O my, I am comfused

[gladehound]

You guys have valid points but I'm. But I'm the type of guy he says well I want a sports car but need a family car. Well not gonna buy 2 cars. I'm be happy with my Volvo v70r 300 horsepower wagon. It's the best of both worlds combined. By far not the best sports car, propably a better family car. But for way better then having 2 cars.

A 300 horsepower wagon doesn't put ruts in your driveway.

I appreciate everything being told. I'm not going to into the woods like a atv, but I also want something a little stronger then what the scut are offering. Their is some tight manuvering and I will have some thinking to do with the bigger machine. Not everything is perfect, 2 machine is not a go. Rather go buy a new riding lawn mower to replace my d125 and rent skid steer to do my cleaning work. I would estimate spending at least 4-6 grand renting machines to clean up my yard. Which still leaves me with no machine to do any other projects my future brings.

You have talked yourself up to a 20K budget. Why not 2K -5K for a good mower and the rest for a loader machine (not necessarily a CUT but maybe a CUT) to do the other stuff. Is storage space an issue? I'm just trying to understand why you feel compelled to only own one machine. A new / newish mower and a dinosaur for the woods makes sense and you get a lot for your money.

Now that I've thought about it more, the loader specs on the Massey seem very low for a $20K tractor. I spent the same on my tractor last December and have well over twice the loader lift/breakout. However, I do not have an HST.

I wont talk about what to look for in a gear tractor for loader work unless you indicate you may go that direction.

I am by no means trying to tell you what to do with your money, I'm simply sharing how I think about it in case my thought process is of use to you. I really don't care what you buy, and I do hope you are happy with your final decision.

 

[tractorshopper]

Tractorshopper,

The landpride you got and had installed . . Did that include the landpride 3rd function unit too or was that additional cost ?

Also . . Does it attach by quick attach or is your bucket quick attach or . . . ???

AxleHub, it included everything. I have a diverter valve instead of "3rd function", but I don't notice any difference. It's plumbed into the power beyond port. I can open/close while raising/lowering/curling, etc. The dealer did tell me he overlooked the fact that I needed the QA for it because it wasn't on the machine originally, but he ate the cost and changed it out for me. Couple hundred if I remember right.

 

[tractorshopper]

GladeHound,

Why not 8-10k more for a larger, even heavier, more capable CUT or UT? ;-)

I actually think your recommendation of a mower and used skid steer is a good one that should be considered. I personally think Nikko is going way overboard for such a small property and will regret it when the tractor sits idle often or when he tears his lawn to pieces, but that's my just my opinion and I'm going to leave it alone now.

 

[gladehound]

GladeHound,

Why not 8-10k more for a larger, even heavier, more capable CUT or UT? ;-) .

I'm right there with ya!

I actually think your recommendation of a mower and used skid steer is a good one that should be considered. I personally think Nikko is going way overboard for such a small property and will regret it when the tractor sits idle often or when he tears his lawn to pieces, but that's my just my opinion and I'm going to leave it alone now.

I don't think Nikko is going overboard, but I do think he is compromising too much. Too heavy for lawn (will compact ground and results in an unhealthy lawn) and not enough FEL for woods work. IMHO.

What you want the machine to be able to do and how fast determines machine size and type. I'd love to have a 90 hp tractor on my 2 acres. But I have a feeling my layout and uses are different than Nikko's.

 

[Ooklaa]

For fel work without split brakes this tractor will be difficult to work with unless the ground is dry. The 68 inch wheelbase is rather long for a small tractor resulting in wider radius turns. This tractor would be better suited for work in open areas than a more confined suburban lot with trees and plantings. This tractor is not well suited for mowing a lawn with trees and other obstacles which I suspect will be the primary need of the OP. It also isn't well suited for fel work, without split brakes you cant back drag the fel very far before you need to stop and correct your heading. Driving forward with the fel bucket down with turf tires would be even more difficult to steer. While chains will help somewhat with steering putting them on and taking them off to change between mowing and landscape work will get old real fast.



I would recommend that most consumers buy what will work the best for 90% of their needs, the remaining work 10% you deal with best you can.

