Recommended Tractor for 4.5 acres

[Eagle1]

You could sufficiently maintain your 5 acres on the BX and I don't know the price differential without looking but I would pay at least another $4k for the B.

I tend to agree with you but now I have an "L" size tractor to go with BX and find I use the little guy as often as before it had big brother. Just have something that handles the big tasks instead of spending hours on the little one. I use a lot to clean up after the LS is done. Just not as precise on the big guy yet and may never be.
Again don't be afraid you will have buyer's remorse as soon as you commit no matter what. It will all better once you learn the new toy, er tool.

 

[Honey Badger 2828]

Weight = work for ground engaging tasks. The lighter the machine, the harder it is to get an implement into the ground or move things.

I would not go smaller than a Kubota B series (or JD 2 series) or equivalent. I am also not a fan of flail mowers...300 moving parts vs 50 on a rotary cutter. Just more to break. Personal preference here.

How much dirt needs to be moved?

Tough to estimate right now, but there is a noticeable hump around the house that funnels water back toward the foundation. I have to knock that down, add window sills for the basement, and build up material near the foundation so I can get the right slope out to 10’. I’ll probably be moving a yard or two and maybe adding the same.

The driveway is just a dirt trail currently. I’d like to level it and add gravel. For 2” of gravel, I’m looking at ~15 yards.

They probably are cheaper. If you have good dealers around for these other brands (by that I mean they have been in business over 10 years selling the same brand (not 5 different brands) and have a good reputation then I see no reason not to consider them. Demo, see what you think.

Personally I am right with ya, but dealer and parts support are more important to me than country of origin.

I would also personally recommend you stay away from rebranded machines. Bobcat, RK, Bad boy...the list goes on. Just get the original mfg version (LS, TYM, etc).

I hear ya. I’m mostly trying to avoid anything from China or India. I’m ok buying cheaper items from these countries, but I can’t bring myself to fork out that much to them. I’m not knocking anyones brand preferences, but those are mine.

You didnt say what hobby you will be partaking in on the farm? I hope its not just mowing grass! I am asking as things like hay bales , tilling, plowing could have an impact on choice.

There are currently 7 8’x20’ garden plots growing corn, squash, peppers, berries, and pears. Some plots currently lie fallow. There’s also a duck pen and coop.

I’ll use hay, but I won’t be baling. I don’t know if I’ll use a tiller attachment or a hand one. Also undecided on a plow for the time being. If I go that route, I’ll pick those up down the road.

Since you asked, my short list would be... in order of preference, Yanmar SA425 or SA324, Kubota, Massey Ferguson. Others will say it is all about the dealer, I would say it is all about the company that makes it. Now, that said, there are a lot of other great tractors out there. As far as BX vs B, night and day difference in capability due to weight, ground clearance, lift etc.

You could sufficiently maintain your 5 acres on the BX and I don't know the price differential without looking but I would pay at least another $4k for the B.

You can get a Yanmar SA425 for $20k it will outlift your B or your BX or your 1025R. It will be made by Yanmar and it will come with a 10yr warranty (Pwr train). It will also out lift the JD 2025r if that matters to you. Yanmar loads all of their tires.

I’ll check out the Yanmar line.

B vs BX in the models I’m looking at is about $1000 base price, but the belly mower and loader widen the gap to about $4000.

 

[Eagle1]

The BX bucket hold about 1/3 of a yard the B I believe is about 1/2 a yard. Spreading 15 tons (one dump truck load) of 1" minus goes fast with loader - an hour or so, with with lots of practice. At first you will spend as much time fixing what you screwed up than making things nice. If you will be using round bales the BX can push them around, even roll them into a pickup or trailer but no lifting a full bale. B or other brand that size may lift a 4x4 but it could be sketchy transport. The LS I bought don't care 4x5's - just tote em around. Any of them will run a tiller, BX and plow not so much. Maybe after it is tilled and loose soil.

 

[Rdrcr]

For the small difference in price, definitely B over BX. I don’t have much experience with Yanmar but, I really like the Massey in that size tractor. Check your local dealers.

Mike

 

[jeff9366]

Hello! I’m under contract on a house with about 4.5 acres (1.1 ac wooded) in Kansas.

jeff9366: I can't figure out how to insert my location into my T-B-N profile.


1. Click on your "illuminated" screen name in upper right corner.

2. Click on SETTINGS in drop down box.

3. On left side of screen, click on ACCOUNT DETAILS.

4. Scroll down to LOCATION.

 

[Tomtint]

Im a big fan of the BX series TLB machines. They are the Swiss army knife of homeowner tractors.

 

[shooterdon]

Do not underestimate the value of a good dealer.

if in doubt, go bigger in size.

