Tractor Sizing 35hp enough?

[BLSXJ]

Last summer I bought a home with 40 wooded acres. Last fall the Wife bought a 15.3 hand Gelding. I think we need a tractor and the wife agrees!

We'd like to use the tractor to do the following:
-Snow removal on the drive way (450 ft long, 15000 sq ft, 70 wide near the house)
-Maintain the driveway (already built a drag for behind the atv)
-harvest 3 cords of fire wood per year (hopefully only dead standing)
-Help expand trail network on property
-Possibly help clear 4 acres so we can stop boarding the hay burner (might not be the right tool for job)
-once the hay burner come home.... stall mucking, arena grooming, hay moving etc.
- small landscaping jobs (veggie garden)


We've visited the local dealers.... sat on a few tractors, talked about what our needs really are. If we were to buy new we'd be considering the Massey 1734E, Kubota L3301 or the JD 3032E. All basically are 3000lb CUT with a 1600lb 3pt capacity and 1400 FEL capacity.

We then made the mistake of going to an auction that had a Universal 640 up for sale. It sold for more then I was willing to pay for a 30yo tractor but it got us thinking about buying used, older and bigger. I realize older 4wd tractors are a bit harder to find, But the idea of having tons of power, weight and strength available is really appealing. The only downsides to the Utility tractor I could come up with are... The weight means I cant trailer it myself... and the larger attachments will likely cost a bit more and It will be a manual transmission.

Will a 35hp CUT be enough for me? or will I be better served with a 45-80hp Utility tractor?

 

[EddieWalker]

I have 68 acres that I maintain with a 35 hp 4x4 Century tractor and a 6 foot Landpride rotary cutter. It does a good job, but it's definitely on the small side of things. I don't have a loader on it, so I can't comment on that, but every time I'm on it, I think of how badly I want to get a bigger tractor. My dream machine will have a cab, be 4 wheel drive and have something close to 80 hp at the PTO so I can pull a 15 foot batwing mower.

I'm not a fan of Tier 4 emissions on tractors that where built from 2013 and newer, so I'm just looking at used ones from 2012 and older. I have too many other things going on of a higher priority, so it's just day dreaming for now.

 

[gsganzer]

With that acreage, I don't think you'd be happy with a 35hp machine.

When I look through used listings, I usually see a good number of machines in the 50- 60 hp range at decent prices with low hours. These could also move round bales if you start feeding those and handle ground engaging equipment (harrows, plows etc.)

Unless you need a lighter machine for working around the yard, I'd go with a bigger machine.

I tend to agree with Eddie on the cab.

 

[jeff9366]

Thirty-five horsepower, 4-WD tractor with FEL will be enough, if the tractor is heavy enough.

Consider the heavier Kubota L3560: Tractors - Grand L6 Series | Kubota Tractor Corporation

Then you have to purchase IMPLEMENTS Three Point Hitch and attachments for the FEL ~~~~~~

 

[topbuilder]

Thirty-five horsepower, 4-WD tractor with FEL will be enough.

Then you have to purchase IMPLEMENTS Three Point Hitch and attachments for the FEL ~~~~~~

I agree. I would not up-size to do a one time clear. Think about what your needs are beyond that.

 

[WM75Guy]

You did right by considering your tasks. PTO HP is used to determine what 3PT attachments you can operate such as a rotary cutter. My TC40DA is 40 HP/33 HP PTO and will operate my 6' cutter and 6' tiller without a problem. A small tractor at times is preferable over a larger tractor for getting into tight spaces.

What I have found to be more important is the FEL lift capacity and tractor weight. We started buying shavings and pellets by the pallet to save cost. My FEL will lift 1500# and it is a little small as most of the pallets weight 2000#. I have to toss a few bags off before I unload them from the trailer.

HP doesn't matter if you are spinning the wheels because the tractor is too light. You will also need ballast on the 3PT to offset forces when lifting heavy loads with the FEL. Without it I have lifted the rear wheels off the ground when trying to lift and move things with the FEL. Fortunately I was able to lower the FEL quickly without damaging the load, the tractor, or me. The heavier the tractor the less chance of that happening.

