Which tractor for small operator? 5'1" petite farm owner

[mvoght]

I haven't posted in a while, but the time is coming to think about a new tractor. I have a 2WD Case 585 (mid 80s vintage) that I bought in 2004. It has served me well, but I'm starting to want a new tractor, with a narrower footprint, and one that I can actually reach the controls on. And even if I don't decide on a new tractor, I need

The property: 15 acre horse farm with 3-4% grade (so no steep hills), riding arena maintenance, mowing, manure management, and moving snow in winter are the required uses. I'll be honest, a snow blower is desired, despite that being a silly thing in Northern Virginia...moving 3-4' drifts with a bucket gets old...fast, even if it is only once every 3-4 years.

Currently have a 93" finish mower, blade, & bucket and a 10' 3 pt hitch drag/harrow.

I took a spin (in the parking lot) of our local JD dealership, and was really thinking I'd like to go green, as I could leverage my USEF membership discount, but I hated driving the one they put me on. And, I don't think it had enough HP.

I'm likely going to have a Kubota rental/loaner next week, while my current one is in the shop, because the grass is tall! So that will give me an opportunity to drive a Kubota and see how I like the feel of that.

But, do any of you have a smaller operator in your usual drivers of your tractors?

 

[nybirdman]

The Grand L Kubota series has a moveable seat and tilt wheel;may want to check them out.With that little snow fall you may want to look at a rear blade vs a snowblower.

 

[N2DFire]

Our Kioti has an adjustable seat and even at it's farthest rearward point I feel a little "snug" at 5' 11" - esp if I have to turn to see behind me so pull the seat up some & you might be comfy.

My suggestion is to Seat Test & drive as many brands and something from the different series as you can till you find what fits you.

I tried finding a Kioti Dealer near you - best I found was
Ceresville New Holland, Inc.
8102 Liberty Road
Frederick, Maryland

They have a CK2610 & a CK3510 (among other models) and also several New Hollands (obviously) listed as on the lot in their inventory.
Might be worth the trip to check them out as well.

Best of luck in whatever you pick.

 

[mvoght]

Hmmm...I "built" (using the Kubota website) a MX5800 and an Grand L60 (I think) and there was a 10K price difference. I'll have to go "rebuild" it to see where the biggest difference is...shorter warranty on the L60 too...and more expensive.

We currently have a rear blade, and when we get hammered, the blade cannot do it. We have to spend hours moving the @#$#@ snow with the bucket. Odds are good I'll cheap out and not buy a snowblower, but if I get a tractor, I'm going to make sure it can accept a snow blower implement.

I'll sit in one. I'm thinking that anything with "Grand" in the name is probably fancier than I'll get...

And honestly, as I start pricing these things out, repairing my old one may be more attractive after all.

 

[mvoght]

Steve,

Frederick isn't too far. Thanks! It probably is worth it to check out the Kioti.

As an aside, I'm not sure I want an HST either, I think that is part of what I did not like about that JD I tried last year. I'm fond of my manual transmission.

Mel

 

[N2DFire]

Steve,

Frederick isn't too far. Thanks! It probably is worth it to check out the Kioti.

As an aside, I'm not sure I want an HST either, I think that is part of what I did not like about that JD I tried last year. I'm fond of my manual transmission.

Mel

I dunno - I spent all my life on an 8N Ford with gears and said that a Shuttle Shift would be the best thing ever - now I wish we had gotten the HST (found out I do a lot more back & forth loader work than anticipated because we never had a loader before).

But to be fair we never drove any of the HST tractors so I may not have liked it after all. LOL


If you do go - look at the New Hollands too. My Dad is over 6' and he was just way too cramped on them, even he was a bit more comfortable on the Kioti

 

[Teachu2]

Steve,

Frederick isn't too far. Thanks! It probably is worth it to check out the Kioti.

As an aside, I'm not sure I want an HST either, I think that is part of what I did not like about that JD I tried last year. I'm fond of my manual transmission.

