Tractor Sizing How big?

[VictorIdaho]

Hi Everyone,

Glad to find a forum like this. I am in the process of purchasing my first tractor. The consensus
is that defining what I am going to use the tractor is critical in deciding which one to get. To that
end my plans for the tractor are:

1) Mowing approx 2 acres of grass combined.
2) Manure management for 2 horses
3) 1.5 acre vineyard care (8 foot row spacing)
a) mowing (5' wide mower sufficient)
b) light tilling
c) spraying
d) removing prunings once per year
4) Light snow plowing for 1000' driveway
5) Share with neighbor who has 3 acres of grass to mow
6) One-time creation of 100,000 gallon pond

I don't have a specific tractor in mind but I believe that 25 hp (20 at PTO) might work. I don't think I need something
super powerful. 4WD seems important and I'd prefer an HST.

My primary question at this point is how much horsepower should I be looking for?

Victor

 

[dadster4]

I would decide what mower and tiller to buy first to get an idea of what PTO HP is required on the tractor.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

How are you feeding the horses? Rounds or squares, and are you storing/stacking the hay? If it's by 'rounds', you'll need at least a 40hp.

I'd contract the pond creation if you can swing it financially, it'll be a 'one off' job and will require a larger tractor than what you'll require after it's built.

Other than that, you're looking good... although "we" (meaning TBN) would probably push you towards 30hp. A wee bit more is always better.

Enjoy the site.

 

[motownbrowne]

I'd think that 25 engine HP would be plenty. You could use more if you had it, but as you may know, that's the cutoff for the current emissions regs. Many people seem very happy with the Kubota L2501. I'd also look at the Kioti ck2610. Those are the biggest 25 HP machines that I know of. Basically they are detuned engines in a larger frame tractor than you normally see with that little HP. So, they might be a little doggy going up hills in high range, but you get a tractor with the weight to do more than a B series (for example) can handle, and you save the expense and complication of the DPF system. There may be similar models from other manufacturers, I'm not sure.

Good luck shopping and let us know what you end up with.

 

[Texasmark]

I have 2 listed fairly new tractors, the 6530 and 2400. The 6530 is full of bells and whistles, the 2400 bare bones entry level. All mfgrs have different ideas as to what their low ball tractors (24 hp) will contain. You will have to shop around to get your required amenities. However, if you step up 5 or 10 hp the availability of most popular amenities balloons and you have loads of choices in dealers and manufacturers.

Besides you can't do a whole lot with 24 hp.......just a quick example, regardless of mfgr. is that the 3 pt is low to the ground and it limits not only your lift capability (the low hp) but the height you can lift an object off the ground due to the low ground clearance. Move up and you solve that problem which is really something to think about.

My little 24 was bought for a specific purpose and has those limitations. If I want to do what it can't I have bigger tractors.

 

[oosik]

I handily accomplished everything on your list, except the pond, with a Ford 1710 4WD @ 25 HP. I have 80 acres with a mile long gravel driveway to maintain. I used the Ford for 25 years and upgraded to the Kubota M6040 in 2009. All the smaller tasks were completed and I needed the larger tractor for larger projects.

 

[Garrett Wiggins]

Check out the Johndeere 3025E 4x4 with loader. Offer 16500$ for the tractor and get a 5ft tiller for 1499$. I would get the L2501 Kubota if you wanted a one with gears. That is my IMO!!!

 

[VictorIdaho]

Thanks for all the great advice. Can anyone give me a sense of how important
the FEL lifting capacity is?

Victor

 

[Garrett Wiggins]

1200ish pounds for the Deere. Depends on what your going to do be doing with it mostly. I think most of your premium tractors in that horsepower range will have enough lift capacity that it shouldn't matter on exactly what that number of pounds is. The bucket on the Deere tends to bigger than the others in that horsepower class.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Are you moving round hay bales? Wagtail asked this already. It's an important consideration for feeding your horses. If you need to lift/move round bales, you not only need hp, but also tractor weight for stability.

I'm currently only on 3+acres (we're moving late summer to 13+ acres), and I'm glad I didn't go any smaller than my 37 hp, 32 pto hp with a FEL capacity of 2100 lbs (at full height), and a breakout capacity of 3500 lbs. Also with filled rears and the box blade and FEL on, my tractor weighs over 6K lbs. You should be looking at not only hp ratings, but also tractor weight. More tractor weight is almost always better than less, for stability and traction (same can be said for hp though).

 

[buckeyefarmer]

A kubota B series will do, except maybe round bales. I use 6' RFM and 5' tiller with my 20hp.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I'd think that 25 engine HP would be plenty. You could use more if you had it, but as you may know, that's the cutoff for the current emissions regs. Many people seem very happy with the Kubota L2501. I'd also look at the Kioti ck2610. Those are the biggest 25 HP machines that I know of. Basically they are detuned engines in a larger frame tractor than you normally see with that little HP. So, they might be a little doggy going up hills in high range, but you get a tractor with the weight to do more than a B series (for example) can handle, and you save the expense and complication of the DPF system. There may be similar models from other manufacturers, I'm not sure.

Good luck shopping and let us know what you end up with.

This. X2.