 

[MF283]

I have 35 acres & used 30+ HP tractors in the past, i have a 60 HP now with FEL & it is a lot easier to deal with, it will handle more than the smaller tractors would & you'll always push the smaller tractor to do more, i did.
I have trails around our wooded areas that the tractor or even the truck can access, these days i use a Gator more to do the minimal chores around these areas like checking fences or clearing downed timber from the trail if it isn't big enough to warrant getting the tractor out.
The 35 HP will get you by, no doubt, they did for me, it's a tough call to make, i wouldn't go back to a smaller unit though.

My .02 cents

Ronnie

 

[bh10]

Id go the utility route, bigger is always better. Id also go with a cab. Im the opposite of you, it's HOT here, up by you its COLD, having ac/heat makes life much more enjoyable. Keeps bugs away as well.

 

[TheMadOne]

As a new owner of an L3301 I will say that it's held up to the grading, scraping, small tree pulling, and digging that I've asked of it.

Would it be enough for you? Hard to say. I'm not you and my tasks aren't yours.

Looking at the tasks you outlined in the opening post, the only ones that would worry me are the land clearing and hay moving. It's simply not heavy enough to hand large bales, but if you plan on using small squares then it shouldn't have any problem. Land clearing is dozer/excavator work. Rent the equipment or hire it out.

 

[BLSXJ]

RE: clearing land..... I have no doubt hiring or renting the right equipment will be cheaper then buying the equipment. But I could see me cutting all the trees myself and leaving the the stumps for the contractor. That will be lots of fire wood to deal with.

RE: snow removal.. This last winter I had a lawn tractor with a 44" two stage blower, an atv with a 48" blade and a 28" walk behind blower. The tool of choice was the lawn tractor with the blower. but I struggled with traction... Chains and weights weren't enough. But blowing the snow is the way to go with my driveway.

 

[Aquamoose]

Your "35hp" jumped out at me so I read on...

You should consider the Brandon 3520. I have the 3520h and it's the heaviest tractor in its class and also has the highest lifting capacity at 2,100 lbs. it's been very solid and I've been loving it.

I use it on my 10 acre wooded site and possibly 15 more later.

I got the BH for it as well.

 

[k0ua]

The massey or the kubota you mentioned (I am not a fan of those 3032e "economy" JD's) would all be fine for your uses except for hay bale moving. Define the size of the hay bales you are going to move. Large round bales can be moved by this size tractor on the back 3point hitch with a 3pt spear, but cannot be stacked or removed from a stack with a loader spear safely. Just not enough lead in their pants. Too small for too big a job. Of course some kind of small square bales would be no problem up front. The rest of your work sounds like it could easily be done with a modest tractor like you mention. Mine is just a hair bigger and about 1000 lbs heavier than the tractors you mentioned but about the same horsepower.

But even at that, I would not want to make a habit of trying to stack large round bales with mine either. A larger utility tractor would be far safer. In life it is alway good not to run things to the edge if you know what I mean. I would not have any qualms about sticking a larger round bale on the 3pt and taking off with it, as my 35 horse tractor can lift around 2400 lbs on the 3pt. But there is a big difference in something heavy on the 3pt a few inches off the ground vs. something at the extremes of loader capacity several feet in the air. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[N2DFire]

A small tractor will do anything a larger tractor will do(it just takes longer) but a larger tractor won't go in some of the places the small one will.

Speaking as someone who "upgraded" to a 35HP a little over a year ago and having a total of about 20-25 acres to help look after (some wooded, some "scrubby" and a lot of pasture land) let me put my 2 cents worth in here.

-Snow removal on the drive way (450 ft long, 15000 sq ft, 70 wide near the house)
Yes - with provisions. We don't move much snow anymore. Mom & Dad either winter elsewhere or just don't go out and I just use 4wd and both of us have very short driveways. A rear mounted snow blower I'm sure would be nice, but do you want to be turned around looking backward that long? Also a FEL mounted snow blade in place of the bucket would be nice as well. Either way with loaded tires you should have enough weight to pull this off (with the FEL mounted blade, you can always carry more ballast on the 3pt as well).

-Maintain the driveway (already built a drag for behind the atv)
Yes

-harvest 3 cords of fire wood per year (hopefully only dead standing)
Yes

-Help expand trail network on property
Yes - but with regards to "Bigger is better" & Cab vs Open Station - see my opening comment on big vs little and consider where you want/need to go.

