New guy needs advice

pmoon · Apr 7, 2005

So many tractors! Please help me narrow my search. I have 40 acres. About 5 to mow. Want to do a good bit of brush clearing (15 acres?). Have 120yard driveway to plow/grade. Have 1/2 acre pond and a couple of streams. Just bought the place and it hasn't been taken care of in quite a while - need to do a lot of clearing. I'm 6'5". What do I need? Thanks!
Pat

Maka · Apr 7, 2005

Where are you located?

Maka

pmoon · Apr 7, 2005

Watkins Glen NY

Bird · Apr 7, 2005

Welcome to Tractorbynet, Pat, and you need to tell us more if you want valid recommendations.
What experience, if any, do you have with tractors?
When you say mow 5 acres, are you talking about a finish mower (lawn mower)?
Do you want to do the finish mowing with the same tractor?
When you talk about clearing brush, what kind of brush, are you talking about stuff that can be mowed with a brush hog; i.e., 1" or 2" diameter, what size, or are you talking about pushing down or pulling small trees?
Do you need to dig up the roots or stumps of the brush you clear?
What do you want to do, if anything, with the pond and streams?
Are you going to be crossing those streams with the tractor?

Just for a purely generic response, I think I'd be looking for a tractor of 30-40hp with a front end loader and box blade to start with. I'd prefer the width of the bucket on the front end loader and the width of the box blade be the same and both just a little wider than the outside tread of the rear tractor wheels. I'd want R1 (Ag) tires. I'd want a brush hog of the same width as the box blade. My personal preferences (which may differ from yours) is for a finish mower for the 3-point hitch rather than a mid-mount mower and for a hydrostatic transmission rather than a geared one.

But more importantly, start visiting dealers and trying out different tractors to learn what you like best and which ones are most comfortable for you.

And a very good place to start learning is to buy Muhammad's book, Compact Tractor Buying & Basics
.

Maka · Apr 7, 2005

I agree with Bird.

Maka

pmoon · Apr 7, 2005

O.K. great...I'll try to get more specific. I have very little experience with tractors. I am refering to a finishing mower. There is quite a bit to manuver around - trees,barn etc.(which has made me think a mid-mount might be better suited for that job. In terms of the brush - I think some of it could be taken care of with a brush hog. There are lots of little saplings that might be too big for a brush hog - I don't know how much a brush hog can handle. Very dense but not much thickness in general. I want to clear out the brush and leave the nice trees. No current plans with the pond except to mow around it. Don't think I'd take the tractor through the streams too steep - have other ways around and over them. Would like to landscape around them. Hope this helps - let me know what other info would be useful. I'm going to various dealers soon - just wanted to arm myself with info on something close to what I might need. Was thinking jd 4000 - nhtc - kb B???

Soundguy · Apr 7, 2005

So you've got 5ac to mow now.. and what? another 15 you are removing brush from.. that makes 20 mowable acers.

My sugestion would to get a rotary brush mower for the bulk of the work.. and a small rider mower like an 800$ murray for a small belt of grass around the house. Alternately you could get a 4' or 5' finish mower for your tractor as well.. they run about 1000$ and up.

As for tractor size? I'd think somewhere inthe 40's for comfort.. though one in the 30's would still get you some decent amount of work done.

Soundguy

DocHeb · Apr 7, 2005

With your height you will really need to try the tractors. I am 6'3" and found some brands' shuttle shifts hard to work since my legs were so long they wouldn't bend back so the tractor would go in reverse. I am very happy with my TC40D New Holland, and the HST pedals are ergonomically placed. The tilting steering wheel and easily movable seat are also nice - look at the Class III Boomers

GATC35 · Apr 7, 2005

I agree with Chris. I'm also in the 6'3" height range. I found the New Holland allot more comfortable than the others. I liked the AGCO tractor, and have a dealer 5 miles from me. But the AGCO just wasn't comfortable. So I also went with a New Holland TC-35D, which is a class III Boomer and the same physical size of Chris's TC-40.

Soundguy is right on also with a seperate mower for the nice grass. The price you pay for a good finish mower you can get a Murray from Home Depot . I have 2 acres around the house that have trees. I use a Toro ZTR for this, and leave the bush hogging of field's, woods and around the pond area to the TC-35.

Good Luck !

Welcome to TBN...lots of good folks here.

Bird · Apr 7, 2005

( a mid-mount might be better suited )

That's the reason they make both kinds; I prefer the other, but lots of folks prefer the mid-mount. Either one will do the job.

( I don't know how much a brush hog can handle )

It depends on which one you buy. Most of the manufacturers make light, medium, and heavy duty models. I've actually seen a light duty brush hog (rated for 1" saplings), on a 29hp tractor, cut down little trees in excess of 2" diameter with no apparent damage. Of course, if you buy a heavy duty model, you can cut bigger stuff, but may need more tractor horsepower. I'm not recommending any particular brand (there are lots of good ones), but just as one example, Bush Hog has a heavy duty 6' one (model 406) that's rated to cut 4" saplings, has a gear box rated to withstand 125hp, but recommends a minimum of 45hp.

Now it also depends on what you call "clearing". A brush hog will cut them, but leave a little stump. So I don't know whether you want to get rid of those, too, or not. Brush hogs have relatively dull blades (compared to lawnmower blades) so they tend to shatter the little stumps so that does frequently make them decompose quicker, but for awhile after cutting, they might damage a tire if you run over them.