Advice/thoughts for my situation

[Bfgloki74]

Greetings! Retired Military and found my slice of heaven here in Northern Maine. Gorgeous 155 Acre lot with 2 large Fields and heavy wooded in between. My drive way is packed loose gravel and exactly 1/2 mile long. The open fields are grass/dandelion mixed style weeds except around the house. Front area is about 15 acres then a fairly well cleared 1/2 mile road/trail to the back field which is easily as big if not a little bigger. There are several trails of varying conditions and widths leading up from the back area that lead up the hill to the rest of the lot ( still exploring). After lots of deliberation and soul searching on realistic use and projects I am trying to settle on a tractor. Dealerships range from 2 within 15 miles ( LS, Yanmar, Bobcat and Mahindria. 1.5 hrs away I can get JD and Kubota. The class/size I am thinking of settling on relates to the YT235 from Yanmar size ( sub compact?) Its primary use will be Brush hog the front field ( contracting the back field to farmer for hay) Grading and upkeep of driveway , snow blowing and of course some small projects like removing debris /trail maintenance and gardening. Ditch and water run off control near my trails and driveway will also be in the cards along with building a small range to shoot and develop hunting/target loads for my gun hobbies. I have no visions of moving tons of earth in a short period of time so super large machines are out and storage for the first 3 years will be my oversized garage until my barn is built.

So with that said I have settled on the following attachments: 72" Brush hog with slip clutch, Front mounted Snowblower (60") the box scraper ( 6ft I think it is) and the backhoe kit.


After exhausting pricing, test drives and dealership commuting I am leaning toward the YT235 with the Factory Cab. IT comes standard with the front loader ( which was the only of the lot that did ) and pricewise with all the attachments comes in right under $41,000. The Kubota was 12k more and the LS and Bobcats were within 1500 on either side. The feel of the Yanmar was by far the best of the lot to me which is why I am leaning this way. Size wise it will easily fit in the garage. The larger 349/357 didn't make the cut due to clearance and just too big for some of the trails I will be working on. The heavier and greater HP for sure would make life easier but as I said I realistically wont be moving tons of earth or working huge projects and if I do, rental of larger machines/bull dozer when the time comes is the plan. I am of the "buy once, cry once" school of thought but also don't feel spending 12K more and traveling 1.5 hrs for face to face support if needed warrants the orange or Greene color if indeed what I am reading/hearing is Yanmar is of similar Japanese quality.


So really just looking for some insight, words of wisdom and suggestions before I make the final decision. Minus 1 or 2 "I bought a lemon" stories I seen, which all brands have...I am curious to hear opinions with explanations on why. IF your brand loyal that's ok too...just a reason or 2 why would be greatly appreciated. My father owns a small/older Kubota ( cant recall model atm) and its a nice little machine.

I can go into more detail if needed so just ask. I have mechanical and electircal backround from my time in the service ( mostly airplane realted but i understand concepts) so light self maintenance will be done by me as I learn whatever machine I settle on. So any insight on that aspect is welcomed as well!

Cheers!

 

[BigNuge]

Subscribed for the input. I’m in a similar boat, but not nearly as much land....down in NH.

When you say northern ME, like Fort Kent type area? Hunted/camped/hiked Maine extensively...beautiful place!

 

[tradosaurus]

Awesome piece of land and congrats on your service. I'm trying to convince my son to pull 20 in the military once he commissions.

did you get a chance to sit and operate the brand of tractors you looked at? What feels more comfortable? Look underneath the tractors and see which one protects the filters and hydraulic lines as you eventually run over small stumps and rocks.

Compare the size of the front axle for each tractor.

Since I didn't get a cab the cost difference between each brand (except for maybe JD) for the size of tractor I bought wasn't that great and the dealer support factored in also. Based on nearness of dealers (within 25 miles) it was between Kubota, New Holland, and John Deere.

