I dont have a clue! What tractor?

BryanM · Dec 19, 2006

Hi everybody, let me start out by stating the obvious, I am in serch of a tractor. then let me tell you my story I'll make it as short as I can. I have recently bought 6 acres farm ground for a new homestead. My needs as best i know as of now. Mowing lets say 5 acres flat grass(pasture) drive way duty snow maintence at leat 200ft. light to meduim landscape duties, brushcut aprox 5acres a few times ayear for hunting lease. that ground is also fairly flat. My question is what tractor would best suite my needs (Hp), what would you recommend. I have talked to a few sales men in orange, green, blue. All reccommended me with same info from 18hp to 30 hp. I probably should tell you i am on a tight budget so no higher than ? I hate to give you a $# number because I think it will influence the answer to much. but to tell you the truth I was looking at the 2305 or 2320 in green. but would rather get a good used machine. So give me your thoughts and o ya just found your site and from just a couple days looking around well lets say seems like a bunch of nologable people!

aesanders · Dec 19, 2006

I've got a similar sized property (6 acres) and a 2320 takes care of it very well. I have three horse and with about an acre and a half fenced now. (I just finished putting in the fence) but will fence in another 3 acres. The three acres in the back still needs fencing. This area was 8 foot weeds when I moved in over the summer and have been cleaning it up since. Still have to get some grass planted and the fencing in, but the 2320 made short work of the weeds. I probably could have gotten by with a smaller tractor like the 2305, but really like some of the features like position control for the post hole digger and bush hog that I use.

I think a tractor this size (small compact) is very well suited for our size property and have not found really anything it cannot handle. (well with the exception of moving the 3 ton pallet of stone I have now)

Used would not be a bad option, but with some of the 0 percent financing offers around these days buying new worked for me.

thingy · Dec 19, 2006

Its all just a question of money really. But if your budget is enough for green,[or orange],than you should get one of those,they are about the best.
My budget wasn't,so 4 1/2 years ago got a nortrac chinese tractor,for 8,000,,,,560 hrs later,runs as good as new,and I take care of more land,plus a garden,than you described. thingy

jbrumberg · Dec 19, 2006

BryanM:

Welcome to TBN

! If mowing will be your primary task you can go with a lighter, smaller tractor. Ground engaging attachments will generally benefit from a heavier tractor. It appears you are headed in the right direction. I want to warn you that the membership of TBN is more than willing to help you spend your money and there are quite a few HP junkies out there in TBN land. Try as many tractors and dealerships as possible- dealer "feel" is just a important as tractor "feel". Take your time, ask a lot of questions, and you will find the tractor that will meet your needs. There is no "perfect" tractor on the market. Jay

john_bud · Dec 19, 2006

Bryan,

Your chores sound pretty easy. An older 2wd tractor would do them all. A Ford in the hundred series would work fine. Look for a 5 speed transmission and a bonus would be the 2 stage clutch which give "live" pto. By Ford model numbers that would be a 651, 661, 851, 861. (the slightly older ones are 650 etc). Expect to pay $3000 for a decent machine and up to $6500 for an 861 in excellent shape with a loader. If you get one with a loader, try and find one with the pie weights for the rear wheels. You need about 2500# of weight on them to use a loader effectively. That's wheel weights, loaded tires and an implement. Loader lift capacity will be in the 2000# range.

The 4 speed transmission in the hundred series is not good for ground engaging activities like tilling and can be pretty quick for cutting. 1st gear is about 2x too fast. It also does not have a live PTO. That means that the implement can drive the tractor even with the clutch pushed down. So you have to shift to N or can have a wild ride. Or just buy an overrunning clutch adaptor for the PTO shaft.

The later "thousand" series tractors are even better, but more $$. The 2000, 3000 and 4000 are excellent. If you can find a 3 cyl diesel with 8 speed transmission in the 2000 or 3000's your search will be over. The $$ premium is about $1-2000 over the hundred series.

Fords SOS transmission is a first attempt at a power shift. It worked pretty horribly initially. In fact, it so soured people that to this day they are sold at a bargan. A later thousand series tractor will have an SOS with the bugs worked out, but a broken one can cost you big time to repair. They also require maintenance like fluid and filter changes. If the previous owner didn't do that, well....

enjoy!
jb

BryanM · Dec 20, 2006

so what Hp range am I looking at? Has anyone else delt with the grey tractor market or norttrac or off brands??

I was looking at an 770 and a 750 but both didnt include a fel and definately want a fel on this tractor.

while I am at it has anyone bought a tractor of ebay at one of those auctions like(mcgrew)? or just of private owners? thanks for the help and keep the answers coming I need all the help I can get?

Egon · Dec 20, 2006

One suggestion, cause I own one, would be a used B7100 with HST, MMM and a loader. They do not have power steering so may not be desirable for many folks.

If you wish I could send you some photos of what I use it for.

There are many choices out there so shop long and hard. Shopping's fun!

aesanders · Dec 20, 2006

BryanM said:
so what Hp range am I looking at?

I would look more at pto hp than standard engine horsepower. Find out the requirements of the implements you want to run and size your machine accordingly. These small engine diesels have quite a bit of punch. For running a 4 foot bush hog like I have you can do well with a machine under 20 pto hp. If you want a 5 foot cutter then you would need something in the mid 20 pto hp range.
For mowing a lawn of 5 acres then you should be looking at no less than a 60 inch finish mower. Again, just about all current compacts and sub compacts between 15-20 pto hp can handle this. If you want a 72" mid mount mower, then you would need to look for something with mid 20 pto hp like a Kubota 3030. A lighter tractor previously recomended would be better at mowing as you don't want ruts all over the lawn. This is the primarily negative against an older small utilty tractor. They are heavier and not as agile for lawn mowing.

Try out as many brands as you can. Pay close attention to minor details like ergonomics etc. Also, make sure you compare machines that are apples to apples. It can be confusing. Some manufactures list their machines as scuts(sub compacts) when they are actually sized like most competitors cuts (compacts). This is where comparing pto hp really helps out.

MDM · Dec 20, 2006

A good used imported Japanese Yanmar will do nicely. That was what I got for my 1st tractor. It will run you anywhere from $4000 to $5500 depending if you want 4wd or not. I had a 2210D I bought for $5200. It was 26hp, 4wd with 606 hrs on it. Just stay away from the Vietnam rebuilds if you go that route. It was a nice tractor and I miss it. I could afford to upgrade, so I did. I went with Kubota's L2800.

Soundguy · Dec 20, 2006

If you are going to do lots of pto work.. consider 4wd and pow steering.

If you are only doing light/limited laoder work.. 2wd/manual steering is ok...

I'd say 20-30 hp range.

You can generally find a nice ford/NH XX20 series in the upper 20hp range for what you will pay for a nortrac.

However.. if you go chinese.. do look at the nortrac.. or other units with big distribuitors.

Soundguy

BryanM said:
so what Hp range am I looking at? Has anyone else delt with the grey tractor market or norttrac or off brands??

I was looking at an 770 and a 750 but both didnt include a fel and definately want a fel on this tractor.

while I am at it has anyone bought a tractor of ebay at one of those auctions like(mcgrew)? or just of private owners? thanks for the help and keep the answers coming I need all the help I can get?