Compact Do All Tractor

[mitchash]

I am thinking about getting one machine to do most everything with the right attachments. I have a bigger 4x4 tractor with loader, Skidsteer, garden tractor and trailer backhoe (still in the building stages). I am thinking of just getting one tractor with loader, backhoe, brush hog and mower deck to replace all my other equipment. I have about 24 acres, need lawn mowing (about 3 hours with a 54" deck), ditch digging, pond cleaning, loader work, brush hog about 7 acres, want to put up a cabin and garage at some point. What would be the best size/type of machine for me?

 

[2458n]

Twenty -four horse power is to small.

 

[2458n]

Something in the 45 hp range. With a quick hitch on the front loader. Arps 750 3pt. backhoe, 6-7ft. finish mower, and a 7ft. bush hog with at least a 80 hp. gear box. 4x4 on tractor a must. Enjoy. Keep the skidsteer attachments to use with the tractor. For sure on the pallet forks,snowblower,and boom pole.

 

[boggen]

you have a little of everything huh?

you might try stating size /model / brand of each piece of equipment you have to help folks clue in better.

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as soon as you go for all in one. and include (MOWING) front yard. you just made a good amount of compromises.

keeping front yard cut down and looking good = you end up making compromises such as "tires" to "weight" to "removing attachments such as FEL and backhoe" to just mow.

if you removed mowing front yard, from an all in one, you could have a much better "jack of all trades" tractor. for everything else you mentioned. trench digging, bush hogging, FEL work, backhoe work, cleaning pond edge, etc...

ya it may only take XX minutes to do this or do that, in attaching / unhooking something, but it adds up pretty quick.

myself prefer 2 tractors. one tractor for nice finish mowing, then a larger tractor, for everything else. mowing is one of them time consuming tasks and being able to quickly and easily turn, and mow without making ruts and tearing up the grass every place you go to turn, or the ground is just a little bit soft from the last rain and begin to make ruts.

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honestly would say, keep what you have, and get attachments for what you have.

 

[Beltzington]

My JD 3720 has 36HP at the PTO and does everything you mentioned with the exception of the backhoe. If you are cutting 24-acres in 3 hours you either have very flat property or bruised kidneys. It takes me twice that time to cut my 8-acres. While this compact tractor works very well for me a larger tractor would most likely give you better performance and a stable ride on open property. The advantage of the smaller CUT is a can get into areas around my pond where a larger wheel base just would not fit. Power wise I have never needed more than I have and my loader with adequate ballast can lift 2000lbs with ease. As far as the backhoe I decided to rent an excavator if needed as I do not want to have to mount, remove and store a heavy attachment or have to face backward on the tractor while digging.

 

[dkizerian]

2458n's advice sounds good, but I'd keep the lawn mower for doing any nice sections of turf.

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree with others a separate lawn mower suited to your property needs would be best. A large compact tractor with the attachments would be nice for the rest of the jobs. Until I bought my 4520 I used the Deere 110tlb to do a wide variety of jobs and was very pleased with its abilities.

How big of a machine would depend on what you need to do obviously, we don't have much indication of your needs. Does your inlaws have larger tractors or do you plan on working that 200 acres too?

 

[boggen]

Something in the 45 hp range. With a quick hitch on the front loader. Arps 750 3pt. backhoe, 6-7ft. finish mower, and a 7ft. bush hog with at least a 80 hp. gear box. 4x4 on tractor a must. Enjoy. Keep the skidsteer attachments to use with the tractor. For sure on the pallet forks,snowblower,and boom pole.

problems with finishing mowers, is once you get so wide. any little "bump" or "hill" you go over. you end up running the blades into the dirt and scalping the yard. and then you resort to 3 deck bat wing setup that are costly and require a pretty good machine to run them.

more HP is always nice in a tractor, so you can run at a higher ground speed / gear. and make things faster with a 60" or so deck. but you are still limited to how fast the blades turn. and height of grass. you still need to back down on ground speed / gear, in taller grass, or you end up with scraggly first past and have to re-mow a couple times. to get grass looking good again.

not sure they even offer a 7 foot wide finishing mower in a single deck. i think largest i have ran across in reasonable price range has been almost 6 feet wide. before seeing bat wing style setups.

 

[mitchash]

My tractor is a Jinma 4x4 25hp with loader, my skidsteer is a Bobcat 753 with tooth bucket and pallet forks, my backhoe is a CAD Plans build it yourself from plans that needs finishing, it has an 8' reach and our garden tractor is a Cub Cadet 3000 series. There isn't 24 acre to mow most of it is woods. It does take about 3 hours to mow and weed eat the lawn and there is a 7 acre field that needs to be brush cut once or twice a year. We purchased 3 Kubota tractors at work one with a loader and backhoe and since they work so well compared to my older stuff it just got me thinking of having one machine to do it all. But I am probabl better off just keeping my current machines maintained.

 

[boggen]

on another note 4 engines to take care of, and then upkeep on each machine *ughs* not fun at all. trade / sell the trailer backhoe, skid steer, and tractor you have, and get a descent tractor with backhoe. and keep the riding mower. granted there are folks here on the forums. that do like the all in one thing, some go for belly finishing mower (fits between front and back tires), some go with 3pt hitch finishing mower on back, to make it easier to hook / unhook. without having to pull and tug and push to get a belly mower on and off.

if you have good concrete pad or garage, or good rocked area were you can keep the implements. more so out of grass and mud, and on a nice even surface. and get things setup right, with blocks and/or stands. un-hooking and re-hooking things up from just front FEL bucket. to the entire FEL (arms and bucket) to easily hooking / unhooking of backhoe. can take only a few minutes, without much hassle. (pair of channel locks, hammer, and smaller pin you can use to beat larger pins out of things. and twist pins as needed to help pull them out.

unhooking / hooking things up with good stands and/or blocks. can be bells and whistles of things. but can make life a lot more hassle free.