Buying Advice Looking at first time tractor

[Beyondfubar]

Hey all first post I think, been here a few months though.

I got 5 acres of some rough Texas hill country, top 2 are extremely flat and very roughly landscaped, bottom ~3 acres drop about 20 feet then level out nicely but is full of fist sized rocks with some good dirt where I don't have bedrock coming right up to the surface. Have been wanting to bring in enough dirt to make it grass friendly but possibly also get one of those buckets that hauls rock but leaves dirt.

I've got other plans as well, possibly digging a irrigation system for the lawn (backhoes are rather expensive as it turns out, jury is definitely out on that one) maybe a sewer line to my septic from the shop, dig out the driveway to form concrete, yank out a fence or two, build a new one.

Been to a green and orange dealer and they've told me roughly the same thing: "Here is our 25 horse tractor, please don't attempt to lawn mow with it" yeah I originally thought one tool for all jobs, I'm past that, sorta.

Then I noticed that the Ls guys were cheaper, had a decent fan base and out of the box seem to out lift the direct competition! For the same price as a L2501 I could get a gently used 50 horse or a new 40 horse LS. The dealer is a bit further away (still acceptable though) so I haven't visited yet. So I guess my question to you veterans of the tractor world is this: could I notice the difference in a 40 horse enough to make the DPF stuff worth it, or is 25 horse just fine for what I'm thinking of doing? I may start playing with bricks in adding buildings so the XR4140 looks to be able to fork a pallet of them with intense ballasting of the butt. Again first tractor though so probably work my way up to stuff like that.

Edit: Thanks for any advice btw. I assume the dealers are not as impartial as they seem and everyone else seems to be somewhat brand loyal (i.e. family knife fights between orange and green seem reasonable. Ha!)

 

[CMV]

If a primary use is a rock bucket, you need some stout FEL specs. Digging rocks is not a light duty application. I thought my FEL was really TOUGH..until I put a 72" rock bucket with teeth on it. It struggles...admittedly it's a full blown skid steer rock bucket...but even if it were 2/3 the size, would take a lot to really use it well.

 

[jeff9366]

If a primary use is a rock bucket, you need some stout FEL specs. Digging rocks is not a light duty application.

If you skip the rock work, a tractor weighing 2,700+ pounds bare, with just ender 25-horsepower to avoid Tier IV emission controls, should be ample for five hilly acres.

Even a tractor with 50-horsepower, weighing 4,000 pounds bare, is too light for rock work. You would be better served by an excavator or a tracked skid steer equipped with a rock hammer.

I've got other plans as well, possibly digging a irrigation system for the lawn, maybe a sewer line to my septic from the shop, dig out the driveway to form concrete.

Been to dealers and they told me roughly the same thing: "Here is our 25 horse tractor, please don't attempt to lawn mow with it" I originally thought one tool for all jobs.

Many here would use a $400 Subsoiler to loosen "soil" then scoop out spoil with a narrow trenching shovel. Subsoiler would also loosen up potential driveway site so spoil could be scooped out with FEL bucket, preferably with a Tooth Bar attached.
VIDEO: tractor subsoiler trenching - YouTube
tractor piranha bar - YouTube

Most of the 2,700 pound, sub-25 horsepower tractors do not have mid-PTOs available, therefore you cannot operate a MMM(mid mount mower). No reason you cannot pull a Three Point Hitch mounted Finish Mower.
VIDEO: tractor finish mower - YouTube

There is nothing wrong with LS tractors.

 

[Beyondfubar]

Sorry to mislead here my own inexperience is showing. I'm talking dig in the dirt and separate out the little fist sized rocks. I have a feeling the dirt may only be a few feet deep but I have use for both the rocks and dirt but not when they're combined. Probably have 2 acres of that stuff. Literally breaking bedrock or lifting boulders is probably not on the list, been warned to hire out for that. May rent a jackhammer to lower some bed rock in *very* small areas.

 

[Beyondfubar]

If you skip the rock work, a tractor weighing 2,700+ pounds bare, with just ender 25-horsepower to avoid Tier IV emission controls, should be ample for five hilly acres.

Even a tractor with 50-horsepower, weighing 4,000 pounds bare is too light for rock work. You would be better served by an excavator or a tracked skid steer equipped with a rock hammer.



Many here would use a $400 Subsoiler to loosen "soil" then scoop out spoil with a narrow trenching shovel. Subsoiler would also loosen up potential driveway site so spoil could be scooped out with FEL bucket, preferably with a Tooth Bar attached.
VIDEO: tractor subsoiler trenching - YouTube
tractor piranha bar - YouTube

Most of the 2,700 pound, sub-25 horsepower tractors do not have mid-PTOs available, therefore you cannot operate a MMM(mid mount mower). No reason you cannot pull a Three Point Hitch mounted Finish Mower.
VIDEO: tractor finish mower - YouTube

There is nothing wrong with LS tractors.

I knew there must be an attachment that did what I was looking for, and I think that subsoiler is exactly was I was thinking. Yeah it's beginning to look like I may have to break down and just get a small ride on for the wife for the top front and back yard, the bottom will likely be the kind of yard that is "Pretty from a distance" but will feed my goats and future cow(s). On a side note I really do not want to beat the **** out of the **** out of this poor little tractor so if there is a pull attachment that sorts rocks out and carries them to a place where I can pile them up that would be be awesome. I have to figure pulling is easier on them then FEL-ing.

 

[majorwager]

Subsoiler is fine for very shallow depths of approx 12 inches, If you are in rockey soil w/ a small tractor you will just spin the tires, all 4 of them.
Much better solution is to rent chain trencher. Subsoilers are best used to bury wire/cable for dog fence or phone/cable TV. Occasional small lawn sprinkler piping as well.

You will be frustrated trying to bury a 4 inch sewer pipe. Even a pressurized 2 inch sewer pipe which won't require a pitch, is best used in conjunction w/ a trencher.

Some members who live in warm climates where frost protection is of no concern, and their soils are very sandy, do NOT have experience w/ clay and Rocky Soils. Frost unlikely Texas concern but difficult ground requires experience.

 

[jeff9366]

Purchase an old car hood at a junkyard. Chain hood to the tractor. Use hood as a sled for your rocks.


Here are ROCK SIFTER threads from the T-B-N ARCHIVE: rock sifter site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[Snowman87]

One of my reasons for going LS was bang for the buck. Shopping in the same price range a 40-50 hp LS tractor will definitely have a much greater lift capacity than the L2501. Having more hp and sheer equipment weight will definitely help you take larger buckets of dirt at a time.

No issues with DPF for me, regens every 50 hours as noted.

 

[Beyondfubar]

Thank you all for the great advice. Only really considered the larger tractors due to them suddenly being inside the wife mandated price range, besides not knowing if 15 or so more horse power brought me up to where I'd need to be. Most of the front yard is dirt to about 2 feet, clearly brought in so that there would be a yard. Probably only going to work that with the subsoiler, though it's a mess currently (previous owner believed if one aerobic septic sprinkler was needed then 5 was better) my list of things I want to do with this tractor grows everyday though. It's good to have a bit of a sanity check on what is good for the tractor and what just won't work.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

What do you plan to do with the bottom 3 acres? Just make it look nicer? A pic would help a lot.