Buying my first new tractor

[8nownerinky]

Thanks for the congrats. The finish mower I ended up getting a 6' Woods. I got it from a family member used (with a 5' KK Tiller) however it's been used maybe twice, both times by me, so I practically stole the combo for $300 and a 400 smallblock chevy truck a guy gave me when he moved to Airzona, so no big loss. Plus with gas prices, you know, lol. My ford cabover dump truck with a 534 just about kills me when it's time to refill (75 gallon tank), but lucky for me trips to the pump are few and far between as I don't find much use for it anymore. I'm thinking about starting a landscaping/excavating business, as I already do much of the work already and already have the insurance, facilities and most of the equipment already, not to mention what's on the way, that way I can quit my day job (I'm getting too old to crawl around on my knees with a hundred pounds of gear and break down doors, not to mention carrying patients out of the woods and unloading them once we get to where we are going). Any suggestions on this?

 

[flusher]

Civesnedfield,

Today has been a lucky day for me, not only did I get my 4530, but I got a finish mower, tiller and found a heck of a deal on a International 606 (850 plus 350 for the FEL, some assembly required, lol). And, I'm still underbudget by a few grand. Next up will be the farm, lol. I found an old goat farm a few miles from my house for $105,000 and I'm going to look at it Thursday. Man, I must have got a 4 leaf clover stuck in my boot while out grading behind the barn today or something, because this is apparently going to be my week.

What all are you capible of with your 4530? It's a lot more horsepower than anything I have used regularly, and I know what the manufacturer/dealer says it's capible of, but what's you real-world experience?

Thanks,

Dan

Congrats on your new tractor. Your 4530 has hp about the same as my 1964 MF-135 diesel (45 hp engine, 37 hp pto).

With the 4530's 42 engine hp/34 pto hp you should be able to handle a 5 ft brush hog (maybe 6 ft), 6 ft box blade, 2-14 plow, 7-ft tandem disc, 6 ft rototiller. Don't know if you plan to get into haying, but your 4530 can easily handle a 6-8 ft sicklebar mower, a 10 ft side delivery hay rake, a 10-ft cultipacker, a 10-ft grain drill, and a small square hay baler like my MF-124.

 

[8nownerinky]

Flusher,
I may consider hay operations if I had more time on my hands, didn't live in the city, had more room to work and the hay market was actually profittable around here. After the hay shortage around here last year, everybody started producing on every little lot they could, and now we have a huge surplus of it. You have to travel ~40 miles or so just to get a price high enough to break even. I have a 6' pull behind bushhog that I use behind the H to mow a lot for a guy I work with (my major), and yes I know the H is way underpowered for it, however, the lot is more like a lawn that nobody touches, so the mowing is light, and I'm able to do it cheap since it's right next door to me, and they guy has saved my butt a few times while I was a rookie FF just getting my feet wet. Hopefuly the 4530 will do a better job with the woods finish mower, but I won't get to find out until Friday (and I can't wait to be quite frank.). I passed up the chance to buy a 135 in rough shape, and now I wish I hadn't passed it up. You can never have too many tractors. My eventual plan is one for each day of the week . Wtih my H, 8n, the International 606 and 4530, my count is up to 4, so I'm almost to my goal . However, the ball-and-chain hasn't been told about the 606 yet, so if you suddenly notice my absence, I'm probably 6 feet under .

Thanks guys,

Dan

 

[Charlie175]

I like that 606, looks like a handy tractor.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Congrats on your new tractor. Your 4530 has hp about the same as my 1964 MF-135 diesel (45 hp engine, 37 hp pto).

With the 4530's 42 engine hp/34 pto hp you should be able to handle a 5 ft brush hog (maybe 6 ft), 6 ft box blade, 2-14 plow, 7-ft tandem disc, 6 ft rototiller. Don't know if you plan to get into haying, but your 4530 can easily handle a 6-8 ft sicklebar mower, a 10 ft side delivery hay rake, a 10-ft cultipacker, a 10-ft grain drill, and a small square hay baler like my MF-124.

Flusher,
You are underestimating that 4530.

 

[8nownerinky]

Flusher,
You are underestimating that 4530.

That's exactly what I want to hear .

 

[civesnedfield]

Flusher,
You are underestimating that 4530.

I agree with Galen. I just bought a 6' bush hog, wishing I had gone with the 7 footer.

 

[souvenircopy]

Yo ho, here's another newbie in central KY looking at Mahindras.

Just bought 20 acres outside Paris to build a small horse farm. Need a solid, reliable tractor to maintain paddocks, pull a manure spreader, and move hay bales, firewood, posts, etc. No baling hay, no tilling or plowing and I'm certainly not going to dig my own post holes for fencing.

Considering the Mahindra 4500. Been told to go for the 4530 but can't yet see the justification in the extra 6 grand in cost.

Opinions? I'd love to hear 'em!

 

[Gary Fowler]

I suppose it depends on your needs. If you want a FEL, then you should definitely get a 4 WD model as 2 WD have hardly any traction with the FEL in place even with loaded tires and wheel weights. If you are just scooping up hay in a dry barn, you might get by with a 2 WD but anything heavier than that you will be in trouble. Looking at the specs on the two, the 4530 is heavier by almost 2000 lbs. so you will get a lot more traction even in 2 WD with that tractor vs the 4500.
Cost difference, I guess you have to personally justify that depending on your needs. You could be better off with a smaller HP 4 WD (30-35) rather than the larger 2 WD as you would likely be more maneuverable and pull more than the 2 WD larger HP tractor albeit maybe a little slower.
JUST MHO.

 

[xlr82v2]

... If you want a FEL, then you should definitely get a 4 WD model as 2 WD have hardly any traction with the FEL in place even with loaded tires and wheel weights.

WHOA... ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE AT ALL!!! I invite you to come test out my 3525... you'll have your eyes opened at what you can do with "only" 2WD.

It is true that a 4WD will have more traction than a 2WD, but the above statement makes it sound as if a 2WD with a loader is just absolutely helpless and incapable of doing anything... Which is flat out wrong.