Noob needs advice on tractors

[The Dougster]

Hmmm... thus far, you have gotten good advice. As Farmwithjunk mentioned, talk to others that know the area you are in. They can save yuo some heartache.
I have 225 acres of Central Texas rock, weeds, mesquite, etc with 1/2 mile of driveway and do nicely with a L2800, 4x4, FEL, 5' bush hog, drag box and disc harrow. Yes, there are times I'd prefer a little bigger tractor but they are rare. Mine mows under most trees without a problem.. Good luck..

 

[Soundguy]

for 4ac of orchards.. smaller is better.. though depends on spacings.. and if you are pulling a blower.. tight spaces and big tractors have problems.. I got a great deal on my 95 hp New holland cuz the owner needed a 50 hp tractor and bought 95 and kept smacking limbs...

that said,... you may find somehting inthe 35-50hp rang a good compromise.. that or a small tractor inthe 20-30 range PLUS a larger machine. reason i say that is 30ac of hogging on a machine with a 5' mower.. (20-30hp) could be 15-20 hrs of mowing depending on terains and obstacles and conditions.. toss in a 50hp machine and an 8' mower and you get closer to 8-12 hrs.. etc.. etc.

if you have the room.. I suggest you buy the largest that won't hinder you any... no one complaines about having a few extra hp.. having a few not enough might be an issue though.

for sure.. a 20-35hp machine will mow all of it in time, and will pull small discs and a dual bottom plow.. pull a cart or trailer.. and most light to light medium tillage... some big sprayers will be too large for that machine though.. but if you aren't using that equipment.....

soundguy

Greetings to all

I need a tractor to work about 4 acres and don't know what I am looking at when I am looking for one to buy. I want to do some small scale farming and orchard tending on the 4 acres. I also have another 30 acres that just needs bush hogging about once a year to keep the other trees under some sort of control. I was told that something between 25-35 hp would do. Is that true? If I find something about 10-20hp bigger will I be struck down by lightning? How big is too big? (Boy, that could go wrong really fast.....)

I plan on using a bush hog, disc harrow (sp?) and the occasional box blade/scraper thingy to manage the dirt driveway. A front end loader would be nice too so I need to know what can handle all of that. I do not want a gas engine. And a ROPS is a must-have for me.

What tractors are easiest to work on? to get parts for? not rarer than hen's teeth? Which ones should I avoid like the plague and which are the best overall?

I am not a total noob, just mostly. I know how to operate a tractor and hook up attachments to the 3 point, I just don't have a clue about what to look for in the classifieds. Its like knowing how to drive a car and looking for one to buy when you don't know the difference between a turbo diesel 4x4 truck and a Honda Civic.