Min tractor size for repairing long gravel driveway with potholes?

[airbiscuit]

Those small rear tires on a BX are going to have far less traction than any larger tractor (even a B series Kiubota). A B series Kubota will be just as nimble in the woods and more stable. I'm not saying a BX won't get the job done one way or another, but the day will come when you will wish you had purchased a bigger tractor.

You seem dead set on getting a SCUT, so why are you asking for advice on this forum?

 

[IndyJay]

Given enough time a BX would do anything. Men have done more with less for thousands of years. But that doesn’t make it a good option. A bigger tractor would be a lot better. And most of your logic is flawed. More fuel burned per hour isn’t the measurement. 1/3 gallons per hour vs 1 gallon per hour for 1/3 as long. Who really won? More expensive parts? Not really. They’re all sky high. Not breaking to start with because it’s too small and being abused would be a lot better. The implement buying cost for a BX vs a L isn’t considerable. And there’s no way I’d buy a machine without a cab with the main use being snow removal.

My 34HP Massey 1250 used ~30 gallons over 16-20 hours to mow my field. My 45HP Kioti uses 12 gallons to mow the same area in about half the time. Smaller doesn't always translate to more economical.

 

[the old grind]

I say go small if you will but not so small you give up having a third transmission range or 3PH position control. IME lacking either would have an owner ask a friend to kick their couch cushion within a week. (20 yrs with 4 23-35hp CUTs) When I bought more tractors they were/are the same size. Rotating seats vs attachments on three such HST CUTs now, only one bought new btw. Different tasks but IMO the general size does the most for the lest and any one can back up another if I'm willing to pull a few pins.

 

[fried1765]

Those small rear tires on a BX are going to have far less traction than any larger tractor (even a B series Kiubota). A B series Kubota will be just as nimble in the woods and more stable. I'm not saying a BX won't get the job done one way or another, but the day will come when you will wish you had purchased a bigger tractor.

You seem dead set on getting a SCUT, so why are you asking for advice on this forum?

EXACTLY !!!!

 

[bcp]

Figure out what size tractor closely fits all your needs, then buy one size larger.

Bruce

 

[JWR]

This has been an interesting 70 posts so far. Every peanut gallery self-appointed expert like me has an opinion. We still have a very limited glimpse of your circumstance and not a lot to go on -- you have almost 1/4 mile of driveway with a short 10% slope steep end to maintain (both snow removal in Albany NY region and grading/surface and drainage, etc.), on the order of 40 some acres of woods and some trails, you intend to cut grass with a Zero Turn, and you don't expect to cut grass and brush with this tractor. You have plenty of dealers not too far away. You plan or at least mention an excavator for drain/ditch/road related stuff. By osmosis we smell that the 1/4 mile long drive is the #1 priority for this tractor -- both snow and grading the base & surface. Don't know if forrest and trails matter much, overhanging limbs, removal of dead tree parts, etc.

Many of us have advised against getting too small a tractor for what you have to do. You think it is a ho-hum tradeoff between time it takes and size of machine. Everyone knows you need 4wd. A BX1800 ain't big enough and a 95hp rig is too big. The former owner had a TC33 size tractor but that does not seem to impress you as a data point.
I say get something around 40hp or a little bigger, be damn sure it is 4wd, a good 5ft snowblower, a 7ft grader blade, and a front end loader. Quick. If you want to enjoy the blizzard without a cab have at it. We don't care. Most of the time the cab would be a hindrance anyway.

Silly discussion tangents have gone off on things like fuel economy -- fuel expenditure is well below whale crap in priority in this kind of situation. Negligible. Parking !? You gotta be kidding. In the middle of somewhere between 40 and 50 acres...?? Putting a crown on a 1/4 mile long stone driveway ? Do you have help or are you alone on these outdoor chores? Have you ever operated farm tractors and/or heavy equipment ? [Not questioning your capacty, just saying it matters.] We don't know if you have a small garage, a barn, a spacious equipment shed or no shelter at all or plans to build one.

You have very little time left to do SOMETHING before the first winter in your new place hits you. That's why I said QUICK above. It takes a lot of time to acquire the tractor, fix the inevitable bugs, get comfortable operating it and fit all that in with being a new property owner. Even if you goof and have to revise your stable before August 2022 that is better than no decision in time to cope with the winter of 21-22.

 

[metalbender]

Take a hint from your dear old mother. Like when she bought your clothes, she always bought a bit bigger because you will GROW into them.

 

[btarb24]

You seem dead set on getting a SCUT, so why are you asking for advice on this forum?

