Limited choices

[KennyG]

I think the forks are universally useful. Having the bucket and forks to carry things is constantly a benefit. After that it is dependent on whether you are dealing with woods, fields, landscaped areas, etc. You should have some kind of counterbalance, either a weight box or something like a box blade. Fgure out what your major task will be and get the best implements for it. Buy them one at a time as the need arises.

 

[mcfarmall]

Brush cutter
Grapple
Pallet forks
Land Plane Grader Scraper with scarifier teeth

 

[TerryR]

Thanks for the replies so far. I was trying to make this generic as possible. Limit to 4 attachments and explain why.

There is no answer to this generic question.

 

[Torvy]

Yes, we own 18.5 acres in the Piney Woods. Building a barn soon, then the final house in about a year. The home boss is a Regional Controller with a manufacturing background. She is used to dealing with people who confuse wants and needs all the time. She realizes we need a tractor, FEL, and brush mower. Beyond that, I will probably have to write a fixed asset proposal with costs, benefits and reasonable alternatives. She can smell BS a mile away. She is not just a finance person either. She has worked on the line and been a plant GM. Her good sense is the reason we will be retired before age 60. ..ok, so she may not make me actually write the proposal, but I darn sure better know my stuff or I'll be making do with an alternative.

 

[Torvy]

For me the #1 implement is a PTO chipper. I use it for brush and tree parts.
If you're going to need to move dirt a box blade works a lot better than the loader bucket. Also good for grading roads.
If you need to mow easements or fields or anything except lawn you will want a rough mower, either a rotary cutter or a flail mower.

I've been checking into the chipper idea. A lot better in our case than a burn pile as I don't want to lose my timber or my house. We don't have a good location that would work for that. I am already accumulating brush from some manual clearing I've done. Old school work with an ax and machete. It seems a PTO chipper will be cheaper to own and operate than a stand-alone gas chipper.

 

[DieselBound]

ONE GOOD IMPLEMENT is better than three that can't do the job that you need done.

Tractors are about WORK. Gotta think in terms of getting work done. What kind of work (conceptualize: lifting? digging? moving/transporting?).

MY most used implements are: Brush hog (though after 10 years I've now got a flail); pallet forks; box blade; grapple (does what is almost impossible with anything else- KEY is a "thumb" action).

For those poo-pooing box blades, I'd have to say that mine have been indispensable. I'd had one on my B7800 for many years (and, well, look at my avatar- I even used it to put wood in to [rippers turned around and plywood place in the box, supported by the rippers and blade) and then when I went to do my big fencing project I bought a 7' one for my Kioti: just for this fencing project (rather than paying someone to do the project I did the work and came out ahead, with a 7' box blade and a dump trailer!); I've subsequently used the box blade for many other things, having recently done extensive grading around my house. They're good for ballast as well.

 

[BackRoad]

Looking back...

I've put 400 hours on the 60hp Kubota in the last year, and it's not been from soil engagement farming or haying.

Use Case: 35 acres mixed, 15a woods, 10a rough fields and 10a smooth fields, majority of the hours have been reclaiming fields, clearing trees, mowing, with limited hours for driveway maintenance and snow management.

Best estimate based on the total hours...
Grapple has been on the front 90% of the time. Use it for clearing trees and mowing (to harvest "new-growth" rocks ahead of the mower). The bucket has been on ~ 9%, forks were on <1%.

On the 3PH end, finish mower has been mounted maybe 20%, rotary cutter is 10%, back blade, landscape rake, land plane, disc and land roller were mounted <5% in total.

The other 65% of the time, my old-school heavy duty, 900#, 1/2 inch steel, 6' box blade has been mounted.

In addition to loaded rear tires, that box blade is perfect ballast for the grapple, compact enough to not get in the way in the woods, and is immediately available to backfill stump holes and level dirt when land clearing.


In my world...
Some type of mower is an absolute minimum requirement
- Grapple is #1
- - Box Blade is #2 (but would not use the grapple without it)
- - - Back Blade may be #3 for driveway and finish grading.

