Buying a tractor - too many choices! Please point me in the right direction

[tman1020]

 

[batwing]

I went with 35hp 3000 pound tractor, not once have I wanted a smaller tractor!
Ron

 

[TomSeller]

I can only load one pic at a time for some reason

Very nice. Cab, loader, SSQA and backhoe. You are all set. Were you wearing a mask when you got that for $14K?

 

[whizdbiz2]

I purchased my bobcat CT 225 with loader brand-new for 14,000 on closeout it is essentially the same as the kioti CK 27. I too was torn between the larger DK series but am very pleased with my choice. It has done everything I've asked it to and exceededmy expectations. Grapples are cool but I have found forks quite useful as well and much cheaper to purchase. As others have said make sure whichever way you go you get the quick attach bucket.

All good advice here with my take being: get what you need and can afford. You can play the upgrade game to the point of bankruptcy. When I was looking there were a lot of used ones available in the size I wanted so that is always an option. I recently purchased the smallest Mahindra (eMax 22 HST with FEL) because my budget was tight and I needed the smallest size to get into my barn for clean up and the FEL was a very useful helper (not getting any younger here!). I don't have heavy woods but found that clamp on bucket forks are great for cleaning up downed branches and trees (once cut up) and brand new they were under $200 delivered. I don't feel bad when they sit in the barn most of the time at that price. Other than a new rear blade and quick hitch with the tractor, that ended up costing just $150 after rebate, I buy used implements as needed. I have some that I used with my Ford N small tractors. But I did find a brand new 5' finish mower at a sale for $600 that retails over $2,000. So, have the money and be ready to go when a bargain comes up.

 

[jd870]

Noose, i think the LS G3033H and attachments would work just fine for the work you need to do.

 

[tman1020]

No Tom he had a bunch of them. Thy did sell fast though. I'm very happy with it I feel it's a great size tractor for me. No complaints.

 

[TJP89]

To the OP. I get that you can play the upgrade game to much, but I would really bump it up one more to 40HP. That would handle anything reasonable and shouldn't run you to much. I started out looking at 18HP SCUTs and moved up 2 levels to 35HP, glad I did. You will be thankful you moved up down the road. There is a guy in the kioti forum right now who is regreting not going one size up and is looking at a trade in now at a 10K cost. I do not think you need to go beyond 40 however.

 

[TomSeller]

No Tom he had a bunch of them. Thy did sell fast though. I'm very happy with it I feel it's a great size tractor for me. No complaints.

And you sure should. I would love to have that setup for that price. And made by Kioti you get a good solid tractor.

 

[woodchipper]

First the closest dealer is about 45 minutes - Kubota. Another half hour will get me to LS, John Deere, New Holland and Kioti... If I'm willing to go a couple of hours, I can get just about every major brand. The closest, by far, is a Kubota dealer at 30-40 minutes drive. I'm closing on 60 acres in about 30 days and there's an immense amount of work to be done. I won't be doing any planting, hay cutting, etc., as I'll be moving from Ag Use to essentially enjoyment of the land with a Wildlife Exemption. That will require some basic work such as brush hogging, road maintenance, fence work, and lots of cleanup work on old, dead trees, junk left out in the woods, and so on. I'm thinking I can get away with a 30ish horse but I want the weight so I can box blade the crappy driveway and roads into something more usable. I'll have road base delivered and I'll slowly work on a road across the property to the back. All total mabye 2000' of road built over time. (lots of time)

I've honestly done a ton of research and come up with the following list of things I think I want:

30ish HP tractor with FEL
Hydrostatic
R4 Tires
3-point Quick Hitch
Brush Hog implement
Box Blade implement
12 auger for some fence post repair (quite few of them are rotten or just poorly done)
540 PTO

Now... Some of the things I don't understand yet. Do all the 3-points on these CUTs hydraulically raise/lower as I've seen in "how to" videos or is that an "option". How important is weight going to be for my uses? There's a significant difference in weight in some of the CUTs. I'm assuming with FEL work, chassis weight is quite important.

I'm looking to keep the above package from getting over $20K. I really like the feature set of the LS G3033H and with implements above in a package, I'm in around that price or a tad over. I guess I'll leave at that and await a few points of advice and come back with more questions.

Thanks for all the help, in advance.

NOOSE,
I have read all the replies you got on your thread. Good comments and suggestions. As you noticed, the trend is to go for bigger, heavier, etc...
You seem to have done your homework already, and that is to your advantage at this point in making a serious purchasing decision.
I will only say a few things that are on my mind at this point. The 35Hp range you are aiming at, seems bang on to me. The quick attach purchase...Not a beleiver as if you realy need it. With only two rear implements? If you get the extandable lower arms, then that is more than a bonus for hooking your BB and BH. If you still decide to go for the Quick hitch, you will realize that it extends your implements a few inches further to the back. It is sometimes a good thing!
In any case, make sure they both are QH compatible when you decide to purchase them. As for HST, if you don't mow your grass with the tractor, then why?
This is money that you could keep for other expenses, like maybe a grapple?
Visit your dealers, and try as many machines as possible in your price range. Ergonomics will be very important depending on the omount of seat time you will put!
Keep us posted as to what you narrow your choices to!
Good luck Noose!

 

[tman1020]

Woodchipper no disrespect but I think The quick hitch being referred to as I understand it is not for the rear implements. They were referring to quick attach for the front loader arms. As far as hydrostat goes I have had lots of tractors and this one is my first hydrostat and unless I'm plowing a field for my main use I'm never going back. But everyone has their own preferences.