Buying Advice Need Help Deciding Which Tractor to Go With

[Slowpoke Slim]

OP,

You're saying you have slopes of 30 to 35 degrees?

Not "percent grade"?

That is some pretty serious slopes. And you plan on mowing these slopes?

 

[3gunr]

I would go with a compact and not a subcompact , you get a lot more tractor for not much more money. Dont let the green and orange guysmake your mind up lots of other colors with more options for less money. I have over 2000 hrs on my three compacts and have never seen a dealerfor repairs, My 2 mahindras are great tractors.

 

[rgr33]

One of the big regrets many of us have had, is buying too small the first time around. It seems to me you would be happier in the long run with something in the 30 hp range.

 

[Aquabird]

I just purchased a Kubota. I am not saying it would be right for you. What I am saying is that my situation is very similar to yours. I have 7.5 acres, 4 wooded. I am getting ready to move into a new house there. I too did not want a huge payment and wanted 84 months. We will pay off our tractor after we sell the house we now live in.
When I closed the deal on my tractor, I was gonna go with the .9% for 72 months. When the dealer typed in that deal, and added my down payment, he told me that with money down, I got zero % for 72. I then asked him to figure 84 months. He then told me that with money down, I would get that for zero %. I just hope when I get my payment book, I do not get that changed, because I have not read that anywhere or heard anyone else that that. He also said he could defer my first payment to December. Now, I just got the tractor two weeks ago Friday, so I cannot say all these things will come true, but the dealer who seems to be honest told me they were.
Hope this helps. I would do like somebody else suggested and do some chores at your place with a rented or borrowed tractor first. The tractor I just got was my second. I started with a 25 gross hp tractor and with a loader, it seemed a little doggish when using my 6' finish mower.

 

[Aquabird]

Oh, yeah, I did think I should have bought bigger the first time around too.
I did not make that mistake this time. I found the tractor that I thought was big enough and then I bought bigger.

 

[rScotty]

OP,

You're saying you have slopes of 30 to 35 degrees?

Not "percent grade"?

That is some pretty serious slopes. And you plan on mowing these slopes?

That's a good point.
I don't believe there is a wheeled tractor on the market that will safely handle a 30 to 35 degree slope. Perhaps something with tracks could go straight up and down....but I wouldn't want to be on it. This is a good chance to check out Ventrac tractors. They are specially made to work on slopes. I'd also like to suggest that the Original Poster get a professional slope measurement before deciding on a tractor. Or forget working on slopes. That is just too much & too dangerous a slope.

Plus, it is beyond the natural angle of repose for a lot of soils, so if there is anything growing on a hill that steep and it is ever disturbed by driving or changing the compaction of the soil it could be decades before there will be enough root structure to hold the soil stable to grow again. You might want to talk to the local County Ag agentl about that before attempting mowing.

You've got an interesting challenge there. A simpler solution might be just ignore those hills and completely and buy any of the tractors being recommended.
Then plan to just do your tractoring on the flatter areas.

rScotty

 

[chim]

Sounds like a rear blade would work for the snow you get. For lots of years I got by OK with one for our driveway. When I started doing the parking lots at church is when I started looking for something better.

As rgr33 said, buying too small is common. For mowing, I'd stick with no less than 30 horses for a 6' deck unless the land is flat. My current setup is 42 horses for a 7-1/2' RFM and it's the nicest rig I've used. Mowed last night at a very leisurely pace because of wet grass (started at 10:30PM and finished at 12:15 this AM). That's for 3-1/2 acres and it usually doesn't take nearly that long. Just under 400 PTO RPM's gave the best results and even then there were some spots where there was some clumping. The grass was too long to wait and I have things scheduled for every evening this week.

 

[bobsaccamano41]

That's a good point.
I don't believe there is a wheeled tractor on the market that will safely handle a 30 to 35 degree slope. Perhaps something with tracks could go straight up and down....but I wouldn't want to be on it. This is a good chance to check out Ventrac tractors. They are specially made to work on slopes. I'd also like to suggest that the Original Poster get a professional slope measurement before deciding on a tractor. Or forget working on slopes. That is just too much & too dangerous a slope.

Plus, it is beyond the natural angle of repose for a lot of soils, so if there is anything growing on a hill that steep and it is ever disturbed by driving or changing the compaction of the soil it could be decades before there will be enough root structure to hold the soil stable to grow again. You might want to talk to the local County Ag agentl about that before attempting mowing.

You've got an interesting challenge there. A simpler solution might be just ignore those hills and completely and buy any of the tractors being recommended.
Then plan to just do your tractoring on the flatter areas.



rScotty

I'm only estimating with regards to the slope. And I may very well be confusing grade with slope. But my buddy that had his JD 2025 went up and down with no problem. But I see your point here. If worse comes to worse, what I'm doing now is just taking a weed eater to it every other week to keep it mowed down. While I don't want to keep doing that, if I have to it's not the end of the world (not to mention it gets the heart rate up a bit and is a decent workout).

If it also becomes a problem, one of the ideas I've had is to do a series of retaining walls with flower beds/planters, etc. That has always been my "I don't want to keep doing this and this is my last option" kind of thing. I think it would look nice, but it would take a ton of work. But that's always been an option if things don't work out with mowing.

As it relates to the higher HP - I'd love to get one in the 30 HP range, but right now, its out of my budget. And considering what I'm using now, I'm sure that whatever tractor I go with is going to be much, much better than my little poulan pro gas riding mower.

I also want to say thank you to everyone offering their advice and opinions! It is much appreciated!

The Massey dealer got back with me and the price of the 1526 is within the budget and I've called around and they have a great reputation. I've been speaking with the owner himself and he's been extremely helpful and everyone that has dealt with him has nothing but good things to say. So right now, I'm thinking the Massey is where I'm heading. But again, I'm still taking in all of these suggestions so keep them coming if any of you have other suggestions!

 

[fried1765]

Kubota and John Deere both assemble their compact tractors and sub compacts in the US. I was surprised how many of the components for a JD 2025r are made in the US. The engines on most JD smaller tractors are Yanmar.

Just my opinion, some of this based on my local dealers, but I would most likely be looking at JD or Kubota if I was looking for a new tractor.

Yup, and best resale value with JD and Kubota too.
The time may come when you decide that you did NOT.... "buy enough tractor".

 

[Diggin It]

Consider: MT225S-25HP – LS Tractor USA