-Possibly help clear 4 acres so we can stop boarding the hay burner (might not be the right tool for job)
Yes considering your follow-up comments about leaving the stumps for the contractor. Having done just that thing myself I would HIGHLY recommend leaving all the grading and filling to them as well & you can do the root raking & seeding.

-once the hay burner come home.... stall mucking, arena grooming, hay moving etc.
Yes - but what k0ua said about loader lift capacity is spot on. Exactly what I thought when I read your post.

- small landscaping jobs (veggie garden)
Yes - I just a couple weeks ago ran a 7 tine / 7 foot spring tooth "tiller" through some of the hardest VA clay there is and our little kioti didn't even seem to care.

Good Luck & Happy Shopping!

 

[bcp]

You may plan on small square bales now, but in 5 years, that farmer will retire, small bales will be trucked in from 300 miles away and cost double per pound compared to large bales. Get a tractor to handle large ones and full pallets of other stuff you may want.

Bruce

 

[BLSXJ]

A small tractor will do anything a larger tractor will do(it just takes longer) but a larger tractor won't go in some of the places the small one will.

BUt a small tractor just cant lift the same amount has a big tractor.

The "round bail" capacity is the biggest question. One opinion was get a SSQA FEL.. drop the bucket attach a bail spear and your 'll be fine (round bail is closer in and the bale spear weighs less then a bucket. The other opinion was ANY CUT just doesn't have the stance and mass to handle stacking or unloading round bails.

If I win the power ball or lotto max.... I'd likely just buy a M series kubota with a hydro transmission.... But that isn't in the budget

 

[TheMadOne]

I see no reason why the L3301 or similar sized tractor wouldn't be able to handle any amount of firewood. You'll have to take smaller bites than someone with a M7060, but it's more than capable of doing the work at its own pace.

Most any tractor CAN do most jobs, the trick is figuring out how much time you want to spend doing them.

Pop over to the general Owning/Operating forum and read the "Today's seat time" and "Tractors and Wood" threads. Keep an eye on the left column and see what people are using to do the various tasks they outline. There's a lot of people using pretty small machines to accomplish real work.

Edit: Whoever said that you can just drop the bucket and be able to handle round bales is playing in the margins and is risking getting burnt one day. What I mean by that is that if that works for them then they're at the limits of the loader. What happens the day the bale is a bit wetter than normal? Or they need to lift it higher? Round bales weigh a lot, and I would not be comfortable having only a little safety margin between me and disaster.

Also, there seems to be some argument about what, exactly, a round bale weighs. Some people claim around 1500lbs, others are north of 2000.

That said, if you buy a larger machine than what you want now as a guard against a possible future problem, well...they ain't getting cheaper!

 

[Wagtail]

Honestly, 35hp is on the edge of what you will want/need your tractor to do. 40-45hp with a FEL is where you want to be to handle the majority of possible future jobs given the circumstances you've provided.

I've got a couple of horses myself and my rig is at the perfect (for me) hp, especially when handling round bales.

On a slightly different note, you (the wife) have got one horse which is agisted. When you 'bring it home', unless there's another horse in an adjacent paddock for it to associate with, you're going to need a second horse as a companion. That's a second mouth to feed.

 

[Streetcar]

I had a ford jubilee on 100 acre cattle farm. Under 30 hp
Moved round bales with three point
Weight is primarily what you need
Hire out clearing

 

[The Deerslayer]

On a slightly different note, you (the wife) have got one horse which is agisted. When you 'bring it home', unless there's another horse in an adjacent paddock for it to associate with, you're going to need a second horse as a companion. That's a second mouth to feed.[/QUOTE]

Agreed...

We have a couple horses on just under 40 acres and find the L3901 (same as the L3301 you are considering, but a bit more HP) is perfect for our uses. Maintaining 800 foot gravel driveway, snowblowing, bush hogging fields,3-5 cords of wood per year, and wood chipping.

 

[4570Man]

What does a round bale weigh? Aren't they 1500 pounds or less? Can't a larger Cut with adequate ballast handle this? Here's a few pictures of my tractor handling firewood. The only place a smaller tractor falls short would be moving wood totes.