Buying Advice In the market for a new tractor

[Bluesman]

Hello all. New to the forum and could use a little advice. We have a small quarter horse farm and also raise Australian Shepard. Sitting on about 11 acres. The time has come to purchase a tractor. We have pretty much all the major brands nearby. That said we are really leaning towards the Massey Ferguson 1700 e series. They seem to have everything we need and nothing we don't. The tractor would need to handle round bales of hay once or twice a month. Also bush hogging pasture and maintaining 1/4 mile long private road. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[MAN IN BLACK]

You won't be disappointed, MF builds great sturdy tractors.
I would look at something in 35hp range tractor...can do just about any jobs on a small farm with this range.
Small enough for tight fits in the woods and yet big enough and plenty of power for pulling,tilling, mowing, FEL work.

 

[Bluesman]

Really like the 1734e. I think it would be all we need.

 

[jeff9366]

The tractor would need to handle round bales of hay once or twice a month.

You can move round bales using a small tractor with Bale Forks mounted on the Three Point Hitch, but not lift the round bales more than 18". The MF 1734e has a Three Point Hitch lift capacity of 1,600 pounds, INCLUDING THE BALE FORKS. Round bales may exceed 1,600 pounds when damp.

You can lift, stack and load trailers with a 3,500 pound bare tractor with SSQA (Skid Steer Quick Atttach) Bale Forks mounted on the Front End Loader and counterbalance mounted on the Three Point Hitch.

What does HANDLE round bales mean to you?


TractorData.com Massey Ferguson 1734E tractor information

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

1200lb lift on the FEL should be able to handle the round bales fine with proper ballast. In my hunt JD, Mahindra, Case and NH (no massy around here) were the only ones with heavy enough lift capacities on the FEL for a round bale, they range in weight of 750-1500lbs so be sure to ask whoever you buy them from a ball park what they weight.

On bush hogging you need around 5hp per foot of mower, you can get away with less but you will have to drive really slowly. I see most people like to use 6ft bush hogs.

Also no matter what tractor you get, remember to keep bales low during transport and keep 4x4 engaged on any slopes or your only gonna have a light rear end to slow you down.

As far as the road maintenance, a garden tractor with a 3pt can maintain a driveway lol, unless your doing ground engaging any compact with a land plane will do you just fine.

(There is a guy on here that has a 4 wheel steer 700 series JD with a 5ft land plane he uses for existing gravel road maintenance)

 

[Bluesman]

The round bales we get are 800 to 900 pounds. Never wet...not too good for horses.

 

[jeff9366]

The round bales we get are 800 to 900 pounds. Never wet...not too good for horses.

How high do you need to lift the round bales?

 

[Bluesman]

Just get them off the truck or trailer and into hay shelter. We peel off and feed from there.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I think you may find a 35hp tractor to be a little too small for handling round bales, depending on how high they are stacked on a truck or trailer. How high would the bale spear need to go to spear the bales, raise them up and lift them off the truck or trailer?

Please understand that the lift ratings for most tractor front-end loaders is measured at the loader pins. If you have a 5x5 or 5x6 round bale on a bale spear, a lot of the weight is 3-5 feet forward of the pins.

Plus, as someone else mentioned, the bale spear's weight eats up some of your lift capacity.

The golden rule for tractor buying is to figure out what size you need, and then buy one size bigger. It costs a LOT less to upgrade to the next bigger size the first time, than it does to buy too small and then lose your shirt trading up to a bigger tractor.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I think you may find a 35hp tractor to be a little too small for handling round bales, depending on how high they are stacked on a truck or trailer. How high would the bale spear need to go to spear the bales, raise them up and lift them off the truck or trailer?

Please understand that the lift ratings for most tractor front-end loaders is measured at the loader pins. If you have a 5x5 or 5x6 round bale on a bale spear, a lot of the weight is 3-5 feet forward of the pins.

Plus, as someone else mentioned, the bale spear's weight eats up some of your lift capacity.

The golden rule for tractor buying is to figure out what size you need, and then buy one size bigger. It costs a LOT less to upgrade to the next bigger size the first time, than it does to buy too small and then lose your shirt trading up to a bigger tractor.

HP has nothing to do with lift capacity, very very little, it's all hydraulic pressure.

Here is two examples, 1. Ballast is very important with little compacts. 2. Proof a little tractor can lift a round bale, this one is 26hp, I remembered this video because my buddy bought a 2013 28XL last fall and was concerned about what it was capable of.

Mahindra 26XL lift test...lol - YouTube

With a proper ballast this little tractor could unload a single stacked trailer, it has the lift capability to double stack round bales, on paper it should.

The 26XL is rated at 1400lb lift capacity at 84 inches

http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default/files/tractor/pdf/23386 MAH54MAXT4 MAX Ser Bro 092016_0.pdf

I personally would step up to the 1500 series frame to handle a lot of round bales when weight is more your friend.

 

[MAN IN BLACK]

Have you considered buying used ?
In that case you could go a few step bigger machine and spend the same or little less money.
A 2600 series tractor used.. if you can get your hands on one,is a much heavier and more lift capacity for the same horsepower compact.
You now have a bigger frame, bigger hydraulic pumps...wich means more flow for heavier lifts, and an overall heavier, more stable tractor (a real agriculture utility tractor).

