Min tractor size for repairing long gravel driveway with potholes?

[Hay Dude]

I think i'll start with open cab. I have a leanto on the property that i want to park it under and it wouldn't fit with a cab on it. Figure I can always cobble something together later if i decide i need to defend myself from the snow. Parking and navigation between trees on the forest trails is what makes me gravitate more toward trying to buy the smallest tractor that's capable of the work i have. A larger tractor than i truly need would just mean wasted fuel, higher upfront cost, higher implement cost, and higher parts costs down the road. I'd rather spend an extra hour per project and possibly be a little frustrated than waste the money -- as long as the job gets done.

--

I'm still trying to sort it all out, but it seems that the tractor market is kind of similar to the power tool in that there are a handful of manufacturers that make several major brands.
LS makes models for -> New Holland, Case + 8 others
TYM makes models for -> Branson, RK, Mahindra, Zetor + 10 others
Yanmar makes models for -> Deere, Zen-Noh
Daedong makes models for -> New Holland, Bobcat, Cub Cadet + 5 others
Mitsubishi makes models for -> Case, Mahindra, Cub Cadet, IH+ 3 others

Tractors built by other manufacturers

tractors.fandom.com

Another way to look at it is New Holland buys and rebadges tractors from several other manufactures: Al-Ghazi, Buhler Versatile, Iseki, Landini, LS, Shanghai, Shibaura, Turk Traktor

List of tractors built by other companies - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Though, specs can certainly vary between what the manufacturer makes for themselves vs what they make for another company. For example, LS may make their own MT125 better or worse than how they make the NH Workmaster 25s. However, either way, if LS were to fail then you'd be out of luck with repairing a Workmaster tractor. Similarly, if Daedong were to go out of business then there would no longer be parts for the NH Boomer line. Kind of makes you have to think a bit about the perspective of which ones are the real 'off brands'.. is it New Holland, or is it LS/Daedong? Kind of like how some people are fan favorites of CubCadet and may say to avoid TroyBilts because they've had nothing but bad experiences with them.. yet they're both made by MTD. We all tend to develop or own brand favoritism, whether it is logical or not.

I'm mostly interested in looking beyond brand prestige/favoritism and simply finding the best value available. As i continue to research I'm finding that just about all of the major brands should hold up well over time and i feel I should be more concerned about features/capabilities than the sticker or paint colors. Getting the objective information about capabilities is a bit tricky though. Some people say you shouldn't bother clearing snow from a long driveway with anything less than 40HP and an 8 foot blade, yet others will use a walk behind blower because they're not worried about efficiency.

Your money, but I will say buying the smallest possible tractor to do the job usually results in a trade-in for larger down the road.
Up front cost on an older/bigger tractor are probably same as a newer/smaller tractor.
Don’t always count on larger tractor parts being more expensive, either. Filters for my Case-IH are cheaper than for my smaller Kubotas. But yes, tires cost more and usually they hold more oil in transmission, engine, rears, etc.
As far as fuel consumption cost goes, generally bigger tractors consume more. However, if a bigger tractor with an 8’ blade can grade your driveway in 1-2 passes versus a small one with a 5’ blade requiring 4 passes, the fuel consumption should be pretty comparable. Same goes with a bigger tractor with an 8-10’ bush hog making less passes than a smaller tractor with a 5-6’ bush hog.

when shopping brands, take a look around the back of the dealership. Observe how much road service equipment they have and how big their shop is. Usually (not always) more is better. Research the dealer. I buy from service-oriented dealers rather than lowest price. Just one service call/repair can make all the difference in the world. One of the dealers is massive, the other is on the smaller side, but the one thing they have in common is they LIVE to repair equipment quickly.

Just some things to think about.

 

[airbiscuit]

From my 15hp Shibaura to my 40hp New Holland - they all sip fuel. You will likely spend more on gas for your riding mowers. If the OP is using fuel usage as an argument for buying a small tractor, he seems determined to buy a small tractor no matter what anyone says. It will make a great first tractor.

