Looking for a good compact tractor

Jchonline · Dec 2, 2021

pmsmechanic said:
I'm for sure in a minority but I don't agree that tractor weight is the most important criteria at all. You can always make a light tractor heaver but you cannot make a heavy tractor lighter. For mowing my lawn I want my tractor as light as possible. If I need extra weight for stability or traction I can always pick up my rear three point hitch weights. If I need more weight up front I have two different sets of front weights depending on the job. The two most important considerations are: How well the dealer takes care of you and is able to supply parts, and how comfortable and intuitive the tractor is to operate. For example I will never buy a treadle pedal HST tractor. Others find them comfortable but I don't. Also very high on the list is reliability.

Actually you are supporting the statement that "weight is most important criteria". You need a machine that can vary weight based on your needs. However that still means it is a very important criteria!

This is the reason Kubota tends to make lighter machines...give the operator the choice. Take a L series, drop the FEL and dont get the rears loaded and you have a really light machine.

RalphVa · Dec 2, 2021

I've 8.5 acres on very hilly property and uneven. Gotta have some clearance. A BX or series 1 JD just won't cut it, but only need about 1300-1600 # and 18.5 hp to get the bush hogging, wood chipping, snow moving and wood hauling jobs done with an occasional bit of dirt hauling or stump pulling. First job for my 18.5 hp 1300 # 4010 was to move 22 tons of gravel. Did fine.

Another philosophy is my neighbor with a "Lamborghini" JD 4052 on 5 acres.

Some places I go with the (now) 2025R, my neighbor's tractor will not fit.

Don't mow lawn with the tractor, only trails. Lawn mowing is now done with battery power Ryobis, both regular and ZT.

Got my eye on a Kubota B2301 for my next tractor.

JasperFrank · Dec 2, 2021

As SmallChange has mentioned, "Tractors are not the best machine (not really close) for clearing wooded areas. Rent a large excavator or pay someone to clear it. After, the tractor is great for maintaining."
I entirely agree with this statement. If you have trees you want taken out, renting or hiring a dozer or an excavator will make short work of it. Use your tractor for clean up and later maintenance. You will destroy your new tractor attempting to clear trees. So 5 aceas you want to remove, and how big these dead trees? A Pic would help here. Then again, if the trees are dead anyway, why bother to remove them? Chainsaw them down and leave the stumps? Goats don't care if there are dead stumps around.

Torvy · Dec 2, 2021

To be fair, a tractor is also not the best tool for mowing a 'lawn'. I think of it more like a Swiss army knife. It does a bunch of things pretty well, but the individual things it can do are often done better by a specialized tool.

IndyJay · Dec 3, 2021

Torvy said:
To be fair, a tractor is also not the best tool for mowing a 'lawn'. I think of it more like a Swiss army knife. It does a bunch of things pretty well, but the individual things it can do are often done better by a specialized tool.

Swiss Army knife, yep, and also maybe like channel locks or a crescent wrench. They work okay for many tasks but often the "right" tool for the job will do it better with less risk of injury or damage.

Hermio · Dec 3, 2021

jeff9366 said:
"Loading" the tractor's rear tires with liquid will increase traction in a cost effective way.

Adding wheel weights will also increase traction, though iron weights are much more costly.

MORE ON WHEEL/TIRE BALLAST:

OrangeTractorTalks » Comparing Types of Liquid Tire Ballast

Consider routinely carrying around a Three Point Hitch implement as FEL counterbalance and additional wheel ballast if you need yet more traction. A considerable amount of the implement weight is transferred to the tractor wheels, both front and rear, through the Three Point Hitch.

Before your next tractor purchase consider this: Within subcompact and compact tractor categories, a significant tractor capability increase requires a bare tractor weight increase of 50%. It takes a 100% increase in bare tractor weight to elicit MY-OH-MY!

Not quite correct. Any weight carried by the 3-point hitch actually reduces the weight on the front axle. Simple physics; the lever principle.

Hermio · Dec 3, 2021

Torvy said:
To be fair, a tractor is also not the best tool for mowing a 'lawn'. I think of it more like a Swiss army knife. It does a bunch of things pretty well, but the individual things it can do are often done better by a specialized tool.

