Buying Advice New here. Need help on figuring out what tractor to buy

[Russman16]

What other uses do you have in mind for the tractor? Is this a residential property or just playground? If it's just hogging, farm it out and grab a refreshment of you choice, sit back, relax and watch.

Metalbender, as you can tell I'm new to this. If I was to get it cut once a year around February, would someone come cut it for hay that time of year? Or would there not be very much nutritional value in it.

 

[dodge man]

If someone wants it for hay, they will want to cut it a few times a year. Around here the first cutting is more like April, not sure about there.

 

[Russman16]

Here is a mowing calculator. Mowing once per year will require a tractor speed of around 4-mph. Mowing every second year will limit tractor speed to 3-mph due to density of vegetation.

Mowing once per year will require 40 - 45 tractor horsepower to operate a 60" HD bush hog = 2 acres per hour.

Mowing once per year will require at least 50 tractor horsepower to operate a 72" HD bush hog = 2-1/2 acres per hour.

Your full operating cost will be about the same = $25 per engine hour.

Allowing for a 6" overlap, a 48" bushhog mows only 42" per swathe. Ugh!

Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour



Kentucky has a lot of hills in parts, which strongly influences tractor width required for tractor stability.

Do you have hills to tractor? Are your fields on a slope?
Are potential food plots on flat or sloped ground?

Tractors are inherently unstable operating on sloped ground. Tractor rear wheel/tire spread, adjustable on the MX series, is a critical factor increasing compact tractor stability working sloped or uneven ground. Rear axle is the tractor component on which rear wheels/tires mount. A 6" to 10" wider rear axle substantially decreases tractor rollover potential. Tractor width is an approximation of rear axle width.

Given the limited info you have provided in your opening post I suggest a cabbed Kubota MX5400 tractor of 4,250 pounds weight including 600 pounds for cab, 53-horsepower net, 66" width, capable of pulling a 72" heavy duty Rotary Cutter weighing 1,100 pounds through tall grass, tall weeds and brush.

Cabbed Kubota MX5400 tractor/'SSQA' Loader/4-WD/HST transmission = $42,000.
Land Pride by Kubota HD 72" Rotary Cutter/RCR2672 = $4,000.
​

Every tractor producer has models with above specs. This is a high sales volume category.

John Deere pricing for equivalent equipment will be the same to 5% more expensive. Other tractor brands such as very fine Kioti, LS and Branson, all three produced in Korea, are available for 5% to 10% less than Kubota.

KUBOTA LINK: Tractors - Utility - MX Series | Kubota

A quality dealer, reasonably close, available for coaching, is important for tractor neophytes. Most new tractors are delivered with a glitch or two requiring correction, often safety/cutout switches which require adjustment to operator weight. My Kubota dealer is six miles away. I feel my local dealer continues to add value to my equipment after seven years. Dealer proximity is less important for those experienced with tractors and qualified to perform their own maintenance.


When considering a tractor purchase bare tractor weight first, tractor horsepower second, rear axle width third, rear wheel/tire ballast fourth.

BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR​

Hey Jeff, most of the field is pretty flat with a very gentle slop. Before I bought it, it was cut for hay I think 3 times a year. Food plots will be both gentle slop and flat ground. Price wise I was thinking for something under the 40 hp.

 

[MF2604h]

If the field has been used for hay I would just rent it out to someone that wants to cut hay. If you don稚 want to rent it for hay get at least a 40 hp tractor and cut it once or maybe twice a year.
If your kids will be riding dirt bikes you may end up needing a box blade and disc harrow to fix anything that gets tore up. Look at Massey, Mahindra, LS they don稚 cost as much as JD and Kubota.
Whatever you end up getting make sure the dealer is a good one and has a good service department.
Good luck on your search

 

[bearthebruce]

Hello all, I am new to this forum and new at buying a tractor. I purchased 85 acres in Larue County Kentucky. It has about a 15 acre field according to the apps I've used to outline the field. I'm having a hard time figuring out what size tractor and what kind of tractor to buy.

I will only be bushhoging about 12-13 acres of the field once a year or once every 2 years. My intentions are to let the field grow up some for deer and rabbit hunting. I will keep the other few acres either mowed down monthly or in food plots.

Now my question is what size tractor should I buy and maybe what brand or what brand to avoid if any? I think I want something that'll pull a 5' bushhog easily with only being mowed once a year or every other year. And maybe a 4' bushhog would be fine, just don't know how long either would take me to mow.

I will be driving this tractor in the woods some so I don't want anything too big. I definitely want a 4x4 with a loader. A cab would be a plus, but not 100% sure I really need 1 or not sure if I'm running the A/C during the summer if it'll cut down on the hp I'll need bushhog.

Also, any recommendations on what kind of bushhog to buy.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you Jason

We have very similar use property. We have a 12-13 acre pasture that we bush hog twice a year - end of May/1st wk June and end of August/1st week September.

We operate an open frame Massey Ferguson MF1533 - 33 HP Tractor, no loaded tires, FEL, and 60" bush hog. 540 RPM PTO HP is 26 - and it takes all of that climbing our Virginny Blue Ridge hills while hogging. She is a 2005 build machine with the synchro shuttle manual tranny. We operate in 4wdr on the hills to save my bunns in part.. cause when you turn that bad little girl down hill and have a brain fart, you want a chance to stop her!

My reason to write is that it takes over 10 hours to mow that pasture. In part the hills slow me down. But, I run between 2 and 2.5mph... A 72" mower would be nice but the ponys pulling on a 33hp machine are not enough to support the 72" mower. You said gentle hills. 40hp sounds better to me for running a 72" mower that will let you get done in one 8 hour day.

