New 'old' guy on the hunt for knowledge and info!

[Sapper50]

First post, been on here for a while in the background searching, reading and all that 'stuff'.
In the 'final' phases of tractor and gear selection and purchase.......

On 10 acres east of Fort Lewis Washington, virgin dirt (and a LOT of rocks thanx to a glacier or two a few million years ago). Land was old growth timber, then planted/harvested again, then divided into 10-20 acre lots for homes, still zoned ag.

In the process of clearing and setting 5-7 acres of it into horse pasture and recreation use - leaving some of the area treed, brush for trails and I race MX and Vintage MX so building a track as well.
LOTS of dirt work will be needed, bucket, tiller, middle-soiler, box blade work and some sort of landscape rake to help 'manage' the rocks as I work the dirt.
Im here....cause I am in the final phases of tractor and gear selection and need to pick the brains of those that have already gone through what I am doing now....wow are their lots of options, but at least mine are limited to dealer availability close to me.

Looking forward to more research and reading the posts...and getting to the dirt work!

Scott

 

[nybirdman]

I would think you would be looking at a 40-50Hp,4WD,R1(tires AG),loader of course and 3500-4000lbs.bare tractor weight.HST transmission would be advised for new users.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

Enjoy the site.

 

[TBN Support]

Hi Scott. Thanks for joining

:tractor: I'm going to move this thread over to our buying, pricing, and comparisons section.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you only want to purchase from a local dealer, please let us know what makes these dealers handle. Sort of a waste of time recommending something that is not even offered locally for you. I suppose very general recommendations can be made, but why not get specific and save some time? :confused3:

 

[rScotty]

First post, been on here for a while in the background searching, reading and all that 'stuff'.
In the 'final' phases of tractor and gear selection and purchase.......

On 10 acres east of Fort Lewis Washington, virgin dirt (and a LOT of rocks thanx to a glacier or two a few million years ago). Land was old growth timber, then planted/harvested again, then divided into 10-20 acre lots for homes, still zoned ag.

In the process of clearing and setting 5-7 acres of it into horse pasture and recreation use - leaving some of the area treed, brush for trails and I race MX and Vintage MX so building a track as well.
LOTS of dirt work will be needed, bucket, tiller, middle-soiler, box blade work and some sort of landscape rake to help 'manage' the rocks as I work the dirt.
Im here....cause I am in the final phases of tractor and gear selection and need to pick the brains of those that have already gone through what I am doing now....wow are their lots of options, but at least mine are limited to dealer availability close to me.
Looking forward to more research and reading the posts...and getting to the dirt work!
Scott

Sounds pretty standard, many of us have been in the same position.
Welcome to TBN. We can narrow things down for you, but the more info the better. Here comes more questions....
What kind of climate do you have there? Snow? Is the land sloping? Do you plan to put in any crops (plowing, harvesting, mowing) or is it mostly dirt work?
What is your dirt like? Is it a sticky clay soil or a sandy granite type? Have you had it typed or tested at the local Ag school?
And one thing stands out to me: What special circumstances limit you to a needing a dealer close to you? I ask this because most modern tractors rarely visit the dealer - after initial warranty, maybe never. Most routine oil & filter changes are done by the owners.
Anyway, good luck with it and the more we know the more we can help.
good luck,
rScotty

 

[TheMan419]

How big are the rocks (weight wise)? Are we talking fist sized rocks that you want to move so the horses don't get stone bruise or are we talking rocks wit diameters measured in feet? Very different tractor needed to deal with those.

For your horse management and pasture management after it is established I have found you don't need a huge amount of tractor. For your dirt moving and other work a larger tractor would serve better.

Are you wanting to buy new or used?

 

[oosik]

Welcome to TBN & the forum from an "East side" neighbor. My first suggestion, at this point, don't worry about a "gear drive" or "HST" transmission. Both are easy to learn and will serve you well.

Look at lift capacity of the FEL system - sit on the tractor, do the controls come "easy to hand" - be sure whatever dealership you choose has the ability and facilities to service your tractor.

Otherwise - good hunting.

 

[Tractorable]

Rent a dozer to build your motocross track, then buy a tractor to maintain it. Box blade, rear blade, landscape rake, and a land plane will be implements you'll want to consider.

Something like a Kubota MX5200 may be a good option. Be sure to get a couple rear remotes and a third function on the loader for a grapple.

 

[arrow]

A tractor is not going to be of much use if your land is like here in N.E. where glaciers also rock strewed the geography. I built a 100'x260' riding ring with a diminutive JD 750 but I had all the fill trucked in to cover all the rocks and ground obstructions. If your land is like mine, the more rocks you attempt to rid yourself of, the more rocks will appear. Was cheaper to to buy 600 yards of fill for the riding ring than to get the appropriate equipment or even hire out the appropriate equipment to get rid of the rocks and then what do you do with the rocks once you freed them up? A full size excavator would be needed to bury them all. Just gets too complicated.