Help Me Decide On My First Tractor - Central Texas

[vtsnowedin]

I had not even thought about buying out of state. Shipping doesn't cost a fortune?

It's by the loaded mile. You can get a quote before you buy. There is a box on the right side of the page to get that info.
There are probably plenty of suitable tractors in Texas. It took me just two minutes to pick a suitable older model out of their JD model list and do a search for it. This was the first one in your region that had a loader.
Once on that site you can put in your zip code and have them sorted by distance from you among other things.
That one is a pretty good match to what you described your needs and wants as being so was a lucky hit.

 

[TJP89]

My :2cents:, get a bigger tractor. Shredding 35 acres with a 4ft shredder will take F O R E V E R. You need about 6ft, and that's on the short side. I would say a 4WD 40HP tractor with FEL, grapple, and rear blade is your minimum. 50HP would be better. This does not have to necessarily be new. Another idea, get 2 tractors. A smaller one with FEL, front hydraulics, grapple and a nice 3PT hitch. Then an older, maybe even 2WD (your land looks very flat) high HP tractor to run the cutter. This ways the loader tractor could be much smaller (30HP minimum), and cheaper, and more easily able to handle the grapple. A big 2WD tractor won't cost too much, and you could wait a few years on that if money is tight

Besides the shredder and loader, the big implement you will want are a grapple and some sort of rear blade. The grapple will move brush and rocks, which seems to be your big task, and stack them. Pricey, but very useful from what I hear. A straight rear blade is fine, or a box blade. Both are better with hydraulic movement powered by rear remotes.

What I would not do is get a 30 or 35HP tractor with loader and all implements, and try to use that for everything. Things will take much longer, especially the mowing, and you'll want to upgrade in a few years, which will cost you more in the end. A decent used 35HP 4WD tractor with loader, blade, and grapple; and an big older 2WD tractor with shredder should only run you about 20K, especially if you look used for implement, and you will be set for quite a while.
Look all around for good used deals.

 

[C4Ranch]

IMO, folks should first ask what size implements do I need or want to run rather than Tractor. Have you ever tried shredding even 10 acres with a 5' cutter? Sure, you may find it fun and exciting the first couple hrs but you're in TX and dont think your budget will accomodate a cab.

You didn't mention doing any tillage so cutting seems to be your biggest job which requires PTO HP.

Woods has a 12' batwing that can be run with relatively low HP.

Once you decide how big the implements you want to run are your next important question is HST vs Shuttle vs basic direct drive. This can be preference but if you want HST this impacts HP and size.

When you know the answer to the questions you're now in a narrower search criteria.

YMMV

 

[vtsnowedin]

I think you will have a hard time finding a 40 to 50 HP tractor with 4WD a loader and HST inside your budget. There were not that many of those being built twenty-five and thirty years ago and those built just ten years ago haven't come down to your price range yet. In order of priority I'd go 1. HP (implement size), 2. loader, 3. 4WD and 4. HST if you want it. I have no trouble loading with my gear 9x3 transmission, it's just a matter of what you have learned to do with.

 

[C4Ranch]

Don't disagree with your approach but I would switch 3 & 2 and put 4wd before loader.
With smaller lighter tractors 4wd is a must IMO and you can always add a loader later.

I wouldn't want a loader without 4wd.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I've had both 2WD and 4WD tractors with loaders. With proper ballast the 2WD worked all right but of course 4WD with loader is better. A toss up to which comes first and I probably wouldn't settle for a tractor that didn't have both unless the money just wasn't there.

 

[sd455dan]

A ford 1920 or 2120 would fit the bill nicely and can be had for $9-$12k. They are very stout machines and if well cared for will still be running when your boys are buying property of their own.

I have a friend with a 1920 and it's a great little tractor for around 5 acres.
but for the OPs place and uses i think it is to small.

There are times i wish i had a bigger machine than my ballasted 55 HP 8k lbs. tractor.


With some searching and some luck a good Ford 4x4
4110, 4610 to a 5610 or newer series 30 loader equipped unit is hard to beat.

As Jeff said- buy enough tractor the first time-
Tractors tend to shrink when you get them home.

Also as others have said get a grapple.
The uses are almost endless.


Welcome and good Luck on your tractor search. :thumbsup:

 

[Creamer]

I've had both 2WD and 4WD tractors with loaders. With proper ballast the 2WD worked all right but of course 4WD with loader is better. A toss up to which comes first and I probably wouldn't settle for a tractor that didn't have both unless the money just wasn't there.

Agree. I would prefer FWA but the bigger you go the importance of FWA fades. Not having FWA opens up some older models that significantly lower the cost. For instance an IH 574 with FEL without FWA would work rings around a 30 hp tractor and loader with FWA and could be had for less. Many on this forum want a tractor that they can run on their lawn and I wouldn't do that with a 574 unless it was very dry or frozen. Since the OP is in Texas, frozen is probably not an option.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

My :2cents:, get a bigger tractor. Shredding 35 acres with a 4ft shredder will take F O R E V E R. You need about 6ft, and that's on the short side. I would say a 4WD 40HP tractor with FEL, grapple, and rear blade is your minimum. 50HP would be better. This does not have to necessarily be new. Another idea, get 2 tractors. A smaller one with FEL, front hydraulics, grapple and a nice 3PT hitch. Then an older, maybe even 2WD (your land looks very flat) high HP tractor to run the cutter. This ways the loader tractor could be much smaller (30HP minimum), and cheaper, and more easily able to handle the grapple. A big 2WD tractor won't cost too much, and you could wait a few years on that if money is tight

Besides the shredder and loader, the big implement you will want are a grapple and some sort of rear blade. The grapple will move brush and rocks, which seems to be your big task, and stack them. Pricey, but very useful from what I hear. A straight rear blade is fine, or a box blade. Both are better with hydraulic movement powered by rear remotes.

What I would not do is get a 30 or 35HP tractor with loader and all implements, and try to use that for everything. Things will take much longer, especially the mowing, and you'll want to upgrade in a few years, which will cost you more in the end. A decent used 35HP 4WD tractor with loader, blade, and grapple; and an big older 2WD tractor with shredder should only run you about 20K, especially if you look used for implement, and you will be set for quite a while.
Look all around for good used deals.

I think this is good advice. I would want a minimum of a 50hp tractor with about 40 PTO hp, but a 75hp tractor would be better. I'd want something that could at least run an 8 foot dual spindle rotary cutter.

The problem is the budget. $10k - $15k isn't going to get it done. I'd like to rent a 4,000 square foot 5 bedroom, 5 bath house with servants quarters and a swimming pool for about $800 a month, but that's not happening either.

 

[vtsnowedin]

The problem is the budget. $10k - $15k isn't going to get it done. I'd like to rent a 4,000 square foot 5 bedroom, 5 bath house with servants quarters and a swimming pool for about $800 a month, but that's not happening either.

I'm not so sure about that. The tractor with loader I linked to above is 8,900. You can buy a used 72" Jd shredder for 1,500 and a new (off craigs list) JD grapple/ root rake for 1800 to 2000 and a back blade for 1000 for a total of $13,200 to $13,400 which is inside his budget. I don't know about that particular tractor but there are others in that price range so as long as the OP picks a sound machine he is in business.