First tractor ... confused ....advice please!

Soundguy · Nov 8, 2018

As has been said, generally on a straight gear tractor, pick a gear and go.

Your straight gear tractors are usually the most economics option.

If you are shopping prices, and have a rural king in town, check them. $ per hp, they are pretty much the price leader. Yanmar diesels, TYM chassis. Gear, shuttle, or hydro trannies, open station or cab. Loader and hoe are options.

I've been driving antique gear tractors and wrenching on them for some time now. Just about ready to buy my first new tractor from rural king. Due to price savings I'll be able to get cab, ac, hydro tranny and about 33% more hp than if I went with red, orange, blue, or green.

Good luck!

arrow · Nov 8, 2018

Personally, I think you've got enough on your plate not to have to worry about a tractor being geared or not. What Coby Rupert stated is dead to right.
Get what you can afford that will do the work you do. That Ford in your picture is very nice but as someone mentioned, the backhoe is adding at least another 3 grand to the mix.. What you need to be sure of is parts availability with older tractors.

A larger tractor will pull 10'-12' gang mower. You'd be done in no time. I know someone who mows 5 acres with one and is tickled pink with it.
Here is what I would concentrate on rather than if a tractor is geared or hydro: Should have a fel. Should be 4wd. Should have turf tires. Should have 25-30 hp. Should weigh over 2000 lbs, What's nice about a gang mower is that you'll have no pesky pto to hook up or deck to have to take on and off. Perhaps you can buy that Ford in your picture and sell the backhoe.

xtal01 · Nov 8, 2018

Just as a bit of a twist ...

A local dealer just called .... took in a trade today and wanted to know if I was interested.

2014 Yanmar 424 ... 24 hp ...120 hours ... bucket, backhoe, snow blower .... R4 tires and chains ...$12,500 plus $750 tax ... $13,500 FIRM

plus I would need to get a finish mower ... $ ????

This is now way out of my budget .... I really wanted to stay below $10K

But ... three or four years old ... 120 hours .... sounds almost new.

I think I will pass but I wanted to know what you guys think.

Thanks so much again for all the advice!

Mike

arrow · Nov 8, 2018

It's quite a lot of tractor and implements for the money. If it's out of budget, it's out of budget. Stay firm with your criteria. There is always another tractor.

xtal01 · Nov 8, 2018

I am thinking along the same lines ...

Unless someone in the group tells me this is "a deal I just can't pass up" ... then I will let it pass.

I owe nothing on credit cards ... nothing on vehicles .... only the mortgage on the house.

It is hard to justify putting myself right to the wall (I would need to take money from the workshop I want to build and spend it on the tractor) when I drive a 32 year old truck (1986 F150 4x4) just so I can put a little extra down each month on the mortgage. The truck is nothing to look at (dents, dings, fiberglass floors, really needs a new bench seat bad, ...) but it passes inspection each year! Straight six has almost 250K on it ... but it still plows snow pretty good.

Thanks .... Mike

D2Cat · Nov 8, 2018

I'd advise you to pass. My opinion is you don't need a back hoe. To dig trenches go to town and rent a trencher. $400 and you can dig all day, and get a lot of ditch dug and backfilled. How many acres do you have to take care of?

xtal01 · Nov 8, 2018

I have three acres .... does not seem like much but it really takes me 5 plus hours just to mow ... then an hour to trim.

Like I said, I have a 54" cub cadet .... 12 years old but it still runs ... best $800 I spent.

Mike

daugen · Nov 9, 2018

Mike, if you are new to tractors, in this size range suggest you stick with hydrostatic. Will be similar to driving your car/truck and short learning curve. When you let off on the pedal you stop almost immediately. Perhaps a safer alternative for a new driver. I own both types and recommend you stick with a transmission that lets you focus on the work being done, not shifting.

Also agree with everyone here that backhoe is only a nice to have, and easy to rent for projects. You can't easily mow with a backhoe anyway and they are hard to take on and off.
A constant question asked here is do I mow with lawn mower or tractor. Almost always, the answer is get a good zero turn, even a used one. It's usually the best tool for the job while the tractor can be a big bundle of compromises. If your land is fairly flat and not a lot of trees, mowing with a rear finishing mower on a tractor is an option, I do it and the cut is excellent. But if you have lots of trees, mowing with a rear mower can be hazardous to mower and trees alike.

arrow · Nov 9, 2018

daugen said:
Mike, if you are new to tractors, in this size range suggest you stick with hydrostatic. Will be similar to driving your car/truck and short learning curve. When you let off on the pedal you stop almost immediately. Perhaps a safer alternative for a new driver. I own both types and recommend you stick with a transmission that lets you focus on the work being done, not shifting.

Also agree with everyone here that backhoe is only a nice to have, and easy to rent for projects. You can't easily mow with a backhoe anyway and they are hard to take on and off.
A constant question asked here is do I mow with lawn mower or tractor. Almost always, the answer is get a good zero turn, even a used one. It's usually the best tool for the job while the tractor can be a big bundle of compromises. If your land is fairly flat and not a lot of trees, mowing with a rear finishing mower on a tractor is an option, I do it and the cut is excellent. But if you have lots of trees, mowing with a rear mower can be hazardous to mower and trees alike.

I agree with the ease of a hydro here Daug. The hydrostatic however brings an additional expense. He can easily adapt to a geared and with mowing, the thing is like in cruise control anyway. The guy I keep talking about with the 12' gang mower has numerous tress on his 5 acre yard. They are interspersed every 50-75 feet. He simply manipulates around them and yes with a geared machine. He then gets his zero turn to trim around them but Mike can do the same thing with his 54" cutter.
This past spring I took a job at a tractor and implement dealership. One of my jobs was to put together zero-turn mowers and take in trades on like machinery. The trades were beat to crap with many needing several thousand bucks to make whole. There was only one viable zero turn out of the 14 we took in and that was from a lady who's husband had passed away and she was going to hire out her landscaping. This thing was a beauty with only 200 hrs on it. Even used, it still had a 6k price tag.
If the op has 10k to spend, I think a tractor would be the better all around machine for him.