Buying Advice Need lots of tractor buying advice

[alligatorob]

Will you be raising peaches as a business, so you can write off tractor and implement purchases?

Hadn't thought about trying to make it a real business, but since your raised it, the idea of tax deductablity is something I am going to look into.

Right now it is farmed by a local guy who farms a lot of small plots like ours around here. He does all the work, spends all of the $ and takes all the produce. What I get is all the peaches I can pick for personal use. But he is in his late 80s so that can't go on forever, I will be learning from him and take over slowly.

 

[TheMan419]

For snow start with using the FEL. I live in Northern Indiana where we can get 2 feet in a matter of 2 days. I use Edge Tamer - Move Snow With Your Tractor Loader Bucket – R2 Manufacturing on my tractor. They work well. I would probably get the drive done faster with a rear blade or snow blower etc, but these were $150 delivered.

As for attachments for things that go on the rear of the tractor (bush hog and the like) you do not need the one that is made by your tractor manufacturer. For example I have a New Holland tractor. My bush hog is.... well I forget the brand off the top of my head. I might paint it blue to match my tractor when it needs repainted.

 

[newbury]

Thanks for all the great advice, it is appreciated.

One question, what about after market attachments and implements rather than factory? I am going to the John Deere dealer soon to look at his tractors and have been doing some online pricing, they are pretty proud of their attachments, it seems you can get what looks to me like the same thing for a lot less if you don't go John Deere. Any thoughts?<snip>

Remember - Deere has a proud brand name and like Case and Caterpillar are very reliable with generally excellent support. Unlike some other brands with poorer support. But businesses need that extra support because down time costs dollars.

When you are comparing equipment from 3rd party dealers be sure to pay attention to build details and support.

Many of us at TBN do not regard support as important because we are used to doing our own maintenance and think we can fix anything by ourselves with baling twine and duct tape.

Others are willing to pay top price so they NEVER have to fix anything.

 

[nikerret]

Open or cab?

Top end budget?

Favorite color?

In regard to brand, I don't think there are any "bad" choices, just not as good as other choices, for specific applications.

A friend of mine has a 600 ft gravel driveway. He recently bought a 5' box blade for his JD 3038E. Before that, he was using a rear blade. He thinks the box blade is the cat's meow. It can also be used for snow removal, effectively. It's a good all around implement that easily can be used for ballast (you want ballast). This way, you have a snow removal tool, driveway maintainer, and ballast box, all in one implement. And they're not expensive, in tractor terms.

My back yard is quickly turning into a small tractor implement display area that's not gong to be fun to mow around, this summer. Unless you're looking to buy a bunch of stuff and have to keep/maintain it, I recommend buying tool that do a lot of jobs, instead of specialized ones. In a year, you'll know what you really need and if it's not a general tool, resale is good on implements.

 

[alligatorob]

Open or cab?

Open

Top end budget?

$30k to $40k, all implements included

Favorite color?

None, the only dealer in town is Case, but he mostly sells bigger machines and has nothing in my size range to look at or test drive. Says he would be happy to order one for me. He's been selling Cases for 70 years and is a solid dealer, but most of his customers are larger farms. Looks like a good place to get maintenance done. Next closest dealers are John Deere and New Holland, only the Deere guy has much selection on the lot. I'd like to stick with one of these nearby dealers for ease of maintenance.

A friend of mine has a 600 ft gravel driveway. He recently bought a 5' box blade for his JD 3038E. Before that, he was using a rear blade. He thinks the box blade is the cat's meow. It can also be used for snow removal, effectively. It's a good all around implement that easily can be used for ballast (you want ballast). This way, you have a snow removal tool, driveway maintainer, and ballast box, all in one implement. And they're not expensive, in tractor terms.

A neighbor uses a box blade to plow his snow and he has used it a couple of times on our driveway, it seems to work fine but when the snow gets deep he has to drive off the driveway and drop the snow a lot.

I am still pondering 2 wd vs 4 wd. I know a lot of guys here favor the 4 wd, but for the same $ I can get a lot more tractor in 2 wd. Back in college I worked summers for the Forest Service and the joke then was that we had a lot more guys get stuck driving 4 wd pickups, usually within sight of where the 2 wd guys parked and started walking. I know there is truth to that, I drive a 4 wd pickup and sometimes appreciate the extra traction, but I know it doesn't get me a whole lot further than 2 wd in most situations. My neighbor has several tractors, all 2 wd, but they are big older machines, he seems to get everything done he needs to. His advice is to buy an old used larger 2 wd, but his mechanical abilities are much better than mine, no comparison.

Thanks for the help.

