1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor?

   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #21  
Good post ls tractor owner, I went against grain for this forum and got smaller tractor, for maneuverability and less damage to lawn. Deere 1025r with r -14 tires. I use smaller tractor more
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #22  
Some info on the Yanmar tractors: 10 year drive train warranty



Discounts: Exclusive Offers | YANMAR Tractor

willy
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor?
  • Thread Starter
#23  
For 1.5 acres on a slope I recommend a tractor with a bare weight of 1,800 to 2,200 pounds, rather than a tractor nearer 3,000 pounds bare weight.

A Front End Loader is a necessity for the work you have described.

You are not contemplating any serious "ground contact" work where tractor weight is key. Rather, you will be operating over your one acre lawn most of the time. I would forego "loaded" rear tires for the same reason. Counterbalance weight on the Three Point Hitch, such a the Box Blade you are considering, is much more effective pound for pound than tire ballast because of leverage and can be readily removed.









Good luck in your decision.

I originally was thinking an LX or a 2 series or a Massey 1526 as the maneuverability and size would be perfect for my yard, but would the loader on that class of machine be up for lifting and placing 800lb granite stair treads, carrying 100+ gallons of sap from the tap lines to the sugar shack on the pallet forks more or less daily during maple syrup season, and consolidating 50 cubic yards of leaf compost into concrete compost bins (yet another project on the "to do" list) and then turning/aerating it as needed?

It's mostly that list of use cases that have kept me from even thinking about a SCUT, though I honestly wish you could order a compact tractor with a SCUT-sized backhoe. The terracing projects we're looking to do involve way more filling and grading than digging, but a small backhoe for trenching etc wouldn't be awful to have.
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor?
  • Thread Starter
#24  
Some info on the Yanmar tractors: 10 year drive train warranty

...

Discounts: Exclusive Offers | YANMAR Tractor

willy

I haven't seen much of the smaller Yanmars but the local dealer had a YT235 on display at one of the fairs last year and my word, what a capable and beautifully put together machine for the price.
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #25  
The LS MT125 has a 1006 lb. lift capacity at the pins, The TYM T25 has 1380 lift capacity. The Kioti CX2510 has 1038 at the pins. The JD 1025 lifts 836 lbs at the pins.

Quite the differences..... make a spread sheet!

Most of the smaller BH's have pretty similar specs. They all dig about the same depth around 78"+/- a couple inches.

My friend bought an LS 225-S (in between sizes of the 125 and 225-E /HE. The BH has a couple more inches digging depth and has more "breakout force" than the BH on my full size 225-E.
 
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   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #26  
My buddy's little mahindra can lift more than it can handle. The hydraulics have way more capability than the tractor has ballast. Even with the backhoe on it

Keep in mind the weight of the thing is most important
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #27  
The Kioti CK2619 (or 2620) sounds like a perfect tractor for your needs! Buy it and start loving it.

 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #28  
I own a 1 series Deere and previously owned a BX. Both are great little machines for working small spaces and properties. Plus they are quite reasonable to purchase in lightly used condition, easy to trailer, and can be stored easily in smaller structures. I also own a larger 35hp tractor. The small ones are like surgical implements in small spaces and quite capable of grading and moving stuff. You’d just have to be careful about the size of stones you are bringing in for landscaping and the size of the totes you are going to use for sap. An extra bonus is that they are small enough that you don’t feel silly for using them on the tiniest of jobs that you can think of using a tractor for. I’m currently using the 4’ bucket on my 1033e to make a 25’x4’ stone path for my wife. The bucket is perfect width for the job. The little guy also fits through gates and under tree branches way better than my larger tractor. And I used my rubber edged 60” snow pusher to clear leaves off my two acre lawn last fall. It was my teenage sons idea and it worked great for pushing leaf piles across the lawn into stacks at the edge of the woods.

I’m also a kioti fan, and don’t think you would be going wrong picking up the Kioti model you already have your eye on either. As a multi-tractor owner, I definitely recommend finding and buying a machine that you like and enjoying it.
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #29  
I live on 2 acres of sloped property and put a B series Kubota on the property with a backhoe. I have two other 100+ acre places where I have larger tractors, including a backhoe. On the 2 acre property I will be upgrading to an L series without a backhoe. I simply do not use the backhoe enough on 2 acres. As far as the B series goes, the loader is too small for loading things like my wood splitter, etc. to take to the other properties. The other, bigger reason that I would not have a B series on sloped property is that they are too narrow. When lifting anything significant I go onto 3 wheels unless I am pointed straight up or down the slope. Wheel extenders might help, but a wider track is what is really needed. It depends on your amount of slope.
 
   / 1.5 acres. Am I nuts for thinking about a tractor? #30  
You need to look at a Yanmar SA425. It checks all of your boxes and make an outstanding tractor. #1200 lift at the pin. I haven't done the comparison but I think pound-for-pound it is the strongest tractor you can get in the compact.

For those who say you need a heavier tractor, you don't. Fill the tires and put a ballast box on. I've had no issues with mine at all.

I have 78 hours on mine now and I can tell you I am kind of amazed at the capability of it over a subcompact.

It weighs in only slightly more than a subcompact at 1800 and some odd pounds (dry weight without a loader).

It continues to amaze me how much it does for such a small tractor.

I would advise not getting a subcompact, go ahead and get the compact. 25 horsepower is sufficient they will do an amazing amount of work.

I'm not even going to speak to your question about if you need a tractor or not, because I think it's a ridiculous question 😉
 
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