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

[ksbrdmkr]

Two of my must haves, a HST and a grapple. With all the trees a chipper will see more use than a BH.

 

[PerroneMM]

Be careful, it’s a slippery slope. First comes a tractor for 1.5 acres, then a 20 acre hunting lease and a larger tractor, and….

Man, that is a true statement for sure!

 

[PerroneMM]

If I was doing just a few projects, I would rent the specific tool for the job.

Mini ex for digging.

Bobcat for moving matieral.

Large tractor for trees.

My buddy has a sub compact and all he uses is his baby back hoe. He had a skid steer for when he did loader work and sold it when done

If you plan on doing any real lifting , I would look for a 5000lb plus machine. it may advertise 800lbs but by the time you stack bags of material, load up logs or what ever, you run out of tractor fast. I have a 50hp 7000lb machine and wish I had more most days

The best idea ... great advice

 

[Deanes]

Hey all! I've been lurking for a bit but I've yet to see a use case quite like mine.

We recently bought a large ~1.5 acre property and historic home in a small town center in Maine. Originally a small horse farm, it was at one point extensively landscaped like a park, with lots of garden plots and about 60 old growth maples and while it's not a big property, it's been a fairly high maintenance one for its small size. The whole property is on a gently sloping hillside with about an acre of lawn, which currently takes me about 90+ minutes to mow with a commercial walk behind (there's a ZTR in our near future). On top of that, it had been neglected for a couple of decades when we bought it, and we're in the process of digging it out from the overgrowth and restoring it to its former glory.

We've got a long list of major landscaping projects planned, including building stone stairs and doing a lot of terracing/retaining wall construction to build foundations for an outdoor dining pavilion as well as a workshop/sugar shack/garage for the ZTR. In addition, the 60 maples generate about 20 cubic yards of leaves every year, which has been "fun" to manage and sustains a leaf pile that's about 45'x25'x6' deep. We're also doing the millennial hobby farmer thing and expanding a large vegetable garden and I'm growing a large hobbyist/small commercial scale maple syrup operation.

With the cost of getting any work done these days, I figure I'm easily at $30-40k or more to get all of the outstanding landscaping projects done, and between moving sap barrels around the yard during syrup season, gardening/landscaping odds and ends, and turning over our large compost pile, a loader would be nice to have. Am I crazy for thinking that a tractor more than pays for itself with the landscaping/earthmoving projects and afterwards becomes a useful tool for managing a small but high maintenance property while raising a growing family and often being pressed for time? What size/hp range should I be considering?

The only rear implements I'd likely be running are a box blade, a small rotary cultivator, and probably a wood chipper. I'd like to be able to lift/move ~800lbs for the landscaping projects. I was thinking that a 25hp emissions-exempt compact with loaded tires would be a good place to start. My local dealerships sell Deere, Kubota, Kioti, Massey Ferguson, and Yanmar, and they all seem pretty decent. If I even need a tractor, what should I look for?

Get a tractor. 25 hp minimum. You will also probably need a small utility trailer, and probably will appreciate a post-hole digger. BUT, it's really a stretch to try to justify a new tractor. or even 4wd. With so many good serviceable used 2wd tractors on the market, that's where I would start. They will be easier to service and repair, cheaper to operate, and served farmers and landscapers for nearly 100 years before the little compact 4wd became available. Now, if you have to be working when it's muddy, or counting on it to move snow, that's a different story. That's when a good USED 4wd may be justified.

 

[varmint]

All the opinions are interesting, and valid in one way or another. I have just 1.3 acres, but we are surrounded by by 60+ acres of mostly woods. I originally got a tractor for clearing snow, but now that those days are past, thanks to climate change, I still feel like I really need one for moving stuff around, drilling post holes, and getting firewood from the woods and moving it once split. With a small property, perhaps you will be driving over "lawn" like I need to do, so turf tires and not too much weight are necessary not to leave major ruts. I had a larger L3130 Kubota, which I really liked, but with loaded R-4 tires, it was really too heavy. Even my L3400, with turf tires, can leave depressions when the ground is wet. I have found a weight box is ideal for my needs. The box I made carries removable stones, racks on the sides for carrying chains, and a trailer hitch on the back. Very useful. Also, some 2" wheel spacers did a lot for stability on slopes. My three Kubotas, all bought used, have been perfectly reliable and a pleasure to own.

 

[Barker806]

If your in Maine and you don't have 2 tractors people look at you funny My guess is your local to me, I live in Monmouth. We have a 25Hp at the house and use it all the time . Example, Moving trash, bark mulch bags, heavy boxes, mow my lawn, move snow, pick up branches.. you name it. make sure you have a hook so you never pick up anything heavy with your back again! They really are like having a helping hand.

All enablers here LOL

 

[Farmdog267]

Any sub compact 25hp tractor should perform well for you. Going to a Kubota B01 series or a 2025R Deere will provide better ground clearance and you'll see slightly better being up higher. I would pick the brand that provides the best dealer support in terms of parts and service abilities. Have fun and good luck on the new adventure.

 

[Marauder]

Just another thing to mention that I havent seen here. Looks like you will be needing forks.Look at the weight of the forks! If you get a set of forks that weigh 400lbs and have a lifting capacity of 1000 you have just reduced the lift to 600 lbs. I found some that have 1200 lb capacity that weigh about 200lbs.

 

[rwendel]

You definitely need a tractor and will always need one just a little larger than what you bought. I my opinion unless you’re strictly doing row crop work, the tractor should have a loader and 4x4. I had a Kubota BX1800 with belly mower and FEL on an acre. I used it almost daily for something- mowing, moving something, unloading trailers, tilling.

 

[Torvy]

Given your use for heavy sap loads, I would definitely not get a subcompact. Whatever you think the max you need to lift is, add 10% and start there. Use the full height numbers, even if it is unlikely you will (or should) lift that high. That way, you will have enough to do the job you are buying the tractor for in the first place with some cushion if you need more than your estimate.