New to tractors, did a lot of reading, still need advice :)

[smp22]

Hi All. We purchased our first rural property and we move in January. We're leaving a familiar life in the city and I have no friends or relatives that live in the country. This means I have zero experience with tractors or managing a rural property. Probably bit off more than we can chew but it's not unlike many other life decisions I've made in the past - those seemed to work out ok

We have 5 to 6 acres of lawn and a 750 gravel drive. There is a slope to the property but it's not drastic or anything, gentle slope I would say. There are a few areas where the slope is a bit more than gentle.

Needs:

Clearing snow is #1 priority in winter. We're up north of the GTA about an hour (that's north of the Greater Toronto Area to those from elsewhere) so I expect a lot of snowfall. I am commuting to my job in downtown Toronto so digging myself out is a top priority. I can't miss work, though I am resolved that some days will just have to be "work from home" days. I'm not risking my vehicle and my neck to make it into work when the conditions are TERRIBLE. However, within reason, I need to get there so the first order of business is keeping that 750' long drive cleared.

Mowing the lawn is #1 priority in summer. The current owner has maintained the property very nicely and I'de like to continue to do the same. He's using a JD compact with a 60" mid mount mower. He won't sell it to me though! (I asked, he has a friend that wants it)

In regards to "all the rest" of the things I might get up to:
- digging out post holes for fences and decks
- moving firewood and material around
- grading the drive
- gravel loads and grading for concrete pours (patios, walkways)
- demolition of old wooden walkways, patios, gazebo, etc. All rotten.

I like to "buy once and buy it right". However, tractors are expensive! (hah!)

I'm concerned the BX series will be too small. I would like a snowblower, rear mount, with front end loader for pushing snow when needed. The BX price tag is more manageable however.
The B series comes in basic and premium and the premium stuff is too much money, not to mention that none of them come with any implements standard. More money. the B2320 is priced nicely on the kubota canada website. Will I need more power however?

We plan to live here a long time, maybe forever, so buying the right tractor is an important decision. We can probably get by contracting out the snow removal the first year but to be honest, I'm stingy and would prefer that money go to paying for my tractor and not some other guys'. I am practical though, so if the advice is "wait and see" then perhaps that's the correct course of action.

I'm not opposed to buying used but I've discovered that tractors really hold their value, so not sure it's a good value to buy used factoring in zero percent financing and the nice warranty that is offered on new units. I'm handy and work on all my cars, motorcycles, snowblowers, boat engine, etc. However at this stage in my life (we are planning on kids) time is the real commodity rather than my willingness to do work.

As you can tell, I'm primarily interested in the Kubotas, but this is only because their website is the most "newb friendly" and there is a lot of youtube videos etc about the kubotas. Their warranty and financing are very appealing too. I like name brands for most things because I like support should anything go wrong and I like good resale. I really like the JD 2520, but they are expensive used. The new JDs don't look like a good value when comparing to new Kubotas. Before I even knew what a John Deere was however, green and yellow was my favourite color combo, and still is. I know it's childish but there's a part of me that really wants a green tractor.

Your opinions and time are much appreciated
Steve

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
To the TBN forum Steve. You came to the right place for us to spend YOUR money.

You don't want to buy too small and then need more later but you can normally get by with less if you don't mind spending more time to get it done. With the snow and weather you get, I would recommend a cabbed tractor if you can afford it.

You should go test drive a few tractors to find out how they respond and how you like them. It will help you decide if you want Geared, Shuttle, or HST.

Keep us informed as you test each one and we can answer specific questions then. Happy hunting.

 

[Rocky J]

Congratulations on your big move to the country, hearing the excitement in your words takes me back 25 years ago when I did it. Did not have forums to go to back then , just hoped for the best. I think coming on here is very smart, talking to the end user is better then the dealer. I have not had anything new or even made in the last two century's but have moved snow with anything that had a engine. When the snow is dry you cant beat a two stage snowblower but that is where it stops, wet snow takes a lot of horse power and slow gears, a cab is a must , you would be dripping wet in 10 minutes with out it.I have a snow blower and cab and have not put it on in 4 years. I tried a pickup with a plow , after about a foot deep you can not get it to roll over the top of the bank edge, you start in the early winter plowing back about 15 foot and it forces you back in a little bit each time you plow . The loader with a hydro peddle or shuttle and power steering is the all around best. If you cant push it you pick it up and move it. If you get stuck you use the bucket to push your self out. Winter snow for me comes from the north west so I push the snow till I get a big pile in front of the bucket then turn at a angle out into the yard to the south so it dont fill back in with a drift. Sometimes when it blows for days and the drive is 4 foot deep I adventure plow out through the shallow drifts in the yard , it will blow back in a few day but at that time it was the quickest way. Make sure the roll bars fold down to clear the trees when mowing. I have a belly mower on my IH Cub and it will cut as fine as my zero turn or Toro Grounds Master and I spray around my stuff instead of trimming (Round Up) . 5 acres is enough with out trimming. If I could get rid of all these antiques and buy one newer one to start over I would. I would want Hydro 4x4 with power steering , gas engine with a three way loader bucket.