When I bought my first and only tractor last year I just didn't know enough because I never operated a tractor before. Even watching Ytube videos and perusing this site didn't keep me from wishing I would have gotten a bigger size.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Bfgloki74]

BigNuge: Almost exactly Ft Kent! Frenchville just 8 miles east. I have a lot of family just over the border in Canada near the FT Kent Crossing.

tradosaurus: The retirement for newer kids joining the Military is a little different from what I am pulling but honestly the atmosphere and people will either grab and hold on or not. My daughter is in the same boat and she grew up military and loves the discipline and people. Given that she still doesn't know if she will commission to Active duty or not after he ROTC scholarship commissions her. She will serve, just unsure of Reserve, Guard or AD. Even a 6 year commitment though is worth it for kids to gain that paid experience and leadership opportunity as an officer that the military will afford them.
As for testing out, yes. I sat and operated them all and the Yanmar was the most refined. It is sort of like sitting in a Chevy vs a GMC. Both nice and made by GM but the GMCs are just nicer and polished. I love the dual PTO on the YT235 and they had a backhoe set up on one and it was pleasantly surprising in terms of power/digging. I am going cab mainly because winters can be pretty rough ( love it just am a realist) and plowing that long stretch is going to be easier in a cab out of the wind and heated. Summer use also can be A/C cooled which when mowing the field can be nice and it keeps the bugs away in the early season when they are aggressive up here. The cab in the Yanmar was hands above all but the JD. That was a closer comparison and given the history of Yanmar building the JDs to a certain extent, its understandable. Controls were fairly easy to adjust to from tractor to tractor. The LS felt 'rugged' along with the Kubota. Mahindiria was underwhelming in terms of finish but it seems to be the tractor a lot of the farmers have around here due to cost and use. Bobcat is Bobcat. Name recognition is about all I have to say for them and it was a decent machine...just felt underpowered for the size. The PTO was loud as sin...and that's saying a lot given my hearing loss. I know it pretty much sounds like I have settled on the Yanmar ( and honestly I am 95% sure I have) but given all that I still value opinions of those who have traveled the road before and weigh all that is said. I have operated tractors in the past to very light degree but owning my own and putting it to work is new.

Dealerships are all equal in terms of staff and comfort levels. How close they are is the main difference. Kubota and JD are just so far and that is nice in the fair weather days but a winter storm and suddenly can be a challenge if I need something or an issue arises.

 

[crashz]

The YT series seems very similar to the old John Deere (yanmar built) 750, 770, 790 machines. The EX3200 is the exact same tractor with HST. I can assure you, they were bulletproof. My 770 (my father has it now) has done ridiculous things and still starts and runs like a dream. I miss that tractor.

But with 155 acres, I feel that you may be buying a little small. Its a small, light and maneuverable tractor, but with that much land, I think you may be wanting a bit more

 

[rademamj1]

The YT235 should handle all your needs, even on a 155 acre property. Just needs to take time to do all your tasks. Its a wonderful tractor. I have looked at the specs, and thought the hydraulic pump capacity was rather limited at 7.1 gpm for a hydrostatic. Again, just needs to do things at slower pace on this tractor.

 

[3Ts]

Its primary use will be Brush hog the front field ( contracting the back field to farmer for hay) Grading and upkeep of driveway , snow blowing and of course some small projects like removing debris /trail maintenance and gardening. Ditch and water run off control near my trails and driveway will also be in the cards along with building a small range to shoot and develop hunting/target loads for my gun hobbies. I have no visions of moving tons of earth in a short period of time so super large machines are out and storage for the first 3 years will be my oversized garage until my barn is built.

To summarize, it sounds like you'll be using it to maintain your trails and driveway and to mow the 15 acres up front. That you plan to let the wooded areas grow with maybe some clearing of trees for additional trails/shooting range, meaning no plans for logging or digging ponds. I think you've done a good job on evaluating the tractors available and have a good size selected, with one exception. 15 acres of mowing is going to take awhile with a 6' mower. I would still go with the YT235, just plan on either taking a while to mow it or lease it out to the guy that is haying the back pasture.

The brochure says the rear remotes are optional. Be sure you get them, you will need them sooner than later.

