Fist of all, I would like to thanks all of you who responded to my previous posting on what do I need. You can look at it here :
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/342999-need-experienced-user-advice.html
Quick recap,
I have
90 acres, 96% woods. I need a tractor to go in to wood for firewood, I need to do trails and maintain them plus I have horse and need to take care of manure. Lots of rock on my land.
Having done my homework, I am now hesitating between two Kubota.
The
L3901 with
BH77 for it's smaller size in the wood but I'm not sure The backhoe will have enough power to dig in the wood with roots and rocks
The MX5200 with BH92 for the better power of the overall tractor and Backhoe (double the weight of the
BH77 so I imagine it's more solid) but 10k more then the
L3901 kit and almost 15 inch larger
I'm looking to have this new tractor for a long time so I want to make sure I do the right choice
Any experience with those 2 tractors/backhoe or any recommendation?
Thanks in advance!
90 acres, 96% woods is going to be the issue itself as far as amount of trees. and it is not about simply cutting them down. but rather. getting them tugged up and pulled around so you can drag them out if need be. you need weight and traction. more so for those longer logs / down trees.
the other issue is going to be making not just dirt roads / trails. but putting in ditches, to deal with run off water, including culvert pipes, and keeping the road dry per say, so your dirt roads / trails say in good shape long term without a lot of extra to keep them in good order.
tree root balls can be a pain at times. pending on the roots and were you can park tractor in a good spot to use backhoe. to help pop the root ball out. those root balls can be a slight challenge at times. once you get the roots for most part undone from the ground. and trying to get the ball out of the hole. and then pushing the root ball around to were ever you want to place the root ball.
i wish i had a extenda hoe the old 80HP ford 555c TLB (tractor loader backhoe) were the dipper stick extends 1 to 2 feet longer. just for extra reach granted overall lifting weight and overall power to bucket goes down. just being able to reach a little bit further!
there are times were just cutting tree down. and being able to pull entire tree (including top and all the branchs) out of an area. so it can be better chain saw'ed up can make life easier. to just going out and cutting a bunch of trees down and pulling entire tree out of the woods, and just kinda pile / push all the trees up in an area. to come back later to cut them down. ((needing to work around being in a field for crops vs not))
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i would say go for larger tractor. that has more weight / power.
if you are wanting a backhoe. make sure it is a 3pt hitch with subframe. (sub frame required most likely for you) and make sure the backhoe can come off, so you can gain access to 3pt hitch. when you get into industrial TLB (tractor loader backhoe) like the old ford 555c TLB i have. the backhoe does not come off, and as a result i am hurting pretty badly not being able to use 3pt hitch stuff. dealing with horses and trails and like even more so for your need for 3pt hitch access.
the little "addon-s" that can add up quickly to overall price.....
--you will most likely end up some were with a 12V winch. as a result make sure you get a larger altenator for tractor. if there is an option for it. and double check, just do not read specs and say it does not. double check.
--you will most likely need access to a TNT (top and tilt) setup. replacing the top link and 1 side link of the 3pt hitch with a hydraulic cylinder. TNT requires 2 rear hydraulic remotes. add 1 more for a total of 3 rear hyd remotes. for anything that comes up. you can get 3rd party add on's for rear remotes including TNT hyd cylinders. but you should double check prices and see if a discount will come along. manufactured valves and rear remotes can fit nicer and might be easier to use vs 3rd party valves / rear remotes due to bracket locations. and were stuff ends up.
the TNT going to come into play with 3pt hitch... rear blade / back blade, box blade, even a rotary cutter (lamen terms bush hog), this is going to be for mowing. to dealing with ditches and trails both in making them and then maintaining them.
make sure you get a "swinging draw bar" it is located just below the PTO shaft on rear end of tractor. sometimes they are not included on various manufacture / model setups. it is the lowest point on tractor to attach stuff to. when you need to pull something.
also make sure you get the extra sway chains and check chains, and perhaps stay straps for 3pt hitch. some times hardware is not included. and might be skipped / forgotten about, if you get backhoe installed at dealer place.
double check for any sort of "grill guard" for radiator. so you are not ramming sticks and like up into radiator. (between being in woods doing stuff and like) to also double check belly of tractor to make sure things are protected.
if you have no plans for a 4in1 bucket or a grappel for the FEL (Front end loader) you can skip third function valve for the FEL. and go with a general duty bucket. i might advise going with some sort of straight cutting edge. or perhaps an optional bolt on tooth bar for FEL. if you plan to dig with the FEL. straight edge can be nice for back dragging and getting things half way smoothed out when dealing with dirt. but a tooth bar can make it easier to sink the bucket into dirt.
if you are not a welder / have tools, might suggest having some 2 to 3 bucket hooks installed on the FEL general duty bucket. (more of a must need thing for me) to deal with chains, cables, ropes easier. and i might suggest getting a hook placed on back side of a backhoe bucket.
