Can you buy too big a tractor ?

[Horridfiber]

Hills, rough bush country, pulling some firewood, deer food plots.

Finally down to either the MF4608 or the MF1759.

Is the stability always more pronounced in a larger heavier tractor; the clearance sure is.

Thanks

 

[TSO]

Both are very nice tractors, but the 4608 well definitely have much more capabilities.

Both have power shuttle transmissions, so for size, do you have specific limitations that would require the smaller machine?

Towing & transportation of the machine?
Turf wear?
Storage (room in the barn)?

If you can "fit" the larger machine, both within your size limitations, and budget ... I'd much rather have the larger machine IF you need that much power.

 

[Horridfiber]

Hey TSO-

I plan to load the FEL with firewood, move rocks off the food plots, haul some logs, maple sap in the spring, tug a cultivator, run the trails all 4 seasons.
Both vehicles are clearly more than I need.
But, I cannot get stuck in the woods or be limited in snow etc- really just need a massive ATV as far as capability goes.
1759 fits in the garage, 4608 will need an adjustment to the garage to fit. My 100 acres is 3 miles from the house- so need to run the roads.
The 4608 seems **** big but I know nothing bout tractors.

 

[hhsco]

I find it's really nice to have a small footprint when you're in the woods. You get a loader on a decent sized tracter, and then any attachment on the hitch, and you've got one heck of wide, long machine, especially with a cab. I've got an orchard model so it has all the power but is quite a bit more compact than a standard tractor which is really helpful in skidding stuff out of the woods. For what you're doing with it sounds like the 1759 will be more than enough machine.

 

[TSO]

Hey TSO-

I plan to load the FEL with firewood, move rocks off the food plots, haul some logs, maple sap in the spring, tug a cultivator, run the trails all 4 seasons.
Both vehicles are clearly more than I need.
But, I cannot get stuck in the woods or be limited in snow etc- really just need a massive ATV as far as capability goes.
1759 fits in the garage, 4608 will need an adjustment to the garage to fit. My 100 acres is 3 miles from the house- so need to run the roads.
The 4608 seems **** big but I know nothing bout tractors.

I think that either machine would have the power to do what you are describing. But, to allow for potential future uses, I'd personally go with the 4608. Both are built by Iseki, whom I feel builds excellent, sturdy machines that are among the best out there.

But, unless you've already shopped around and narrowed it down to Massey (no problem with that!) Make sure you also checkout machines from other brands near you. You can buy a machine with similar size and strength from most manufacturers, and with brands like LS, Kioti, TYM, Branson, etc ... You can save some money also.

 

[TripleR]

I use a Kubota L5740HSTC and M8540HDC and both are really nice machines, but if I could have only one, it would be the M8540. Tractors shrink when you get them home.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I can't ever remembering a time when I said, "I wish I was on a smaller tractor", but I can remember more than a few that I wished I had a BIGGER tractor!

SR

 

[Utopia Texas]

Yes, You can get too large of a tractor. Here at home with my mature Pecan orchard and other open areas my NH 4.75 works well and is more than powerful for what I need to accomplish. The same tractor at our place in the East Texas Piney woods is a pain in the a** to get through the woods. With cab it is about 9 feet tall and the rear view mirrors constantly get whacked by lower limbs. I can't see cutting thousands of trees to use it there off major paths so I instead take my tiny Ford 1215 which scoots through the woods very well. Unfortunately the Ford 1215 cannot pull a 80 foot long pine log through the woods like the NH T4.75 but there has been no job there I could not accomplish. I would much rather use the larger tractor in the woods especially with AC during our really hot Summers but it is hugely impractical at that location.

 

[McREBEL]

It is absolutely possible to go bigger than what would be ideal. I think the size of the Kubota B2920 fits well for what I need. It maneuvers easily through the heavily wooded land I use it on and is capable of the work I want to accomplish with it. I could go a little larger/heavier and be fine, but there would be a point where the weight and size wouldn't be ideal for me. The environment you use it in and its intended uses go a long way to dictate the ideal size/weight and these two parameters vary so widely it is hard to make an absolute suggestion as to what size/weight would be ideal for someone else. In some situations the ideal size/weight could have a wide range and others not so. Concerning your stated uses, firewood and food plots, the 1759 is plenty big for that. Depending on the scale you are talking about, my B2920 is plenty big for that.

 

[doxford jim]

I expect you will find lots of things to use your tractor on with 100 acres. I think your biggest problem will be going too small and then having to buy another to suit your needs:banghead:. At 80hp you will have lots of power for your needs and would be safer on the road to IMO - other traffic will be more inclined to treat you better than they would should you be on a smaller tractor.

 

[arrow]

I used to have a bit over a hundred acres and logged my own firewood for the last 35 years. I am speaking strictly from logging terms but a smaller tractor would take forever to make a quarter mile turn with only a less than half cord in tow if you'r e lucky. Stability was never an issue in these tight, ground obstructed woods here in N.England with either a smaller or larger tractor.

If time and production when logging is of value for you, then get the larger tractor. If you do not mind skidding logs closer to home (or landing in your case) and you do not see yourself doing wood in 35 years, get the smaller. Working on a small scale when you have to move wood 3 miles back to your house might get frustrating and is why Sawyer Rob makes his points about a larger machine. Ypu'll be able to load faster and larger stems with the bigger tractor and take more wood home in one shot. Of course you're gonna want a heavy duty trailer to bring the wood home. If you are planning to burn 5 cords or more being that far from home, I'd go larger so you can do some serious work and not take forever doing it.

Doxford Jim makes a good point about road travel for the larger tractor also.

 

[Horridfiber]

All the work will be done over at the 100 acres.
A trailer is on order to help move the 3-4 bush cords we need to burn for Maple syrup.

Its basically just a bush lot that we plan to improve for deer hunting and atv riding.
The bulldozer I have hired will clear a wide ring road around the perimeter of the property.

I am afraid of buying too small a tractor if a bigger, heavier, wider one is more stable and safer in rugged terrain.
More afraid of buying something that requires flagman all around me so I can maneuver and park the **** thing.

 

[DT86]

In real life and in the five years I've been on TBN I've never known anyone to trade in a tractor because it was too big. I personally know of several and there have been many more on TBN they were traded in because they bought too small to begin with.

 

[gladehound]

Define for yourself what is too big. For example, maybe 9 ft high is the max because your barn door is 9 ft high. Maybe 80 inches wide is the max because of the width of a path you will be on. Maybe you can't go over a certain weight for transport reasons. once you define all your parameters that are too big, get a tractor that is as big as possible without exceeding any of those parameters.

Agree with previous posts about getting respect on the road. Bigger is better. I used to drive a 19 hp CUT on the road frequently and cars would just fly by without a second thought. Now just going to a 45HP CUT, they follow from a distance and wait for me to wave them by on the small roads. On the big roads with big shoulders they still just fly by. But nobody flies by the farmer down the road with his 12 foot wide row crop tractor with dual rears.

 

[TripleR]

Yes, a person can go too big, but the OP mentioned the two which he is considering, so within those parameters, many of us are saying, no the bigger of the two won't be too big.

Either will of course work.