Some folks buy a tractor or attachment for a job that is done once or every three years. Sometimes hiring it out or renting is a smarter way to go.

The "swiss army knife" approach is not always the best approach. If you have to remove and reattach a mid mount mower (MMM) to use the tractor effectively for other jobs it becomes a PITA. Another PITA is switching from the MMM to use a front mounted snow blower....at least it is on the JD 2 Series my neighbor has. But I am old with arthritis so YMMV. If you get injured, can your wife/gf switch implements and run the tractor? BTW, I had the dealer show me "how easy" it was to hook up the front blower and that was an eye opener for me and my fiancé.

As to the MMM, you can buy a decent ZT for not much more and it will do the job twice as fast. I have two acres to cut with lots of trees and stuff to deal with. I let the grass go dormant during the heat. I put 20 hours a year on the ZT and expect it will last over 30 years. I was silly and bought a better ZT than I needed to get a suspension but could have gone with a $3500 unit...it would still last 30 years.

When I upgraded, I knew I needed something bigger than the JD855 I had bought initially. I made up a list of jobs that were rarely done with the cost of contracting/renting. Had another list of jobs I needed done regularly. Then compared to the tractors that would get the job done and looked at the cost of ownership for 15 years. My tractor will be "free" after 15 years. I contract out backhoe work.

I will repeat...go bigger if in doubt.

 

[Eagle1]

I just turned 60 and my MMM still goes on and off the BX more than once a week during cutting season. Only takes a couple of minutes each way. I do have 2 60" Z turns but they do not do as well on steep slopes and out lying areas, but are way faster around obstacles. I also rake a bunch of grass clipping as bedding for the small critters and the BX win rows better. The loader comes of in 30 sec and goes on in less than minute. When you do it all time it becomes easy. We cut 10+ acres of lawn every week and another 5 to 10 of outlying areas right now. Once I retire the cattle will mow 90% for me.. right now they get the back 40 acres or so.

 

[DaBear3428]

I’ll take a look at those as well. I’d be lying if country of origin wasn’t a concern of mine though. Thanks for the recommendation!

Thanks for the models, I’ll have to see if there’s a dealer near me.

I think his is a 30 horse model. I didn’t look that high up the range because we never really used it to it’s capability, I always thought it was too much tractor for the land. I’m quickly seeing that was the wrong assumption. Unfortunately, $25k is already towards the top of my price range, so I don’t know that I could go much bigger unless some of the other brands are considerably cheaper.

Thanks for the advice.

yes the other brands can be significantly cheaper, start by finding out which brands have good dealers in a range you feel comfortable in traveling for service / purchase and then go meet them, let them tell you what they can do for you. get comfortable with the dealers and the product line, sit on the ones you think you will like, ask for references, talk to the service manager. then start zeroing in on the tractor that you need are comfortable operating (you will be spending a lot of time in the operators seat if you are lucky). very rarely do i see anyone wish they bought a smaller less capable tractor.
the
FEL is most useful for picking up things that are too heavy for you to manhandle so an FEL with 700# of lift at the pins means 550# out in the bucket or on forks then the weight of the forks/bucket/grapple between 150 - 400# leaves you with less than needed capability. IMO look for at least 1600# of FEL capability.
I would not sweat the asian origins of a tractor kubota is Japanese, most of the small JD/MF/NH etc are South Korean any way.

 

[Honey Badger 2828]

On paper, I’m really intrigued by the Yanmar SA424 & SA324, New Holland Workmaster 25S, and the Kubota B2601HSD.

There are two good Kubota dealers near me, but the NH/Yanmar dealer is a bit of a hike. I like the Deere, but the 2-series is considerably more expensive for the capabilities compared to the others.

 

[JasperFrank]

"Personally I am right with ya, but dealer and parts support are more important to me than country of origin."

I have to ask why this is important? I think it is completely unimportant. You can order anything, even if its a Russian made tractor. Why do you need a dealer at all? They fired off all their experienced staff for low wage workers that have no idea how the machine works or should work. I would never trust my machine to a dealer. I'd find where all those experienced people went after being fired. Have everything fixed there. No up-sale and no bull crap you get from a dealer.

 

[Yander]

I don't think you could go wrong with any of those you listed. If you are not using the tractor for providing you a living, dealer location is less important. If you are having the dealer do all of the service, might want to stay within an hour to keep the transport costs down.

If you are doing the oil yearly yourself and other general maint. items. I think the dealer location is way overrated. I would rather have THE tractor I want 365 days a year than the tractor I settled for because the once every couple year trip to the dealer is closer. I would at the very least, go sit on all of them, talk to a sales person. Then decide.

If you are intrigued by the SA425 on paper, go sit on it.

 

[ljjhouser]

1. Bigger
2. NOTHING that does not have a loader

 

[ljjhouser]

OH , also welcome to TBN - Good place to be.

