New Holland TC30 vs TN65?

[bruceha2000]

First, I am TOTALLY new to tractors. Please bear with me
Initial use this winter: clearing snow.
Next summer: mowing lawn (already sold on flail mowers, figure 5' minimum)
Next summer or later:
- planting orchard trees
- cleaning up the woods (19 acres, mostly hardwoods and mostly on a hill. Not real steep in MOST places), hope to get a forester in there to give me some guidance for good long term use. MAYBE make some trails. Might clear out some trees near the edge for the orchard trees if the soil is decent so I don't eat into the field. The ANR soil maps show that edge to be prime but who knows how accurate they are without actually testing.
- Fencing
- Could be some small crop plantings some time in the future. Fields (~4 acres) are currently pasture and leased for 3 horses.

The problem - not rich! I'm sure that isn't unusual. So I'm looking at used.
Found a number of tractors on my state Craig's list, most were too small on the HP side, couldn't handle bigger than a 4' flail which also probably means a 'too small' front mount snow blower as well.

Just showed up today:
- 2003 New Holland Tractor TC30 4x4 with loader, 711 hours, Excellent condition. asking $12500

- 4WD 2002 TN65 New Holland Synchro-command with 853 total hours use on machine. Runs excellent; comes with front loader bucket, Woods 9000 backhoe, Box scraper, and North Star log splitter with extended reach hydraulic hoses, Rear wheel studded chains. Has 4 hydraulic hook-ups in back. Front loader bucket like new (no holes or dents). $20,000 OBO

The more affordable one has only the FEL. The more expensive has attachments that I imagine would cost $10K or more new. Other than the box scraper (not sure I have a use for that), I would likely end up buying all of them at some point anyway.
- Would like a front mount snow blower and cab, plus the aforementioned flail mower. I will have a fair amount of area to clear of snow and I don't imagine the FEL would be much fun for that, thus the snow blower would have to come soon. Adding up more BIG bucks right off the bat

And I'm wondering if the TC65 is really too big/heavy to mow the lawn. Apparently they range (why?) from 4805 to 6460 pounds. The TC30 appears to be only 2,200.

Now I know NOTHING about these tractors (or any others). I saw some references to the TN65 that said 65HP and some that said as low as 47 HP. Is that even possible in a single model?? I think even 47 is well over what I probably need though.

There is a dealer 3 miles from the farm. They have 3 locations, hopefully that means they are a decent business. Would have to check that out as well.

Any opinions? They might both be gone before I can make any decisions but I figure the more information I have about these and other tractors the better.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Brad_Blazer]

The TC30 is a compact utility tractor. Small and handy. The TN65 is a full size farm tractor, twice the size of the TC30. Check them out at the dealer or the sellers to see how they match what you have in mind. The TN65 will mow fields with good speed but will be unwieldy for anything most people would describe as a lawn.

The TN 65 deal sounds very good, almost too good. One set of hydraulic hookups on a New Holland costs about $1000 at the dealer. The backhoe is $9,000 new. Log splitter $5-600. Box Blade $300 and up depending on the type/brand.

Tractor deal scams are common. Look for anything fishy and never send money sight unseen. Any complicated back-and-forth money or request for wire transfer is a scam.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The price for the TN65 package is a great price if everything is in good condition. For your use the TN would be much better suited for everything but your lawn but the TC30 isn't great on lawns either, its better then the TN weight wise but if you don't have turf tires your going to have issues regardless. If it was me I would get the TN and a large estate mower if your set on using it for mowing your lawn. That way you don't have to make very many passes with it.

The TN is a lot more stable on hills/slopes then the TC30 and will handle all your chores with ease and it comes with a lot of equipment you will find very useful. It seems like a no brainer when the only holdup is your lawn. How big of a lawn? Can you buy a cheap entry level lawn mower to get by for now?

 

[charleyfarmall]

I agree the TN65 is much more tractor for what you want to do, and small lawn tractors are cheap.

The TC30 is too small for what you want. Patience, other good tractors will also pop up.

 

[kf4uda]

Here is a couple of links that should show you the difference in the two tractors. This website is not always exact on HP and weights but will give you a general idea of each.

TractorData.com New Holland TC30 tractor information

TractorData.com New Holland TN65 tractor information

Both are good tractors for their intended purpose. From the two choices in machines I would also suggest the TN65 then buy a lawn mower to mow the yard.

