Help With Same Old Song and Dance

jeffgbook · Jan 15, 2005

Hi everyone. I'm very much a tractor newb, but I'm about to take the plunge, and need help deciding which brand, size, etc. will benefit me best. I've got 3.5 acres (not totally flat). Previous owner had horses so land is pretty beat up. My major concern is about keeping it mowed. All 3.5 acres have to be mowed, and I know that isn't much, but it requires much maintenance and attention since the previous owner of 9 years did absolutely nothing as far as trying to keep the place up. There's a wide range of trees and a lot of them. Mostly large Oaks with exposed roots. Over the next couple of years I'll be doing some dirt work(which I will also need the tractor for), but for now I need something that is tough and has a strong deck for the mowing.BTW should I get a belly mower or a pull behind? (if they even make them for SUTs). I'll also be cutting down some trees and moving them. So I need something with a little extra Hp and size (I think more than Kubota BX series). I'll also be digging up some smaller stumps. Would I have to have a BH for that or is there a cheaper attatchment that will handle that?I will also use it to move firewood and other odds and ends. Also I want something that can be added on to later attatchment-wise. The attatchments I need now are FEL, box blade and mower(size?).
Anyway anyone feel free to ask me something that will help you help me. Sorry so long. Thanks. Jeff /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Soundguy · Jan 16, 2005

I was almost going to suggest a SCUT.. like a kubota bx series.. or a Nh TC18/TZ series.. but since you do mention a few bigger tasks.. I suggest something a tad bigger.. perhaps in the size of a tc 24d or 29d. Might look at 4wd, and a loader. Those 'd' models I mentioned should be hst.. which most people think is the cats meow for loader work.

I was also going to say get a tc30 and 6' mower.. but if ya gots lots of trees.. stay 5' and really look at the tc-29

Some like the MMM for maneuvering.. but it is a finish mower.. not a brush hog... you have to make the choice of what you need. Course you could get a MMM and a small 4' hog.. or simply a rear finish mower and small hog.. your wallet. If it were me.. I'd get a 5' rear hog.. keep the blades sharp.. and mow often.. and it will look like a shaggy lawn.. almost finish quality. Onthe other hand.. a horse or goat or cow will keep it nicely mowed down as well.

Turfs are easy on the pasture.. but then so are industrials.. however both are more $$ than plain ag tires. In my pasture.. i have to really work at it to make an ag tire print.. and my machines are all bigger than a tc 29.. so you should be fine.. etc.

I'd relate other brands.. but I have more exp with the NH units. Feel free to considder other flavors near the same size as the units I mentioned.

You also have the option of antiques ( IH-cub or ford 8n ), or older units ( ford 2000, 300.. etc. ), as well as grey market units ( yanmar ), or imports ( jinma -chineese).

Each have their pro's and cons. Mostly the pros' are less money up front.. and the cons are everything from more maintenance or tinkering.. to older technology.. or lack of newer features.

For instance.. if you need just a basic 2wd tractor.. as cheap as you could get it.. a chinees jinma.. brand new.. I have seen for 3500 to 3900$ That usually has some sort of small warranty, depending onthe dealer. 2wd, 20hp..etc.. basic economy line tractor though brand new, for the price of a beater 70's/80's unit.. or similar to an antique ( 40's 50's 60's ) unit. Also lower or as low as many jap grey units. the greyt units have parts and service drawbacks, like some of the antiques may.. but the jap is a good solid technology, and has good manufacturing processes.. better than the new chineese ones.. which have cast and machining processes sometimes 'behind' those found on antiques... though they seem to be moving towards making a better product slowly but surely.

Soundguy

jeffgbook · Jan 16, 2005

Thanks for the info Soundguy. I definitely want 4WD. I'm really wanting to stay closer to the "name brand" tractors (Kubota, JD, NH) just to avoid the problems you were talking about might happen. Thanks again. Jeff

KiotiJohn · Jan 16, 2005

( Thanks for the info Soundguy. I definitely want 4WD. I'm really wanting to stay closer to the "name brand" tractors (Kubota, JD, NH) just to avoid the problems you were talking about might happen. Thanks again. Jeff )
You owe it to yourself to also check out the "other" brands that are not Chinese/gray/or antique such as Kioti, Mahindra, Branson, Century etc. These are good tractors and often offer more features per dollar, and many times are more substantial than some of the brands. Parts are not usually a problem, and in the case of Kioti, parts are mostly not very expensive compared to the big three pricing.
Just make sure you compare feature for feature, and be sure to get on and actually try out the tractors. You can't tell much by just driving one around. You need to get the dealers to put some implements on and go work them. Better yet, try to get one brought to you home where you can work it in the environment where it will live. John

frank_f15 · Jan 16, 2005

JEFF: I WOULD SUGGEST SOMETING IN THE 24 TO 30 HP range for the jobs you want to do. i have a 24 hp and i pull a 5 ft finish mower to keep some fields cut. rfm's or brush hogs are much easier to hook up and remove.

might be a good idea to fill in your profile a bit.

btolle · Jan 16, 2005

I was going to buy a BX2230 but after studying the ground clearance and exposure of underbelly parts I bought a B7510. About twice the ground clearance. The B7510 is 21 HP (16 PTO HP) but you could move up to the B7610 which is 24 HP (18 PTO HP) for "about" $1,000 more.

