Looking to buy Yanmar tractor

[schoolsout]

We'll see what the fellow says.

We were paid a little more than $6k 2 years ago to take out every other row of pines on about 15-20 acres. That's all I know....

Will find out when the fellow has a chance to walk the piece we are talking about.

 

[clemsonfor]

We'll see what the fellow says.

We were paid a little more than $6k 2 years ago to take out every other row of pines on about 15-20 acres. That's all I know....

Will find out when the fellow has a chance to walk the piece we are talking about.

Aight were talking 17-18 yr old pines here. You may get some super pulpwood that in your area can go to the sampit mill or you may get some small logs. $6k for a third row thin means you got about 1.5 loads to the acre of cut timber, prolly and at 20 acres that is about 30 loads or 750tons which would equate to about $8/ton, a fair price i think for a job that size, which is not quite a full week for most avg sized loggers now adays.

 

[schoolsout]

You just blew my mind!

Way I figure it is I can't catch anything offshore any more (seems like they are shutting one fishery down after another) and with Bennie and the Inkjets printing up money left and right causing inflation in all sorts of commodities, I can't go wrong with gettin' a tractor and workin' the land.

 

[careyo63]

Edward Fort Nurseries is in Hartsville
Edward Fort Nursery

good people
Buddy has bought a good bit from them and I'm planning to buy from them once we get some stuff squared away.

:thumbsup: We have a Couple 100 yr. old Peach and Apple trees. That reminds me I need to see if any of Grandmaw's Hm apple butters still up there. What do they call it nowadays It'S THE BOMB!!!:drool:

Carey

 

[rScotty]

Just joined last evening and have tinkered around a bit, but don't have a lot of time at the moment (between work and school for masters, not much time to dream), but looking for a tractor and Yanmar seems to be a good fit for the price for us from what I've seen.

Basically, we have 100 acres that are mostly planted pines, but will slowly have roads and some areas cleared once timber is ready to harvest (will hire someone to do this with larger equipment). Goal is to plant some apple trees and pecans and also small food plots once we really get going.

Want 4wd and a front-end loader would be nice.

Well, I've had Yanmars for years, like them, and have written quite a bit about them too. I'm afraid I'm going to end up telling you some things you don't want to hear. Like a lot of Yanmar afficianados, my interest began with their interesting technology back when no other manufacturer was even close to being competative in quality. In the 1960/70/early 80s, Yanmar was a private company rather than a corporation, and agricultural equipment was the owner's hobby. He could afford that since the company made their money on big ship engines. He came up with fascinating agricultural equipment including aquaculture. Heady stuff to us mechanical geeks.

But frankly 00 acres is just too much land to tend with a 30 hp tractor. I have a 33 HP 4WD Yanmar - a 12 speed, powershifting, integral powersteering, creeper geared, tractor with a full set of implements and even has ag tires and turf tires - both types mounted on their own rims. Yes, and it has the factory loader, and draft control right along with the multispeed PTO. In fact it has everything and everything works right. And yes, it is probably worth in the neighborhood of your price point. This 33 hp YM336D was and still is about the top of the line for Yanmar's compact tractors, but it is just too small for your 100 acres and jobs you are describing. If you are local, come give it a try and see what you think. It runs fine and has lots of accessories, but doggone it...it's just too small for your purpose.
For one thing, you are going to want category II 3pt implements, and Yanmars are Cat I.

You can get a nice used 4020 JD (100 HP tractor) from the 1960s or 70s - with a loader - for about the price you are looking at. It will do the work.There are other makes as well. I like Yanmars, but frankly I'd look for more machine.
enjoy! rScotty

 

[clemsonfor]

Well, I've had Yanmars for years, like them, and have written quite a bit about them too. I'm afraid I'm going to end up telling you some things you don't want to hear. Like a lot of Yanmar afficianados, my interest began with their interesting technology back when no other manufacturer was even close to being competative in quality. In the 1960/70/early 80s, Yanmar was a private company rather than a corporation, and agricultural equipment was the owner's hobby. He could afford that since the company made their money on big ship engines. He came up with fascinating agricultural equipment including aquaculture. Heady stuff to us mechanical geeks.

But frankly 00 acres is just too much land to tend with a 30 hp tractor. I have a 33 HP 4WD Yanmar - a 12 speed, powershifting, integral powersteering, creeper geared, tractor with a full set of implements and even has ag tires and turf tires - both types mounted on their own rims. Yes, and it has the factory loader, and draft control right along with the multispeed PTO. In fact it has everything and everything works right. And yes, it is probably worth in the neighborhood of your price point. This 33 hp YM336D was and still is about the top of the line for Yanmar's compact tractors, but it is just too small for your 100 acres and jobs you are describing. If you are local, come give it a try and see what you think. It runs fine and has lots of accessories, but doggone it...it's just too small for your purpose.
For one thing, you are going to want category II 3pt implements, and Yanmars are Cat I.