 

[jinman]

The TC30 is an economy tractor and the one you listed is overpriced. It should be less than $10k, especially with over 700 hours.

Here's one here with a shredder for $10k.

Here's a 2007, low hours, with loader and shredder for $12.5k asking price.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I will add that I use my tn65 for snow plowing our driveways and parking areas and use a combination of front loader and box blade. I level the bucket and drop the box and it will clear snow. When you have enough I just drive off the edge and dump it. The box blade works both directions as well so its very handy. There are better setups but its worked for me for 11 years now.

 

[bruceha2000]

Thanks for all the comments. There is a lot to learn about tractors. Who knew how many makes there were and how many models from each!

Lawn ~ 1/2 acre around 3 sides of the house plus a strip along the road outside the fence
Snow - about another 1/2 acre. Parking area, in front of both barns (~150') and between them to get to the horse stalls.

I'm thinking the 65 is really too much tractor but as you always say, go sit on anything you are thinking of buying

Since I won't actually own the property for a few weeks, I suspect it would be best to get that done first, then I can get a better feel for the size of things.

Another thing to consider is SWMBO might be doing some of the plowing/blowing/mowing and is as well versed in tractors as I am. So nothing too huge or demanding. Though she has more practice with riding mowers and plowing snow - grew up locally

She is also the one who said 'you will really want a cab for snow blowing'. How often does the CFO advise spending MORE money? Of course, she also said 'that is a lot of money, can you find used tractors?' so she is fiscally aware. Gotta love a practical CFO!

I have a responsibility to make sure the parking area is clear and the horses accessible and a shovel is NOT going to cut it. I do have a possible 'out' on 'purchase before the snow flies' though. A guy I work with is putting a rebuilt engine he got CHEAP in a lawn tractor he got CHEAP and has an older 20 HP lawn tractor he intends to keep as a 'spare'. Both have 4' snow blowers so maybe I can con him into letting me keep the old one safe in my barn this winter. Lots more room there than in his garage and I would, of course, start it up occasionally to keep it running well. That would certainly make it easier to look for the best deals with less pressure. I'll have to see what he thinks about that.

Bruce

 

[Robert_in_NY]

For a half acre yard I wouldn't even think of using a compact tractor on it, thats a box store riding lawn mower size yard.

I understand if the TN65 is too intimidating for you or your wife but from experience using both tractors you mentioned in this thread for a couple thousand hours each I know the TC30 will not be the best. it can do the work but the TN handles it so much better and is only a foot wider (you can widen it out but at the narrowest its only 1' wider), had a lot more weight to handle any task, is much more stable then the TC30 and is also a lot more comfortable to operate then the TC30 for long periods of time.

If your looking for a cab tractor you will see your budget needs to go up. That TN65 package is to me a great deal as that tractor new cost around $26-27k with just the loader and FWA and the two extra remotes. The hours are low as you can easily go to 5000 hours on these tractors with little issues if any. I would imagine trying to find a good cab tractor with loader and fwa will be in the upper $20k range to low $30k range. In my experience, used cabbed tractors tend to be priced high for good ones and if their cheap then you will have an older unit in need of repairs often. If you buy new you will look at over $40k for that setup.

Another option is there are aftermarket cabs available that you can install for winter use and if you don't want it on there in the summer you can take it off. Factory cabs are integrated so you either have a cabbed tractor or you have an open station and it would be very expensive to retrofit a factory cab to an open station tractor.

Take your time and look around but I hope you don't find yourself regretting missing out on what appears to be a great deal. Good luck to you, it sounds like your at the beginning of a very fun adventure there

 

[bruceha2000]

Another option is there are aftermarket cabs available that you can install for winter use and if you don't want it on there in the summer you can take it off. Factory cabs are integrated so you either have a cabbed tractor or you have an open station and it would be very expensive to retrofit a factory cab to an open station tractor.

Well there is another angle. Hadn't thought about no cab OR all year cab. Mostly thinking I only need it in the winter. After market would have to have glass (at least in the front), wiper and heat otherwise all I would be able to see would be fogged up windows. Non snow time visibility would probably be a lot better without a cab. Maybe a roof though. Wouldn't need A/C. I will look further into the after market options. I did see a couple of "how I built my own cab" threads - impressively professional looking but I have neither the time nor the welding skills (ie ZERO) to make such a thing.