Tractor Sizing GUIDE: Shopping/Sizing A Tractor (Development version)

[majorwager]

Daugen,

Perhaps you appropriately determined the proper thread title in your 3rd paragraph above, "My Way or the HIghway".

Agree w/ sentiments expressed in Rock Crawler post.

 

[jeff9366]

It's like when you offer that relative you don't really like another night in the guest bedroom, but hope to god they don't take you up on it.

If you read Post #1 and compare it to Post #119 / Revision 7 you will notice several changes authored by contributors, which I inserted verbatim or edited slightly. The bar is high after five months.

Since Post #1 I have considered primarily insertion ready information. General comments, while I read and ponder them, are not seriously considered because of my resolve to keep guide short.

 

[s219]

Many (most) of us have gone through an upgrade(s). I think it's common to buy one tractor, use it for a bunch of years and learn, then once you have figured out your unique needs and uses, make a very educated decision about your next tractor.

This "relative" way to think about tractors, where you learn for yourself on tractor A and can make an educated decision about tractor B, will be perfectly customized to each individual and each property and each set of needs/uses.

If I am detecting a common theme here, it's that people have gone through this same process but come to different conclusions.

 

[jeff9366]

My suggestion: ~~ retitle it something along the lines of Why Weight Is An Important Consideration

Inspiring idea. But as you may not know, T-B-N titles cannot be edited after one hour.

 

[/pine]

In anything but heavy/commercial ground engaging applications...The most profound difference between a smaller, lighter tractor and bigger, heavier tractor is the amount of time required to perform the same typical use tasks...

Using typically common attachments a small, light tractor can do the exact same work a large heavy tractor can do...just not as efficiently time wise...

Don't buy more tractor than you actually need...

 

[majorwager]

S219,

It seems you are correct in that conclusions and opinions are very different on this topic. A "guide" that blatantly ignores relative input from other members and driven by a hyperactive ego is simply a flawed opinion.

Stated previously, folks w/ disposable income are reasonably intelligent and savvy, doubt they will read through the alternative positioned posts, and fail to note the glaring conflicts in the single sided "tractor weight" purchasing factor.

EDIT: As usual, SLASH PINE arrives with a sound perspective also expressed by his fellow members as well.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

"Most tractors under 3,000 pounds bare weight operate in residential or hobby farm applications on one to five flat acres."

There's a guy on youtube with large pumpkin farm on flat land who has an eMax 20XL (smallest they make) and is quite happy with it. I personally would have gone up a size or two there, but "one size does not fit all."

 

[rngrrymd]

Since Post #1 I have considered primarily insertion ready information. General comments, while I read and ponder them, are not seriously considered because of my dedication to keep guide short.

I don't think you need to keep your document as short as you have it, Jeff. Honestly, if someone comes looking on this tractor board for info and help and sees what is listed as a guide to tractor buying they will go to that thread and read at least the full initial post and quite possibly the whole thread. I think you are under-estimating the intelligence of a person that consciously decides to go looking for information to help him/her make the right purchase. The people that wouldn't read your whole document because it is too long wouldn't come here anyways and would just go the dealership and go buy a tractor without research anyways. They'll buy what Uncle Carl told them was good, or their neighbor has one, or whatever the salesman at the lot feels like selling them in their budget. I understand your desire to be concise but since it is listed as a "shopping guide" it should have as complete of info as possible even if that takes it to a full page or a little over.

This board has a diverse group of individuals with different experiences and opinions which is hard to get into one short document but right now I still say that the working document this thread is about is incomplete because great info to add to it has been suggested and it has been declined. There is more value at this point to reading the entire thread to get all the extra comments and info than that document provides. I will say again, please don't under-estimate those that come here for info - I read the entire thread and I already bought my tractor. Those "newbies" that come here are capable of reading the entire thread and a slightly longer document/guide as well.