 

[Bfgloki74]

Being retired , taking my time is the name of the game. The only "hard work" task that will be on the clock is the snow blowing when a storm hits. Given the width of the blower I easily see driving out and back to the end of driveway as easily relocating the snow and not having to pass a 3rd/4th time minus the attention toward the end and by the house. The "mowing" will be done leisurely and the amount I mow is TBD based on how it looks. I have a nice finishing mower for close to the house. The front loader is big enough to move the topsoil for gardening and loose gravel for when I regrade the 2 parts of the driveway that look like they would be susceptible to erosion.

The larger 347/359 is just a hair too big for storage and for the trail work that I will also be doing. Not to mention there are no Front snowblower options for those and a half mile backwards round trip is not what I want. Again this is mostly assuming I go with the Yanmar.

 

[Blue14]

A friend of mine just bought a Yanmar YT235 Cab last summer and mounted a Berco 66 inch snowblower on the front and he is very well satisfied with it.
I had bought a Yanmar YT359C back in Jan. 2018 after owning 3 kubotas and I wanted to go with the IHMT transmission and I am impressed with the quality and workmanship over some other brands that I looked at when researching another tractor, you will be well pleased with your Yanmar if you choose to purchase it.

 

[rScotty]

Being retired , taking my time is the name of the game. The only "hard work" task that will be on the clock is the snow blowing when a storm hits. Given the width of the blower I easily see driving out and back to the end of driveway as easily relocating the snow and not having to pass a 3rd/4th time minus the attention toward the end and by the house. The "mowing" will be done leisurely and the amount I mow is TBD based on how it looks. I have a nice finishing mower for close to the house. The front loader is big enough to move the topsoil for gardening and loose gravel for when I regrade the 2 parts of the driveway that look like they would be susceptible to erosion.

The larger 347/359 is just a hair too big for storage and for the trail work that I will also be doing. Not to mention there are no Front snowblower options for those and a half mile backwards round trip is not what I want. Again this is mostly assuming I go with the Yanmar.

Yanmar is quality. I think you mentioned that you noticed that. For awhile they were too expensive to be competitive, but I understand that they are now more affordable. Yanmar is a huge old company and tractors are just one division. But being big gives them the ability to do a lot of things in house - like smelting, casting, & machining their own iron & steel in house. That keeps quality up.

I didn't know that there didn't have a front snowblower option for the larger size. That's too bad. So I'm guessing the larger tractor with the nifty IHMT tranny is out of the running if it can't work a front snowblower. I'm with you on that. Us older guys like to look forward.

Before you said that about the snowblower, I was going to ask if you had looked at tire options as a way to lower it enough to make it fit your storage. Industrial R4 tread is a nice tire compromise, saves a couple inches in height, and works well in most all conditions. We have tractors with all three main tread types and like the R4 industrial tread the best, so if that would save enough height the tire tread is as good as any.

Not sure what you mean by too wide for the trails. My experience is that once you drive down a trail ia few times in a tractor then that's instantly how big the trail is....
Are the cabs the same? Larger tractors tend to have larger cabs, but is it enough to make a difference?

One member said that what he did was cut a pole the exact width of the tractor that he was considering and walked the trails on his land one day. That way he could get a better idea of exactly what width tractor he wanted.

 

[johncanfield]

Yanmar is a quality brand, they build good excavators, tractors, marine engines and probably engines for other applications. Do not make the mistake of buying too small, for one example how much will your loader lift at the pins? My 4720 Deere has a loader rating of about 2500 pounds and 12 gpm hydraulics. I understand you want to keep the tractor garaged but you are really limiting your options.

A popular opinion around tractor forums is buy one size larger than you were considering.

Oh, also you want auxiliary hydraulics front and rear!

 

[Bfgloki74]

Johncanfield: I tend to agree about buying bigger then needed as well, cause its very probable that we can grow into those extra uses that a larger tractor can accomplish. I even went so far as to go back and rework the numbers and drive/research the larger models of each. With that I kept running into more cons then pro for not just the 3 years of storage but also what I refer to as "biting of more then I can chew". I know my limitations and the false sense of having a more capable machine will no doubt seep into thinking I am more capable when it comes to projects. Now that might seem silly since it doesn't always translate that way but I am concerned it would lead me into going too big and over estimating if that makes any sense? Those Aux hydraulics are available on the model I looked at and included in my pricing ( after learning the reason for why it made it an easy choice to add )

As for trails it will navigate, I want to keep the land useable for my intended enjoyment without working/widening the trails and small roads to the point where it doesn't have the blend into the landscape feel. I am a huge fan of ' respect the land ' and as my father keeps telling me, it will provide you with all the joys it did on your last day as it did the first day.