Mel

I understand wanting a geared tractor. I'm the same way - and hunted long and hard to get what I wanted: a bare-bones 30+ hp 4x4 geared tractor with a decent FEL at a price I could live with. There were LOTS of tractors that would have done the job with HSTs, lots more than with gears.

If this tractor (which I am very happy with) was stolen tomorrow, I'd likely be looking at a HST model to replace it. Loader work is faster and easier with the HST, and I'd simply get more hp to make up the difference.

 

[Cataclysm]

I haven't posted in a while, but the time is coming to think about a new tractor. I have a 2WD Case 585 (mid 80s vintage) that I bought in 2004. It has served me well, but I'm starting to want a new tractor, with a narrower footprint, and one that I can actually reach the controls on. And even if I don't decide on a new tractor, I need

The property: 15 acre horse farm with 3-4% grade (so no steep hills), riding arena maintenance, mowing, manure management, and moving snow in winter are the required uses. I'll be honest, a snow blower is desired, despite that being a silly thing in Northern Virginia...moving 3-4' drifts with a bucket gets old...fast, even if it is only once every 3-4 years.

Currently have a 93" finish mower, blade, & bucket and a 10' 3 pt hitch drag/harrow.

I took a spin (in the parking lot) of our local JD dealership, and was really thinking I'd like to go green, as I could leverage my USEF membership discount, but I hated driving the one they put me on. And, I don't think it had enough HP.

I'm likely going to have a Kubota rental/loaner next week, while my current one is in the shop, because the grass is tall! So that will give me an opportunity to drive a Kubota and see how I like the feel of that.

But, do any of you have a smaller operator in your usual drivers of your tractors?

Looks like you are used to a tractor with about 60 engine and 52 PTO horsepower that weighs about 7,200 pounds with the FEL. If you feel that tractor is getting the job done and sized correctly you will probably want to stay in that hp/weight range so the new tractor will feel right and be able to get the jobs done that you need.

You will find a lot of the newer compact/utility tractors have a smaller operator station. I had a 5'0"/130lbs operator in my LS4155HC and they fit just fine. Seat scoots up plenty and the wheel tilts down plenty. It still fits me at 6'2"/220lbs.

First thing I would do is look for a tractor with a cab. Makes getting those chores done much easier and when the snow hits you won't be out freezing. We aren't getting any younger.

As far as the snow blower I would look for a used 3pt unit.

 

[mvoght]

I understand wanting a geared tractor. I'm the same way - and hunted long and hard to get what I wanted: a bare-bones 30+ hp 4x4 geared tractor with a decent FEL at a price I could live with. There were LOTS of tractors that would have done the job with HSTs, lots more than with gears.

If this tractor (which I am very happy with) was stolen tomorrow, I'd likely be looking at a HST model to replace it. Loader work is faster and easier with the HST, and I'd simply get more hp to make up the difference.

So, I'm used to my old tractors. One thing I love about my current tractor is that when I put it into gear and start mowing, I don't need to push any pedals. The JD with the HST would have required "cruise control" to do the same thing. Or else I would have to press the danged pedal the entire time to mow. And since it is about 8 hours of mowing to do my entire farm, I'm not really wanting to spend that long holding down a pedal.

Is this the way it is now? HST requires cruise control if you want to not push the gas pedal?

It would be a lot easier to do the manure pile management once I got used to the HST.

I probably do need to go spend some time test driving tractors. I know this is a sacrilege here, but I don't want to use my spare time shopping. I HATE shopping...well, except for horses. I like horse shopping. But, I'm going to need to go do some test driving.

 

[oldnslo]

MVO,
What do you do more often, loader work or field work? I suspect that in a 60 + HP tractor shuttle shift might provide you the best of both worlds. Drives more like a gear transmission for field work and you can shift forward to reverse without clutching and grinding gears for loader work. I have had the HST for several years and still don't like the cruise control feature on my HST.

Best of luck on your search and used may be a better choice than new since you won't have the tier 4 emission stuff to deal with.