 

[btarb24]

Too funny! I’m in the same area and actually looked at your house when it came on the market earlier this year! I’m certainly no expert, but I think the previous owner was on the right track with the NH they had sitting there. I took a look at one of my mapping apps because the place we ended up buying has ~500’ of driveway and I remember yours being a lot longer. I’m coming up with more like 1100’ feet of driveway for your place, which is quite a bit.

Whatever you end up doing, if you buy new definitely hit a few dealers. I was looking at NH and Kubota and was leaning toward a NH Workmaster 75 because the first Kubota dealer I spoke to just quoted me straight MSRP for everything and it would have been at least a 3-month wait for anything I ordered. Tried another Kubota dealer and ended up buying an M4 that was on the lot for close to $10K under MSRP.

Well that sure is a coincidence. I also like how you joined the site just to share it - fun! We had driven up from Pittsburgh the morning after it was listed. By that same evening there were already 8 offers on it. We definitely significantly overpaid on it, but we're happy with the choice. The one thing that keeps making us smile about the NY area is how no matter where we go everyone is always waving and saying hi as you go by. So many people are genuinely nice and polite here

Yea, you're right. I'm not sure how i had 650' for the driveway stuck in my head, but it's closer to 1100-1200'. Though, either way, I wont be in too big of a hurry to clear it. I sit at a desk all day for my job so I always look forward to chores and projects that are outdoors. The culverts that are in the driveway now aren't very effective and the driveway has very poor drainage. One part of the plan is to connect all the culverts with a ditch and create a crown to help reduce the standing water and washout on the driveway. All the heavy rain we got this year really did a number on it in short order. I'll likely be buying a mini excavator for that job though, i suppose if I find a used tractor with a hoe then i may give it a whirl with that.. not too hopeful but maybe it'll surprise me.

Here's an interesting video where a sub compact struggles with a full 5' box. I realize this would be some serious frustration for some, but I think i'm in the camp with this guy and wont really mind cutting the load in half/making more passes as long as the job is ultimately able to get done.

Here's another one with a more standard 4' box on a 1025R and it seems to work well enough with the scarifiers for me. Struggles a slight bit, but not too badly. The tractor definitely wont impress my neighbors, but does seem to be adequate for the job.

The more i research it the more the 25hp subcompact feels like it will be a good fit for us.

 

[dodge man]

One thing with JD and Kubota, they both make subcompact tractors, they also make a compact tractor similar in horsepower but with larger tires and chassis. These don’t cost a lot more, maybe $2k to $3k more. You get some more capability for the money.

Don’t let the size overwhelm you. I had a Kubota BX for 10 years and have a JD 2025r for two. When I first got on the larger JD it seemed huge but I adjusted quickly. The subcompacts seem more like the size of a riding mower to a beginner but if you go larger you will adjust quickly.

 

[big bubba]

i'd be looking at an entry level L series (low 40's hp), all the better if you can find a good one used, then put savings into implements

 

[jjp8182]

One thing with JD and Kubota, they both make subcompact tractors, they also make a compact tractor similar in horsepower but with larger tires and chassis. These don’t cost a lot more, maybe $2k to $3k more. You get some more capability for the money.

Don’t let the size overwhelm you. I had a Kubota BX for 10 years and have a JD 2025r for two. When I first got on the larger JD it seemed huge but I adjusted quickly. The subcompacts seem more like the size of a riding mower to a beginner but if you go larger you will adjust quickly.

Very true .... it's almost like tractors shrink once you've got them on the property and have been using them for awhile.

Really does come down to size/weight/power vs. time to do a task - and with modern electronic fuel injection a larger engine doesn't necessarily equate to more fuel usage all the time.

Granted modern Tier 4 engines aren't exactly fuel guzzlers either .... generally burning less than a gallon/hour with my L3560 (running wide open most of the time). Not exactly costly given the amount of work that can be done in an hour.

......now that I think about it, I may actually be using less fuel to mow my whole property now (with a 72" 3pt finish mower) than I used with the prior gas riding mowers to mow 1/2 to 1/3 of my property. However, I know it's doing a lot less turf damage since the grass has recovered from the wear of the smaller/lighter riding mowers.