 

[CobyRupert]

Yes, with a 4wd you are able to drive to places a 2wd could never go. This enables you to get stuck much farther from help! :laughing:


Yes, 3pth equipment is pretty universal, and interchangeable, and not brand specific, but note there are several different classes of "standard dimensions" that attachments are built to that correspond with the class of 3pth dimensions on the size of tractors that they are built for (typically Class 1 for smaller tractors, and Class 2 size for larger.) -But then they can usually be adapted to fit each other if necessary. (Example I have a few class 1 attachments that I use on my Class II 3pth.)

 

[oldafretired]

Seems like a tractor shrinks after getting delivered. If you have the space, get the biggest with the most power one you can afford. Not too many cases of people complaining about too much power or capability.

I guess 4WD can come in handy but it might not always be necessary. My brother has an old International Harvester 2WD tractor here in north Idaho and hasn't had any problems working his forested land moving logs, clearing snow, and grading. He keeps chains on the rear tires all year though probably because he hates putting the chains on. LOL I have 4WD on my tractor and only use 2WD even pushing a front snow blade clearing snow off my icy gravel driveway with chains on. I would get the 4WD if possible but I don't think it's an absolute necessity in most cases.

If you're going to do a lot of dirt work, you might consider a skid steer or track loader. Those little things can move a lot of dirt and you can get all kinds of attachments for it, even a mower.

 

[Musdalen]

The way I think of 4WD in my new tractor is that I can the same work in a smaller, lighter patch with less aggressive tires (and thus less damage) that I used to do in a bigger, heavier tractor with more aggressive tires.

 

[dickfoster]

I need a tractor, but know about as little as is possible to know. Years ago when I was young I worked on farms a little and drove a few tractors, but that was over 40 years ago, I do not even remember what I drove back then. I recently purchased a 2 acre place, more than half in peaches. My son has a couple of acres down the road, I am sure that if I get a tractor it will get used there too.

I am on a slope and watching the farmer who has been working it I can see irrigating takes a lot of minor ditch digging and repair, its flood irrigated.

I need something that will plow snow on my 300+ ft gravel driveway, I am in northern Utah and can get up to 2 or 3 ft on the worst year. Most years less.

The place also needs a lot of landscaping/driveway building. Much of the yard needs to be leveled and I need to add a driveway loop. I will need to maintain the gravel driveway, it has some slope to it and I can see erosion already. I will also want to either plow or mow the orchard.

I am retiring so not young and want something I will be comfortable on. I am a big guy.

I am not terribly mechanically inclined or interested so I want lower easier maintenance. But I can do simple things myself.

The closest dealer to me (~5 miles) is a Case dealer, but he only stocks bigger machines, nothing smaller than about 50 hp, probably too big for me. He said he can get me any model I want, but I think I need to see and drive before I buy. The next closest (~20 miles) is a John Deere dealer, he seems to stock a number of the smaller ones. Within 100 miles I can pretty much find anything.

I have been doing some online research, but that only works so far. I have some basic questions that I am hoping to get help with:

• What brand or brands are most reliable? I prefer something with a dealer close by, and for that reason might even go with Case, if I can find one to test drive.
• What size should I be looking at? I do not want to go too small, but no need to waste $.
• What is the difference between capabilities of 2 wld and 4 wld? It looks like you can get a lot more tractor for the money if you go with a small utility 2 wld tractor, any problems with that? My ground cab be muddy, and has some slope but with a lot of rocks.

I am thinking new, just because I can probably afford it, and I assume maintenance will be easier for a few years anyway. On the other hand I am not rich and if I can get what I want used for less money I might be persuaded. I know it would probably be less expensive to hire somebody to do what I need done, and they would know what they were doing, but that's not really the point, I want my own tractor and to learn how to use it. And I need something to occupy my time in retirement!

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Here is my advice. Take a lot of care in selecting the dealer you buy from. Even more care than in choosing the brand of machine you buy. In the CUT and SCUT markets there are good and bad dealers. Of course the bad dealers can make your life miserable no matter what tractor you buy and a good dealer can make the best of a bad situation so choose a dealer that is going to give you good support after the sale. PIck one that is and has been in the tractor business not some fly by night Johnny come lately. Pick one that has good parts and service departments. Ask questions like does the price include delivery, who pays transportation for warranty work etc. That will help you separate the wheat from the chaff PDQ. When I was shopping I even had some that would not even get off of their butts and out from behind their desk to show me what they had. Some sell machines and once the machines leave their lot you're on your own. You don't want to buy anything, no matter how good it is, from one of those clowns. It's not always about the sticker price nor is it always about color or brand.

 

[alligatorob]

Seems like a tractor shrinks after getting delivered.

Ha! I'll bet it does, I've had that experience with every boat I've purchased.