I Had No Idea It Would Cost This Much!

[lambs]

Hey Silk Hope,
The reason I asked is that I grew up in Eli Whitney community, just a bit north of you in Alamance county. We farmed about 200 acres and had one tractor with the kind of power you were considering (100 hp). It was the workhorse for plowing, harrowing, and cutting silage. I'd say where you live, you can do fine with way less than that. But I'd also recommend buying a little more power than what you think you need. Some day you'll be glad you did.

Best wishes for the new year.

 

[lambs]

Oh! Forgot to add that Aunt Bea moved to Siler City after retiring and is actually buried there.....pretty cool huh?

 

[Silk Hope Soldier]

Yeah, it's sad though--she died alone from alcoholism living with twenty cats.

On a brighter note!

The only thing that worries me is wanting to go into the wooded areas with a cab.

I found a place in Burlington, NC to rent a JD 110 loader/backhoe for 1,400.00 a month. I'm thinking of renting that puppy for the first month and getting a better lay of the land.

Thanks again!

Silk Hope Soldier

 

[AKfish]

What kind of work are you planning to tackle with the 110? A 110; right from the dealer is a great machine for "holes". A hole here - a hole there - one with the front; or one with the back...

But, it won't do much else.. unless you get other attachments. Gotta have the tools for the job.

Best of luck.

AKfish

 

[Silk Hope Soldier]

AKfish:

I was thinking of getting the 110 with a tine / grapple bucket for the FEL and started pulling off some of the vines/brush covering the old barns and generally getting in the way of seeing the ground in many areas.

I also thouhgt I'd rather drive a rented (and aged) 110 through a lot of the rough before I attempt to back a bush hog into it.

However, your question does give me a great deal of pause.

I now think the decision to rent before I buy merely puts the decision off for a bit.

Methinks I am having a RAM (random access memory) meltdown in my head as I try to process too much info for this cityfied and stagnant brain of mine.

The little guy on my left shoulder is saying, "get a 5x25 with a cab!" "We plan on having 40 acres to mow and maintain and a LOT of fencing to put in--get the PHD, you moron!" he screams in the middle of the night.

The other little guy, on my right shoulder is saying, "You can't even see the ground in front of the bucket from way up there in that cab! And you'll scratch it! How are you going to clean out the areas along the stream with that big ol' thing! Save your money and buy small!" he chides whenever I decide I'm going for the big dog.

Now, if I bought one of each...

 

[sandman2234]

I would think that with around a hundred acres, a person "MIGHT" consider your last line, which would be to purchase "one of each". I won't get into what you need, want, could settle for, etc, but I do know that I had an undersized tractor that I did a lot with, just took longer. I went to a 70 hp tractor that was used and about 15 years old. Great tractor, but I was too used to having four wheel drive, so 2 wheel drive got me into a lot of trouble. I went looking for 4wd and ended up with what you thought about at first, which was a large 90hp tractor, 4wd, and when I got it home, I realized just how BIG it actually was. I wouldn't want to be out tooling around in the woods on it, especially with a cab, however I am sure there are people that do it and love it. Being on the south end of you, rather than north of you, I tend to see open station tractors, and very few cabs, but I am not in the "business" of ags, so I miss a lot of people that work them for a living. I know they must have their advantages, but around here, it doesn't happen much.
For my two cents, an almost new 50+ or so tractor set up like you want it, and an 85 or so hp used tractor to do the heavy work with such as mowing wide open places would be a great idea. Both my tractors could probably pull a batwing mower, which will make short work out of open fields, but getting into the tight areas, the larger tractor becomes a pain in the tail when trying to manuever around trees, limbs,etc.
The larger one has a boom mower on the back, and a smaller tractor wouldn't handle a boom mower (of that size), which is why it has duals rears on it.
Consider an older, larger tractor for your heavy duty chores, but stick with something in the range of around 50 for most of your basic needs. Loaders are a pain to work around when the tractor takes a forty acre field to turn around.
David from jax

 

[joes_427_vette]

New paint be it green or blue costs money. If you have good taste it costs even more. I personally don't want anything with a name that sounds like it was made in China. Granted China may have a great tractor.... its just I don't want it in my building. And I like new when it comes to tractors. Old is for cars like vettes and GTO's.
I bought green and blue, have no regrets. When I trade it will probably be the same brands, probably different dealers. They may name the price but I like service. When they don't respond to my call for service I note this for the next shopping trip.

 

[AKfish]

AKfish:

I was thinking of getting the 110 with a tine / grapple bucket for the FEL and started pulling off some of the vines/brush covering the old barns and generally getting in the way of seeing the ground in many areas.

I also thouhgt I'd rather drive a rented (and aged) 110 through a lot of the rough before I attempt to back a bush hog into it.

However, your question does give me a great deal of pause.

I now think the decision to rent before I buy merely puts the decision off for a bit.

Silk Hope;

Ok, clear some brush and old vines and some brush hoggin'. A grapple fork works great on the front of a 110. They hydraulic connector is right there waitin' to go! The heavier duty root grapple type can also work to rip out small trees and the entire vine - root wad and all.

The 110 will handle a MX-5 or MX-6 (heavier duty 5'-6') brush hog mower. The electric pto makes mowing a lot easier than the manual, gear operated pto - IMO.

Renting is a very good idea. You have the opportunity to actually get some "work done" and at the same time really understand if that particular tractor is best suited to your needs.

I think you'll appreciate the ease at which the eHydro transmission allows you to crawl thru the woods and around obstacles.

One caveat about renting - think about insurance. If the 110 doesn't have a belly-pan to protect those expensive hydraulic components and controls; crawling around stumps, ruts, root wads, etc. could leave you with an expensive "rental" bill. Branches and the like are also strongly drawn to the radiator and grill area..

AKfish

 

[greggh]

AKfish:

Now, if I bought one of each...

Now you're thinking... It's great when we can recommend to spend other peoples money...

But seriously, the renting idea is probably not a bad idea. You can get rid of a lot of brush to see how the ground really lies, stumps, etc. before you purchase a tractor for you.

Good luck on your decision and keep us informed.

 

[farmboy12]

Now you're thinking... It's great when we can recommend to spend other peoples money...

But seriously, the renting idea is probably not a bad idea. You can get rid of a lot of brush to see how the ground really lies, stumps, etc. before you purchase a tractor for you.

Good luck on your decision and keep us informed.

He did buy it, it's in a new thread..."Bought a 5425 with cab."


Kyle