Tractor Sizing I have no clue...I need help!

[jenkinsph]

He's probably enjoying Christmas with his family, and isn't joined at the hip with forums like most of us (me included). If anything this thread is going to scare him away from TBN! Ha ha

Yeah some people live a normal life without tractors, or tractor discussions.:shocked: Weird.

 

[4570Man]

He's probably enjoying Christmas with his family, and isn't joined at the hip with forums like most of us (me included). If anything this thread is going to scare him away from TBN! Ha ha

Hey, I enjoyed Christmas with my family. We spend 5-6 hours together. That still leaves plenty of time for other stuff.

 

[CDennyRun]

Yeah some people live a normal life without tractors, or tractor discussions.:shocked: Weird.

Maybe once he gets his tractor, and falls in love, he'll become a junkie like us

 

[Getbusyorgetfat]

Maybe once he gets his tractor, and falls in love, he'll become a junkie like us

I am back. Much thanks to all that have replied. As some of you have guessed, I have been visiting family. My parents are suffering with a downed internet, and I got rid of my smart phone one week after I retired, so I am just seeing these messages now. I now walk around only with a $10 tracfone that I bought for deer hunting, just in case I lost it. I did manage to see a Mahindra dealer and one from Massey-Ferguson while traveling. Now to get to some of the questions about my needs.

The 65 acres is mostly woods and will stay that way. I have a "main drag" that is about 4/10ths of a mile long that bisects my land nicely with a spur off of that of about 300 yards. These are both well established field roads that have not needed any work done on them other than to mow them twice a season.

I have cut some trails through the woods with a DR brushmower, chainsaw, and a DR stump grinder. These trails are a little bumpy with a good supply of rocks here and there that I would like to move. The rocks are partially covered and appear to be from soccer ball to five-gallon bucket sized. The trails are wide enough for my kawasaki mule to get through (slowly) but no pick-up truck could make it. I like it this way because I don't live on sight yet. I'm probably about 15-20% done with the trail cutting.

The terrain is mostly flat, but I do have some areas that are hilly. I do understand that I will need to be extremely careful with a small tractor around hills.

The food plots will mostly be small with one being larger...maybe an acre...but probably a little less. Having talked to the two dealers and one farmer I know, I think that a 3pt tiller and a cultipacker is what I will need.

My budget is in the 25k range. The backhoe is what threatens to bust my budget. Does anyone have a better way to get those rocks out and move the dirt around on my trails to smooth them out? I have quite a few areas that look like "moguls" on a ski slope. These are not large areas in each case, but doing it with a shovel would make me grumpy. These areas also seem to be a popular gathering spot for the rocks. I don't see any way that the FEL would be of any use there.

So far I have checked out the Kubuta BX25, Massey-Fergusn GC1720, and a Mahindra eMax22. I liked the Kubuta dealer, not so much the BX25. I liked both of the other tractors. I thought the Mahindra dealer was great, and just the opposite for the Massey dealer.

I have felt the lure of more hp, but like I said earlier, nothing that I can't accomplish because of lack of power is going to be that important. My budget will keep me in check, along with my wife and daughter who want to go back to Disney World.


Thanks for all of the help.


P.S. I am only a little frightened by the forum.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Stump bucket. A real tooth bar on your bucket. A box blade, a root grapple, a single axle 5-7000lbs dump trailer. And I think you can do it all without a backhoe. But gosh I'd want a bigger tractor.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
The 65 acres is mostly woods and will stay that way. I have a "main drag" that is about 4/10ths of a mile long that bisects my land nicely with a spur off of that of about 300 yards. These are both well established field roads that have not needed any work done on them other than to mow them twice a season.

I have cut some trails through the woods with a DR brushmower, chainsaw, and a DR stump grinder. These trails are a little bumpy with a good supply of rocks here and there that I would like to move. The rocks are partially covered and appear to be from soccer ball to five-gallon bucket sized. The trails are wide enough for my kawasaki mule to get through (slowly) but no pick-up truck could make it. <snip>

The terrain is mostly flat, but I do have some areas that are hilly. I do understand that I will need to be extremely careful with a small tractor around hills.