 

[roadhunter]

Cabbed tractor for most tasks and a dedicated mower would be my recommendation. For mowing it's hard to beat a dedicated machine.

Id get the snow figured out ASAP as between clearing snow and driving an hour living in the "country" is going to be time consuming. Bigger is better as far as moving snow. Toy tractors are just then when you are dealing with large volumes of snow in large areas.

We get hammered by snowstorms with 10+ ft drifts sometimes and my 45 hp Bobcat/kioti felt like a toy at times. Especially when the neighbors come over to help with real tractors because they felt sorry for me and my little toy tractor. I upgraded last winter and it's much better now. Cost was about the same but I had to go 10 years old and with 1,000 hours to get what I wanted.

 

[9973720wb19]

a tractor will allow you do a lot of tasks and be independent, but I'd bet some day you'll get a Z mower. I found tractors to be a bit too slow for mowing.

 

[smp22]

Thanks for the replies so far!
Money _is_ and object. Everything I've seen with a cab is $$$ so not likely to happen. Ski goggles and good outerwear will have to do.

What do you guys think of the B2320? I know the 2301 has replaced it but they are still available new and priced nicely.
New is nice because of warranty and financing. Buying used I'm at a disadvantage because I know nothing about tractors.

 

[jeff9366]

Kubota L2501/HST.

LINK: http://www.kubota.com/product/LSeries/L2501.aspx

100 cubic inch /25-horsepower engine, significantly heavier chassis.

5' implements, rather than 4' implements.

 

[NC419N]

a tractor will allow you do a lot of tasks and be independent, but I'd bet some day you'll get a Z mower. I found tractors to be a bit too slow for mowing.

Very correct assessment!!

 

[oosik]

Welcome to TBN Steve. I've had open station(no cab) tractors for the 34 years I've been here and I'm older than dirt - born in '42. Proper winter attire will allow you to clear the driveway and enjoy being out of doors. My gravel driveway is a mile long and, when I worked - retired now, there were quite a few days that I was up EARLY clearing the driveway. Many of those days - the first pass down the driveway revealed that the county had not yet cleared their paved road and no matter how nicely I "did" the driveway - the county road was still undriveable. I can remember some times it was two days before the plows got to our county road after a major storm.

Rear mounted PTO driven snow thrower - its slower - takes more time to clear any given area BUT you will not be left with the impossible to move berm build up along each side of the driveway. You may not need such a big tractor either......

Rear blade - works best when you drive moderately fast - so it will clear any given area faster than a blower. But unless you have time to work hours with the bucket on the FEL, it will take a bigger tractor to clear the hard, frozen berms along the driveway or a snow thrower.

Example - for the first 27 years I maintained my property and cleared snow with my Ford 1700 4WD tractor(28 hp). It did an EXCELLENT job of clearing the snow but berms did build and slowly but surely the driveway got narrower & narrower. Try as I did - it didn't have the weight to clear the berms. I ended up getting a 3-point snow thrower and on weekends, when I had plenty of time, I'd blow back the berms. It was a workable solution - it took 3 to 4 hours to clear the berms on the driveway, clear the snow around the mail box, and open up my yard.

I ended up getting my M6040 Kubota seven years ago. It has the weight to clear berms with just the rear blade. It has the weight & power to maintain my - turn to concrete - driveway in the summer. Its able to handle bigger tasks than were ever possible with the Ford.

So - it sort of ends up being, how much time do you want to spend completing the many tasks on your newly acquired property. I've found it to very rewarding to be out on the tractor, out on my property as often and as long as possible.

 

[kthompson]

No idea what the market is like there but you do well to consider used. Depending on the ground you are mowing a tractor and the right kind of finishing mower can do a great job, not near as good as a zero turn mower in tight spots but in big open areas can do very good with right mower for the tractor. Not sure anyone suggested youtube but as with anything on youtube some is junk and some is very good but videos showing about any job you want to see how others do it. Some you will watch to learn how NOT TO but there are some good tips out there showing machines in action.