New Purchase

[bearthebruce]

We have 210 acres - none of it flat. We operate with a 2005 Massey 1533 Compact tractor. The tires are not loaded. It has a FEL and we mow 25 acres give or take with a rotary brush mower. The mower is a 60" light duty, good for cutting up to an inch - inch and a half - requires 25hp from the PTO.. the 1533 has 28PTO Hp.

Tractor by itself is right around 3000#. The FEL adds another thousand. Wheel spacing is set at 63". We could go wider but then our trail work would be more problematic.

Slopes are max at 20 degrees... which gave me quite a bit of seat pucker my first time out on the big meadow. We do not cut across the slopes. Up and down only. Some places it is backing up and down, no turning up top. When up slope, you want to keep the tractor in gear... a mistake at the top can have you flying down the hill at a crazy rate of speed with no or little ability to stop. Learn to use the FEL to help hold if changing gears up top. (Lesson learned the hard way.)

Slow is my answer. Yeah, I love riding the tractor for 12 hours straight! NOT!. Fast is how I got in trouble every time. Slow. Take breaks. Stay fresh. You need your brain for when things go sideways and they will.

Seat belt on. ROPS up. Seat switch functional. You don't want to be tossed off the tractor and then be run over by the mower. On slopes, do not defeat that switch... I have a defeat for my switch.. I rarely use it.

Lots here will tell you to load the tires as should the dealer. We feel that would be a bad idea for the trails we are developing so we do not have them loaded. Maybe someday our opinion will change but not yet. We don't need the weight to do our driveway work as we get plenty of traction to drag our grader blade and box blade. We don't feel we need more rear weight for mowing, light lifting, and so on. We are ever conscious of the limits when lifting and always have ballast on the back. (Another lesson learned the hard way.)

I don't know the tractors you are looking at. I have a colleague who loves his sub-compact Kubota on hilly ground. He runs all over, has about 10 acres, mows it all. He is running a mid-mount mower.

I've learned reading on TBN that strong opinions exist. You have been given much to think about but in the end, it is your decision. You get to choose and I doubt you will make a wrong choice.

You can't be the only family on that hill. What are others doing to maintain their property? Perhaps talking with them would give a better feel for how to manage you 6 acres?

We have a neighbor who has 15-20 head of cattle, does a lot of haying, lifts big rounds in the winter for the cattle. He has a full size JD tractor for much of that work. He has a skid steer and heavy duty front loader/back hoe - which I have never seen him run. He produces hay on 100 acres give or take.. If I have a tractor question about operating on the slopes of the mountain we share, Larry is my go to. My recommendation: talk to a neighbor and see what they have to say.

 

[kenmbz]

Welcome to TBN and you have a very nice layout.
I went scut due to a lot of small trails and access areas for my 6 acres.
You have more open areas, so a larger tractor makes more sense.
I have a flail to mow the trails, but use a lawntractor for mowing.

Good luck on the hunt, go drive some tractors and get a feel for them helps too.

 

[blue9steel]

Anything to add weight down low, since the tires are on the ground typically thats the easiest way. Tire weights are similar but the weight is slightly higher. Everyone talks spacers but not many talk adjusting the tires! Many tractors have adjustable tires, if you don't have to put it on a trailer or fit them through a gate there's not a good reason not to adjust them out. Once you add spacers you may or may not be within the design specs and could start to see premature wear on the machine...maybe.

That reminds me of a requirement I hadn't mentioned before. The tractor should fit through a standard horse gate, anything wider than that would be pretty inconvenient. I should probably go out with a measuring tape and figure out how wide that is.

 

[newbury]

Fair point. I could buy an MX if I really wanted one but I don't think it would be a good use of funds, lots of other stuff to buy around here. The tractor itself is reasonable but when you throw in implements it got over $70k. Not mention I was already in sticker shock over the smaller sizes given that I've never bought a tractor before. I was just trying to point out that it's not going to be a "work" tractor in any sense of the word. Also, I need to park the darn thing somewhere so that's a consideration. Haven't really got a clue what I'm doing yet, just doing a lot of reading and watching videos. I've basically been thinking what's the smallest tractor that would do the job, then go one size larger. I appreciate all the feedback.