The quality of the company in terms of history was probably the one thing I was looking to hear from folks who have grown up around this equipment etc. I know other companies who used to build a lot for several others but when they went to do it themselves they fell short. It doesn't not seem so with Yanmar.

 

[RalphVa]

Congrats on the nice acreage in Maine.

Sounds as though the yt235 is like a 3 series JD, not a SCUT, and more like you need. Mahinda doesn't have the burnoff thing. Not sure what Yanmar has. I've had 3 JDs but all < 25 hp.

Cab is the way to go for Maine, especially if you don't go into the woods too much where clearance would be a problem.

Guess snow blowing on gravel is fine. A friend has had a rear blower on 3 different Kubotas in Winchester, Va since about 1975ish on his 1/4 to 1/2 mile driveway there.

People are saying you'd be going slow with the hydraulic pump capacity it has. Well, duh, you want to generally go slow for safety anyway.

I'd let that 15 acres out front grow up mostly and maybe mow 1/2 acre or so around the house. Maybe do trails through it and mow the whole thing down once/yr or every 2nd year.

Ralph

 

[Bfgloki74]

The amount I will mow with the Hogger is going to be learned over time. I have about 1/4-1/2 acre around the house that is more traditional grass/lawn and a good Zero turn mower for that. The fields are up for debate on how much I knock down to keep the view looking clean and again provide that natural blend/border with the land. The box scrapper and the snow blower will no doubt see the most use of any of the attachments I am purchasing since the trails that have run off and even my driveway show some light erosion with rain and drainage ( which the drain ditches I want to dig over the next season or 2 should help with as well) but also keep those less used trails from getting out of hand. The back hoe is probably the only item/attachment that is debatable on how/if I will use it to its fullest but I also know I will grow into it and have plans at all phases that could benefit from having it vs going back in a year or 2 to purchase or rent.

 

[johncanfield]

Look up the specs on my 4720, the replacement for it is a Deere 40- something series. Deere calls this a large frame compact tractor; for our ranch it's the perfect size. I have to mow around a bunch of oaks (among other chores), it's extremely maneuverable for that job but large enough to do some serious work.

My previous tractor was a Kubota L2900 which was fine for a ranchette but it had serious limitations due to its lack of size for our ranch. By the way, that L2900 was extremely reliable, simple and no frills - I put 500 hours on it. A new Kubota was on my short list when I was tractor shopping, I came across a low hour 4720 and fell in love.

You are a smart guy for wanting a cab. I would not own a piece of equipment without one - I'm used to being comfortable now compared to an open station.

 

[Bfgloki74]

I like to think my father raised me to work hard and work smart
The Kubota's were phenomenal machines and any farmer or worker of land will have more then one good thing to say about them. I just cant justify the 11k difference in cost which can be used toward getting that barn up sooner. I am grateful for the great responses and insights/comments so far and in such a short period of time. My 'neighbor' ( potato farmer about 3 miles up the road) is going to let me come up and work his Kioti a little and see how it feels. Its his newest tractor which he uses for his front 30 acre parcel around his house and barn. He had some great things to say about Yanmar and the dealership which I was settling on. Being conglomerate of small towns up here, personal experience and treating customers like they live next door is a huge selling point for me as well. Even in these 'pandemic' times when I walked in the owner walked up and said " if me shaking your hand is offensive let me know now" which promptly led to a good old fashion exchange and no rush conversation about my history, his and how much we both loved it up here.

He was very passionate about all his tractors and always was candid about good and challenging things for each brand he had. He also was helpful about getting me all the other dealers in a 40 mile and 75 mile radius so I could be as objective as possible and make sure I was comfortable about whatever machine I purchased. That was not only classy but also shows me a lot about his character. My final decision will be on Monday after I run all my final numbers, and maybe dream a little bigger to make sure I get it right. I look forward to more opinions and insights until then....and the great conversations and advice after I get my machine!