Another thing to consider: get a good seat. Your body will thank you. Sitting for 8-10 hours getting bounced around does take a toll (especially on this fat old man's body). You may be young and it will not be a priority. I wish Missy Ferg had a bit more cushion in her seat to absorb some of the rough spots. But she is a nice old girl and I don't want trade her. We take care of her and she takes care of our needs.

By the way, the MF1533 is a good size for trail work. I think a cab will get beat to death as you are making and building trails. If going cab, remember you will need to be taking lots of limbs off high so the tractor can pass through the woods. A canopy cover is what I use when on the field mowing. Is it warm? Sure. But on the Blue Ridge, at the time of year we mow, high temps are usually 80F... Not too bad if you can get the sun off of you.

 

[paulfun9]

Bearthebruce

Just a thought
If your seat is uncomfortable for you, simply upgrade it. Some real nice seats out there and many won’t cost a fortune.
A little imagination at a tractor junkyard and some wrenches could net you a suspension seat for pennies on the dollar.

I have had successfully installed suspension seats from other brands, larger and or upgraded tractors to one of mine in the past and not spent much time or money doing so. Have also been very pleased with simple bolt on replacements purchased relatively cheep from places like tractor supply and rural king on my smaller tractors.

Russman16

Buying new machine, pay attention to comfort not just of the seat but controls and overall comfort as being uncomfortable can make a real difference on how pleased you are with it and how well you deal with the chores at hand.

 

[bearthebruce]

Bearthebruce

Just a thought
If your seat is uncomfortable for you, simply upgrade it. Some real nice seats out there and many won’t cost a fortune.
A little imagination at a tractor junkyard and some wrenches could net you a suspension seat for pennies on the dollar.

I have had successfully installed suspension seats from other brands, larger and or upgraded tractors to one of mine in the past and not spent much time or money doing so. Have also been very pleased with simple bolt on replacements purchased relatively cheep from places like tractor supply and rural king on my smaller tractors.

Have not looked into that. Good idea! I'll see what I can find. Thank you.

 

[rodneyn]

Mowing lot of acres I have found disc mower will allow for more ground speed. But you need 40+ hp tractor to run 5 -7 foot mower. Yes a sickle bar mower can be faster but not as close cut as disc mower. Bush hog - rotary mower is cheaper but takes more time and HP depending on the deck height. Taller side deck height on a bushog requires less HP from the tractor. Never have bad day on tractor except when making less cutting swath and I have to get off.

 

[Russman16]

Bearthebruce

Just a thought
If your seat is uncomfortable for you, simply upgrade it. Some real nice seats out there and many won’t cost a fortune.
A little imagination at a tractor junkyard and some wrenches could net you a suspension seat for pennies on the dollar.

I have had successfully installed suspension seats from other brands, larger and or upgraded tractors to one of mine in the past and not spent much time or money doing so. Have also been very pleased with simple bolt on replacements purchased relatively cheep from places like tractor supply and rural king on my smaller tractors.

Russman16

Buying new machine, pay attention to comfort not just of the seat but controls and overall comfort as being uncomfortable can make a real difference on how pleased you are with it and how well you deal with the chores at hand.

I'll keep that in mind Bear. Thank you!

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Here is a mowing calculator. Mowing once per year will require a tractor speed of around 4-mph. Mowing every second year will limit tractor speed to 3-mph due to density of vegetation.

Mowing once per year will require 40 - 45 tractor horsepower to operate a 60" HD bush hog = 2 acres per hour.

Mowing once per year will require at least 50 tractor horsepower to operate a 72" HD bush hog = 2-1/2 acres per hour.

Your full operating cost will be about the same = $25 per engine hour.

Allowing for a 6" overlap, a 48" bushhog mows only 42" per swathe. Ugh!

Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour



Kentucky has a lot of hills in parts, which strongly influences tractor width required for tractor stability.

Do you have hills to tractor? Are your fields on a slope?
Are potential food plots on flat or sloped ground?

Tractors are inherently unstable operating on sloped ground. Tractor rear wheel/tire spread, adjustable on the MX series, is a critical factor increasing compact tractor stability working sloped or uneven ground. Rear axle is the tractor component on which rear wheels/tires mount. A 6" to 10" wider rear axle substantially decreases tractor rollover potential. Tractor width is an approximation of rear axle width.

Given the limited info you have provided in your opening post I suggest a cabbed Kubota MX5400 tractor of 4,250 pounds weight including 600 pounds for cab, 53-horsepower net, 66" width, capable of pulling a 72" heavy duty Rotary Cutter weighing 1,100 pounds through tall grass, tall weeds and brush.

Cabbed Kubota MX5400 tractor/'SSQA' Loader/4-WD/HST transmission = $42,000.
Land Pride by Kubota HD 72" Rotary Cutter/RCR2672 = $4,000.
​

Every tractor producer has models with above specs. This is a high sales volume category.

John Deere pricing for equivalent equipment will be the same to 5% more expensive. Other tractor brands such as very fine Kioti, LS and Branson, all three produced in Korea, are available for 5% to 10% less than Kubota.

KUBOTA LINK: Tractors - Utility - MX Series | Kubota

A quality dealer, reasonably close, available for coaching, is important for tractor neophytes. Most new tractors are delivered with a glitch or two requiring correction, often safety/cutout switches which require adjustment to operator weight. My Kubota dealer is six miles away. I feel my local dealer continues to add value to my equipment after seven years. Dealer proximity is less important for those experienced with tractors and qualified to perform their own maintenance.


When considering a tractor purchase bare tractor weight first, tractor horsepower second, rear axle width third, rear wheel/tire ballast fourth.

BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR​

One of the best reply's ever on TBN... Thanks, you helped me as well!