First tractor dilemma

[Noobie]

I am just about to purchase my first tractor and the research and all the possibilities has just about killed me! I wanted to post some of my assumptions hoping that someone will correct any that are incorrect, and perhaps offer some advice about the tractors I am looking at.

I am looking for a tractor to cut about 37 acres of mostly flat pasture. I need to cut it about once or twice a year. In addition, I want to use it for putting up the cross-fencing and some semi-serious landscaping work around the house, mostly flattening, clearing blackberries, and cutting some slopes into terraces.

I wanted to run a minimum 6' rotary cutter, and was told by a couple of dealers that 35hp (28-31 pto hp) would do the job but not with a lot of hp to spare. I think I am fine with that given the few times per year I need to mow. The motivation for 6' is to go faster. If I have a 35hp tractor, would the 6' or the 5' go faster? Seems like I could scream on the 5', but the 6' would go slower and cut 20% more per pass. Is 6' the right size to go?

After assuming that 35hp was about where I wanted to hit, two John Deere dealers told me that 35hp wouldn't cut it at all and I need to step up to at least 43 to run a 6' cutter. Who is right, the Kubota/New Holland dealers who told me I could do it with 35, or the JD dealers who said I needed more?

OK, now for the potential tractors I have been interviewing. Please feel free to comment on any of these tractors, prices, whatever, that might help me narrow it down.

(all come with the standard loader for that model)

Kubota L3600 shuttle ~2500 hours $12,900
Cub Cadet 7360 shuttle ~600 hours $13,500
New Holland TC35D HST 320 hours $17,900
Kubota L3430 HST New $20,500
John Deere 3520 HST New $21,534

If I were to step up to a bigger tractor:
John Deere 4700 hst 1000 hours $22,000
New Holland TC40DA new $24,000
Kubota L4400 new $? (Haven't gotten a quote yet)

These are all in Washington state. My used tractor search has been severely restricted by almost no inventory out there. My wife's preference is for the New Holland TC35D, and I am a little more partial to the Cub Cadet and the extra $4.5k we would save to spend on implements, but we are far from decided.

I understand all the arguments about getting the biggest tractor you can, and with 37 acres to cut, I could justify probably a 50hp or bigger pretty easily, but I just don't have that much cash. I am trying to stick pretty close to under $20k.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or feelings about the prices on any of these as it seems really hard to tell if you are getting a decent price on new, and almost impossible on used. Thanks, I really appreciate it.

 

[beenthere]

You have a lot of interesting choices.
I would make such a decision based largely on the dealer that is close by, and one that I think I could deal with in the future (when something needs fixing, or just to talk over a problem that isn't quite right). I think my dealer is the important part of the equation, although I have other strings attached that I dance to (yes, like a puppet /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ). I think it can be a lonely world out there when (if) a problem can't be solved. Afterward, hopefully both dealer and customer can be happy (or nearly so) about their future relationship. I fortunately have such a dealer.

Good luck on your decision. It isn't a permanent thing. If one doesn't work out, try another one until you are satisfied. You eventually will know enough to answer someone else's question, just like yours. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Noobie]

Thanks BeenThere. I have had a good time with 3 out of the 4 dealers I have spoken with and all have been super kind and seem to have a good reputation. Any of them will be a bit of a distance from where I am, but in different directions. The one exception is the Cub Cadet. I could buy that from a dealer that is a ways away who is not a cub cadet dealer, and the cub cadet dealer is much closer. I will definitely add that into the calulations.

 

[JerryG]

This is for a 35 horse tractor. You can get answers all over the board on what size of implement to use. If the grass that you are going to cut is very thick and that tall, I would want the 5'. It the grass is very thin and not thick, I would say that you could get by with a 6'. There is nothing more aggravating than not being able to use but a part of an implement. It is just like have to large a bucket on a loader and every time you take a scoop, you have to make sure that it isn't full or you will have to dump part of it. The same with a mower, you always want to take a full cut set at the height that you want it finished at. If the mower is to large for your tractor, you will be in a spot to where you will have to cut the grass up high and cut it twice or take a reduced width cut. A 40 hp tractor should do a good job with a 6' brush hog.

 

[dknarnd]

This is an interesting post because I have some of the same questions. What I have found to be the guideline for cutters is 1' of cutter for each 5 PTO HP at a minimum. So far I have only looked at Kubota and the dealer said he recommends at least a 40HP tractor for a 6' cutter so that follows the above mentioned guidelines pretty well. With that said I will tell you I currently am cutting about 25 acers of fields once a year in the fall with an old (60's vintage) JD1010 which is said to have about 30PTO HP when it is new. The fields I cut are hilly with both thick and thin areas of growth in them and I am using a 5' cutter. In the thick areas I usually have to drop a gear to cut it properly. So I would assume that to stay equal if I installed a 6' cutter I would want another 5 PTO HP. Actually I am thinking even with a 5' cutter an HST transmission would speed up my cutting a little due to being able to vary the speed to the terrain and growth.

I have looked at the L4400 and have it priced at $16,700 with AG tires and no FEL. This tractor would handle the 6' cutter well but it is gear driven and the way I understand it you have to stop before shifting into reverse with the mechanical shuttle shift. This price is from PA so it may vary in your neighborhood. It is a good idea to fill in your profile so that people can see where that neighborhood is.

The L3430HST you mention is only 27PTO HP so I don't think you would want to put a 6' cutter on it. My thoughts are in the Kubota line with an HST transmission the minimum for pulling a 6' cutter would be the L4330. The tractor I want to look at next in the NH TC40.

 

[JJT]

I've had a 37horse Kubota with a 72" cutter for 6+ years. If you are cutting grass and weeds, you'll be able to go full throttle in midrange, (if the bumps and dips are minimal). If you are cutting heavy brush you're going to be going slow.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Well, if you are only mowing 1-2 times per year, how tall and thick is your field?
5HP per foot of blade only works if you are regularly mowing an area.

It also depends on how slow you want to mow. I'd recomend at least 40 HP for 6' cutter if your grass is thick. Preferably, 45HP.

If you have plenty of time, you can use a 5 foot cutter. Plan on about 3-4 acres per acre if not too overgrown.

 

[DKinWA]

I have to agree with the folks that are recommending 40hp or more for the 6' mower. I've got a 6' mower for my TC40 and it strains if the grass is thick and dense. When it starts getting really thick, I either have to slow down or take a narrower cut. If I had to do it again, I'd probably buy the TC45 to get a little more hp for mowing and tilling.

 

[Noobie]

Thanks for the advice. DK, I am in Western Washington as well, so your experience is probably going to be very close to mine. I will look at what I can do to take the next step up. If you have any dealership advice, I would love to hear it.

Another option I have is going with an older 1970's MF 165 50 hp. I can get that for $5,500. Is there really $18,000 difference between the old MF and a newer 45hp tractor? Can you compare older HP and newer HP straight across the board?

Thanks again for the collective knowledge this board is willing to share!

 

[jmc]

Aside from the horsepower issue, think about the weight on a 6 footer on a 35 HP tractor, assuming you do not have a front loader for counterbalance. I had a Ford 1920, 34 HP gross, with a 5 footer. Before a FEL was added is was light in front and needed fron weights. A six foot without a FEL would have been too much.