Compact Tractor Advice

[cqaigy]

I live close to Olympia Washington and would like advice on what tractor to buy for gardening and landscaping. 7.5acre hilly silty clay soil. I can only work about 5 acres cause the other two very steep and on the other side of the creek. I would like to make trails and to terrace 3 acres for garden. Move dirt and help lift rocks for wall. Clean out fence lines.

Thats all i can think of for now.

TIA

 

[GerardC]

I have the Kioti CK20 and believe it would tackle the chores you have in mind. Give it a look. G

 

[Chechnya]

As always, take a look at the Kubota L35 with GST.

 

[KiotiJohn]

I know that for what you want to do, either the Kioti LB1914 with mechanical shuttle shift, or the CK20 manual or HST would be able to do the work. Of course, there are comparable tractors, Kubota B7510, B7610, John Deere models, New Holland, Mahindra, but I found the Kioties to have better features and usually for less money than the Kubota, Deere and New Holland. You don't need a really big tractor to do a lot of work, my CK20 is proof of that for me. 20 HP or up with 4 wheel drive should do all of your tasks. John

 

[Egon]

My thoughts would tend towards a very manuverable tractor with a low center of gravity, Hst and a backhoe for the terracing and digging out rocks. 20 or more HP should be very adaquate.

Egon

 

[Charlie_in_TX]

First, for hilly ground, I would recomend nothing but a hst.

I would also get a FEL and backhoe for the dirt/clearing.

I have flat land, 7 acres. I was looking for dirt/clearing and mostly mowing. I ended up with a 26hp tractor, 72in MMM and FEL and glade I got bigger than the 20hp I was originally looking at. I have about 25hrs on it now, probably 20hrs are mowing. It would be quite a bit more if I had the 20hp and 60in MMM.

How to pick a tractor. First I would say visit local dealers. Narrow you brand selection based on good local dealers (ones with parts and repair on site and makes you feel comfortable). Then start comparing the brands they sell with your need. That should give you a good chance at the right tractor.

 

[snmhanson]

I live down in the Columbia Gorge which I guess doesn't really mean anything since soil conditions and conditinos in general change so much from place to place in the Pac NW. I have a Kubota B7800 w/ FEL, box blade, 60"mmm and rake for landscaping and then maintaining my five acres. It has worked great so far for the 65 hours I have on it. Our property is pretty flat so I can't really comment on it's performance on hilly land. I did mow my in-laws grass though and they have a few hills that I had to cross and I didn't feel like it was going to tip. As far as Kubota goes I think you would be happy with any of the B series tractors. I used a B7510 for about eight hours before getting the 7800 and it would have done everything for me that I'm doing with my 7800, just a bit slower. The B7510 (or the B2410) would have been a better tractor for mowing the lawn since it is a little lighter and a little more manueverable. If you are going to mow with it keep an eye on weight between brands you are looking at. I can only comment on Kubota since that's all I've used but I know that you can't go wrong with any of the well-known tractors. Test drive them and definately consider your feelings about the dealer.

Matt

 

[blackwell]

Take a look at Power Trac, the 1430 would do a nice job for you.
EB

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I tend to like what EGON, CHARLIE and BLACKWELL wrote.

Hills are a special problem so a LOW center of gravity is very important to safety, I also think that a hydrostatic transmission would greatly increase safety, and a highly manuverable tractor would aid in safety and would make your tasks easier.

A Power Trac of about 30 hp would be a great machine for working hills. They are amazing machines and their design is very well suited to working hard and working on hills. If the land were flat I'd say that a tractor of ~24hp would be fine, but with the hills I'd opt for something slightly larger. A New Holland TC30 or Kubota 7800 would be nice budget tractors with the HST options. A TC 29 or B2910 would be nice full featured tractors, but I am not sure that you'd be as comfortable on the slopes with a conventional tractor regardless of the features. CUTs smaller than 30hp tend to be narrow so I'd stay away from them regardless of the brand.