Implement Costs: $5,000

Land Value Appreciation: + $12,000

Customer (Wife's) Satisfaction:

My User Satisfaction: Priceless!

 

[workinonit]

Useless excersize unless the purpose is to get ideas. In my opinion you can't limit yourself to a few attachments. You must accumulate them as you go. For instrance, one of my top 4 would be my Hardee Hyraslide ditch bank mower. I have miles of ditches to maintain and couldn't do without one. It's probably something very few others would have on a list like this. For me, I have implements I don't use but once in a blue moon but I have them when I need them. That's waaay better than needing them and not having them. Heck, until I bought my new tractor I had a Komatsu 22 metric ton track hoe. I didn't need it but I had it if I did. Now I miss not having it. Accumulate is my motto.

 

[Torvy]

Useless excersize unless the purpose is to get ideas. In my opinion you can't limit yourself to a few attachments.

Funny, you actually helped a lot despite this being useless. You described what you use and how and gave reasons. Most of what is on TBN is to get ideas. I may get more implements over time, but I have budget constraints that mean I need to be efficient with my choices. I expect a lot of us who are new to this will have similar issues, which is why I attempted to make it generic as possible.

 

[Citydude]

Summer:
Grapple, chipper, box blade and a skidding winch on occasion.
Winter:
Snowblower, snowblower,snowblower

 

[CoyPatton]

Funny, you actually helped a lot despite this being useless. You described what you use and how and gave reasons. Most of what is on TBN is to get ideas. I may get more implements over time, but I have budget constraints that mean I need to be efficient with my choices. I expect a lot of us who are new to this will have similar issues, which is why I attempted to make it generic as possible.

I understand your desire to try to get as wide a list as possible, but usage while narrowing helps give advice that applies to your needs!
Again what applied to my needs on under 10 acres with lots of trees (lots of down limbs and debris and size of tractor consideration) and slopes was much different than the area I grew up in that was mostly cleared row crop farming.
If you are buying new, you can often lump implements and attachments (if available) into the financing for the tractor. This may allow for more items to be include while increasing the monthly payment only slightly.
You said loader was a given. If lots of trees are on the property, some type of grapple is extremely useful. A rear blade of some type is a must in my opinion. Personally I have both a regular rear blade and a box blade and use both. For me the initial need was rough cut mowing. So a brush cutter and rear blade were purchased with the tractor that included a loader.
Other items were purchased along the time frame as deals were encountered and/or needs arose.
I now have several items. Some are used more than others.
•bucket came with loader (loader stays on most of the time, unfortunately it is a pin on bucket so changing to forks is less often than using a set of clamp on forks)
•forks (have clamp on and frame mount)
•rear blade
•box blade
•rotary cutter
•tiller (specialize but love it when working garden in spring and after harvest in fall)
•middle buster/subsoiler (purchased for a project to bury some pipe, it was cheaper than renting a trencher as for this project the depth did not need to extremely deep)

I will likely add more as the need arises.
A grapple is on my list but the expenses of the grapple is greatly increased by the need to add hydraulic controls and lines. If buy new and you foresee a grapple purchase, consider having the dealer install the 3rd function. (Consider the diverter style vs the full independent function)
I also am debating the addition of SSQA mounts to replace my pin on mounts. But weight capacity is in that consideration also.

 

[workinonit]

Funny, you actually helped a lot despite this being useless. You described what you use and how and gave reasons. Most of what is on TBN is to get ideas. I may get more implements over time, but I have budget constraints that mean I need to be efficient with my choices. I expect a lot of us who are new to this will have similar issues, which is why I attempted to make it generic as possible.

