Hello, all! First post, but a reader for a few months. Love the information, and just want to kind of see if my thinking is correct on a new tractor.
I have not driven one; ever, but I will test drive before I buy, however. My questions to you all are based on my needs.
I just purchased 5 acres, with two levels to the property. The new house will go on the top-most piece of the property (property is a rectangle, not a square). There is a 5-stall barn and 3 acre pasture on the property down below. In between the home "footprint" and the barn is a fairly good grade, but it is a pretty gentle slope. I intend to mow pasture and do the initial landscaping at the house (as well as cut the lawn weekly). We will also terrace a couple of levels of outdoor porches. Muck stalls, carry feed and hay, move rock, sand and dirt, and grade and finish the 1/4 mile driveway, dig a few additional post holes for fencing. No brush of any consequence, as the whole property is cleared. Trees, yes, but not too close together or too many. This is Washington State, so snow is not an issue.
So, I suspect that I will need an FEL as well as a blade, box scraper, tiller and a mower. I will rent a BH or trencher if the need arises. With that in mind, the next move should be to look at PTO on the tractors that I am considering, yes? Since I want the widest possible attachments available for a light-to-mid sized CUT, I'm thinking that I would need 25-27 PTO horsepower, which translates roughly to a 32-35 horsepower tractor. That should allow me to use 72" wide attachments, I think. Am I tracking so far??
Next come the candidates. Have seen Kabota (2800, 3030 and L30/40 Grand), Kioti CK and DK 35 (what is the real difference between the two?), and the new Cub Cadet/Yanmar Ex 3200. Those are the only dealers close to me, and the one with Kioti and Cub was a plesure to deal with, showed me his service and parts area when I asked to see them, and introduced me to the Service Mgr, who filled me in on what they see from both tractors for both warranty and after-warranty work. The Kabota guy was probably new, as he knew less about tractors than I do......The only other possibility is a Challenger MT 265B, but I got deflated when I found that I don't get a Cat engine with it. My understanding is that they sell at rack rate only and are basically a re-badged MF.
I suspect that I would be fine with any one of these, but would like to hear if my methodology is correct, and if I am missing something. Are my assumptions correct on the PTO horsepower requirements for larger implements? How much hp do I need and how much PTO hp for wide attachments (72" if possible)?
Help me get the right ride!!
Thanks,
Bill
I have not driven one; ever, but I will test drive before I buy, however. My questions to you all are based on my needs.
I just purchased 5 acres, with two levels to the property. The new house will go on the top-most piece of the property (property is a rectangle, not a square). There is a 5-stall barn and 3 acre pasture on the property down below. In between the home "footprint" and the barn is a fairly good grade, but it is a pretty gentle slope. I intend to mow pasture and do the initial landscaping at the house (as well as cut the lawn weekly). We will also terrace a couple of levels of outdoor porches. Muck stalls, carry feed and hay, move rock, sand and dirt, and grade and finish the 1/4 mile driveway, dig a few additional post holes for fencing. No brush of any consequence, as the whole property is cleared. Trees, yes, but not too close together or too many. This is Washington State, so snow is not an issue.
So, I suspect that I will need an FEL as well as a blade, box scraper, tiller and a mower. I will rent a BH or trencher if the need arises. With that in mind, the next move should be to look at PTO on the tractors that I am considering, yes? Since I want the widest possible attachments available for a light-to-mid sized CUT, I'm thinking that I would need 25-27 PTO horsepower, which translates roughly to a 32-35 horsepower tractor. That should allow me to use 72" wide attachments, I think. Am I tracking so far??
Next come the candidates. Have seen Kabota (2800, 3030 and L30/40 Grand), Kioti CK and DK 35 (what is the real difference between the two?), and the new Cub Cadet/Yanmar Ex 3200. Those are the only dealers close to me, and the one with Kioti and Cub was a plesure to deal with, showed me his service and parts area when I asked to see them, and introduced me to the Service Mgr, who filled me in on what they see from both tractors for both warranty and after-warranty work. The Kabota guy was probably new, as he knew less about tractors than I do......The only other possibility is a Challenger MT 265B, but I got deflated when I found that I don't get a Cat engine with it. My understanding is that they sell at rack rate only and are basically a re-badged MF.
I suspect that I would be fine with any one of these, but would like to hear if my methodology is correct, and if I am missing something. Are my assumptions correct on the PTO horsepower requirements for larger implements? How much hp do I need and how much PTO hp for wide attachments (72" if possible)?
Help me get the right ride!!
Thanks,
Bill
! Your logic "flow" is logical if you stay within your parameters. Obviously if you do not want to rut and/or tear up your yard while mowing you need to look a lighter tractor, but there is no "perfect" tractor out there that will meet all your current anticipated needs and possible future needs perfectly. There will be some trade offs. Make sure that your tractor and attachments will fit in your barn stalls. You might want to consider a smaller framed tractor- you could still probably use a 72" RFM, but you would be probably limited to ~60" attachments (which would be cheaper). Jay
