Need advice on a good first utility tractor-Please

[dukenyc]

I was hoping to get a basic fel, a mower deck, and a brushogger for $20,000. My upper limit would be $30,000, and that would be ALL inclusive.

I basically need to be able to mow 5 acres of hilly, uneven lawn pretty quickly, and be able to rough cut paths for hiking ,atv, and shooting use. The only clearing to be done is brush, no logs to speak of.

Some of the powertrac models seemed interesting, although I realize they have no dealer support. I just found the articulating frame idea interesting.

I will need to make a decision relatively quickly as I need to start maintaining the property this spring.

Thank you for the replies, I appreciate any input.

 

[RalphVa]

I just got my JD 4010 to do trails across my property and 4 other neighbors' wild areas with an LX4 cutter, to replace my Gravely with 30" hog that I'd been using. Just finished putting down 19.5 tons of gravel onto the trail that cuts through the woods on my property. The bucket worked great on it but I needed the soil ripper with weight on the back for weight to offset the full bucket. If you look in the tractor reviews, you'll find a 4100 owner who said his was tippy but he solved it by turning the rear wheels around, like I solved mine with the soil ripper on the back.

I think the 20 hp is plenty for what you need. I tried my 18.5 hp HD with LX4 in my neighbor's meadow through which someone had made some swats with her JD 820 and its 6' bush hog. The LX4 path looked the same, just a tad more narrow. The 4010 couldn't tell it was back there. No strain.

I'd try planting stuff on any grass areas that are hilly and uneven to reduce the actual grass mowing needed with that 54" deck. Anyone mowing more than 1/2-1 acre is nuts, in my opinion. I'd just let it grow wild and mow it once or twice a year or maybe only every two years. Use the bush hog for those events.

A 12 hp Gravely will power a 50" mowing deck. Let that be your gauge in ratioing how much deck width your tractor will take.

The limit on a bush hog is weight, not width of cut. The 4100 is a 1400 # tractor. An 18 hp tractor will run a 5' bush hog, but it's too heavy when you start running it up hills and along slopes. That 500 # (4' ones are 400 #) bush hog could easily push or pull the tractor where you don't want it to go. The FEL will help to offset its weight, but the combination makes a long machine if you're maneuvering through any kind of brush. A friend of mine loaded his front wheels without a FEL on it with a 5' hog on his 18 hp Kubota.

Ralph

 

[grandad]

Sounds OK to me... and if you happen to know where a nice 8n is, let me know!

 

[rbg60]

Hello
Everybody has his own opinion so here is mine! I have a older 45 hp utility tractor.I have a 5ft.woods brush hog for mowing.I can tell you with my tractor I can use up all the hp. it has to offer.I don't understand how people with a small tractor can brush hog the tough stuff.I mow thick grass thats over my hood and willow patches with 1-2 dia.trees.This brush hogging can be brutal so I would opt.for more horses.In hilly ground I think you would be more comfortable with a wider heavy tractor.Without fel the small tractors are very light in front end,even bringing front wheels off ground.
My neighbor lent me his 8n ford once for brush cutting.I would not go this route either.They seem to be very under powered and can not turn them with a fel.With this all said the bigger tractors are 'nt good for mowing yards either.
Good luck Rex

 

[PBinWA]

You will need 4wd for hills. You will want a wide base for stability on the hills. You will need a heavy medium frame tractor for a 5 Foot cutter that will be mowing a field. As another poster mentioned more horsepower is nice for thick fields and saplings but often that is a one time thing. I had similar needs (I skipped the mower deck - too much hassle to disconnect IMHO) and got a Mahindra 2615 last year for around $14,000 but prices have generally gone up since then due to steel prices.

There is a balance between horsepower and weight. Too much horsepower and not enough weight and the tractor will not get traction. IMHO its better to go with a little less horsepower and more weight on the frame than the other way around.

Your best bet is to go to some dealers and test drive the machines and the dealers. A good dealer is worth their weight in gold. In my case the dealer was clearly more motivated to help me than any other dealers I visited.

 

[Keith_B]

dukenyc, given your price range you may want to consider a Mahindra 3510, a Kioti DK35, etc. With R4 tires you can do a great deal of your 5 acre lawn with a MMM or RFM, while getting enough size to do the other non-lawn tasks you wish to do, such as bush hogging and FEL work. You should be able to get the mower, FEL and tractor in the $20K range, perhaps even get a 5 foot bushhog with it at that price.

For the parts of your lawn that you cannot get to with the larger tractor you can always get a large dedicated lawn tractor or garden tractor.

 

[Varmintmist]

I think you could get real close to your 20K mark with a Mahindra 3510, FEL, R4's (about 17.400ish, depending on where you live) 5 foot King Kutter brushhog, (800.00 +- ) and a KK RFM (5 foot 1300.00). Figure tax and add ons if you want them and a back blade for snow (min 230.00) and you are there.

Any make at around 30-35 hp will do it. I am familer with the Mahindra.

 

[Soundguy]

I hate to be the broken record here.. but here goes:

1. Hilly terrain, new tractor operator, straight gears, overrunning clutch

I fail to see how this applies? The ford sticks to hills pretty darn good.. it has a low center of gravity. And we all know.. you don't traverse hills horizontally.. no matter what you are driving... An ORC will be needed for pto inertial loads..

Straight gears? As in 1 range? Many had pre and post trannies giving them extra ranges.. if this is not what you were menaing.. clarify..

2. No seat belt or ROPS.

Probably only the real issue.. but this will cover most tractors up in to the 70's and 80's.

3. Dukenyc says he'll need some dealer backup for repairs. You're right, there are a lot of good old 8N's out there, but most all of them will need a little TLC once in a while.


And??? Give a call to a NH dealer.. you'd be surprised at the amount of dealer support you can get... oem. Let alone ordering parts over the internet. Our local NH dealer doesn't advertise 'ford' service.. but services tons of old ford tractors.. not to mention 'generic' farm mechanics... who.. are probably cheaper in the long run than dealer service anyway.

besides... you can work on an 8n with some hand tools and a service manual, and an internet conection... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

If he's looking for warranty.. then he needs to go new, and spen $$$$$.$$ to get it...

Course all this is moot... the guy is obviously looking for a fully loaded and chromed, 30K$ tractor.. he doesn't even need to consider used antiques..

Soundguy

 

[cowboydoc]

If you're looking for dealer support I'd stick with Deere, Kubota, maybe NH or Case or MF if they have a strong dealer near you. No way I would go with Kioti, Mahindra, etc. They just don't have the dealer networks. Now people will say you can get them fixed, etc. but most of these dealerships do not have factory mechanics, ready availability of parts, and dealerships are usually pretty scattered apart. Your area may differ I'm just commenting from my area on these tractors.

With regard to the tractor itself I would get a JD 4720. You are going to have plenty of power to run a heavy duty brush cutter, boxblade, etc. It's going to be hydro which will be nice to run if you are doing alot of mowing. If you ever do decide to do any heavier work you will have the machine for it. The tires can go way out on that tractor giving you great stability on hills. With a front end loader and good brush cutter you should be able to be under $30k with that machine. It will last you a lifetime and you will never have to worry that you don't have enough power or stability.

That's my opinion and others may vary. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

70 acres is a pretty big piece of land to maintain depending on how much you like to "dress up" the land.

Ditto on what cowboydoc said, except that if price is a stickler, you might look for a used JD 4710.

We have two tractors and honestly, if I had to keep just one, I would keep the bigger 5420 and let the brush grow up between the tight spots in our "woods".