The food plots will mostly be small with one being larger...maybe an acre...but probably a little less. Having talked to the two dealers and one farmer I know, I think that a 3pt tiller and a cultipacker is what I will need.

My budget is in the 25k range. The backhoe is what threatens to bust my budget. Does anyone have a better way to get those rocks out and move the dirt around on my trails to smooth them out? I have quite a few areas that look like "moguls" on a ski slope. These are not large areas in each case, but doing it with a shovel would make me grumpy. These areas also seem to be a popular gathering spot for the rocks. I don't see any way that the FEL would be of any use there.

So far I have checked out the Kubuta BX25, Massey-Fergusn GC1720, and a Mahindra eMax22. I liked the Kubuta dealer, not so much the BX25. I liked both of the other tractors. I thought the Mahindra dealer was great, and just the opposite for the Massey dealer.

I have felt the lure of more hp, but like I said earlier, nothing that I can't accomplish because of lack of power is going to be that important. My budget will keep me in check, along with my wife and daughter who want to go back to Disney World.
<snip>

You definitely need to go a size or two larger, at least for ground clearance if not power. I'd suggest a minimum of 25HP on the PTO and capable of lifting a ton on the 3 point.

With the attachments Luke wrote plus a rotary cutter to keep the brush down after you make a trail.

 

[gladehound]

My budget is in the 25k range... So far I have checked out the Kubuta BX25, Massey-Fergusn GC1720, and a Mahindra eMax22...

I have felt the lure of more hp... My budget will keep me in check, along with my wife and daughter who want to go back to Disney World.

The tractors you have looked at are in the sub-compact category. If this is the size tractor you go with, you probably will need the backhoe because your digging ability in rocky ground with the FEL will be limited. However, you could spend that same budget on a larger tractor without a backhoe and just get a $500 set of forks or $500 stump bucket to deal with your rocks.

Forks are amazing at popping rocks out of the ground. In the attached picture, I just popped up a 4000 pound rock using forks.



I also have stump bucket and second the post above, that with the right tractor / FEL combo, stump buckets can negate the need for a backhoe for shallow digging (a few feet - depends on length of specific stump bucket). But I wouldn't want to try one on a SCUT. Stump buckets require a strong FEL to work well.

You mentioned a 25K budget. For less than that, I bought a new 45 hp 4wd tractor with FEL, new hydraulic back blade, new snow bucket, new forks, new stump bucket, new post hole digger and sourced a tooth bar and 7 ft snow blower on the cheap. My point is, there is no reason to be limited to the SCUT category with a 25K budget.

Given your budget and the tasks you list, a 35-45 hp tractor with the right attachments (others already listed) should keep you within your budget and on task at your new property!

 

[gladehound]

Here are some things a stump bucket can do as you consider your need for a backhoe. A backhoe will dig much deeper but a stump bucket is much cheaper! :drink:

 

[4570Man]

A stump bucket isn't nearly as useful for cutting firewood. A stump bucket can't dig nearly as deep as even a small backhoe. I'd sure hate to be without my backhoe. If my option was buy a scout with a backhoe or buy a bigger tractor without a tractor, I'd buy the bigger tractor.

 

[gladehound]

A stump bucket can't dig nearly as deep as even a small backhoe... If my option was buy a scout with a backhoe or buy a bigger tractor without a tractor, I'd buy the bigger tractor.

Not really important for this discussion, but there's actually isn't much dig depth difference between the smallest SCUT backhoes and the longest stump buckets.

Don't get me wrong, backhoes are awesome and the full functionality of a backhoe cannot be duplicated with any FEL attachment. But when you only need to dig shallow, it's hard to justify the big bucks for one.

I agree with you 100%, I'd take the bigger tractor without backhoe over the little tractor with backhoe for the same price.