 

[RVL]

Well that sure is a coincidence. I also like how you joined the site just to share it - fun! We had driven up from Pittsburgh the morning after it was listed. By that same evening there were already 8 offers on it. We definitely significantly overpaid on it, but we're happy with the choice. The one thing that keeps making us smile about the NY area is how no matter where we go everyone is always waving and saying hi as you go by. So many people are genuinely nice and polite here

Haha, yeah I’ve been lurking around here since we bought our place and I started looking for my own tractor, but I had to say something when I saw your post. There was a crazy amount of interest in your place. It’s a very nice house but the acreage wasn’t exactly what we were looking for, and I’m thankful for that because I wouldn’t have wanted to be in that bidding war! Congrats on the purchase though, when you know you’ve found the perfect place for you, you can live with over paying a little.

 

[fried1765]

I think i'll start with open cab. I have a leanto on the property that i want to park it under and it wouldn't fit with a cab on it. Figure I can always cobble something together later if i decide i need to defend myself from the snow. Parking and navigation between trees on the forest trails is what makes me gravitate more toward trying to buy the smallest tractor that's capable of the work i have. A larger tractor than i truly need would just mean wasted fuel, higher upfront cost, higher implement cost, and higher parts costs down the road. I'd rather spend an extra hour per project and possibly be a little frustrated than waste the money -- as long as the job gets done.

--

I'm still trying to sort it all out, but it seems that the tractor market is kind of similar to the power tool in that there are a handful of manufacturers that make several major brands.
LS makes models for -> New Holland, Case + 8 others
TYM makes models for -> Branson, RK, Mahindra, Zetor + 10 others
Yanmar makes models for -> Deere, Zen-Noh
Daedong makes models for -> New Holland, Bobcat, Cub Cadet + 5 others
Mitsubishi makes models for -> Case, Mahindra, Cub Cadet, IH+ 3 others

Tractors built by other manufacturers

tractors.fandom.com

Another way to look at it is New Holland buys and rebadges tractors from several other manufactures: Al-Ghazi, Buhler Versatile, Iseki, Landini, LS, Shanghai, Shibaura, Turk Traktor

List of tractors built by other companies - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Though, specs can certainly vary between what the manufacturer makes for themselves vs what they make for another company. For example, LS may make their own MT125 better or worse than how they make the NH Workmaster 25s. However, either way, if LS were to fail then you'd be out of luck with repairing a Workmaster tractor. Similarly, if Daedong were to go out of business then there would no longer be parts for the NH Boomer line. Kind of makes you have to think a bit about the perspective of which ones are the real 'off brands'.. is it New Holland, or is it LS/Daedong? Kind of like how some people are fan favorites of CubCadet and may say to avoid TroyBilts because they've had nothing but bad experiences with them.. yet they're both made by MTD. We all tend to develop or own brand favoritism, whether it is logical or not.

I'm mostly interested in looking beyond brand prestige/favoritism and simply finding the best value available. As i continue to research I'm finding that just about all of the major brands should hold up well over time and i feel I should be more concerned about features/capabilities than the sticker or paint colors. Getting the objective information about capabilities is a bit tricky though. Some people say you shouldn't bother clearing snow from a long driveway with anything less than 40HP and an 8 foot blade, yet others will use a walk behind blower because they're not worried about efficiency.

One more time!
BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR!

 

[btarb24]

One more time!
BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR!

While I appreciate the advice. I'm curious how you would quantify what the threshold of having enough tractor is.

Do you perhaps know of any videos or stories of a subcompact failing at the snow blowing or box blade tasks? I'm ok with a bit of a struggle.. it's only the flat out failure that i would spend money to avoid.

 

[4570Man]

While I appreciate the advice. I'm curious how you would quantify what the threshold of having enough tractor is.

Do you perhaps know of any videos or stories of a subcompact failing at the snow blowing or box blade tasks? I'm ok with a bit of a struggle.. it's only the flat out failure that i would spend money to avoid.

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.