Buying Advice Is it possible to go too big?

   / Is it possible to go too big? #51  
SNIP.....

Because I'm a trauma ER and ICU RN by trade, as is the wife, I've been especially gobbling up any info related to safety I can.

I still am really leaning towards the cab though if I'm being honest. My job is stressful and I'm looking at some of these chores like some much needed R&R. I absolutely understand these machines are dangerous and require my attention and care but I'm sure when I get to a certain point mowing 15 acres could be a relaxing disconnect from the world outside the tractor work.

Well, it's true. Tractors are wonderfully relaxing. I don't know exactly why, but they are.....as proven by all us older guys who have them and enjoy them. For the price, we could just as easily pay to have the job done. But that would be like paying someone else to go fishing for us.... we might just prefer to do it ourselves.

BTW. I was not much concerned about your safety or you hurting yourself. I am more concerned about the ease with which the larger cabbed tractors can damage other things and people. A lot of it is visibility while doing simple chores.

And, I also know something about the future that we haven't yet talked about yet. Take a look at all our signatures on TBN. You may notice that many of us own more than one tractor - a big and a medium size is common. And to me, you are sure sounding like you are on the very same path. So I say get the medium one first.... You will use that size more often anyway, because most of what you will do will be chores involving moving things you don't want to lift, and the smaller tractor is simply more handy to hop on and do chores with good visibility.
Buy it right and you won't lose more than 10% tops.
Shucks, the agriculture zoning write off alone should cover that the first year.

Then with the chore tractor taken care of, you and your wife can look for the cabbed tractor together. You might even find one with a fold down "instructors" seat for her.
rScotty
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #52  
Then with the chore tractor taken care of, you and your wife can look for the cabbed tractor together. You might even find one with a fold down "instructors" seat for her.
Unless you get BIG cab on the tractor, If someone other than a small child rides in that seat, it's gonna be cramped .

I have a friend that has a 90 HP cab tractor with instructor seat. We used his tractor to ride out to look at some cows due to his UTV being in the shop. It was very cramped with the both of us in that small cab.
I don't know how large the cab is on my CX, but you can almost fit a small bed in that thing ! LOL
 
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   / Is it possible to go too big? #54  
Is it possible to go too big ? ... Yes ...

Read this tale of woe ... 100 Hp tractor doing jobs, my 40 Hp tractor could do.

Thanks for sharing this as it opened up Pandora's box with Deere's skeletons. But I think it is worth noting after doing some research that the 5000 series Deere tractors, especially the E series has been very problematic. Those tractors have many threads reporting serious reliability issues.
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #55  
I didn't have the luxury of going with a bigger machine. Had just bought 40 acres and had all sorts of grandiose ideas: initially I thought that I didn't want a tractor- do things on a manual level- HA HA! I bought a used B7800 Kubota and had it before even moving on to the property.

My saving grace was having read the advice to live on a piece of property through a full seasonal cycle in order to best understand it: at a minimum I'd say!

If you don't know whether you have swampy areas or not then you cannot possibly know how the land can be worked. I've lived here for a full 10 years now and I still haven't been able to get to some areas.

This picture was taken as I walked the property (late summer). The person there is/was my real estate agent and friend. Hard to come up with a bigger piece of equipment than a logging skidder (which made the tracks shown below). BIG machines can do BIG damage. Took me hours one afternoon to smoothen things out: done with my B7800.

View attachment 719191

Years later (excavator used to deal with some stumps, but otherwise ALL B7800 work):

View attachment 719192

I cannot possibly overstate how big the "unknowns" were. I would have been trying to bite off a lot of unknowns if I'd gone whole-hog on things. Following shows us (well, my wife shows up) salvaging firewood. Most everything was totally hidden. Not a clue what the terrain was. NOTE: even knowing the terrain doesn't guarantee that you can be safe- I got a 9k lb excavator stuck in an area that I KNEW- my B7800 had been in that same area w/o getting stuck. Slow work, but quick can tend to produce shoddy results.
View attachment 719193

And today (taken further back and centering more to the right), some 8 years later (most done with the B7800; now managed with the NX5510):
View attachment 719197

Just a sampling of the work that has been done. This has all been in my "spare" time. My main points are:

1) KNOW what you're facing before trying to tackle it- best to do a LOT of probing- my wife and I carved out a lot of exploratory paths using hand tools, much swinging machetes!
2) Develop a plan on what you're going to do and then PLAN MORE (took five years to do the fencing around our homestead area- roughly 6 acres worth);
3) Don't expect to do "it" "this year." <- Rush and you're going to end up doing a lot of second guessing (and if you break machinery over a poorly planned affair it'll only make you more distraught).

So for me, my tiny B7800 was able to do an amazing amount of work: it kept me from being too hasty- slower allowed me time to think hard about what I was doing. I'd have to say that this tractor is as close to commercial-grade as you can get on a smaller tractor- nearly indestructible (can't say that about my NX5510). I rented excavators to remove big stuff: most of the time I would dig and bury stumps- I have pictures, but I don't want them made public lest they be used against me (I'm only partially kidding).

On a wider-open operation and an area with slower growing grass I wouldn't give a second thought about a telehandler (such as Xfaxman has). They're awesome machines (Merlo has machines which can readily replace tractors). But, as I've learned, there are things that a specialized piece of equipment is called for -such as a large excavator- and if one shells out a lot for one piece of equipment then that strains the purse for such rentals. My thought is that one buys equipment for the 80%, knowing that one is going to push that closer to 90% (on the edge of the seat operations!), and then rents for the other 80%. But note that one has to KNOW what that 80% is to start with!

Lastly, knowing your land and developing a firm plan will allow you to identify one-off projects in which the rental of task-specific machinery is better suited. It's easy to accumulate machinery, and the more of that you have the more time you're maintaining it.
That's a really nice piece of property you have there.
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #56  
Do people also think the smaller kubota m4 is too large?
I sold an open station MX 5400 and purchased an M4-071 cab because I have an acute problem with ragweed. I do a lot of mowing, boxblading and grappling of cut mesquite. The MX was a hydrostatic trans and was as precise as a scalpel to operate. it was also very easy to hop on and off. It was miserable in the summer in TX. The M4 is a 12 speed power shuttle. It's still precise when you use the clutch, but nowhere near as fast to operate when using the grapple or FEL. The shuttle takes getting used to after the HST, and you get thrown around a little when changing directions. Getting in and out is more of a process with the shuttle, parking brake, etc. BUT, for me the dust-free cool cab makes it worth it. It's also got a buddy seat and belt, so that's safer for riders than any open station. It burns at least 2X the fuel, but since you have a city job, that wont matter. It's strong as a bull.
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #57  
spreader 1.jpg

Occasionally you can get a bit mismatched between implement and tractor but it will still work :ROFLMAO:
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #58  
I worked with a guy who had his kid riding with him on the tractor - the kid fell off and lost both legs to the mower deck I believe.
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #59  
My advice is to hire things done, for a bit. See what equipment they bring, how they use it, and what they like it don’t like about it. Maintaining a previously worked or prepped area is significantly easier than working virgin or grossly overgrown places.
 
   / Is it possible to go too big? #60  
my tractor is only a 40hp but it's been easy to learn (first tractor) and I think it would be enough for that much acreage. I would get pallet forks, bucket, box blade and rotary cutter for the work you are describing and add as needed. Good luck and have fun! you will find so many more uses for it when you have it.
 

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