Advise please

[JLA]

I have a nine acre parcel that will be about 7 acres of pasture and will need to keep mowed, fertilized, limed- etc. I will need to install alot of fencing so a post hole digger is needed along with a not so big fel- for manure removal and other small chores. The land is fairly level with some roll. Please advise what tractor would be a good choice based on the above criteria. Thanks in advance for your advise. What brand and model in particular would work well for my setup.

 

[thcri]

I would look at a tractor in the 20 to 30 horspower range. Class l or Class ll would work for you. From there you need to look at options/bells and whistles. Figure out how much money you want to spend and then decide from there what will work best.

murph

 

[MikeFromVA]

I agree - 20 - 30 HP. In that range you will find fine machines from the "Big 3" (Deere, Kubota, New Holland) as well as some others that are at or near the same quality level (Kioti, Mahindra, Massey-Fergusson and others). You should do a lot of reading of previous posts and researching of dealers in your area. There's already plenty of material to read here - enough to take days if not weeks on this very subject.

Happy Hunting...

 

[NIXON]

The advice offered above is sound . Also see what type of dealers You have in your local area . Go by and get as much literature as you can from each dealer ,and physically sit on every machine you can.check the placement of the various controls . Every machine has a different fit and feel to it .
Most of all enjoy the process of selecting a new machine .
And BTW .... welcome to TBN

 

[Bob_Skurka]

JLA . . . Filling in your profile would be helpful to anyone who wants to give you advice.

If it was me, I'd look at nothing smaller than the 24hp compact tractors, my favorite is my TC24, but I feel it is on the small side for your property. With a 24hp you can easily power a 60" mower deck with one of those and have enough power for thick heavy grass. If you live in a dry area or other part of the country where grass grows thin, then you could use a 72" deck. 24hp will give you enough power to do most chores but is still a small tractor. I would consider this the minimum size tractor to consider; but on 9 acres you could easily go up to 30hp or perhaps even 35.

Now given the other tasks in additon to mowing you are on enough property to use a 30hp tractor, those will easily use a 72" mower deck and could take you up to 84" in arrid or cold climates where grass is thinner/sparcer. I would personally opt for a 30hp tractor for 9 acres.

Pretty much any size tractor will handle a PHD. You say you don't want a big FEL, so I'm guessing you don't want a big tractor. Given that, there are some nice 30hp tractors that are fairly small that you might want to consider. There is a lot of interest in 30hp tractors and that creates a lot of confusion. Here is someting that might help you decide what to look at if there are dealers in your area for these brands.

The Deere 790, New Holland TC30 Gear, and MF1233 fill in the value end of the market for 30hp tractors. These machines provide good power and value. This is possible by going with an inexpensive gear boxes for the transmission and PTO and only basic features.  

The Mahindra 3015, Kubota B7800, and the TC30 HST provide value and are a step up in price, they have more advanced transmissions for easier loader work and independent PTO's for running rotary cutters.

The next step up would be Deere's 4310 and Kubota's B2910, these tractors have all the "whistles & bells" available on a 30HP tractor but are still on a very compact body. Their spec's are on the light side, but they offer many convienances & lots of comfort. I use a B2910 and can attest to the fact that it is one of the deluxe machine in terms of comfort and ease of use.

Kioti's CK30 and New Holland's TC tractors are on larger frames than the rest of this class, they target customers looking for a slightly larger tractor with higher loader performance. Both offer lots of comfort and features, the NH has the stronger loader with higher lift and is slighly more compact. In some regions the Kioti is priced lower, it is also a large machine for the power class.

Kubota's L3130 fills the extreme high end of the class; it out specs ever other machine by a large margin. This is also a large machine for the class.

My assessment of the machines is as objective as I can make it. There are some options on some basic machines that can make them more like the more deluxe machines.

 

[hillslider]

Well your needs are similar to what I needed in a tractor. I have about ten acres and most is in pasture for the two hay burners (horses) we have. I needed something to mow the field with and maintain the driveway. I wanted something large enough to be able to do those tasks with ease and comfort. I chose the Kubota L3130HST. The tractor is large enough to have a smooth enough ride I could mow at a pretty could speed and has plenty of power to run the 60" brush hog. But the tractor is small enough to get into tight areas and not to large to worry about hauling the beast when needed. I could not justify the FEL....even though I would have loved it... I have used a post hole digger a few times and the tractor works great for that. The HST trany is the next best thing I did choose. It is smooth and a pleasure to operate. While mowing I can change speeds and direction in a snap. If you do get the FEL the HST really stands out and I am sure most would agree. I highly recomend this tractor! Now go out and put your backside on a few machines and you will really start to get a feeling for what you like and do not. Do not beg a dealer to take your money....there are plenty of great dealers out there that will work hard for your cash. Have fun and we will all be here to help spend that cash and answer questions.

Rob
P.S. I have posted a pic of one of my hauling days. We were off to our church for some landscaping. I used a 6' box blade and had a great time working the dirt.

 

[blackwell]

Take a look at Power Trac, www.power-trac.com, they work well for us.
EB

 

[Kozmo38]

Just my $.02 worth.

I recently completed my search and found that the Mahindra 3015 was the right fit for me. I have a similar situation to you as I have 22 acres, pasture and field to keep clean. I have found that the tractor has more than enough power and is identiacal in profile to their 28 hp model.

I also found the price that was right. That is partly due to the dealers from the "Big Three" not wnatingto deal but at the same time even if they wanted to deal they were up to $4,000 more to start. I doubt that they would want to come down that much.

I was also very apprehensive as I did not recognize the name brand. After researching I found that they had a long history of producing quality machines.

I just took delivery yesterday, but the two hours that I was able to get on it last night, I found it very capable.

If you have other questions, please feel free to PM me.

 

[GATC35]

Noticed you are in Georgia, me too. I just bought a New Holland TC-35D used with 85 hours on it. I shopped every tractor dealer in North Georgia, and Eastern Alabama. If you wish send me a PM and I will give you a run down of the dealers, what they sell, prices, attitude, etc. I had some good experiences with dealers, and some real bad experiences with them also. I shopped New Holland, Kubota, Deere, and Agco.

Also don't rule out driving to Alabama. They beat the Georgia prices by $1,000, and you pay no tax.

 

[Charlie_in_TX]

I am going to suggest a different path. You have 2 different needs. Open feild mowing and tight stall work. Get 2 different tractors. A good used 2wheel drive 35 hp tractor for mowing (a MF231 comes to mind) and a small loader JD2210 or Kubota B2230 (MF makes one this size but don't remember the number) for stall work. Some other options for the 35hp tractor, a Ford 600, 800 or thousand series. I have seen the Fords in good shape for $4k. For the small loader also look at the Mahindra 2015 and Kioti CK20.