Thus far i've seen enough videos of 25hp subcompacts getting the job done successfully that the next rational stage in the process is to learn when/how/why a 25hp scut would be insufficient. The general feedback thus far seems to be buy oversized so you don't regret it, but that's a rather wasteful approach in my eyes. I'd much rather discuss, debate, and logically reason though the data to determine the most optimized result.

I'll still be continuing to research before making a purchase, but i was hoping the forum approach would help to offer some real life data and insight that I wasn't able to glean from watching youtube.

Does anyone happen to have any real life experience with trying to use a subCompact to do their box blade work? The companies seem to make plenty of these smaller tractors as well as the smaller 4' box blades to go with them. Surely someone out there is using them?

 

[K5lwq]

A scut can do a lot of work. A cut can do a lot more work. Weight is the difference maker.

I have done amazing things with my 8hp Speedex tractor with wheel weights. I did more work with my 15hp Satoh Beaver. But my 25HP Kioti and 48HP Branson work circles around the others I have because they are heavier. And if I went another size up, I could do quite a bit more yet.

So the answer to your question is yes you can get a lot done with a 25hp scut. It will just take longer and it will have to work hard. You will find you are always pushing the limits. Good luck with your search.

 

[mo1]

Didn’t read all responses, but I would buy an older, cheaper, heavier tractor and put a 7’-8’ blade on it instead of a modern, expensive, complex one that’s lighter with a 5’ blade.
Weight and size seem to go largely unheralded, but that combination gets the work done fast and simple.
A wider, heavier blade does a nicer job with less passes and will do a nice snowplow job, too.
Plus ya get the fun factor of some bigger HP

Weight is absolutely critical, if you don't have enough weight for the tires to get traction and pull, it doesn't matter if you have a 2WD or an MFWD, you just spin your tires. Most compact tractors are very light for their engine power and don't have all that much pulling ability compared to an actual utility tractor that is noticeably heavier. The other thing that can help a lot is having the appropriate tires, if you are concerned first and foremost about traction, you would get R1s.

I agree with Dodge Man except to say that lacking a loader is NOT the only problem! In my opinion an old, large 2WD tractor is tons of trouble for you with little or no benefit. a) no loader b) you will regret lacking 4WD every day of ownership. A 2wd tractor is a stuck tractor at some point for no good reason. You will never regret getting a 4WD. c) No belly mower possibility d) lack of many attachments you may want in the future, on and on. From what you have told us and shown us a compact 4wd in the 24-40 hp range is most appropo.

Still have not heard how much you will be mowing, how big the overall property is, etc. Brush to cut or no ?

2WD tractors are far from useless and they actually do have some advantages over MFWD tractors. They often have a noticeably better turning radius (particularly compared to a straight-axle MFWD tractor), they can't suffer from leaking seals that eventually plaques nearly all MFWD units, they can't suffer from broken MFWD hardware, and often the 2WD front axles and spindles are stouter than the analogous hardware used in the MFWD version. If ground compaction is an issue, 2WD units are usually can be set up with less weight than their MFWD version can, and they are less expensive as well. Loaders can be made to fit a 2WD tractor more closely than they can an MFWD tractor due to less worries about wheel clearance, and thus aren't nearly as much of a pain in the behind to work with. A 2WD will make you a little more judicious about ballast, but you should be properly ballasted anyway, especially with MFWD tractors lest you overload that front axle and break a lot of expensive parts.

If you are comparing an older 2WD utility tractor to a new MFWD compact, the 2WD utility tractor with filled tires and R1 tires like nearly all of them have will grossly outpull the MFWD compact. I can tell you personally that a 30 HP MFWD compact has a small fraction of the pull of a 75 HP 2WD utility tractor as I've had both and used some of the same implements with both. It's a real night and day difference in traction with at least twice the weight in the larger tractor.

Belly mowers are only an option on smaller compact tractors and a zero-turn like the original poster says they have is a much better lawn mower than anything with a belly mower. As it should be, a zero turn is a single-purpose-built tool and excels at its one designed purpose.

I am not aware of any attachments that are only available for MFWD tractors specifically, besides front fenders or front duals/triples. If you are talking about a larger utility tractors vs. compacts, a utility tractor can run about anything that a compact can and then a lot of stuff a compact can't. One of the few compact implements that a utility tractor can't run (because they are tractor-specific) is a belly mower, but see above regarding that. The only caveat is that a larger utility tractor has the weight, traction, and power to break attachments made for smaller compacts.

To the OP:
You will probably want a tractor larger/heavier than a Kubota BX to blade a driveway as those small tractors are lightweight and with pulling a blade, you will be traction limited well before you are power limited. If you wanted a 25 HP unit, going a couple of sizes up to something like an L2501 with loaded ag tires and possibly rear wheel weights as well would be more appropriate.