Limited choices

[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.