Need some help picking the right tractor.

[Soundguy]

Well.. you will need 23 hp and up to run that 5' mower very well.. and might I say.. the ford 59x series of mower is a fine piece of machinery.

If you want older and cheaper.. look for a ford 660 / 661 860 / 861 preferably with power stering.. and if you can find the diesel variant.. even better.. Up from there.. a 2-3-4 thousand... be carefull.. not all have live pto.. look for the 8spd tranny to get independent pto.. all will have live hyds,.. and again.. look for power steering. A good unit as I have mentioned should be able to be located inthe 2000$ - 6000$ range..

As for finish mowing.. I'd either push mow a couple strips around the house.. or get a 700$ murray rider mower from walmart and mow about .25 ac with that around the house.. and leave the rest to the brush hog. Once you get the big stuff tamed.. you can put a bit of an edge onthe hog blades and it will cut closer to a 'shaggy' finish mower.

Those cheapy lawnmowers, if maintained 9 oil every couple years.. air filter every year.. clean gas and stabilizer ).. will last a while. My murray is now 11 ys old.. still starts and runs fine.. even has the original belt.. has had 3 sets of blades..
Sure beats spenfing 1000-1500+$ on a finish mower..

if going with a loader.. DO get power steering.. 4wd is nice.. but hard to find inthe older machines.. stay away from non-fully hyd loaders onthe older machines.. I.e. .. no trip buckets..

Small 3pt backhoes, if you can find them are ok for limited use onthe larger tractors.. smaller tractors don't do as well as you may break them in half if you don't ahve a proper subframe..

Soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

To be fair.. I omitted mentioning new chinese tractrors.. mid 20's hp for 3999 in some places, depending on dealers..

Soundguy

 

[SSLaser]

Well guys, thanks. I guess that brush hog will go up for sale or trade. I will step it down to a 3 or 4ft. What is the 5 ft brush hog worth?

I also don't mind push mowing around the house. A push mower dosen't take up much space in the garage.

I guess I will rent a small track hoe to do a days work on the stream/ditch.

I just want the smallest cut tractor in my price range 6,000 or 8,000 that will do the loader work. The brush hog and loader work is the most important to me!

I wonder how long a 4,000 dollar off brand tractor will last?
Any more info on this route? I don't think I will be beating this tractor to death. I will do routine services to it.

Any more ideas for me now that I have done some soul searching. On a side note my wife is going to crap, her "97"
jeep cherokee did not cost me this much like 2 years ago!
I got a steal on this Jeep too!

Thanks for all the help so far!

Take care,
Wayne

 

[IslandTractor]

Were I in your shoes, I'd be looking for a "last generation" or earlier Kubota in the 15-25hp range. Something like the B200 or B50 series. Older Kubota models Unfortunately the Kubota naming system is incredibly confusing but that chart will help.

The older Kubotas hold their value well for good reasons. You can still get service and they don't seem to break much anyway. You could run a 48" rotary mower with any of them too. Many are equipped with loaders and I think they would be in your price range.

Regarding a price for your 5' mower, how about seeing if a dealer would take it in trade/swap for a 48" mower.

Such a set up would be pretty versatile and you could rent attachments or other equipment for the special jobs that come up.

 

[SteveM]

I like cheap tractors, and I have owned a bunch. Though there is a good chinese tractor dealer right nearby, I continue to struggle with the '5k-7k compact tractor' china new vs. japanese used issue. Right now I am shopping, so I will simply list what your money can buy in Upstate NY

Tractors with loaders
Kubota B7200 4x4 loader 900 hrs (17hp) $7200
Bolens Iseki 214 4x4 loader 700hrs (21hp) $6700
Bolens Iseki 174 4x4 loader 560hrs (17hp) $5,000
Deere 650 4x4 loader 600hrs (17hp) $6400
Ford 1710 4x4 loader 1000hrs (19hp) $7995
Kubota BX2200 4x4hydro loader 800hrs (22hp) $8500

New Jinma 204 4x4 loader (20hp) $8995 if you assemble yourself, $1,000 more assembled.

There are LOTs of slightly bigger, newer loader tractors in the 10-15k range, some hydrostatic. All these above are gear drive, manual steering (except the BX and chinese), very simple.

Now some people have offered up Ford 9n and Massey 135s. Nice antique tractors, but really, if you skip the loader, there are even more cheaper options that are easier to work with:

Tractors without loaders
Deere 950 2wd 700hrs (28hp) 4995
Case 245 2wd 600hrs (26hp) 4400
Kuboat L185 2wd 1000hrs (20hp) 4000
Ford 1210 hydro 2wd 560hrs (18hp) 4500
Kubota BX1800 4x4hydro mower 400hrs (18hp) 6900

These HP figures are off the top of my head, probably close /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif, but the prices and hours are exact. Happy shopping - as you can tell I LOVE buying and selling tractors.

If you are in NY I have a might nice Mitsu compact with loader for sale - it will be gone this weekend ...

 

[CajunFrog]

Hi,
As a brand new member it is probably not my place to give advice so I will tell you about my decision as I am in a similiar situation with clearing around 5 acres to make a trailer park. Aslo I plan to get more involved with some lanscaping and bush hogging work. Like yourself I want to get the best deal or "steal" as I can for my $.
Have you thought of buying a crate chinese tractor?
For the money you have to work with you can get a brand new tractor like the Jinma 284 with FEL which would more than take care of all your needs & w/28 hp should run the mower fine. It should mate up fine but you may want to check this out. You can get other accesories along with it like the box scraper you need or find a used one.
I have decided on the 354 for my needs and w/FEL it to will run under your $ figures since I plan to import it myself ......another option you may want to look at to save an extra grand or so. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Kermit

 

[KiotiJohn]

I'm going to suggest that whatever you buy, get a 4 Wheel Drive (WD) and power steering if you're going to do loader work. If your slopes are anything at all, make sure you can widen the rear tires for more stability.
As has been said, the HP range 25- 35, is going to be harder to find than something of much higher HP. You can buy a lot of older utility tractors in the higher ranges for much less than a compact in these ranges.
I searched for a year, thought of getting a Yanmar, Satoh, Iseki, and then started looking new in JD, Kubota, Mahindra etc. because of prices and parts availability problems I finally decided a new one was a much better deal.
If you want a belly mower, you're either going to have to buy a tractor made for one, or find one that will accept a universal belly mower. That also limits your choices in the 25-35 HP range.
Good luck with your search.
John

 

[Theowegian]

Try this link. You'll have hours of fun shopping.

Tractorhouse

 

[FarmGeek]

Perhaps your beautiful state can help in locating something that would fit your needs.

Here is a link to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture swap-n-shop. A free-to-list service for us poor rednecks.

http://www.agr.state.nc.us/paffairs/agrevst.htm

Look under the classified section for Equipmnet for Sale as an example of what may be available in your state's DOA.

IMHO - don't sell the street bike! I love tractors but would never trade my Harley for one. You need play time too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good Luck!

 

[PAB_OH]

Wayne,
I sent you a PM.