Can someone explain how I should be thinking about stability given the slope? Is that just a factor of weight and wheel base or is there more going on there?

Ok, so like the old joke goes, we've established a price range. Keep it under $70 right?

A MMM for one of the large B's runs about $4K. That would buy a decent ZTR. If your mowing is limited to the area around the house doing it with a tractor larger than a B would be problematic, lot's of trees etc. to go around. A and pucker factornd that seems to be where your greatest slopes are.

So it seems that a minimal ZTR would save you a lot of time.

As far as stability a ZTR can be a lot more stable than a tractor without duallies. And yes it's a factor of basic physics. Which includes soil and micro environment.
Dropping a wheel into soft wet soil with a full bucket of gravel may cause cause you to tip over.
And if you are extremely lucky one spouse could operate the ZTR while one operates the tractor

I'd be more concerned with storage. Four horses, 2 vehicles, would seem to require more barn/shed space.
As far as "park the darn thing somewhere" in your area a small carport would do well.

Place looks fantastic.
/edit

And the B would be better for cleaning out stalls.

 

[blue9steel]

Ok, so like the old joke goes, we've established a price range. Keep it under $70 right?

Hah, yes I think that's a fair statement. Honestly I'd like to keep it quite a bit less than that if possible. $30k-$50k maybe? I don't need to shave every dollar, but $10K increments are real money for me.

A MMM for one of the large B's runs about $4K. That would buy a decent ZTR. If your mowing is limited to the area around the house doing it with a tractor larger than a B would be problematic, lot's of trees etc. to go around. A and pucker factornd that seems to be where your greatest slopes are.

Mowing is mostly the house area, paths near the pastures and the bottom section. For a B2601 a standard mid-mount:

1 60" MID-MOUNT MOWER$3,062.00 (RCK60-32)

I think they also have a drive over version for that size but I'm not sure about pricing. A zero turn mower is going to be more than $3k, but even if it's double that's likely doable if it makes sense.

So it seems that a minimal ZTR would save you a lot of time.
As far as stability a ZTR can be a lot more stable than a tractor without duallies. And yes it's a factor of basic physics. Which includes soil and micro environment.

I'm not sure about time savings, but the additional stability is a strong argument.

Dropping a wheel into soft wet soil with a full bucket of gravel may cause cause you to tip over.
And if you are extremely lucky one spouse could operate the ZTR while one operates the tractor

I can see my wife running the tractor if it's horse related stuff. I'll be surprised if she does any mowing. You've got a point that it could allow simultaneous work though. My dad would probably come run some of the equipment as well.

I'd be more concerned with storage. Four horses, 2 vehicles, would seem to require more barn/shed space.
As far as "park the darn thing somewhere" in your area a small carport would do well.

Yeah, that's a good point. The cars we're ok parking outside but equipment should be under cover. Horses mostly live outside or in run-in sheds. We have stalls but they're only in there if it's truly miserable outside.

Place looks fantastic.

Thanks, we love it here. We've been trying to buy a place like this for 10 years.

And the B would be better for cleaning out stalls.

No idea how that would even work with the doors we have. Not a huge need for that though, rake and wheelbarrow are plenty for our minimal stall cleaning needs.

 

[WADFL]

My neigbhbor has a B2650 and I have a L2501. He bought his after I bought mine.
They are very compatible, the B is like having a loaded Ford Ranger and the L is like having a base model F150.
The L can do everything (minus MMM) the B can do, but the B will always be limited by size. And they both cost within 1k of each other. The B has a little nice operator station. The L is larger, heavier, and can ultimately do more.

Beautiful place you have there, enjoy it, and let us know what you decide. Right now you might be limited to what you can get in a reasonable timeframe.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

You mentioned wether to get the BH or not..... usually cheaper when buying with the tractor initially.... to the tune of saving close to 40% of the cost.

