Need sizing and recommendations - 51 acres

[dog13]

Hi Everyone,

We just completed purchase on 51 acres of property in northeast Tennessee. It is about 45 acres pasture, 6 acres wooded. The land slopes in places, but nothing too extreme and i've been able to drive the property in the truck with no real issues. There is an existing driveway that runs through the property to where we will eventually be building. That drive is approximately 2500 feet and is in good enough shape for the pick up and the jeep, but not quite ready for the trailer or a regular car. The property has been bush hogged in the past and 5-6 acres was used to grow tobacco. Overall condition of the fields is good, no saplings, no real brush and we'd like to keep it that way

Our goal over the next few years are to maintain the pasture and improve things along the way while we work on getting the house built.

So with that as the background I'm looking for some help/thoughts a tractor. From reading posts/research and having sloped land I'm thinking a 4WD/MFWD rather than 2wd. Since I'd like to improve the driveway i am thinking something that can pull a box blade and have a FEL as well. A subframe mounted backhoe might be nice to help divert runoff from parts of the driveway, but i wouldn't say that's a must-have. Lastly it will need to pull a cutter. We're not looking for golf course grass, just keeping the pasture looking decent and not getting overgrown.

As far as budget goes, cost is a factor but the cost of buying something too small and replacing it later is my big fear. I'm open to new or used and I'm pretty good mechanically, but i don't want to buy a project to work on my projects either

With that in mind what do y'all think as far as size and any good/bad experience to share trying to do similar?

Thanks

Al

 

[jeff9366]

dog13

We just purchased a 51 acre property in northeast Tennessee. It is about 45 acres pasture, 6 acres wooded. The land slopes in places, but nothing too extreme. The property has been bush hogged in the past and 5-6 acres was used to grow tobacco. Overall condition of the fields is good, no saplings, no real brush and we'd like to keep it that way. So with that background I'm looking for some help/thoughts on a tractor.

From reading posts/research and having sloped land I'm thinking a 4WD/MFWD rather than 2WD. YES.

In order to operate a six foot Bush Hog in tall grass you need a tractor with 45-horsepower.
For 45 acres of pasture I would want a 10' or 12' dual spindle Bush Hog, which also requires a powerful tractor.
CONSIDER CONTRACTING PASTURE MOWING rather than buying equipment just for this large task.

There is an existing driveway that runs through the property to where we will eventually build. The drive is approximately 2,500 feet and is in good enough shape for the pickup truck and the Jeep, but not quite ready for the trailer or a regular car.

Dirt, gravel or grass?

The premier all-in-one driveway maintenance implement is an ABI TR3 Rake. Photo #1
VIDEO: TR3 Rake - Gravel Maintenance Intro - YouTube
LINK: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-rake-multipurpose-implement.html#post4944789

Since I'd like to improve the driveway i am thinking something that can pull a box blade and have a FEL as well.
Almost all residential tractors are sold with optional Loaders. Consider Loader a powered wheelbarrow that performs several other tasks. Loaders are MUCH cheaper when ordered a a component of a new tractor, rather than later as an add on. You need 4-WD to fill Loader bucket with dirt.

Box Blade takes quite a while to learn to use competently. Consider a Land Plane/Grading Scraper in lieu of a Box Blade. LPGS is much easier to operate.
VIDEO: land plane grading scraper - YouTube

Loader bucket with a Ratchet Rake attached is an ideal combination for all sorts of woodland maintenance.
LINK:https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ratchet+Rake

A subframe mounted backhoe might be nice to help divert runoff from parts of the driveway, but i wouldn't say that's a must-have.
Any one of several Three Point Hitch implements will divert rain for less than $7,000. A <$300 Middle Buster, AKA Potato Plow, should do.
VIDEO: middle buster - YouTube
VENDER LINK: Tractor Potato Plow | Middle buster

As for budget, cost is a factor but the cost of buying something too small and replacing it later is my big fear. I'm open to new or used and I'm pretty good mechanically, but i don't want to buy a project to work on my projects either

You need a tractor of at least 4,000 pounds bare tractor weight. Such tractors are commonly around 66" wide and range from 40-horsepower to 60-horsepower.
EVERY TRACTOR MANUFACTURER PRODUCES STANDARD TRACTORS AND DELUXE EQUIPPED TRACTORS IN THIS RANGE.