 

[neilly2]

Disregard specific manufacturer recommendations, because you're only hearing about what people have in the garage. The big companies have comprable lines and are all reliable machines.

Match the tractor specs with what your're doing:

1. Hilly - look for wide stance preferably something you can reverse the rims and get really wide. Low center of gravity as well.

2. Silty clay with Washington rain -- you've got a mess so make sure you get 4WD with ag tires, preferably filled. And a stick to get the clay out of your treads.

3. Moving rocks, terracing, trails -- you're looking for a work horse not a riding mower. Up the horsepower to the 25-30 range. Yes, to the loader, thought the back hoe will be pricey. If you're terracing includes retaining wall, the hoe is a definite. If you are just shaping the earth, I'd try a rear blade or box blade before spending that kind cabbage.

4. Transmission - the Kioti has a shuttle shift whereas most of the others have hydro-stat for more $$. Now, I have manual, but if I was in the rain, on a hill, with a boulder in my bucket I might not want to be looking down searching for the gear if I didn't have to.

If cost is a factor look at the used market -- get ROPS.

 

[neilly2]

Bob Skurka,

I believe the Power Trac is an articulated machine. If I am wrong ignore the following.

I disagree that this would be safer on hilly terrain. On the contrary I believe that in tight maneuvering situations this could be more dangerous. If turning towards the uphill when the machine is oriented across the slope, the center of gravity moves further downhill while the downslope tires move towards the uphill aggravating the possiblity of turnover.

Articulated machines are, in fact, more maneuverable, so it would boil down to just how hilly it is.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Yes the PT machines are articulated. In fact so are the Ventrac and Steiner tractors.

Ventracs and Steiners are known as some of the best slope tractors in the world. They have special weight transfer systems to increase traction on slopes. Some of the PT units also have weight transfer systems to move the implement weight back onto the front wheels and are rated for slopes.

I can tell you from personal experience that my Cub Cadet was very unstable on my slopes and was only able to go up & down my slopes, but my Ventrac can do "figure 8s" and "u-turns" in places that would flip the Cub Cadet. And the worst slope I have is a compound slope and there is no place on that slope that I would ever take my B2910 or my TC24D, but the Ventrac runs across it, up & down it and all over it.

The best traction machines seem to have both articulating and occilating frames which allow all 4 wheels to be on the ground even in rough terrain, combined with weight transfer systems that carry much of the implement's weight on the front wheels, several models of Ventrac, Steiner & Power Trac combine those features.

 

[neilly2]

I'm quite interested in the weight correction features. I'm glad to hear this as I intend to investigate articulated machines someday when I buy new. Of course my property is dead flat, so no big issue here.

How is the weight adjusted?

Is the frame oscillation you refer to similar to the all terrain forklifts(lulls) where the cab levels off? Or is it more similar to an independent suspension that keeps 4 wheels on the ground?

Do you have any ability to post a picture of your Ventrac in action? I'd sure like to see something besides the Power Trac website pictures.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Take a look at this thread, it shows a bunch of pictures my little Ventrac 3000. You might also want to search for JackIL, he posted some pictures of his Ventrac 4200.

Link to Ventrac 3000 thread

Steiner and Ventrac make normal looking tractors capable of using a FEL that are articulated, and Ventrac make the model I purchased which is much more like a serious garden tractor than a CUT, it is an amazing mowing machine that is typically used by golf courses, municiple parks, etc and not very commonly used by homeowners due to the high cost of the units. The 3000 is well suited to mowing, blowing snow, sweeping parking lots, but not well suited to actual tractoring tasks. The model 3000 is NOT suited to the uses of the original poster for this thread, but the model 4200 would fit the tasks very well.

 

[neilly2]

I didn't realize it was so low to the ground, that's probably the biggest advantage right there.

I've been looking at the 4200 on the web. For the work the poster described I'd be a little weary of the clearance and tire size.

Maybe we can agree on recommending him a wide-track loader from Caterpillar.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Maybe, but I think a Power Trac would be ideal.