After having 2 tractors with the BH attachment, I probably would not buy a tractor without one! It is just too handy to have when needed. We don't have a rental yard near us (closest is 40 miles away) so having one at my fingertips is fantastic! I have used it for more than I ever thought I would. Everyone's situation is different, but I think you would put it to use frequently with what you describe.

Not sure if Kubota is like that (major discount... probably not). Most of the other brands offer this substantial discount. You should definitely shop around the other brands.... at least for a comparison.

I purchased my LS with the BH, 2 remotes, heavy box blade, and a 3 point post hole digger for $10K less than the comparable Kubota L2501 with only the BH. And the LS out specs the Kubota.

Not sure if you will be doing your own maintenance/repairs..... if that is something that you will need to have a dealer do for you, then close proximity would be important. Don't overlook other dealers / brands solely due to distance. I have owned 5 tractors in my life.... none have ever been back to the dealer for anything. My last 2 were purchased from dealers 500 miles away from me, getting the best deals by shopping around.

Good luck with your search / purchase.

 

[blue9steel]

You mentioned wether to get the BH or not..... usually cheaper when buying with the tractor initially.... to the tune of saving close to 40% of the cost.

After having 2 tractors with the BH attachment, I probably would not buy a tractor without one! It is just too handy to have when needed. We don't have a rental yard near us (closest is 40 miles away) so having one at my fingertips is fantastic! I have used it for more than I ever thought I would. Everyone's situation is different, but I think you would put it to use frequently with what you describe.

I'm leaning towards getting it with the thumb option. While I might not always be digging, I can think of lots scenarios where I'd want to lift or hold up something heavy. The ability to do some trenching and moderate digging / leveling work sounds pretty handy.

Not sure if you will be doing your own maintenance/repairs..... if that is something that you will need to have a dealer do for you, then close proximity would be important. Don't overlook other dealers / brands solely due to distance. I have owned 5 tractors in my life.... none have ever been back to the dealer for anything. My last 2 were purchased from dealers 500 miles away from me, getting the best deals by shopping around.

I would probably do any of the trivial maintenance, but given how busy my day job is it's likely going to the dealer for any significant amount of mechanical work. That doesn't rule out some of the other choices but it makes them less convenient. My current plan is to go chat with the local folks and get a feel for them and their pricing. If I like them great, if I'm not sure then I'll shop a wider range.

 

[blue9steel]

My neigbhbor has a B2650 and I have a L2501. He bought his after I bought mine.
They are very compatible, the B is like having a loaded Ford Ranger and the L is like having a base model F150.

Good comparison thanks. For trucks we have a 2004 Dodge 3500 1 Ton Long Bed with the Laramie package. That replaced our old F250 Heavy Duty that was struggling a bit with our heavy trailer and Warmblood horses, especially uphill.

The L can do everything (minus MMM) the B can do, but the B will always be limited by size. And they both cost within 1k of each other. The B has a little nice operator station. The L is larger, heavier, and can ultimately do more.

Yeah, I think I need to go in and kick the tires, sit in the seats and see what I think of the sizing.

Beautiful place you have there, enjoy it, and let us know what you decide.

I'll make sure to post the results with pictures, it's the least I can do after all the free advice. Besides, I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions once I own the thing.

Right now you might be limited to what you can get in a reasonable timeframe.

That will likely influence my decision more than normal. I need a mower of some sort pretty soon (weeks) and I need gravel moving capability within a couple of months at the most.

 

[blue9steel]

That reminds me of a requirement I hadn't mentioned before. The tractor should fit through a standard horse gate, anything wider than that would be pretty inconvenient. I should probably go out with a measuring tape and figure out how wide that is.

Ok, so our gates are surprisingly non-standardized considering they're all commercial panels, but the smallest is 86" post to post. The largest wheelbase (out of the B, LX, L) is the LX at 65.6" so that shouldn't be a big deal for anything I'm looking at and I don't plan to buy any huge implements that are much wider than the tractor.