The B7510 pulls a 4' bush hog very easily and I am sure it could pull a 5' very well but due to where I mow I did not want to go wider than 4'.

With the 12" ground clearance the only damage I have done is to put a dent in one of the trans filters with a limb in 50 hours. Given the woods it has been in I am surprised that I have not punched a hole in a filter yet. I keep a spare set of filters and 4 gallons of trans fluid at the ready for when I do finally poke a hole in a filter.

The B7510 cost me $1,150 more than the BX2230 was going to cost and I felt it was well worth it for the way I use it. I would have done a lot of damage to the underside of a BX by now and could not have driven across a lot of logs I have driven across.

Not saying the Kubota is any better than any other brand out there, just felt right for me plus I had a B7100 Kubota that had given me very good service and the local JD dealer doesn't stock CUT's so I would have had to go 60 miles to even drive one. The nearest NH dealer is also 60 miles away. Kubota dealer is 3 miles away and has been good to me so I stuck with them.

Bill Tolle

Soundguy · Jan 16, 2005

( You owe it to yourself to also check out the "other" brands )

Very good point. i breezed over that too fast without bringing them up... deffinately possibilities.. even farmtrak.. and massey ferguson.. etc.

Soundguy

Nik · Jan 16, 2005

I agree with the other guys. I think you would be happier with A CUT rather than subcut. I had a B2410 with FEL before and now have a BX23. With chores such as moving firewood and dirt the B2410 was easily a better machine. The FEL was more responsive and quicker. I am on about 2 acres. For what you describe I would consider a B series tractor with FEL and backhoe. The B7510, 7610, and 2410 would be good fits. Also look at the new B2030? or B3030 as they will have a new backhoe hookup. I would only consider finish mowing 1 acre or so and brushhog the rest periodicaly. This will save you a lot of time and give you a couple acres of meadow

Bob_Skurka · Jan 16, 2005

For 3.5 acres I would go with a small frame CUT. Small frame CUTs give the ground clearance that you won't find with a Sub-CUT. But they are still pretty small and make a nice match to the property size.

My personal opinion is that hydrostatic transmissions are generally very well suited to new owners, and also to many tasks like mowing and FEL work, and it seems like you might be a great match for a tractor with a HST transmission.

As for power, I'd be looking in the mid-20s range. Anything roughly 25hp will easily power a 5' finish mower or a 4' brush cutter. Go up to 30hp and the frame size goes up but you can go up to a 6' finish mower and a 5' brush cutter. I'd prefer to stay below that size simply to keep the added manuverability that you may find useful on a property the size of 3.5 acres. The smallest 30hp tractor I know of is the Kubota B7800 & B2910 (being replaced this month with the B3030). These are fairly small tractors and probably the smallest 30hp machines. But I think you'd be better off with a smaller frame machine IF you have trees and landscaping to mow around, I think you'll find the small frame tractor easier to move around in your trees too.

I recently switched from a RFM to a MMM for my finish mowing, I find both easy to use, the MMM probably just a bit easier but the RFM is nice for getting under trees, etc. The main drawback to the MMM is it is harder to take off than a rear mounted implement (at least it is for me). If you leave your MMM on, make sure you can "pin it up" when you are using rear mount implements so it stays out of the way. It will reduce your ground clearance when working in the woods, that may or may not be a problem.

I think a lot of folks look to larger machines than they need. I don't think you want or should get a SUB-CUT, but I don't think you should look too large either. Consider the long term use and the size of the property and I think that will keep your tractor size fairly small. Going bigger will get some of your larger jobs done quicker, but in the long run, I think you would be unhappy with a 30hp or larger machine.

Based on what I wrote, the tractors that fit my descriptions (small frame, mid 20's hp) would be the New Holland TC24 or TC26, Case/Farmall DX24, John Deere 4115, Kubota B2410 or B7610. I'm sure Massey makes a machine that would fit as well, I just don't know their model numbers. Mahindra makes a 28hp, but I'm not sure how small the frame size is. Kioti's CK20 is a 21hp that is very nice, but you might need more power for the mower deck. In the Chinese tractors, you will forgo the HST transmission and only have gears, but Jinma makes a 25hp tractor.

jeffgbook · Jan 17, 2005

Thanks everyone for the advice. BTW frank I filled in my bio. I'm new to this forum stuff (had to get the wife to show me how). Anyway I'm going today to look at JD and NH. Maybe they'll let me test them out. And one day this week I'm going to go look at a Mahindra. The dealer is about 30 miles away. Now back to the questions.
What do ya'll think about scrapping the finish mower idea and maybe buying a dedicated mower (ZTR?)? I'll have about $20-21K to spend on tractor and mower. I know that's pushing it to get decent quality and size, but just an idea.
Another thing if I do go with the tractor with finish mower, will I have a problem with the roots around the trees (there's a lot of them), or should I get a brush hog too? I'm giving myself a headache /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Anyway I'll post back after more research. I'm really leaning towards the B7510/B7610. Is the extra $1000 worth it? Jeff