Sorry. The statement wasn't meant as a slam just saying that there are so many variables and different ideas on what to use for a task that it COULD be more confusing than helpful. For instance if you post a question on here about what to use to perform a simple task such as digging a post hole you will get at least a half dozen different solutions about what tool to dig a hole with. What I have discovered is that a good portion of what drives an individual to use a certain implement or tool for a job is the area of the country they are located in and heritage. I've always thought a lot of folks base what they do and how they do it on what their daddy did.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

Maybe a rototiller?

 

[jjp8182]

Based off the premise I'd suggest:

1) pallet forks; can be used for unloading future implements & other palletized items. On a larger property the home projects can/will get larger than they would in a suburban development so the material handling needs can/will be larger as well.
2) grapple; in the South trees/vegetation tends to grow to a large size fast which means when the inevitable storm/tornado/hurricane causes trees to loose limbs or topple (potentially also due to the tree interior rotting away) the clean up will be faster & easier with a grapple. .... and depending on the situation the clean up isn't something that a person may want to putter around and clean up over months.
3) a functional ballast implement for the 3pt.; preferably something heavy, mechanically simple, that doesn't hang far off the back of the tractor ( so ideally things like box blades, trailer mover/ballast frame, heavy rear scrape blade)
4) some sort of mower/rotary cutter; if you have any open areas you want to keep open this will be needed since (as noted in #2) vegetation can grow quite fast ...especially in the summer months where lots of light and regular rain can create ideal growing conditions for all manners of vegetation that will try to reclaim any unmaintained areas in short order.

After that I'd say the specific use cases you'll (likely*) develop will drive & inform future purchases.

*odds are you'll develop further use cases since you're looking at getting a tractor and doing at least some/most of the tasks around the property yourself & if you were hiring everything out, then you'd have no need of a tractor.

 

[MHarryE]

Mine that are used the most:

Landscape Rake - multiple uses from maintaining my gravel driveway, leveling dirt, cleanup. Most used except for bucket on the loader.

Pallet Forks - lots of stuff not easy to lift with a bucket. Got a lot of use on my CUT until I got my CTL where they are even more useful

Rotary Cutter - I have 40 acres along a river with a small creek running through the middle. Lots of use trimming around edges keeping the brush under control

Rototiller - everything from garden, food plots for wildlife, and even prepping my lawn for seeding. I have a lot deer around our place during the winter and they kind of mess up the lawn near the front of my house.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

I’m in an entirely different situation, High Desert in Idaho, on the Ponderosa Pine-Sage brush boundary. And the “soil” is an old sand bar from a river, and is mostly large river rocks 6 to 20-inch diameter, with the voids filled with silts, and clays.

So: Quick attach systems for the front loader, and the 3-point hitch.

1- An independent grapple, one of the ones you add to your bucket. Any decent welder can fabricate you extra brackets to fit different front attachments. And you can move it around.

2- A quick attach fork/bale spear system, with 2 sets of forks, one pair at 6 or 7-ft, and a set of 4-ft. You can mount the grapple attachment, and use it for weeds/ trees, etc., while you decide, on what else you need.

3 Rear blade and or box blade, you really cant maintain roads/driveways without one of them.

4. A set of hydraulics for the 3-point. With the adjustable hydraulic links, you can change the angle of attack of the blade, and tilt it.

Beyond that, see if you can rent implements locally, or borrow them from neighbors to figure out what makes sense. In your climate with no “lawn” I’d look at a flail mower. It is rougher than most deck mowers but it will also mulch shrubs and small trees.

Locally the rental store rents an assortment of skid steer attachments, for special purposes like bucketing concrete and getting it into forms.

 

[/pine]

Big difference between implements that are designed for property maintenance and those designed for agricultural uses etc...

If you're going to have a garden of any size I also suggest a tiller but also another great labor saving attachment for gardening is a hiller/bedder tool bar with sweeps...

 

[ljjhouser]

Box Blade or land plain or Ballast Box
Pallet Forks

 

[Mart5130]

Mower,bush hog, grapple, box blade

 

[Torvy]

Thanks guys. I had not really considered pallet forks, but it seems a lot of people find them indispensable.