Help me chose a tractor.......

svmiura · Nov 22, 2004

I have recently bought a property it has 185 acres - 20acres grassed and mowed. 60acres woodland and the rest general ag. land. (rented to local farmer)
I need an all round tractor to maintain the property.
I have John Deere, Kubota and New Holland dealers nearby.
Is 40-50hp sufficient ??
Thanks
Phil

MossRoad · Nov 22, 2004

Welcome to TBN. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

You need to decide what types of jobs you need to do and how much time you have to do them before deciding on the size of tractor. For instance, I have 20 acres and a small tractor. But I have a small lawn, some trails to mow and a driveway to maintain. A small tractor works fine for me. I know people with smaller plots of land that need bigger tractors because they have ground to turn over and large fields to maintain. That's where I'd start. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

svmiura · Nov 22, 2004

MossRoad,

Thank you for welcoming me and answering my post.

In brief I want to put fences up, trails through the woodland, mow the 20ac ! and generally tidy up the area. I can see me needing a few attachments and a trailer.
As for time, I am happy to spend the time but don't want it to take so long it becomes my job.
I guess I want a productive and reliable machine that I can do almost anything with.

Thanks
Phil

aloha · Nov 22, 2004

( I want to put fences up )
What kind of fences? If you are planning on posts in the ground, you probably will want a post hole digger, and do not need a large machine to operate that. Other tasks using the tractor might be clearing the fenceline with brush hog/scraper/sprayer.

( trails through the woodland )
For this, something smaller, like a B series Kubota, may offer advantages due to increased maneuverability between and around the trees, although when you say 60 acres of woodland, that does seem to call for larger. How big are the trees? Are you planning to remove large tree?

( mow the 20ac )
I mow about 12 acres easily with a Kubota B7800 and 60" brush hog. It takes about 1 hour per acre because some of the area is steep and rough, and the vegetation is dense.

( and a trailer )
Is the trailer to carry the tractor or to be pulled by the tractor? If you are going to be moving the tractor on a trailer, consider how much weight your current tow vehicle can handle. The ultimate deciding factor for me picking a B7800 rather than an L series was to avoid having to buy a larger truck to pull it on the rare occassions the tractor might take a road trip.

stephan · Nov 22, 2004

svmiura,

Something to also consider is terrain. It can be annoying to be mowing grass and getting bogging down at every hill. Can you hire tractors in your local area? I found that really helped me decide which size and HP I needed. It also gives you a glimpse of how the tractor would hold up under adverse conditions.

I also find that no matter how much HP I seem to have I loose traction long before there is power loss. One last thing, an extra foot on the mower can make quite a difference when mowing 20 acres.

Stephan.

Gatorboy · Nov 22, 2004

I guess another question is, "What is your budget?"

Do you plan on mowing that 20 acres weekly? If so, I would suggest at least a 50 HP PTO tractor and a 15' flexwing mower (e.g. Rhino FR15). If you get yourself a 40 HP PTO tractor, then I would consider a 10' rotary cutter (e.g. Rhino FR10).

You could mow the 20 acres with 15' mower in about 3 to 3.5 hours.

For mowing trails, etc., you could get yourself a relatively inexpensive 60" rotary cutter or buy yourself a new or used lawn and garden tractor.

PowerTrom425 · Nov 22, 2004

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Welcome to TBN Phil.

I just copied and pasted the power trac info from the top of this page..... check it out. I have one and it is incredible versatile and agile. My PT 425 has an inside turning radius of 36"± .... can't beat that for woods work!!! There is a PT forum here as well. Great luck in your tractor buying journey. The folks here on TBN are great and quick to answer questions.

Soundguy · Nov 22, 2004

The others are putting good questions to you.. We need a time allowance, and a budget number.

For instance.. you could mow that 20 ac with a 5' mower.. if you can devote a full day.. or two partial days to it. If you are going to be mowing often.. I'll tell you that you will feel like you are married to the tractor.. as growing grass will keep you and a 5 or 6' mower pretty much busy during growing season.

Still.. if you have more time than money.. that is at least a possibility. You might consider something that will pull a 10' 12' or 15' mower. 50 hp might be a tad on the small side for the mowers.. depending on what you are cutting. What else is this tractor going to do? Any haying in it's future? anny light logging?, etc.

Are you going to buy new.. or consider late model used ( like dealer deom's or lease returns or trades that may be 0-3 years old), or used-used.. like 5-15 year old tractors.

Are you mechanically inclined? Any tranny preferences? Many of the larger tractors are gear only.. while many of the smaller tractors are hydro.. (or gear, with similar model with the option of hydro.. etc.. ).

I can mow 10ac in 3 hours or less with my 10' mower on my 7610s. ( that's a tad bigger than you are looking for.. but.. if you could get one at a good price.. it is a working monster... ). I could pull more mower.. but the wallet ran dry after the tractor purchase.. leaving only enough $$ for an inexpensive 10' mower.

Tractor options will vary by size as well. For instance.. many people getting an ag or big utility tractor go with 2wd as you are getting the weight/traction bonus. A large heavy tractor with 2wd and diff lock will pull quite a bit. Whereas a smaller tractor gains a big traction bonus with 4wd.

However.. don't outsize yourself. If you are going to worry about trail maintenance.. a big towering behemoth like a ford 8000 will be a squeeze ( though you could bale some hay with it! ).. trailer question asked by one of the others was a good one... is this a trailer for the tractor to pull? or ride on? If it is a ride on.. then your tractor will be limited to the size that your tow vehicle/trailer can handle... That means if you have a standard full size pickup truck and class III hitch.. you are around 7500 capacity, depending on model, and features. Subtracte 1700-2000# for a decent car hauler style 16' trailer and that leaves a max of 5500ish pounds of tractor and implements. 5500 will get you into the 50 hp range.. but you will be stuck with weight and size for implements that your 50 hp tractor will tote.. etc.

let us know some more specifics.

Soundguy