In my post earlier I agreed with Piston's list of task, implements/attachments/capability of tractor/weight and then I put based on budget consider the tractors that can meet those requirements. The reality is that the #1 driving force for all tractor purchases is PRICE. If a person does all their homework, follows points 1-4 I have listed and decide they need a 4,000 lb tractor but then realize that tractor is out of their price range then they have a choice:
1. don't buy a tractor
2. scale back the list of tasks required to comply with their budget
3. buy too little tractor and make do until they have money to go bigger

We can only try to help inform someone to help them make the right choice of tractor including understanding how weight affects the performance of the tractor. The importance of having a complete guide for those that come looking for info is that the tbn community can properly help educate someone so they buy the right tractor in their price range instead of the wrong tractor in their price range. That should be the goal.

Happy 4th of July everyone!! I'm headed out to friends for bbq and swimming. Be safe.

 

[sd455dan]

Well in post #1 Jeff did post this:


I have been revising this screed for three days.
I seek outside criticism and input.
FIRE AWAY!



Buy enough tractor still makes (some) sense to me, tractors do seem to shrink when a person gets some seat time in.

And after reading /pine's recent post

"Using typically common attachments a small, light tractor can do the exact same work a large heavy tractor can do...just not as efficiently time wise..."

Agree with the statement- But as a counterpoint

What if you need to load a truck or lift an object higher than the limited height of some of these CUT loaders or It just doesn't have quite enough FEL lift capability to unload a pallet off a truck.
Or you can get a great deal on a heavy duty box blade or other 3 point attachment- but because a small CUT was purchased it wont lift it - let alone pull it. 2 of my used implements were acquired this way,
because of CUT owners thinking their tractor could handle the implement and then finding out they did not buy enough tractor.

In another case a local hay seller was reluctant at 1st to deliver hay to us because he had his time wasted the previous week by 2 CUT owners that said their tractor was more than capable of of unloading his trailer but when he arrived could not budge the bales. The guy had to turn around and drive back with a full load in 1 case, in the other there was a neighbor with a larger heavier tractor that was able to off load the bales.

Other than working in very tight areas or worrying about a bit of lawn damage on a wet day
buying a bit larger framed/weight tractor has few drawbacks and maybe some advantages like a better ride
due to larger tires

That said, still planning on eventually getting a smaller CUT or even SCUT to compliment my main tractor- for the smaller jobs- tight barn stall cleanouts.
In tight spaces the bigger machine does get a bit cumbersome but The difference sometimes is inconvenience versus not being able to do the job at all.

Obviously this would also apply to the tractor flat out being to big to get in or out of an area- in which case a smaller tractor is vital.

ps.

Happy Independence Day Everyone

 

[rbstern]

Jeff, I admire your willingness to attempt the guide. What follows is intended as constructive criticism.

I think you may be approaching the guide backwards, because:

There are a relatively finite number of tractor models on the market. There is an even smaller number of types/size groups of tractors (SCUT, CUT, utility, etc.).

It's much easier to summarize/generalize what a particular type of tractor does well, and doesn't do so well, than it is to try to distill the infinite potential uses and circumstances for all buyers. Simple evaluations like "weight matters most" or "horsepower is less important than you think," don't universally apply.

IMHO, a better approach to your guide would be describing the types of tractors available, and then expanding a bit to cover critical features. For example:

SCUT - description of typical weight range, horsepower range, available features, example models, and an open ended list of things these machines are designed to do, and what they will struggle to do (or simply take longer to do).

CUT - Same as you did for SCUT.

Utility - Ditto.

Etc.

Of course there will be exceptions, like machines that fall between these categories; this can be lightly highlighted without getting lost in the weeds.

And there are always issues that need further explaining, such as major accessories like loaders and backhoes, which are more costly (or impossible) to add later and would ideally be purchased with the tractor.

And there can be a more in depth coverage of key issues like why 4WD is important for some tasks. Or that a gear drive tractor excels at some uses, while hydrostatic offers easier operation and better suitability to other tasks. Actually, 2wd/4wd and transmission type probably each need a paragraph or two, since they are critical decisions, regardless of tractor size.

You could further expand the guide with very lightweight coverage of features like power steering, tire tread choices, ballast, etc., each described briefly and independent of the other issues.

Another section might be titled "Beyond a tractor: Should you be choosing something other than a tractor for what you want to do?"

Most of all, stress that the right tractor is the one the buyer can afford, is most comfortable operating, and is properly equipped for safely performing the most common tasks the user expects to use the tractor for.