Need some help picking the right tractor.

SSLaser · Mar 13, 2006

Hello,

I just put a house on 5 acres in Pa. I am looking to get a used older tractor. Need some ideas on what I need to be looking for. Here is some info to give an idea what work I need to use it for.

I had a friend give me a really nice looking 5 ft ford brush hog. My land has a slight slope, not to bad.
I am only going to have a small yard around the house. I would like a belly mower for that.

My driveway is about 300 ft with a slope for 100 ft up toward the main road. I would like a loader to take care of this.

Plus with any new house I have to grade and seed.

Would like the to have the option of renting a backhoe attachment to clean/maintain a small stream on my land.

Thanks for any help and tips!

Thank you,
Wayne

Farmwithjunk · Mar 13, 2006

By "older", HOW OLD? I'm a big fan of the 135 or 150 Massey Ferguson. They were built from the mid 1960's to mid '70's. Good power, well balanced, dependable, economic to operate, easy to work on, and CHEAP to rebuild when that comes time.

Ford 3000 is another good one.

Both can be found in good condition for $3500 to $4500.

flusher · Mar 13, 2006

Here's one extreme.

My neighbor has a Ford 9N (about 24 HP engine) built in 1941. Bought it for about $1800 two years ago. He uses it to cut the weeds on his 10-acre place with a 4-ft rotary mower (brush hog). The tractor has a gasoline engine and purrs like a kitten.

Check the antique tractor forum here on TBN to see if there's a loader available for this tractor, if you're interested.

ToadHill · Mar 14, 2006

Dearborn loaders will fit N series tractors. I have one sitting in my barn. They are only single action loaders but they work quite well. Since I bought my new tractor I haven't used this old loader. I even have 2 new hydralic cylinders for it that I never got to put on.

SSLaser · Mar 14, 2006

Thanks for the info so far.

I should have been more specific with how "old" I wanted to go. I really only want a 10 or 15 year old sub-compact or compact tractor that will run that 5 ft brush hog no problem and do some easy bucket work. I want to be as "new" as possible for the money I got to spend.

I see that I will be paying some coin. Might have to sell the 4x4 quad and the street bike. That would get me around 6,000 or 7,000 to play with. What would you recommend for that kind of money?

I would like a deisel tractor also.

Were should I be checking out to learn more about tractors?

Thanks again,
Wayne

IslandTractor · Mar 14, 2006

You haven't told us much about what you will be doing with the tractor other than using the 5ft brush hog. It may be like the tail wagging the dog to choose a tractor based simply on the availability of a brush hog.

If you do need to pull the 5ft brush hog you are looking for a tractor with at least 25, preferably 30 hp. 10-15 years ago there were not as many CUTs in that HP range so you may find slim pickin's on the used market. If you were looking for a 15-20hp tractor to pull a 4ft rotary cutter you'd have more selection from the many Kubotas in that range.

You might also consider getting something new and financing it. There are great interest rates right now on new tractors.

Again, tell us more what you are going to do with the tractor, how much land, what type of land, how much lawn vs rough cut and there will be dozens of recommendations for you.

daTeacha · Mar 14, 2006

Used compacts are usually hard to find and fairly high priced compared to used Ag equipment simply because there are a lot of guys out there just like yourself looking for the same thing.

Current 0% for 36 months rates are very attractive, and seem to come around pretty often. I think if I were you I'd look at something new after selling your other dirt toys and use that money for a serious lump sum payment. Better, bank it and draw it down as you pay for the tractor.

Once you get a tractor, your 4 wheeler will just sit around anyways. Tractors are more fun! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You can get into a Case DX 29 for about 17 or 18k. Applying 36 months to what's left after deducting the value of your 4 wheeler and you're looking at around 300 a month.

canoetrpr · Mar 14, 2006

I thought I'd point this tid bit out based on the info the others were providing.

I was looking for a used CUT in the 30hp range as well and found that the demand was high and the supply low. This meant that a 10 or 15 year old rig was not that much cheaper than a new one. I ended up with a new Kubota L3400.

This morning a Kubota technical rep was at my place looking at a small problem I ran into (huge advantage to buying new!) and he pointed out to me that the very reason Kubota came up with the ecconomy L series - 2800 and 3400 was that they found that in this range the prices of used machines was incredibly high and decided that they could make a economy tractor without too many bells and whistles and price it not too much more than what a used rig was costing.

I'll tell you if this is what they were thinking then they ended up winning my business for a new tractor.

SSLaser · Mar 14, 2006

I will try to answers to a few questions. I thought I did a ok job of explaining what the "jobs" for this tractor were. Hope I do better for you guys this time!

I would like to use the 5ft brush hog, it looks brand new. Was used for 1 yr or 2 at a school. I got it off a friend who works there because the school was scraping it. I could trade or sell it for a smaller 3 or 4 ft.

As far as how much I have to brush hog. My house is 60x32 with a 26x26 garage on the property. I will grass seed all around the house maybe 20 to 50 ft away from the house. So I guess 3 or 4 acres of some light, some thick brush with a few trees scatared around. I don't want to have a tractor and a lawn mower. Thats why I would like a belly mower.

Next is my 300 or so feet driveway. It needs plowed in the winter. It still needs a final layer of gravel. It only has slag on it now. I am sure it will continue to need up keep. So there is some bucket work there.

I also have a few tons of dirt to move around. Maybe a small stump here and there. Will also use the tractor to move fire wood around, clean up fallen or dead trees. Move some rocks around.

Might need a back hoe to clean up the small stream that runs across my property at some point.

I do not like to buy new if I can find a good deal on used. I also do not finace cars or toys. I pay cash. So if there is no cash there is no "toys". Thats why I would consider selling my 4x4 quad and my beloved street bike! Which as an example I got for about a thousand less then market value! Or as some would say a steal.

I can see getting a tractor will not be fun! But I appriate you guys giving me an idea on what size, brand tractor I will need to be looking for! I am lost as to what I should be looking for. Not like my bike which I knew what I "needed" and everything else about it to find that steal.

Thanks,
Wayne

IslandTractor · Mar 16, 2006

OK, based on your desire to pay cash for a used tractor I'd say you're going to have to make some compromises. The 5ft brush hog should be matched with a 30hp tractor but unless you are willing to spend in the range of $12-14 thousand minimum you are not going to find many tractors of that size. An alternative is to get a used Kubota 7100 or something like that (around 18hp as I recall) and see if it will pull the brush hog at low speed. Again, I'd advise you to do it differently and ditch the 5ft hog, downsize to a 48" and stick with a used B series Kubota. You are not going to find a small used tractor that can take a backhoe and I haven't seen backhoes for rent as attachments anyway. If you want to go that route look for a BX series 22 or 23 but those will cost at least 12-14 thousand too but they do come with a backhoe.

You might be better off to drop the whole brush hog thing and by a used gas powered garden tractor. Much better deals on those used than on a used diesel powered CUT. As another option, you can buy independently powered brush cutters to drag around behind your 4x4 quad too.