Please explain the front end loader work being diificult unles ground is dry without split brakes? I understand the dual pedals brakes and the purpose, but what makes it difficult when your doing fel work? im pretty sure id being go slow especillay when clearing my property or moving logs around when i get my grapples on. I also understand slamming brakes and the dangers on the machine tipping. I highly doubt i will ever even put it in turle mode let alone rabbit. Snail at full rpms was actually a good speed for my property especially for rookie like myself.

Please explain also going in reverse how will i loose my heading with single brakes with the fel down?

I see you have many posts so i will listen to what you say, but are speaking for the worst possible condistion for a tractor in mud?

I mean im buying a tractor not a 4 wheeler. If its wet and then property is very damp i womt do loader work and cut the grass.

As far as the chains and getting old real fast, thats not how my standards are. Yes it will be difficult but so what, im healthy and strong and dont mind extra labor and getting dirty. If you guys are coming from 20-30 years experience this is wisdom, but guess what you made do with what you had or have and figured out how to do something just as good with less.

You state about by what you need now and figure out the 10 percent later. Well my 10 percent is gonna cost 9,000 for a company to come in and clear and seed everything. So sometimes its the 10 percent that eats money up real fast, like the low lifes that dont work in America.

 

[Carl_NH]

Ooklaa,

The split brakes enable correction by feathering the brakes on the L R rear wheels to correct your direction rather than using the steering wheel (when the front tires have little grip), so yes this has its place, but in reality I doubt many use brakes for "steering" in this manner.

However I have split brakes on my HST and never in 15 years have used them in this manner, but growing up with 2WD for 20 years on tractors I used this all the time to turn faster, to get out of muck and more, so IMO the use of brakes for steering is a left over from 2WD, that said each of us has their own usage cases that work best for us.

On the subject of chains, the reality is if you have a day job, you get 4-8 hours to "get stuff done on the weekends" cut and drag trees in the AM, cut grass in the PM, then move cut wood around or whatever you decide to do. Once you have a tractor it will become the "wheelbarrow" to do all sorts of things. Chains are great but once you take 40 minutes putting them on, and then taking them off to mow the grass, the experience from users here is put them on and leave them on for snow removal etc, then in the spring take them off.

On the subject of R4 vs Turf there are so many opinions it's more of a personal preference, I like R4's because they are tough and are best around rocks and stumps, but to each his own.

 

[gladehound]

Nikko - How much area are you going to clear and seed? I'm just curious.

I personally don't think not having the split brakes is that big a deal. It is a convenience but you can work around it for the most part. I've never needed them for back dragging. But I'm better with a rear blade than with the bucket anyway. There is one time that I absolutely needed them. I broke a steering arm deep in thick woods with my 4 foot wide tractor. The widest path in was 52" between big trees so getting something in there pull my tractor out wasn't happening. I lifted the front with the bucket and used the bucket as a skid while I steered with the rear brakes. Drove it right onto my trailer that way too.

I did a lot of clearing with a similar size tractor to what you are looking at. My KiotiLB1914 was 2300 pounds with FEL breakout of 1600 and full lift of 850. Breakout is most important. That figure is at the pins. At the bucket edge mine was 1200 pounds. I often had to lift the front wheels and curl with the tractor pushing down on the back of the bucket to pop brush out of the ground. And it could not lift many 2 inch trees straight out of the ground. But it did push over several 60 foot tall trees up to 10 inches in diameter and pop the root balls right out. But there were other similar looking trees that it couldn't budge. So it is hit and miss. I've attached a video of the little 19hp in action. This gives you an idea of what a tractor this size can do. Although the tractor you are looking at is more hp, it is similar in weight and FEL break out which are more important for getting things done in the woods. I would expect it to be similar in the woods. In the video the tractor is ballasted to ~5,000 pounds which helps with pushing over trees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWbpLat51JQ

I used to use chains in the snow. But I found that my v-bar chains tore up the concrete in my storage barn so I stopped using them and grooved all my tires. With turfs and 4wd I don't think you'll need the chains in the snow. And as long as the woods aren't muddy you won't need them there either.

I understand why you want to get what you want to get. You are a lot like I was when I moved to my current property 10 years ago. Look at this as a learning experience. It's OK, not to keep your first machine for life. You might decide something else will work better for you later. As was mentioned previously, low hour tractors don't depreciate much. There are quicker ways to lose money than buying a tractor.