What is the altitude on your new property?
At about 5,000 feet turbo-charged diesel engines become prefered choice.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I have a 100hp Deere with cab and 15’ batwing. Can mow 23 acres in 4 hrs or so. With my old 55hp (2013) and 7’ cutter it was a 15 hr job. To me, spend the money the first time and save money in the long term. With the attractive financing for new it makes it easier to buy bigger. There are some here that would say get a 6’ and 35hp but I don’t have the time nor the desire to be mowing for 3 days a pop. The bigger tractor has a capable loader too. Negatives are the cost, impliments are more expensive and harder to move.

I strongly recommend a cab too. Stay dry and clean any time and can also wear shirts and tee year round

Brett

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I'll agree with Brett, you can do the same amount of work a heck of alot faster with more HP. The downside is that you can tear stuff up alot faster too. I'll definitely vote for the cab as well!

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long gravel driveway leading to my 80 acres. I started out with a 28 hp - 4WD tractor. It was OK until I tried to do maintenance on my driveway in the summer. There is just enough silt,clay & sand in the gravel top layer that after the winter snows melt - the driveway will set up just like concrete. I've been very fortunate - traffic into my property over the years has been almost non existent so maintenance has also been minimal.

Finally, after 27 years I upgraded to my 2009 Kubota M6040. Now those BIG jobs that I could not previously tackle are getting done. Bigger tractor = bigger implements = bigger $$$$. However, with my new heavy duty rear blade, roll over box blade & land plane grading scraper - I'm bringing the driveway back to its original condition.

I no longer have to use a 3-point snow blower to clear the frozen berms that form on the edges of the driveway. The new tractor weights 10,100# and with the heavy duty rear blades I clear those frozen berms like they are cotton candy.

I have VERY SELDOM seen a post on TBN where the OP says he wish he had bought a smaller tractor. The vast majority are posts like mine here.


BTW - Welcome to TBN and the forum, dog13.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have an L3800 Kubota and it does everything for a 65 acre tree farm

The only thing that would be on the wish list is more lift capacity with the quick attach forks...

 

[dog13]

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions! This has been very helpful and opened my eyes to some different attachments/approaches that i had not considered before and has been a good insight into sizing...

Regarding the property, we're at elevation 1700-1800ft so not too high. The drive is about 60% gravel, 30% dirt and 10% grass. The gravel needs a refresh but does not have many potholes or washout. The dirt portion is the area with the most slope and runoff issues and is where i'm looking to improve drainage as well as smooth out the drive. I haven't calculated the slope/grade yet, but i've driven it in 2wd without issue so not too terribly steep.

Jeff -- thanks for the helpful links and ideas. I can see where the middlebuster along with a pass from a blade could make a nice channel to divert water away from the drive, and for a lot less $ and time than the backhoe.

Al

 

[jeff9366]

The drive is about 60% gravel, 30% dirt and 10% grass. The gravel needs a refresh but does not have many potholes or washout. The dirt portion is the area with the most slope and runoff issues and is where i'm looking to improve drainage as well as smooth out the drive. I haven't calculated the slope/grade yet, but i've driven it in 2wd without issue so not too terribly steep.

I own a Box Blade. A good road implement for eliminating potholes, but it buries gravel so you need additional gravel trucked in occasionally. Fairly long learning curve.

Both LPGS and TR3 Rake recover gravel from dirt, so gravel replenishment is a infrequent expense.
Short learning curves.

Merry Christmas.

 

[jeff9366]

Cost is a factor but the cost of buying something too small and replacing it later is my big fear. I'm open to new or used and I'm pretty good mechanically, but i don't want to buy a project to work on my projects either.

You need a tractor of at least 4,000 pounds bare tractor weight. Such tractors are commonly around 66" wide and range from 40-horsepower to 60-horsepower.

EVERY TRACTOR MANUFACTURER PRODUCES STANDARD TRACTORS AND DELUXE EQUIPPED TRACTORS IN THIS RANGE.

4,000 POUND KUBOTA TRACTORS

SPARTAN: https://www.kubotausa.com/products/tractors/economy-utility/mx

DELUXE: https://www.kubotausa.com/products/tractors/compact/grand-l60

Cab enclosure available only on deluxe models.

 

[LD1]

A 40-60 HP machine is the sweet spot for drive maintenance and general property maintenance for property that size.

But you are doing just general maintenance. That's ALOT of pasture to just mow. Any plans on letting anyone farm it? Let it go back to nature? Cattle?

If not, that yea, I'd want something to pull a 15' batwing and di it a few times a year. That puts you in the 70hp at the PTO on the small side.

Another option is a two tractor plan.

Smaller 40 HP 4wd for driveway and property maintenance....with a backhoe I'd you desire. And a second large tractor. HP in the form of old iron is cost effective for just pulling a batwing.