Buying Advice A tractor for 35 wooded acres

[TractorTYMe]

I have a TYM T474 I maintain 30 acres with, I've put 87h on it since July. LOVE this thing

 

[Williy]

Here is a great tractor:

Warranty: 2 year bumper to bumper per say and 10 year on drive
train

My advice is test drive all the different tractors as when you get advice
its all personnel opnion so its best to test drive so you will know what
fits your or fills your wants

willy

 

[ericm979]

Consider the 20 series Branson instead of the 15. It's a larger frame which will be more stable and has more loader capacity.

The Branson BH requires removing the 3pt hitch arms. I also remove the hydraulic top link and replace it with a turnbuckle style one. It takes me 15-20 minutes to remove/replace if everything goes well.

 

[Aquamoose]

+1 on the Branson. The dealer where I bought my 3520h is 700 mikes away. I chose the Branson for two primary reasons, it outlifts the next competitor by 800 lbs and it’s the heaviest in its class.

I service my own tractor so if you’re handy, it may be the one for you.

 

[ripHST]

thanks for the BH input deezler. I get what you're saying and am pondering if that's a better route for me, but I'm leaning toward getting it because of the "buy once, cry once" principle. I know that every time I plop down $6-800 for rental and have to go and get it and then worry about getting it back in time.....well, there will be less anguish just buying it now. granted, less capable then a rented excavator. now....you want to see crying.....it'll be me if I buy the BH and still find I need to rent an excavator.

 

[ripHST]

Consider the 20 series Branson instead of the 15. It's a larger frame which will be more stable and has more loader capacity.

The Branson BH requires removing the 3pt hitch arms. I also remove the hydraulic top link and replace it with a turnbuckle style one. It takes me 15-20 minutes to remove/replace if everything goes well.

+1 on the Branson. The dealer where I bought my 3520h is 700 mikes away. I chose the Branson for two primary reasons, it outlifts the next competitor by 800 lbs and it’s the heaviest in its class.

I service my own tractor so if you’re handy, it may be the one for you.

I might be able to make it work, but I'm actually afraid to go too big. I don't think I'll have a lot of heavy stuff to move with the loader and I plan to do a lot of woods work. Also, hate to say it, I think I've crossed the Branson of the list for now. It's more money than the others and doesn't offer enough more....based on offers I have on the table. Depending on how things go with the other tractors, I may reconsider. Good to know there are guys like you that like them....seems like it could be a solid choice.

 

[ripHST]

I have a TYM T474 I maintain 30 acres with, I've put 87h on it since July. LOVE this thing

That is impressive. I've got a question.....I saw you guys discussing the 3rd function on the TYM in another thread. Am I right that they come with the valve from the factory, as well as the controller on the joystick, and it just needs to be plumbed to be operational? this is what I've gathered, but when I talked to the salesman on the phone, he acted like he never heard of that. Said it doesn't come with anything 3rd function related from the factory. I was quoted $1300 for the option, which seemed like a lot for hoses, but I know nothing about hydraulics at this point and he may be right about what the tractor does or does not come with.....he should be anyway. How did you go about getting your 3rd function? And, is that a TYM grapple?

 

[ripHST]

Warranty: 2 year bumper to bumper per say and 10 year on drive
train

My advice is test drive all the different tractors as when you get advice
its all personnel opnion so its best to test drive so you will know what
fits your or fills your wants

willy

This probably should have been on my list willy.....but the dealers are kind of far and when I did the build on their website, the price was so far above other manufacturers I crossed it off the list early. Good looking machine though.

Tractors are going so fast these days, I don't think I'll have time to start with another tractor. same story at all of the dealers around here.

 

[TractorTYMe]

That is impressive. I've got a question.....I saw you guys discussing the 3rd function on the TYM in another thread. Am I right that they come with the valve from the factory, as well as the controller on the joystick, and it just needs to be plumbed to be operational? this is what I've gathered, but when I talked to the salesman on the phone, he acted like he never heard of that. Said it doesn't come with anything 3rd function related from the factory. I was quoted $1300 for the option, which seemed like a lot for hoses, but I know nothing about hydraulics at this point and he may be right about what the tractor does or does not come with.....he should be anyway. How did you go about getting your 3rd function? And, is that a TYM grapple?

Yes, the joystick comes prewired with the buttons, the TYM hard piped kit includes all the solenoids and hydraulic hoses need in addition, plugs are there preinstalled. The grapple is an Homestead Implements root grapple out of NY. I had mine (3rd function) installed by dealer, and mine was $1k extra in addition for purchase of the tractor.

 

[ericm979]

Tractors get a lot smaller during the first few months of operation. The Bransons have a tighter turning radius than other tractors their size. I operate in tight quarters a lot and it's not been a problem for me. I've reached or exceeded the loader's capacity picking up logs with the grapple. CUT loaders can pick up more at ground level than at full height, and can often lift more than they can curl. I've carried logs back to my processing area with the grapple pointing down because it couldn't curl the log up. Of course I would not lift a heavy log to full height, that's begging for a rollover.