the way I'm leaning now. The woods are mostly as steep as the driveway. There are some flatter spots spread around. As you walk up behind the house where about half the acreage is it gets steeper.

I don't need a bigger truck in general and I really like the Tacoma. The new taco gets great mileage with the V6 and seems to fit the bill for my needs and it can haul up to 6500 pounds in a pinch but probably not on much of the driveway due to the slope. I think I'll eventually end up with a smaller tractor with filled tires and 4WD... still thinking the L2501 possibly. I don't plan on hauling the tractor up the steep part of the driveway. I'll just drive it up and down.

But for now I think in order of purchase it will be:

Taco, plow, and good chains
ATV and ATV dump trailer - probably a Honda Foreman ATV with locking diff, 4WD
Tractor and trailer

I already have a small trailer that was left at the property by the previous owner which I can hook up to my Subaru or taco in the future for hauling gravel and wood.

 

[TnAndy]

Put skid shoes on a rear blade so you don't blade that gravel into the ditch.

Yep...if you use a regular grader blade or truck mounted plow, you'll roll much of your gravel up with the snow, and be applying new gravel a LOT. I turn my grader blade 180 degrees around, then angle it about 15-20 degrees to left or right, and use the backside of it to roll snow out of the way on my gravel drive. Works fine up to 8" or so of snow...and doesn't tear out the gravel.

Definitely buy a stand alone wood splitter. I went the 3 pt hitch route first, then later used it at the foundation of a stand alone build...adding pump/motor/tank/wheels/etc. Most splitters use a 16gpm, TWO STAGE pump at a minimum. Most small tractor hydraulics are in the 5-9gpm range. It will split, just very slow cycle times. Plus you have that 'scorpion tail' thing going when you want to use the tractor to move logs/etc. Plus you're running up hours on your tractor, and using a 20-40hp engine where 8-10hp splitter engine will do fine. Don't buy any splitter without a Honda engine....yeah...made that mistake too, put a 8hp Tecumseh on first time.....went Honda when it finally (thankfully) wore out.

Be VERY careful about hauling much weight in an ATV trailer....stopping is the problem....especially on a grade. ATVs don't have the weight to stop a trailer with 500lbs in it.

 

[jenkinsph]

My suggestions would be,
stand alone wood splitter
30 to 35hp tractor 4x4 hydro with fel, 5' box blade, 6' rear blade with skid shoes and a rear carry all on the 3 pt hitch .

I would skip the trailer for hauling fire wood and load the fel and carry all as this is much easier to maneuver in the woods. Less likely to get stuck in the woods.

You will find you need to be able to grade the gravel uphill, moving it back in place. That takes a little more tractor to manage on the steep grades.

When you buy your tractor consider paying the additional fee for pick up and delivery for warranty repairs. You may find this to be cheaper than buying a truck and trailer suitable for hauling it yourself. While a small truck can be successful hauling the tractor and trailer on a good roadway it may not be able to handle your road. Consider the chances of the tractor being inoperative on your land, and how you will retrieve it.

More to the point, inexperienced operators, steep hills combined with heavy trailers can be dangerous and not fun. Please give that some thought.

 

[airbiscuit]

If it was me, I would prefer a 35-40 hp tractor. That said, I think you are leaning toward 25hp. That might make sense for navigating around in the woods. Here is what that could look like:

Stumps are a pain to remove with a CUT. The best thing is to ignore them, hire it done, or only do it occasionally.

Snowplowing your 1 mile road presents a challenge. I like the truck plow option the best. A 3pt snowblower would also be an option. For the big bad blizzard, it might be best to hire it done. What is the typical snow accumulation per storm?

Go out to the dealers and start doing test drives. That will give you a sense of what feels comfortable to you.

 

[dickfoster]

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!

If it's that steep you might be better off with a track loader or a small dozer. Maybe even two machines.

 

[jeff9366]

When I mentioned a dump trailer I was thinking a smaller trailer geared towards ATV use for moving around 1/4-1/2 cord of logs at a time. My wood needs will work out to around 3-6 cord a year once we move down there permanently.

Consider a Three Point Hitch mounted Pat's Easy Mover. I like the Easy Mover because of its dumping feature. TRANSPORT BOXES are huge in Europe, where fewer tractors are sold with FELs. With your FEL bucket and a Pat's Easy Mover on the 3-Pt you can move considerable wood volume every trip and dump both ends exactly where you wish. I see no reason why you could not utilize a 72" Easy Mover on an L2501 or L3560 tractor, if wood is packed so load could not shift. No issue with a trailer pushing an ATV, then jackknifing.

Get a tractor BEFORE you get an ATV. If you must have an ATV consider the transmission carefully. With your hills and desire to haul heavy green wood, a Hydrostatic (HST) transmission is the sole choice which will be reliable. Additionally, HST provides automatic engine braking going downhill.

I always seek the simple solution. Get a tractor BEFORE you get an ATV. You do not need TWO engines, one diesel, one gas. Two fuels which you will be hauling in five gallon containers then tip-filling TWO vehicles. The tractor can do it all.

PAT'S EASY MOVER VIDEO: Pat's Easy Mover in action - YouTube

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