 

[RalphVa]

I had a 1025R for less than 2 years. Admitedly, it was a lemon but not much more than the 2025R I got after. I highly recommend the B2301 with FEL. That is what I wanted because I wanted the equivalent of a 2 series JD but really only need about 19 hp based on having a JD 4010 the first 9 years (like a 2019E if made today). Could only get a B2601 with FEL; so, that's what I have now since January.

I mow around the house (about 1/2 acre) with a Ryobi ZT 48v but do trails and other areas with a RC2048 Frontier brush hog.

We have 8.5 acres. My neighbor has only 5 but has a 40 hp JD. What you want to do only needs 18-19 hp. Bigger is not better.

 

[ljjhouser]

25K should buy a great used Kubota L4701. or maybe 30 K with interest free financing. Keep looking. 40 hp range will be much heavier frame - wider implements, more features.

I don't know how old you are, but maybe you can relate to this. When I was young I decided to buy a computer. Stores were far and few between, so I went to a place called Crazy Dave's computers. The salesman IMMEDIATELY ask "what are you going to use it for?" That was 1982, DOS operating system. I didn't know what to say and then said I guess replacing my typwriter and making graphs. I had no idea. The answer is really EVERYTHING.

Now, the tractor. You have had experience with them and that is a great start. You know mowing will be a main use. That is good. Now you may want to decide just how long do you want to spend mowing. How is the tractor going to do in damp weather (that traction thing.) I always run out of traction when working before the tractor boggs down. Always enough hp. So I can add ballast if needed. Like a box blade when using loader.

When someone now asks me about that I use it for, I just say "About everything." Mowing, moving dirt, building onto the road, maintaining the road with 1" base rock, Loading the trash (1 time a month) to haul to the transfer station, removing stumps, scraping the road after a heavy rain, and the list goes one. Get what you will be comfortable with. There are also well cared for used tractors 5-10 years old that can last a lifetime. But hard to find. There was a thread this morning with pictures of a Kubota used - very nice. He had just purchased it.

I love my tractor. If I had to put a Gps on somewhere to keep track of it, my wife says it would be the tractor. OH wait, it has a GSP. Ha Best wishes.

 

[sea2summit]

Don't limit yourself to orange and green. Red (Massey, Mahindra, TYM and Branson) and blue (LS and New Holland) are every bit as capable and usually cost quite a bit less.

Every tractor has great things and not so great things, some of those you’ve listed are experiencing some pretty significant parts shortages due to their supply chain origins. Just a point to think about through all the brands.

 

[Torvy]

On country of origin...that gets tricky and muddled.

Deere is like GM, you would think USA, but many of the components, including engines, come from Japan (Yanmar)

Kubota (Japan) mostly makes their own stuff, but has some assembly and distribution in the US.

TYM (S. Korea) makes their own and others tractors. They also own Branson and the Kukje engine. TYM has a lot of assembly and distribution locations in the US as well. Currently expanding in Georgia to build here as well.

LS (S. Korea) makes their own and also builds units for CNH (Case and New Holland). They build tractors in Korea, China and Brazil.

Kioti (S. Korea) makes their own using their parent company's Daedong engine. Kioti also makes the tractors for Bobcat. They have a US plant in N.C.

Mahindra (India) is a little more tricky as they make some of their own, but they also sell tractors built by other manufacturers, such as TYM. They have a factory in China, but I don't believe those are exported to the US. Mahindra has assembly and distribution across the US.

This is just a loose summary of some of the brands. Get yourself the tractor that does what you need for the best value (which includes the local dealership quality).

 

[sea2summit]

Hi HB.........

.I'm on 3 acres in Kansas and on my third Kubota with all the common attachments..... Also I have a Cyclone Rake, a Stump Grinder and Chipper. In your case, I'd consider moving up to a HP similiar to your Dad's....i.e. around 40 HP....and then maybe a ZT for yard mowing.

Cheers,
Mike

I’m with this, I had two different BXs. Both of them sucked rear end as a mower. I should have gone B with a zero turn. Honestly if I was looking at a 25HP Kubota I’d look real hard at the B or L because the weight is what gets work done not to mention their vastly superior FEL and 3PT capacity and speed over the BX. I think the 1025, or any other brand’s sub-compact suffers from this. Great for suburbia maybe 1-3 acres but beyond that you really get your money’s worth out of the heavier larger frame tractors.

And to my original point before I sidetracked myself, zero turn all the way. I’ve had MMm and a 84” rear finish mower on my MX, none mowed as nicely or as fast as a cheap zero turn.

 

[sea2summit]

John deere 9series. Probably go with duals all around. Maybe triples if you mow a lot

And 3PT lift assists hydraulics.