 

[boggen]

am with others 25hp min, though be nice to see you with 30HP. 25hp is still in SCUT (sub compact utilty range), and getting up to 30HP tends to get you into CUT (compact utilty tractor) range of tractors. the difference...

scut = riding lawn mower on steroids, with pure basic 3pt hitch. FEL = anything better than manual shoveling.

cut = get away from riding lawn mower frame, a heavier tractor, split rear brakes on opposite foot than the gas/go/hst peddle. more lift capacity of FEL and 3pt hitch. more ground clearance between bottom of tractor and the ground. there tends to be a bit more functions for FEL and 3pt hitch as far as valves go. and more likely more ranges / gears to choose from (instead of low/high, low/med/high) for better getting what MPH / ground speed you want.

your acreage to mow is not that big so 25hp is fine, but you have a lot of little things. maintenance wise, that will come up. and having a little more tractor would not harm you mowing, but help you with all the little maintenance of property things that come up.
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your FEL lifting capacity.... if you are bring in any sort of "pallet stuff" perhaps feed for horses that comes in bags on a pallet. or you wanting to load/unload something into a truck / trailer having both FEL lifting height and capacity maybe an issue for you.

example concrete bricks, concrete bags, for the pond, any sort of lumber, moving dirt you remove from digging pond. into a dumpster. large round bails.

FEL (front end loaders) are not the best at digging, a tooth bar (strap on, bolt on) can make digging with FEL easier. but still not the best. a backhoe on tractor or better yet a mini ex or excavator much better in maneuvering and getting into areas, and just overall time spent digging and placing dirt you remove.
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Koiphen.com = koi/goldfish ponds and filtration for them. head over there for your pond. read up on the many DIY builds there. along with DIY filtration.

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you can get a backhoe with purchase, and tends to be cheaper if you buy... tractor, FEL (front end loader), cab, backhoe all on same receipt. but it does not sound like you will need a backhoe. and you would most likely be better off "renting" or pay someone else to dig and then do cleanup work with your unit.

many folks do the "save all the odd jobs" and then go rent an mini excavator for a weekend or like thing. some folks need a backhoe. your acreage so small overall. that you would not have any other use for an actual backhoe. and better off spending the few thousand bucks for a backhoe, in just renting a machine, and spending rest of cash on other stuff.

the exception to above. is you really do plan on DIY the entire pond yourself. including digging out the hole, running all your pipe work and digging holes for filters. if that is it. then a backhoe would more likely pay for itself. just by having it on hand when ever you got time to work on the building the pond. but even then. being able to rent a much larger mini ex (mini excavator) or larger excavator....

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TNT (top and tilt) for 3pt hitch, you really do not have a long driveway, and acerage is small. so the little amount you may need to adjust the 3pt hitch lower lift arms or top link for 3pt hitch. you most likely already done, and just a little work with a metal garden rake or shovel and would be done.

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you might see upper lights, on cab, sun shade, or ROPS (roll over protection system). be worth there time for you. both point frontwards and backwards.

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with above said, you will most likely end up spending a descent amount of various attachments for the tractor.
a good spot for newbies = Tractor Attachments And Skid Steer Attachments For Any Tractor Or Skid Steer = watch the videos in setting stuff up and using it. to get yourself familer with what is out there.

 

[bdog]

Scrap the 100k gallon pond idea with a small tractor unless you want to spend a year on it. We just finished a 800k gallon pond. We dug at it with a 100hp tracked skid steer and a full size backhoe and full size dump truck for over a year off and on. I finally raised the white flag and brought in an excavator, dozer and two semis to move dirt. The first day in four hours they moved more dirt than we did in a year. Finished digging it the next day. Cost me 4K for the excavator and dozer and 2k for the semis. Best money I ever spent. It literally would have taken us 100's of hours to do by ourselves.

Consider a large 60"+ zero turn for the mowing. If you mow regularly and don't let it get knee high a zero turn will run circles around a tractor mowing.

 

[Tractorable]

Check out the 35hp Yanmar YT235. Nice machine.

Hire out the pond digging.

Get a zero turn or riding mower for the the lawn.

 

[VictorIdaho]

One other related question. When looking at the Landpride website they list attachments
such as a rotary tiller they specify a recommended PTO range of, for example, 15-40 hp.
If I am running it at the lower end would I just have to work slower?

In other case such as the 1648 mower it just gives a maximum engine HP.

Any special reason why they rate them differently even though they both use the PTO?

 

[VictorIdaho]

BTW, all the information you guys are providing is fantastic. Thanks for the help!

 

[motownbrowne]

One other related question. When looking at the Landpride website they list attachments
such as a rotary tiller they specify a recommended PTO range of, for example, 15-40 hp.
If I am running it at the lower end would I just have to work slower?

In other case such as the 1648 mower it just gives a maximum engine HP.

Any special reason why they rate them differently even though they both use the PTO?

With a hydrostatic tractor there's really only two considerations for running an implement (within reason). Can I lift it, and can I safely traverse the ground I want to use it on. Because you can slow down to whatever ground speed you need to in order to keep the engine from bogging, you can run an implement bigger than you could with a gear tractor. So, yes, the issue with being on the low end of the HP range is speed, assuming you have enough weight for stability and lift capacity to use the implement in question.

I'm sure there's other factors too, like stressing the PTO components, but for example, the L2501 is the same tractor as the 3301 and 3901. Only difference is the engine. So, if I had a 3901 and you had a 2501, we could both use a 6' bush hog, but I could power through and cut faster in thick grass which might cause you to slow down. On 30 acres that might be a big consideration, but on a smaller lot it might not be. For that matter, if the field is bumpy, we're both gonna be going slow anyway.

 

[Tractorable]

Well said