Indeed. That is why I am happy I finally bought a zero turn mower. Extra cost, but it mows the lawn in 1/3 of the time compared to using a tractor with a 3-point mower. That also let me go to a larger tractor (Mahindra 5035HST) with ag tires, that I never use on my lawn. I use it for bushhogging, logging and loader work. My working weight on it is over 10,00 lb; the tractor bare weight is about 5400 lb.

anothernewbiefarmer · Dec 3, 2021

2032r seems like a good fit. I have 25 acres of sometimes heavily sloped fields, woods from which I pull tons of downed trees every year and flat lands and stables etc. Very rarely do I find something I can't pick up. I've pulled, to my amazement, 50ft trees along the ground. I'd get some wheel spacers if you have sloped land.

geoffleach · Dec 3, 2021

Reagen said:
I'm looking for a compact tractor for 11 acres. 5 of those acres have a lot of dead trees ...

I would add to the already good advice: 4WD and equal-sized tires, front and rear. There is an ideal solution for your situation, which seems to be the same as mine: Antonio Carraro TTR 4400. Regrettably expensive and no longer in production. "Pre-owned"?

I'm working at removing dead trees that were downed by the fire crew, on 20-30 degree slopes and very loose footing, so my recommendation comes from experience.

ptsg · Dec 3, 2021

geoffleach said:
I would add to the already good advice: 4WD and equal-sized tires, front and rear. There is an ideal solution for your situation, which seems to be the same as mine: Antonio Carraro TTR 4400. Regrettably expensive and no longer in production. "Pre-owned"?

I'm working at removing dead trees that were downed by the fire crew, on 20-30 degree slopes and very loose footing, so my recommendation comes from experience.

Those are indeed great tractors to work on hills. Super low center of gravity and great tractor, along with great stability with the rims setup as wide as they go.

I looked at a Tigre 4000 when I was shopping for a new tractor and kind of regret not going with it. Would fit a lot better in my orchards that the conventional tractor I have now, at the cost of losing the loader capability and some other features, but wouldn't be a big deal either.

Antonio Carraro had to change their line quite a bit due to the Stage V emissions in Europe. Basically the 4000 (31HP) and 4400F (38HP) were discontinued and replaced with the 3800 and 3800F, both with 25HP so it falls under the no DPF requirement. I'm sure they will release higher HP versions of these tractors once they get the emissions figured out and find a place to mount that big DPF.

Hermio · Dec 3, 2021

geoffleach said:
I would add to the already good advice: 4WD and equal-sized tires, front and rear. There is an ideal solution for your situation, which seems to be the same as mine: Antonio Carraro TTR 4400. Regrettably expensive and no longer in production. "Pre-owned"?

I'm working at removing dead trees that were downed by the fire crew, on 20-30 degree slopes and very loose footing, so my recommendation comes from experience.

I hope to get a logging winch for cases like that someday.

geoffleach · Dec 3, 2021

ptsg said:
Those are indeed great tractors to work on hills. Super low center of gravity and great tractor, along with great stability with the rims setup as wide as they go.

I looked at a Tigre 4000 when I was shopping for a new tractor and kind of regret not going with it. Would fit a lot better in my orchards that the conventional tractor I have now, at the cost of losing the loader capability and some other features, but wouldn't be a big deal either.

Antonio Carraro had to change their line quite a bit due to the Stage V emissions in Europe. Basically the 4000 (31HP) and 4400F (38HP) were discontinued and replaced with the 3800 and 3800F, both with 25HP so it falls under the no DPF requirement. I'm sure they will release higher HP versions of these tractors once they get the emissions figured out and find a place to mount that big DPF.

Yup. I purchased the 4400 (No F!) recently. It had been on the lot for 2 years -- probably the last one in the US. One of the selling points was that it pre-dated the latest DPF :-(

Hermio · Dec 3, 2021

anothernewbiefarmer said:
2032r seems like a good fit. I have 25 acres of sometimes heavily sloped fields, woods from which I pull tons of downed trees every year and flat lands and stables etc. Very rarely do I find something I can't pick up. I've pulled, to my amazement, 50ft trees along the ground. I'd get some wheel spacers if you have sloped land.

To my amazement, I found I could pull a 60 foot long, 20" diameter log at the butt end, up a 5-10 degree slope with my Mahindra 5035. I use a quick hitch with a towbar on the lower link end as a dragging device. I use the upper link to get the log off the ground when I can get the tractor close to the log.

