woolyAcres
Platinum Member
I'm helping my father as he searches for a new tractor. I've been impressed with the Bobcat line of CUT, but he's uncertain. He's got 120 acres, partially wooded; partially pastures (brush hogged), and partially farmed (mowed, baled, seeded). It's varying terrain, but not overly hilly; wet is probably more a problem than hilly.
He has a 90HP Case to use for the "real" farming, but he could use something more dependable for everyday chores: getting firewood, brush hogging, FEL for cleaning the barn, seeder, back blade, etc. His Case can do anything he needs it to (except it lacks a bucket) however, it often needs some attention before being put to use.
I'd like him to get something in the 35-50hp range (with bucket) to clean out the barn, spread manure (off pto) run the brush hog, maybe the mower machine, the hay rake, and possibly a small square baler, and to move round bales (5' and as much as 1500lbs).
To me the most important thing is that the tractor be easy to use, dependable, small enough to fit in the barn, but strong enough to dig the manure out. He currently has a David Brown (50hp I think) which does the barn cleaning but that machine no longer steers very well and the loader runs through fluid almost as fast as it can be poured in. It it has other problems that make using it much more difficult that just starting it up. This is the tractor that the CUT would replace. Moving round bales would be its major job in winter and spring. Moving them with pallet forks, or front spear is preferable, but doing it on the 3-pt hitch is a must.
Over time he might use if for tilling his 1 acre garden and for moving snow in winter, but he currently does without that. We've looked at the CT445 and I think he got a quote a couple months back. Loader included ~$19k. That seemed like a good deal, but he wasn't sure Bobcat was a great place to spend his money. He's concerned about tractor reputation, build quality, dependability, parts availability, etc.
Someone he has purchased from in the past told him to buy Red, Green, or Blue, which sounds good until you price them. He's is shopping for a used John Deere 1990s 5000 series, but they aren't easy to come by in his area and they would be used, well out of warranty and I believe bigger than necessary and not as dependable because of age and previous use. Anyone care to comment on whether the CT445 would be a good choice for his uses? A fair price at $19k w/FEL? What about build quality, durability, etc.
Kind regards,
Peter
He has a 90HP Case to use for the "real" farming, but he could use something more dependable for everyday chores: getting firewood, brush hogging, FEL for cleaning the barn, seeder, back blade, etc. His Case can do anything he needs it to (except it lacks a bucket) however, it often needs some attention before being put to use.
I'd like him to get something in the 35-50hp range (with bucket) to clean out the barn, spread manure (off pto) run the brush hog, maybe the mower machine, the hay rake, and possibly a small square baler, and to move round bales (5' and as much as 1500lbs).
To me the most important thing is that the tractor be easy to use, dependable, small enough to fit in the barn, but strong enough to dig the manure out. He currently has a David Brown (50hp I think) which does the barn cleaning but that machine no longer steers very well and the loader runs through fluid almost as fast as it can be poured in. It it has other problems that make using it much more difficult that just starting it up. This is the tractor that the CUT would replace. Moving round bales would be its major job in winter and spring. Moving them with pallet forks, or front spear is preferable, but doing it on the 3-pt hitch is a must.
Over time he might use if for tilling his 1 acre garden and for moving snow in winter, but he currently does without that. We've looked at the CT445 and I think he got a quote a couple months back. Loader included ~$19k. That seemed like a good deal, but he wasn't sure Bobcat was a great place to spend his money. He's concerned about tractor reputation, build quality, dependability, parts availability, etc.
Someone he has purchased from in the past told him to buy Red, Green, or Blue, which sounds good until you price them. He's is shopping for a used John Deere 1990s 5000 series, but they aren't easy to come by in his area and they would be used, well out of warranty and I believe bigger than necessary and not as dependable because of age and previous use. Anyone care to comment on whether the CT445 would be a good choice for his uses? A fair price at $19k w/FEL? What about build quality, durability, etc.
Kind regards,
Peter
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