Buying Advice Considering new tractor, need advice

[vic6]

A few years ago I had a Deere 850 but had to sell it. Now considering a Kubota.

I have 20 acres. About half is flat pasture and half is a hillside that was an alfalfa field years ago. Now that hillside is weeds with some small trees.

I plan on using a rotary cutter on all the land. Cutting the flat pasture about four times a year, and cutting the hillside field about twice a year. I also may want to remove some of the trees that have sprouted up in the hillside field over the last few years.

I also have a quarter mile gravel lane that I need to maintain. Nothing fancy, maybe remove some snow and every few years blade some new crushed limestone.

For attachments I only plan on a rear rotary cutter, rear blade, and a front end loader. Would you recommend any other attachments?

After reading here I am considering something from the L series. I would appreciate your recommendations and the rationale for those recommendations.

Thank you

 

[jeff9366]

With twenty acres requiring attention you probably want to be able to pull 5' or 6' implements. You can pull either width with any of the Kubota 'L' or 'Grand L' series.

I would go with at least 37-horsepower for 5' implements, 46-horsepower for 6' implements. In both cases, your angle blade should be 12" wider than your tire width.

Other attachments I recommend are both supplements to the FEL: Ratchet Rake and either "Rip & Dig" by Ratchet Rake or a clamp-on Bucket Spade. Neither are as powerful as a Backhoe but both are very useful and less than $400 each. ( Also get a platform dolly for the pair. Save your back. )

LINKS:

http://www.bucketsolutions.com/Quick-Attach-Spade.html

http://www.ratchetrake.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvinkbW8Z90

 

[wolftree]

As you made no mention of tillage, the L4600 Kubota would be a tractor worth looking at. It is 38 pto hp and would handle a 6-7 foot rotary cutter easily. It's weight unballasted is 3200 pounds. I do reccomend fluid filled rear tires and front weights if not running your front loader while cutting on the hillside.

Your choice of front loader, rear blade and rotary cutter are good basic implements to begin with. Time and tasks will tell you of need for others.

 

[Bigfoot62]

. . . It is 38 pto hp and would handle a 6-7 foot rotary cutter easily. . .

A 6', probably, but not a 7'. A single spindle 7' bush-hog is all my 70 hp tractor wants in heavy grass. Also, even a medium duty 7' cutter would be pushing the limits of the 3ph.

If you haven't used one lately, the new tractors are a huge step up from what was available just a few years ago.
MFWD with a FEL will be so handy, you won't know how you got along without it.

 

[big bubba]

A 6', probably, but not a 7'. A single spindle 7' bush-hog is all my 70 hp tractor wants in heavy grass. Also, even a medium duty 7' cutter would be pushing the limits of the 3ph.

i totally agree, wt/guts of tractor is as important as raw pto HP

 

[Bluegill2]

I mow a lot more than 20 acres, grade a 1 mile drive, a couple miles of logging roads, skid logs and do a fair bit of loader work here. All with a 3800DT. Have 5 and 6 foot rotary cutters and it pulls both just fine.

Get a larger rig if ya want, but larger is not needed!

 

[wolftree]

Bigfoot62,

I stand corrected. You are right. I meant to type 5-6 foot rear cutter. Although with my 38 hp utility, I often felt it could walk away with a 7 foot most days. Much depends on what it is that you are cutting.

 

[2458n]

Those hillside trees grow quick. I was a year or two to late for my bush hogging. Ruined a PTO shaft while making sure I needed a chainsaw. Testing proved conclusive.

 

[Bluegill2]

Those hillside trees grow quick. I was a year or two to late for my bush hogging. Ruined a PTO shaft while making sure I needed a chainsaw. Testing proved conclusive.

Yes they do! We have a couple fields here, around 50 acres that can't be mowed now. Oh well, trees make us money...

 

[GManBart]

A 6', probably, but not a 7'. A single spindle 7' bush-hog is all my 70 hp tractor wants in heavy grass. Also, even a medium duty 7' cutter would be pushing the limits of the 3ph.

Huh? Even a heavy duty 7' cutter isn't going to weigh nearly enough to push the limits of any tractor remotely capable of running it. A heavy 7' cutter would be 1300-1400lbs in most cases. The 3ph of a 40-50hp tractor can normally lift at least 1,000lbs more than that.

I'm running a 6' medium/heavy duty Rhino with my Massey (45hp PTO), and you can't even tell it's there most of the time, so I'm looking for a good deal on a 7' cutter.

 

[jeff9366]

In Post #1, OP says he wants to mow ten acres of HILLSIDE with small trees, twice per year. That hillside grass is going to be long.

A 6' Rotary Cutter is as large/heavy as he can pull on a hillside, SAFELY.

Congratulations on being T-B-N Member Of The Month for November, GMan.

 

[GManBart]

In Post #1, OP says he wants to mow ten acres of HILLSIDE with small trees, twice per year. That hillside grass is going to be long.

A 6' Rotary Cutter is as large/heavy as he can pull on a hillside, SAFELY.

Congratulations on being T-B-N Member Of The Month for November, GMan.

Sure, there might be a difference in what he can safely use on the hillside, but that's not what I was commenting on. I was only saying that many machines in the size being discussed could power a 7' cutter, and be able to lift it without maxing the 3pt.

Depending on the severity of the slope, a 7' cutter might still be completely safe…hard to say without seeing it in person. If the difference between safe, and unsafe, is a cutter that's 500lbs heavier, it's already too close to the edge for me, and I would likely be cutting by backing up perpendicular to the slope, in which case a heavier cutter shouldn't make much difference. Still, it's all just a guess without eyeballs on the site.

Thanks, I was pretty surprised about the MOTM

 

[buickanddeere]

Deere 4005 , 5045E or a 5083E if you want a cab.

 

[Bluegill2]

Deere 4005 , 5045E or a 5083E if you want a cab.

Wrong forum?

 

[Bluegill2]

Sure, there might be a difference in what he can safely use on the hillside, but that's not what I was commenting on. I was only saying that many machines in the size being discussed could power a 7' cutter, and be able to lift it without maxing the 3pt.

Depending on the severity of the slope, a 7' cutter might still be completely safe…hard to say without seeing it in person. If the difference between safe, and unsafe, is a cutter that's 500lbs heavier, it's already too close to the edge for me, and I would likely be cutting by backing up perpendicular to the slope, in which case a heavier cutter shouldn't make much difference. Still, it's all just a guess without eyeballs on the site.

Thanks, I was pretty surprised about the MOTM

I agree with GMan again! this is getting scary...

But I don't think the OP needs this much tractor, or a 7' mower. A budget amount from the Op would sure help!

 

[flusher]

My neighbor has an L4400 with a 6-ft wide FEL that he uses to grow oat hay on 8 acres. It's one nice tractor. Plenty of power to pull his 7-ft offset disc and run a 6-ft wide brush hog. Cost new in the low $20K range about 5 years ago.

 

[TripleR]

These things are always head scratchers for sure. We have different brands from 22 to 85 HP and have considered lots of different models. I tend to agree with Bluegill2, no "need" for a big tractor or more than a six foot cutter, but you may "want" it, just depends on your priorities such as how fast do you want to get it done and how much do you want to spend.

 

[buickanddeere]

Wrong forum?

What ?

 

[buickanddeere]

Doesn't matter if it's 1 acre or 100acres if the 7ft cutter requires a 6000lb and 60HP tractor to drive it.
Try the balancing act of an undersized tractor driven by newbies with a light front end on a hill. A recipe for damage, injury or death