 

[dragoneggs]

I do think OP is going overboard wanting a CUT to do it all on 2 acres. Yeah it might lift a little more than a SCUT but it's gonna rip up the nice lawn. If you really are trying to get one machine to do it all reasonably well on a small property a CUT is not the answer in my opinion. I'm saying SCUT and dedicated mower. New, used, whatever. I should probably shut up now. You're probably tired of hearing my point of view. But please note I'm not the only one talking this silliness.

 

[jenkinsph]

Please explain the front end loader work being diificult unles ground is dry without split brakes? I understand the dual pedals brakes and the purpose, but what makes it difficult when your doing fel work? im pretty sure id being go slow especillay when clearing my property or moving logs around when i get my grapples on. I also understand slamming brakes and the dangers on the machine tipping. I highly doubt i will ever even put it in turle mode let alone rabbit. Snail at full rpms was actually a good speed for my property especially for rookie like myself.

When you drop the bucket to the ground and push forward the bucket controls where the tractors goes to a large degree. With front turf tires that are smooth the front wheels can't provide enough steering because they will slip and slide too much. If you look at the older 2wd tractors with R1 tires the fronts tires had ribs to aid with steering. I do recommend the turf tires if you are going to mow with this tractor. Having split brakes would help steer the tractor regardless of what tires are selected.

[/QUOTE]
Please explain also going in reverse how will i loose my heading with single brakes with the fel down?[/QUOTE]

With the blade down pressed against the ground the differences in the soil will often cause the bucket to drift left or right. This in effect steers the tractor off course. This is easily corrected by touching the right or left brake and straightening up your heading.


[/QUOTE]I see you have many posts so i will listen to what you say, but are speaking for the worst possible condistion for a tractor in mud?

I mean im buying a tractor not a 4 wheeler. If its wet and then property is very damp i womt do loader work and cut the grass. [/QUOTE]

The best thing to do if it is too wet is to park the tractor. Some people with livestock to feed don't have a choice though. In your case it is good you recognize when to use the tractor and when to park it. There are a lot of slow learners out there. About the worst possible conditions question, the answer is you can need the steering brakes in dry weather to keep the tractor running straight. To be clear the smoother the tires are the more the problem of side drift becomes.

[/QUOTE]As far as the chains and getting old real fast, thats not how my standards are. Yes it will be difficult but so what, im healthy and strong and dont mind extra labor and getting dirty. If you guys are coming from 20-30 years experience this is wisdom, but guess what you made do with what you had or have and figured out how to do something just as good with less. [/QUOTE]

I suggested a way to use two machines within the budget parameters that you mentioned. Just my opinion with about 50 years of experience it is a matter of best bang for the buck. A new mower to allow you to quickly get that job done and keep it in good shape. For the other 10% I had suggested a used older tractor but as other have since mentioned a used skid steer is another option.

[/QUOTE]You state about by what you need now and figure out the 10 percent later. Well my 10 percent is gonna cost 9,000 for a company to come in and clear and seed everything. So sometimes its the 10 percent that eats money up real fast, like the low lifes that dont work in America.[/QUOTE]

Hard to comment on this 10% cost as I haven't seen pictures of the property. But I do have a business that does this kind of work and post jobs from time to time. As a lot of the members have been telling you it is best to have larger equipment for the heavy jobs and light mowers that are nimble to maintain the lawn areas.

 

[gladehound]

I do think OP is going overboard wanting a CUT to do it all on 2 acres. Yeah it might lift a little more than a SCUT but it's gonna rip up the nice lawn. If you really are trying to get one machine to do it all reasonably well on a small property a CUT is not the answer in my opinion. I'm saying SCUT and dedicated mower. New, used, whatever. I should probably shut up now. You're probably tired of hearing my point of view. But please note I'm not the only one talking this silliness.

If you're going to get a dedicated mower... what is the point of getting a SCUT instead of a CUT? The SCUT makes some sense to me if you want one machine to mow and do loader / 3pt tasks. But once you have a dedicated mower, I only see disadvantages to a SCUT vs CUT or Utility or skid steer.