Another "Help me pick a tractor" thread

[vvanders]

IMO I wouldn't be super comfortable running an L3901 for 1000lb round bales out on the loader. It's only ~700lbs heavier than our Ford 1500 And that one could get dicey with the 500ish bales that was even with a 800lb flail mower off the back.

I'd be looking at an MX4800 if your cost conscious or L4760 or larger if you want some bells and whistles.

When I was pricing out the MX line they were a ton of tractor for the money.

 

[4570Man]

An L3901 isn’t much different than my L3800 and you’ll definitely have a hard time with 1000 pound bails if you can do it at all which I doubt. My L3240 would have done it.

 

[vvanders]

Also if you're dealing with rounds on a regular basis and don't already have something like a bale barn[1]. I can't recommend them enough. With a pair of forks on the loader we can haul it out, drop it, unwrap it, pickup the hut and drop it on-top in less than 5-10 minutes. For our 500lb bales we get basically zero waste and it's a complete game changer.

[1] Bale Barns - HOME

 

[jeff9366]

Running them on spear on the rear is okay, I do not plan on stacking them at this time. Locals told me rounds are around 1000lbs most of the time.

Review Post #13.

 

[TomIre]

FWIW, I've got 20 acres and maybe a little more hilly and around 13 acres that need bush hogging. Part time and weekends I get the bush hogging done in about two weeks with a 60 inch bush hog. If I ran all day, I'd probably get it done in a day and a half. Calculations don't take into account real life greasing, water, fuel, meal breaks plus not having square, flat fields to cut. Just trying to give you an idea of time involved.
I'm very happy with my Branson 3725H and don't think it would have too much trouble with your chore list.
BTW, I've never hayed before so may very likely be missing something here but I found a place that sells haying equipment for my size tractor. I think I could buy the equipment i needed for around $20k plus the tractor. That doesn't include ferilizer, soil prep, etc. My conclusion was that you can't justify cutting hay on @15, uneven, not flat, broken up fields.
Good luck. There are lots of great machines out there.

 

[mred2]

In using round bales of hay. They are cheaper by the pound to feed. If you every plan on feeding rounds, you will want to store in stacked. It is so much better stored inside, due to waste. I purchase about 90 rolls a year. All top quality horse hay. I have an LS XR4150 with loader, hay spear. You will want a FEL no mater what else you get. It is just something you will use all of the time. 4WD is needed a lot of the time in wet weather. Horses in paddocks in wet weather tend to make paddocks really wet. Your will need 4WD. When loading the FEL, weight is taken off of the rear tires and without 4WD you may not move very well.
I moved hay around with my old 35hp tractor, 2WD, no FEL, for many years. I made it work. But a lot of hay got wet and wasted. But it did work. I would never try to grow my own hay. I have enough land, but not the equipment or the time. Around here, most people will not do hay on the half any more. Just not worth it for a small field.(cost of moving equipment)
Take your time, talk an listen a lot. Find a dealer that you can work with. Equipment is long term. Good Luck!

 

[niterydr]

Also if you're dealing with rounds on a regular basis and don't already have something like a bale barn[1]. I can't recommend them enough. With a pair of forks on the loader we can haul it out, drop it, unwrap it, pickup the hut and drop it on-top in less than 5-10 minutes. For our 500lb bales we get basically zero waste and it's a complete game changer.

[1] Bale Barns - HOME

We've looked into those actually. I planned on making a run in shelter for the horses and having it so I can flip the round inside of an elevated platform inside the shelter. Somewhat of a bale barn already as part of the run in.

 

[niterydr]

In using round bales of hay. They are cheaper by the pound to feed. If you every plan on feeding rounds, you will want to store in stacked. It is so much better stored inside, due to waste. I purchase about 90 rolls a year. All top quality horse hay. I have an LS XR4150 with loader, hay spear. You will want a FEL no mater what else you get. It is just something you will use all of the time. 4WD is needed a lot of the time in wet weather. Horses in paddocks in wet weather tend to make paddocks really wet. Your will need 4WD. When loading the FEL, weight is taken off of the rear tires and without 4WD you may not move very well.
I moved hay around with my old 35hp tractor, 2WD, no FEL, for many years. I made it work. But a lot of hay got wet and wasted. But it did work. I would never try to grow my own hay. I have enough land, but not the equipment or the time. Around here, most people will not do hay on the half any more. Just not worth it for a small field.(cost of moving equipment)
Take your time, talk an listen a lot. Find a dealer that you can work with. Equipment is long term. Good Luck!

Thanks! I've pretty much determined that a FEL and 4wd are required, almost have myself convinced I need a cab due to weather conditions in East Texas and the bees/bugs/dust situation.

 

[niterydr]

You would need to find someone to process your hay on share.

Hay processing equipment is very expensive and not suitable for part-time agriculturists.




Minimal acreage for a haymaker to visit repeatedly with implement changes in order to cut, dry and bale hay.

Anyone willing to process hay on 8-10 acres will want to work really fast. Your fields need to be LEVEL. Where I live in Florida hay fields are rolled and rolled until LEVEL. Cost to have fields leveled as a service is $170 per acre.

Agreed after further research and discussions. I'll just try to make the pastures the most nutrient dense I can and then buy hay to supplement with the grain we already feed.

 

[niterydr]

Alright we've been in the property about 45 days now and I am starting to get a handle on what I need around here.

I bought a garden tractor for the lawn and light duty stuff, Cub Cadet XT1 GT - 50".


It does a good job in pulling my 12cu poly cart and a 4' harrow/drag but that is about it, oh and it mowes well. I did try to do some pasture knock down and it is entirely to rough to do without beating this garden tractor into the ground. It would work in a pinch, but far from ideal.

First major project I tried to start tractorless was grading around my house. I started it by hand, that was a waste of time.

So last weekend I also borrowed my neighbor's 5100E.

Very nice tractor and it allowed me to make quick work of some immediate needs with the loader, mostly leveling the high soil around the house.


It was my first time driving a tractor, pretty happy with how it turned out all things considered. Now to put in some rock, edging, finish burying the downspouts, put in the garden, etc....

Looking forward and when I look at the property on the needs vs. wants.

Needs:
Brush hog capabilities for the acreage/pasture lands.
Loader capabilities to smooth out some land
Ability to stack rounds (This is inside of 5 years but I'd rather buy once).

Wants:
Backhoe for excavation/trenching in the woods. I'd like to extend my pond and dig it deeper, maybe stock some catfish in there and make a food plot next to it for deer. That requires power and well the $7k would cover a lot of rental for that one project...maybe best to just rent one when I need it.

I've been talking to the nearest Branson dealer, Big Red's, and am looking at the 3725C, 4520C, and the 4225C. I have no need for the hydrostat and after hopping in that big deere I've realized I don't need it. Also the 100hp the green machine had is nice, but way overkill for what I need, I never got that tractor out of B range and over 1800rpm for any of the work I did with the loader.

I do have a Massey and Kubota dealer near me, just hard for me to get over the cost factor of these new machines. After working in a cab tractor I think that is a requirement now.
I've thought about getting a UTV and putting a brush mower on it...but fear that is the wrong job for the tasks at hand.

Just thinking out loud here.

Does it make sense to finance implements with the purchase of the tractor, or pay cash if possible?

Does it make sense to roll in the backhoe with the tractor purchase or wait and buy that later as an ad on or just rent as I need it?

I do appreciate all the advise, here is a shot I took of the Cub Cadet the first day I got it and some grading shots inside the Deere.