12 acres tractor sizing

[jsborn]

Just a thought if you need 20 hp for a job and you have a 45hp machine then you can throttle back. If you need 45hp for a job and have a 20 hp machine you can just sit on the porch and watch the guy you hired do it for you.


Just a thought

I love my L4400 but wish I had gone a little bigger. As with most people you can never have enough money or a big enough tractor.

 

[Soundguy]

This is what I'm hung up on. All the glossy brochures I have indicate that 35 PTO hp is require to turn a "medium" grade bush hog. As I said, time isn't a huge factor, with a standard duty would it just take longer or will I not be able to eat the stuff?Jeff

I used to own a NH 1920.. that was a 33 eng/30 pto hp machine.. I ran a 5' kk hog thru anything the front axle would climb over.. I frequently found myself mowing in weeds that were 1-2' over the rops height.

My dealer told me that the machine would spin a 5' mower 'thru anything' and a 6' mower thru most stuff.

I -NEVER- found anything that 30pto hp machine would not mow in 9th gear at pto speed. ( 12 forward gears.. / 4rev)

To say that you need 35 pto hp to spin a medium duty mower is.. well.. an overestimate.

My 1952 27 pto hp ford 8n runs that same mower thru almost as thick stuff... albiet in 1st gear ( of 4 )

Soundguy

 

[jbrumberg]

JLudwig:

Try not to hang yourself up on a number. It is my personal opinion that most if not all of the "data" contained in those glossy brochures is driven by Sales & Marketing Departments. I have had no difficulties using my medium duty 60" rotary cutter in my lower 7A's with my 23+ PTO HP. I have taken out quite a few softwood saplings >1.5" and without any problem. My avatar is of myself coming up from my lower field while mowing. Jay

 

[JLudwig]

My dealer told me that the machine would spin a 5' mower 'thru anything' and a 6' mower thru most stuff.

Great, thanks to everyone for their input, very helpful. I'm going to be taking a much closer look at the Kubota L3540 and JD3520 instead of the larger machines.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[schmism]

got a NH dealer around?

I think it would be worth sitting on a TC34 to compair and contrast its diffrences to the others.... as i found there to be quite a few.

 

[JLudwig]

got a NH dealer around?

Not really that close. The green and orange folks are within 20 miles, there's a massive NH dealer in Tamaqua PA but its over an hour from my front door. If anyone here has a glowing review of them, I'd check them out, but otherwise I think its a little far.

There's a smaller dealer in NJ, I did visit them, but their prices didn't really add up for me. Basically, north Jersey is full of wealthy hobby farms, which seemed to me to drive the prices up. They were talking $24,500 for a TC34 with the FEL, whereas a similar sized (35hp) grand L or 20 series with FEL will run me near $21,000 in Pa. So price combined with location sold me on the other two and since I'm not doing a ton of FEL work, stuff like SuperSteer doesn't make a huge difference.

I also did look into the local Kioti dealer, but that shop had difficulty answering some basic questions for me. They were mechanics, not farmers, so not so hot on buying advice. But if I were more experienced, and just needed a good repair shop, I would definitely include them in the search. I've tried to remain as colorblind as possible throughout the decision making process.

Jeff

 

[Greyfields]

I wanted to add one more data point to the discussion. My 15 acres is becoming 35 acres. Sometimes you don't see it coming and your neighbors approach you about buying their land. It's nice to not have to upgrade tractors. You may even find yourself renting/leasing additional pasture someday.

 

[riptides]

I wanted to add one more data point to the discussion. My 15 acres is becoming 35 acres. Sometimes you don't see it coming and your neighbors approach you about buying their land. It's nice to not have to upgrade tractors. You may even find yourself renting/leasing additional pasture someday.

ROTFL


My situation - exactly. But then how do you predict the future and satisfy the wants and needs of now.



-Mike Z.

 

[Jay4200]

Here's my thinking now... If the B7800 was 35hp I think I won't still be thinking about things. But a 30hp with HST only gets 22hp out the back, which I have serious concerns about running a rotary mower through thick stuff. I think I'm leaning toward a L4400, or if I go for the big bucks, a JD3720 since I like the JD3720 over the L4240 (roughly same price but small size due to the turbocharging).

So far so good. As for the HST thing, since you're demands seem generally gated by PTO power, I'd recommend against a HST drive. I have a L4200GST (glide-shift) tractor, and I think that the glide-shift option is best of all worlds. I rarely if ever use the manual clutch, although it's there if you want it, and there is no PTO power penalty like with a HST.

JayC

 

[Oleozz]

I also did look into the local Kioti dealer, but that shop had difficulty answering some basic questions for me. They were mechanics, not farmers, so not so hot on buying advice. But if I were more experienced, and just needed a good repair shop, I would definitely include them in the search. I've tried to remain as colorblind as possible throughout the decision making process.

Jeff

I'm curious as to what basic farming questions the Kioti dealer couldn't answer for you? Just look at the variety of answers and advice you've received from this site already. Some folks will say go big, you just can't have enough hp while others tell you to stay small and save on diesel fuel.