backhoe bucket... try and get a smaller bucket say in the 8 to 12" range. helps with digging trenchs, but also a wider say 20 to 24" bucket. the bigger backhoe bucket = turning tractor around to dig up a big area with backhoe. (more so if the larger backhoe bucket has teeth on it) and then turning tractor back around and use the FEL general duty bucket with general straight edge on it, to sink into a pile of dirt much easier. and obtain a heaping full of dirt quickly.
most rear tires on a tractor, you can swap rims for side to side for example to get a wider stance. to make it easier to deal with hills. (swapping side for side = maintaining correct tread direction). this may or may not be needed, if you plan to put chains on tractor.
chains are no no on regular roads, if memory serves this includes Canada. exception during specific times of year in winter. and only for a short time and in certain areas. if you do not plan to run tractor down road with chains on. and it always stays on the 90 acres. chains might be a plus for you.
it might be suggested you go with R4 tires. simply due to backhoe. and chains might be wanted for traction. but would encourge going for R1 agriculture tires just for traction, and help keeping you from getting stuck in softer mud.
make sure you have "SPLIT BRAKES" a left and right rear brake pedal for rear tires. this on opposite foot from the HST / GO / GAS peddles. smaller tractors this can be an issue. bigger tractors this normally not an issue.
differential lock can come in handy as well (locks both rear tires together, so they spin with same force / direction). it may not get used very often but helps you when you get in a bad situation. trying to use left / right brake pedals on rear wheels (shakes head no) not very easy to do.
if option for the transmission. for a few more extra gear options, i might encourage you to do so. while general work you may never need. remember with a hydraulic / hydro static like transmission make it shuttle shift, power shuttle shift, HST, and like transmission, you obtain most TORQUE when you barely push down the go peddle, the further peddle is pressed down, you loose TORQUE for increased speed. if you are pulling a tree out. down shift to lower gear, and then use the peddle to adjust speed. unlike a pure manual / gear transmission and having engine stall out. a hydrualic transmission trying to pull to heavy a load will cause by-pass valves to open up. and can cause transmission to over heater per say / run much hotter.
looking at...
TractorData.com Kubota MX5200 tractor transmission information
TractorData.com Kubota L3901 tractor transmission information
would advise going with a shuttle setup. looks to be more gears. and more possible torque in the lower end possibly.... you are less likely to run at TOP MPH (miles per hour) but more likely low to med range of the charts seen above. the shuttle type transmission look to give a better choice of choosing TORQUE vs speed selection.
looking at
TractorData.com Kubota MX5200 tractor engine information
i notice engine is a turbo charged diesel. turbo's need a little extra caution. as in starting tractor up, to shutting it down. you need to let the units set for a couple minutes say after working tractor hard. before shutting down. so everything has a chance to cool down. if you shut down a tractor, all the cooling shuts down, and you can cause an overheating issue and cause life of engine to not have a very long life. letting tractor set for a couple minutes or more at idle speeds lets things cool down.
would advise making sure you get the 4x4 / MFWD option for tractor. it can help when sinking FEL general duty bucket into dirt and getting a pile of dirt in the bucket. to simply keep you going in muddy conditions / snowy / ice conditions. and helps keep the front tires from becoming skies but rather actual giving traction and keep you turning.
seeing you are in canada. a "cold start" option is advised. generally a "engine block" heater is cheapest out there and works. if you can install it yourself it might be cheaper via 3rd party engine block heater. then again it may not. there may also be some sort of intake manifold heating element, you turn key to on and hold it for a few seconds. allowing the heater element to warm up the intake manifold air. and then you crank over the engine. this can help aid in starting in cold winter temps.
it can be rather difficult to see at night (just as the sun is seating) and using front lights of tractor due to FEL (front end loader) being directly in way of the lights. and it can be rather dangerous having the FEL raised up high off the ground (risk tractor rolling over that way), and would advise getting high up work lights. (from a cab to having them installed on a sun shade to ROPS bars). these lights really help to see. and keeps the FEL bucket down low and only a few inches off ground (much safer).
rear work lights on cab or sun shade or ROPS, comes in extremely handy with backhoe, to simply dealing with getting done for the day and unhooking things as sun is seating. ((you wanted to finish last bit of project up)). along with deal with short working hours (little sun light) in winter. come home from days work only to find out sun is no longer there and needing some light to see what you are doing. (say hay or like for horse).
you can generally get 3rd party front and rear work lights. and simply connect to wire harness already there for lights either on cab or sun shade or perhaps some place under seat on a open station ROPs tractor. but not always.
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a lot of the stuff are small little add-on's but some of them can be rather tractor specific and maybe manufacture only type of add-on. and can quickly raise price of tractor overall.
tractor, FEL, backhoe, and CAB, are high dollar specific make/model items and you are more likely to get a larger discount purchasing them all at once. but the small little add-ons "overall together adding them up" can come up to a high dollar item as well. but can make life "easier" and various jobs quicker and perhaps more professionally done without a whole lot of extra work.
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i would say go for bigger tractor. tractor, FEL, BACKHOE and if you can swing it a few of the make/model specific smaller add-ons. 3pt hitch stuff can always be bought at a later date. and from multi manufactures. but above stuff meh...