Metalmaster10 · Dec 3, 2021

Reagen said:
I'm looking for a compact tractor for 11 acres. 5 of those acres have a lot of dead trees we are looking to remove. We have goats and are looking to get more animals, and will need a tractor that can handle those. We also would like to be able to lift and pull a good amount. Any recommendations?

Jeff said a lot when he mentioned weight.
I looked at a lot of kubota and deere tractors in the "35 hp range".... everyone shops HP, but I needed to pull a good sized subsoiler and want real loader capacity.
I LOVE my Massey Ferguson 1736 with syncro trans. It will dramatically out pull a similarly sized hydro.
It is the heaviest tractor in its class, far more lift capacity with the 3 point and loader than others in its hp class.
I had the tires filled with rim guard and it is a beast.
Look at what YOU want to do. Choose based on your needs.

Hermio · Dec 3, 2021

I have to add my 2 cents worth. I would not recommend EVER using any kind of gear drive tractor for logging, stump pulling, etc., unless it is weighted so heavily in the front that it cannot possibly do a wheelie, especially when pulling a log that if lifted up so the pulling force goes to the top link. If the tractor does a wheelie, you have 90 degrees of rotation before the tractor flips over backwards, and my bet is that you won't get your foot to the clutch that fast with a gear drive tractor. With an HST, you just have to stop pressing on the pedal. In terms of pulling power, the pressure relief valve on an HST prevents you from developing more torque than the axles and transmission are designed to handle. With a gear drive, if you really load it up, the engine torque multiplied by the gear ratio in low range will exceed what they axle can handle, and you will break it. Your only torque limiting safety mechanism is tire slippage. With stock weight, the tires will slip before anything breaks. But if you load the tires, add wheel weights and a load-transferring rear implement such as a logging arrangement, you can develop enough torque to break the axle. So how much can an HST pull? On my Mahindra 5035 HST, I have managed to break a poly tow rope with a rated breaking strength of 20,000 lb. I have broken 3/8" proof chain, which has a working load of 2600 lb and a breaking strength of about 10,000 lb. So far, I have not broken 3/8" grade 70 chain, which I think is rated at something like 5400# working load, but i have stretched it. So, what an HST can pull is really based on what the manufacturer has designed it to do. A gear drive tractor with the same axle and bearings cannot pull more without going over the manufacturer's design limits, which the user does at his own risk. Back on the safety aspects, when working in the woods, I have had sharp logs and branches pop up and try to hit me in the face or impale me. I have gotten bruised pretty badly by that. But the HST saved me from potentially lethal results. I wish I had the money to put on a forestry package, which has a full cage around the operator, but I do not. I did invest in a custom-made skid plate to protect the tractor underside.

jeff9366 · Dec 3, 2021

Hermio said:
Not quite correct. Any weight carried by the 3-point hitch actually reduces the weight on the front axle. Simple physics; the lever principle.

When the Top Link is in compression implement weight is transferred to front wheels.

Hermio · Dec 3, 2021

jeff9366 said:
When the Top Link is in compression implement weight is transferred to front wheels.

While that is true, the top link will never be in compression while lifting an implement or mowing. Only when plowing or possibly discing will this happen.

k0ua · Dec 3, 2021

Having owned geared tractors, and Hydrostatic transmission tractors with treadle pedals and twin pedals. In my experience it takes about 1 full days operations to get comfortable in switching back and forth from treadle pedal designs to twin pedal designs. I sure would not base my whole decision to buy a tractor because I "hate" one or other of the designs. Many here "hate" treadle pedal designs, and they base that "hate" on a 5 minute test drive around the dealers lot. You CANNOT in any way make a valid decision on such a low time test. If you haven't operated the "hated" treadle pedal design at least a full 8 hours, you are just fooling yourself. BOTH designs are just fine. Sure it takes a little getting used to at first, but you CAN adapt. It just requires a little self enforced training. My current tractor is twin pedal design, but I have owned two that were treadle pedal, and they worked just fine.

anothernewbiefarmer · Dec 3, 2021

Hermio said:
To my amazement, I found I could pull a 60 foot long, 20" diameter log at the butt end, up a 5-10 degree slope with my Mahindra 5035. I use a quick hitch with a towbar on the lower link end as a dragging device. I use the upper link to get the log off the ground when I can get the tractor close to the log.

What counter balance do you use?