You can get a nice used 4020 JD (100 HP tractor) from the 1960s or 70s - with a loader - for about the price you are looking at. It will do the work.There are other makes as well. I like Yanmars, but frankly I'd look for more machine.
enjoy! rScotty

His land sounds like it is mostly in planted pine. This means there is nothing you can even do to it on a tractor. Maybe when there like 20 you can drive on the takeout rows if you wanted to? He want to mow roads and create foodplots and mow some open areas.

I own 130 acres and have a ym2000. Yes its a little small for me but i manage to do all that i need it to do. The catch is that like 115 acres of that land is in timber, mixed hardwoods. I dont need a tractor on them. I have something like a mile or mile and a half of woods roads but i havent mowed them in like 3 years, there just so shaded grass dosent grow and the sweetgums stay very small. We go in with chainsaws or machates and cut the limbs out every so often. The rest of the land is either plowed into a foodplot or mowed twice a year with the tractor and grass cut maybe 3 times around the house (second home, this is not my yard), which in it self is like 2 acres. Then there is some old field and scrub that i just let grow up.

My point is there is more into the tractor size equation than just tract size. Sure if i have a 40 hp tractor i could finish in 1/3 the time or so, but i also would have paid a lot more for it and the implements. I think the OP is on the right track for right now. You can always sell a used tractor and get a different one, assuming you did not buy one that was 1-3 yrs old, you can almost get out waht you paid for it.

 

[schoolsout]

I will not be tending to the whole 100 acres as Clemson has said. my plan is to have maybe one or two 5 acre fields cleared and work those.

I wish I was local to come check out your machine, rscotty, but I'm in SC.

 

[rScotty]

I will not be tending to the whole 100 acres as Clemson has said. my plan is to have maybe one or two 5 acre fields cleared and work those.

I wish I was local to come check out your machine, rscotty, but I'm in SC.

Well, good. I think we are all trying to help. Not only is everyone's land different, but you will find that we all use our tractors differently - even for much the same job. For example, I don't ever plow, harvest, or mow on our land...or land is much too fragile for that. I do mow a local ball field, hay field and town park - but that is just pulling a 5 foot wide mower and maybe a rake over about 20 to 40 acres once or twice a year.... and frankly all of our tractors do that about the same. Three of our tractors live in turf tires rather than Ag tires because of the fragile soil and amount of rocks. But instead of field work, we do a lot of shaping dirt, working with trees (trimming planting, harvesting) , making dirt paths and roadways, lifting and carrying things, toting tools and materials to and from building projects, moving rocks around, and shaping a the banks and bed of a couple of year round creeks and a pond. Our biggest challenge is uneven ground causing the tractor to lean. So we tend toward wide wheelbase and low fat tires.

Over the year we have gotten up to four tractors now even though it is just my wife and I. We have two compact yanmars, a JD field tractor, and a sort of midsize TLB. All of them have loaders, most are 4WD. The field tractor is the most unwieldy and also the most comfortable going over any kind of terrain. It has a sprung and suspended seat, The compacts were quite expensive for their capability; you get more reliability and lifespan with an ag tractor. But the compacts are undeniably more user friendly, particularly to me when I was just getting started. We still like them, but tend to use the larger ones. All that being said, we built our place with the little 16 hp 4wd Yanmar with a loader. It's all we had for 15 years and it did a ton of work. You can read about it in some of my old "articles". It built roads, ponds, and even foundations. We still have it and hopefully always will.

But with what I know now I would have gone larger to start.
rScotty

 

[clemsonfor]

The compacts were quite expensive for their capability; you get more reliability and lifespan with an ag tractor. But the compacts are undeniably more user friendly, particularly to me when I was just getting started. We still like them, but tend to use the larger ones. All that being said, we built our place with the little 16 hp 4wd Yanmar with a loader. It's all we had for 15 years and it did a ton of work. You can read about it in some of my old "articles". It built roads, ponds, and even foundations. We still have it and hopefully always will.

But with what I know now I would have gone larger to start.
rScotty

I have discovered this and still bought my 2000 even though i could have bought an older ford for the same $. But my circumstances were better with a ym. I live 3 hours from my acerage, and will trailer between places so with my older tow vehicle i needed a light but still capable tractor. I would have loved a ford 2000 or 3000 but the extra weight would have been unsafe with my current setup. Heck you can even get a 50-70hp tractor for under 10K from the 60s or 70s what you would pay on a compact from the late 90s early 00's, but the thing weighs the same as a single wide trailer! Also if a part goes out on a big ford or JD your gonna pay a ton just for the part!.

Just something to consider. If my tractor was to never leave my place id buy a decent deisel ford 3000, but untill it never leaves the property this wont be done.

 

[schoolsout]

Appreciate everyone's input...this is definitely a learning process. I'd rather have a tractor that is more than what I will ever need (not sure that is possible...buddy says I'll have regrets no matter what I do) than one that is slightly underpowered.

I will be starting with freshly cleared land so as I'm planting, I can take into account of what I'll need to do considering tractor size and things like that.

Currently tinkering with the Rhino (Yamaha) and have found my starter relay is bad. If it isn't one thing, it's another...