The 2600 serie is a plain machine with no bells and whistles.

 

[jeff9366]

New to the forum and could use a little tractor advice. The tractor would need to handle round bales of hay once or twice a month. Also bush hogging pasture and maintaining 1/4 mile long private road. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hoofed animals pack ground like nothing else. Even though you are buying feed, your pasture will be more productive and easier on the horses if you aerate the ground every fourth year, or 1/4 of total area annually. There are many, many soil aerators in the market. The simplest is a subsoiler. The most expenisve is a Hay King/Miller pasture renovator.
Both are PRIMARY TILLAGE implements.

SUBSOILER VIDEO: subsoiler keylining - YouTube

HAY KING VIDEO: hay king pasture renovator - YouTube

HAY KING LINK: Hay King Renovators - Hay King - Miller

 

[mike69440]

HP has nothing to do with lift capacity, very very little, it's all hydraulic pressure.

Here is two examples, 1. Ballast is very important with little compacts. 2. Proof a little tractor can lift a round bale, this one is 26hp, I remembered this video because my buddy bought a 2013 28XL last fall and was concerned about what it was capable of.

Mahindra 26XL lift test...lol - YouTube

With a proper ballast this little tractor could unload a single stacked trailer, it has the lift capability to double stack round bales, on paper it should.

The 26XL is rated at 1400lb lift capacity at 84 inches

http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default/files/tractor/pdf/23386 MAH54MAXT4 MAX Ser Bro 092016_0.pdf

I personally would step up to the 1500 series frame to handle a lot of round bales when weight is more your friend.

Those who have read my threads know I have worked my Max28 hard , occasionally lifting an moving over 1,000 lbs, but after watching this Video and a few others, I come to realize why manufactures are afraid to put beefy loaders on small tractors.

The pure stupidity of attempting a maximum weight lift with weight that far forward, and then some one in the video saying "Ok Lift it to max height" I wonder if the operator had his seat-belt on?

PS that was a small round bale.
Heavy lifts should be done in 2WD. If the rears spin, put the weight down and find a bigger tractor.
Mahindra MAX28XL lifting with Titan pallet forks - YouTube
At least there was the counterweight of a backhoe in the above video.
IMHO the 2545 is as small a tractor you would want to single stack round bales. The 2545 has limited lift height.

Many damp large bales weigh over 1,500 Lbs. I would not attempt that with my Max28, even with my curl cylinder upgrades and my large counterweight. The loader is jerky and the tractor frame too small, just too dangerous.

 

[Bluesman]

Have you considered buying used ?
In that case you could go a few step bigger machine and spend the same or little less money.
A 2600 series tractor used.. if you can get your hands on one,is a much heavier and more lift capacity for the same horsepower compact.
You now have a bigger frame, bigger hydraulic pumps...wich means more flow for heavier lifts, and an overall heavier, more stable tractor (a real agriculture utility tractor).

The 2600 serie is a plain machine with no bells and whistles.

I have looked at used, but everything I see in this area seems to be too small. The dealer I'm looking at also carries Mahindra and Case. They also have lease return machines from a nursery that have 200 - 300 hrs. These are generally Case Farmall machines. I would love to have one of those., but I don't really know when they will have one. My hay supplier buys those just to move bales around and load customers and has good luck with them.

 

[Bluesman]

Hoofed animals pack ground like nothing else. Even though you are buying feed, your pasture will be more productive and easier on the horses if you aerate the ground every fourth year, or 1/4 of total area annually. There are many, many soil aerators in the market. The simplest is a subsoiler. The most expenisve is a Hay King/Miller pasture renovator.
Both are PRIMARY TILLAGE implements.

SUBSOILER VIDEO: subsoiler keylining - YouTube

HAY KING VIDEO: hay king pasture renovator - YouTube

HAY KING LINK: Hay King Renovators - Hay King - Miller

We do this already but we have to pay someone. Just one reason to buy a tractor of our own.

 

[Grandad4]

Those who have read my threads know I have worked my Max28 hard , occasionally lifting an moving over 1,000 lbs, but after watching this Video and a few others, I come to realize why manufactures are afraid to put beefy loaders on small tractors.

The pure stupidity of attempting a maximum weight lift with weight that far forward, and then some one in the video saying "Ok Lift it to max height" I wonder if the operator had his seat-belt on?

PS that was a small round bale.
Heavy lifts should be done in 2WD. If the rears spin, put the weight down and find a bigger tractor.
Mahindra MAX28XL lifting with Titan pallet forks - YouTube
At least there was the counterweight of a backhoe in the above video.
IMHO the 2545 is as small a tractor you would want to single stack round bales. The 2545 has limited lift height.

Many damp large bales weigh over 1,500 Lbs. I would not attempt that with my Max28, even with my curl cylinder upgrades and my large counterweight. The loader is jerky and the tractor frame too small, just too dangerous.

+1 Well stated.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

One thing you can do is pick up a few of those tractor trader magazines, that's how I found the tractor I have now, it was a used machine sold by a farmer that buys and sells equipment.

He had two tractors I was interested in, I chose the 4320 JD and I called up my buddy to come look at this 28XL with a backhoe, FEL and 60in belly deck, he ended up buying it. Both really good deals.