Do I Need A Tractor?

[4570Man]

If you’re building a house I don’t know how you can survive without a pickup truck. Depending what you already drive you might get by with just the trailer and not have to spend a good portion of of your budget on the truck. Your budget is pretty limiting but a backhoe will pay for itself if you’re building a house. I’ve been browsing the used TLB market because I’m hoping to trade my L3800 for a L39 or L45. I’ve found the older L35 Kubota series to be not far out of your budget. If the 10k budget is set in stone and you need to acquire all of those implements with that budget I see little options besides buying an old 2wd tractor or buying a well used B series Kubota or equipment. The B series Kubota is pretty small but it’s likely to require less wrenching than the old 2wd tractor.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I would get a truck first and then either a sub compact tractor with a loader or a good quality ZTR(6 acres is a lot).

 

[Tractorable]

What kind of vehicle do you currently drive? Can it tow a utility trailer? If so you may be able to get by without a truck for a while.

 

[4570Man]

Here’s a tractor I just saw. I don’t have any idea what that tractor is worth but it’s not everyday you see a 60 hp 4x4 tractor with a loader for that price. Of course the possibility of a scam exist but I don’t see many as in 1 to date scams on Facebook.

 

[shooterdon]

No, you do not need a tractor. A beater pickup with a plow will cost you about $3500. I have one. It will address your snow issue and haul stuff. It is far superior to a tractor at dealing with snow...faster, heated cab, and a second vehicle. Budget $500 for repairs if you are handy....$1000 if you need to take it in for work. I have had my plow truck (2001 Ram 1500 with Western plow) for four years and those are my costs.

Add a zero turn for mowing and you will be under $10k. It will be about twice as fast as a tractor....especially if you have trees and such to deal with.

You will have a challenge getting a good tractor with a blower at your budget. A FEL is not the best way to deal with snow on a long driveway. And working in the cold without a cab is not pleasant. The pickup truck will handle a driveway about twice as fast as using a blower.

 

[4570Man]

No, you do not need a tractor. A beater pickup with a plow will cost you about $3500. I have one. It will address your snow issue and haul stuff. It is far superior to a tractor at dealing with snow...faster, heated cab, and a second vehicle. Budget $500 for repairs if you are handy....$1000 if you need to take it in for work. I have had my plow truck (2001 Ram 1500 with Western plow) for four years and those are my costs.

Add a zero turn for mowing and you will be under $10k. It will be about twice as fast as a tractor....especially if you have trees and such to deal with.

You will have a challenge getting a good tractor with a blower at your budget. A FEL is not the best way to deal with snow on a long driveway. And working in the cold without a cab is not pleasant. The pickup truck will handle a driveway about twice as fast as using a blower.

He didn’t specify what amount of work he intended to do himself but a tractor is a real money saver while building a house.

 

[Thomas]

I agree with MESSMAKER.

 

[Guidshir]

I agree with messmaker and shooterdon. 10k is a reasonable limit for a tractor, but implements are expensive new or mostly junk used.

A tractor is something you will use if you have it, there is no question there. A truck to haul/plow in any weather can be had very cheap. You could even skip the ZTR (if you had to) and go with something cheaper/slower temporarily (for money purposes).

Again, that is all assuming you're not building your own house. If you are then the utility of the tractor might go way up and you would have to consider the cost of the tractor and implements against the cost of hiring someone to do those things.

 

[djefferis]

10k budget - you 田an accomplish all task via used pickup, ATV with plow, used 8N and a quality lawn tractor/mower or zero turn.

Plenty of good used trucks in the 3500 range
Ditto used ATV at 2500 price point plenty with winch/plow - 500s will be plentiful- even a few 660s/700s.
8N/Jubilee at 1500 with 3 point blade
Leaves 2500 for a used mower.

Storage is going to be the only issue with all that stuff.

Start here and as your budget exands and you learn what you use most - upgrade what is needed most first. Obviously a 50 year old tractor isn稚 a long term solution- but it will do tractor things without killing the budget. ATV are useful, but limited in my opinion. Trucks have infinite uses - but buying one for plow duty 3 months of the year is not a great idea...easier to plow with a tractor to me just doing one drive.

 

[dodge man]

I’d go with a used subcompact or compact tractor. I’d go with a mid mount mower and a FEL and rear blade. 15k budget would get you a lightly used one, 10k is going to be well used. A tractor is not great at any of the tasks listed , for example a zero turn mower is better for mowing, but it is good for all of them. It will cover all the bases.