Buying Advice Old utility tractor vs. newer compact tractor?

[mo1]

I have both kinds. Like the treadle Kubota, survive the twin pedal JD without any real problem except getting stuck in the chest with branches because I can't work the twin pedal as quickly. Wouldn't be a make or break item. JD had direct injection before Kubota and after being surprised how much my Kubota L5640 could suck down under max load I checked Rhine fuel consumption specs and found the Deere would have whupped the Kubota. Still I rarely see CUT drivers run hard enough to use much fuel. People brag about less than 1 gallon per hour fuel usage. Go to the manufacturer's numbers and they're running about 25% power. 7' tiller sounds large for the size tractor you want. In our soil my 7' King Kutter is all my L5740 can handle but our soil sucks and in SW MO you are probably talking cotton land type soil that almost tills itself.

The official documentation for his 7' tiller doesn't list PTO HP but the reseller he bought it from states that the PTO HP range is 25-50. The soil in central MO is pretty thick and heavy and full of clay. He runs the tiller with the 1700 rpm economy PTO setting on his 5083E and the tractor doesn't know it's back there. Granted a 5083E even at 1700 rpm probably still makes twice the PTO HP of the compact units I am looking at. The soil in SW MO is thin and full of gravel so likely even easier to till up.

I'll have to do some butt time to see if I prefer a treadle or a two-pedal control.

 

[jimpen]

The other consideration if you buy new is a backhoe. Buying later can be expensive.

But if you are going to dig out tree stumps I would suggest it.

 

[Fallon]

I went with a Kubota L3200 over the equivalent John Deere, a few more features & better build quality in my opinion. Not much, but enough (turning brakes, 3 range HST instead of 2, folding ROPS, etc.).

My 3pt is a little rough, but liveable, the 1 01 series I poked at had a smooth hitch & insignificant cosmetic changes from my L3200 in addition to the tier 4 emissions stuff. I haven't heard of any 01s having a rough hitch, but I'm not sure if it's settled that they finally fixed things or not yet. It is an issue, but for most people it's not that bad of an issue if they even notice it. Also, it only shows up with an implement on the lift when you raise it in small incriments, it usually doesn't present with no weight on the hitch.

I got R4 tires to minimize carrying capacity & field damage. Generally I've been happy with them. The dealer (just opened up) didn't have the pumps & fluid to load the tires, so I got it unloaded. I had ballast issues with the loader & was traction limited. Dealer got the stuff in & I finally got around to taking it in to get the tires loaded. I now only have traction issues in mud (the compromise of R4s) and am mostly HP limited (kind of wish I'd gotten a L3800 sometimes) and the loader is solid even if I occasionally lift something without proper ballast on the back (which you should have even with loaded tires).

I still may end up selling the L3200 off here at some point, but that mostly has to do with not having a cab & me wanting a Grand or other pimped out tractor compared to the economy model (and can afford it). If/when it comes to that I'll be looking at Green as well as both colors of Orange (Kioti too).

 

[Marveltone]

mo1, sounds like a lot of guys are trying to talk you into hydrostatic drive. My mower has hydro, but all three of my tractors have gears, including the one with the loader. With 12 forward gears and 4 reverse, plus shuttle shift, it does rather nicely. Hydro would be nice for snow blowing and some loader work, but to me, it's not a deal breaker, as I prefer gears for mowing, brush cutting (same thing?), raking hay, and ground engaging field work. I don't regret my gears.

In the end, you know what you're familiar with and want to operate. Get what will fit you, not someone else.

Joe

 

[Cherokee140]

I looked at both gear and fluid drive, on one of the machines I looked at IIRC the hydro was over $2k more. I also had every tractor before being gear driven (8n, JD 70 JD 650). But now that I have the new tractor I really do think that the Hydro is much more handy for tight work, and I am in and out of trees a great deal. I do not remember if you are trying to squeeze into tight areas or not, but to have the ability to have the RPM's up and pushing very slow with the bucket ripping out little trees and moving around trees you want to save is very handy.

I also did not think it was a deal breaker, but I can say it sure is much more easy to do it with the hydro....Just getting the 650 in to blade away some of the dug up trees/vines/dirt/mess in general is harder to do with the clutch and such.

 

[Cherokee140]

I looked at both gear and fluid drive, on one of the machines I looked at IIRC the hydro was over $2k more. I also had every tractor before being gear driven (8n, JD 70 JD 650). But now that I have the new tractor I really do think that the Hydro is much more handy for tight work, and I am in and out of trees a great deal. I do not remember if you are trying to squeeze into tight areas or not, but to have the ability to have the RPM's up and pushing very slow with the bucket ripping out little trees and moving around trees you want to save is very handy.

I also did not think it was a deal breaker, but I can say it sure is much more easy to do it with the hydro....Just getting the 650 in to blade away some of the dug up trees/vines/dirt/mess in general is harder to do with the clutch and such.

 

[mo1]

I did some more looking and simple availability of the different kinds of transmissions will likely dictate what I get. Gear transmissions don't even really start to appear in tractors until you get into the medium-frame compact sized units (Deere 3 series, Kubota L, NH/LS 3xxx series, Massey 17xx series). Even then they're not all that common. Kubota and Massey in particular really gimp their gear-drive tractors as their sub-40 hp gear units do not have a live PTO which is a definite deal breaker when my main job will be mowing. However all of the hydro units have a live/independent PTO.

I did some more talking with my wife and also briefly poked around a few of the tractor dealerships in my current area (haven't moved yet.) She wants to put in quite a few fruit trees (mainly apples) in the fenced-in "horsy" area that I would need to be able to maneuver around. They would be placed close together in a line like in an orchard so I would just need to be able to avoid the line of trees with the tractor. I would also need to be able to maneuver between the garden area and its fence as well. She is not a fan of getting two machines to do the mowing (ZTR to do the finish mowing and a tractor to rough-cut the "horsy" area) due to cost, storage space, and it seemed wasteful to have a tractor to just run the rough-cut mower for maybe a few dozen hours a year. So we'll get one compact tractor. I am thinking probably a little smaller rather than a little bigger due to maneuverability reasons.

There are three tractor dealerships in my current area I poked around at when they were closed for the weekend. They carry NH, Case IH, and JD/Kubota. The NH and CaseIH dealerships had no compact units and essentially only carry 350 hp and up center-articulated 4wd and tracked tractors. The Deere dealership mainly carried Gators and lawnmowers but did have a few compact units out there- a 1023R, a 2032R, and a cabbed 3720 and 4720. They did not have any of the JD 3E series units although the measurements and weight of the 3032E/3038Es are very close to that of the 2032R. They did have pretty well every Kubota currently made. I am thinking something around the physical size of that JD 2032R or the B series Kubotas would be the right size. The smaller L series Kubotas (L3301/L3901) pretty much the same physical size as the B series units but are considerably heavier.

 

[k0ua]

There is a NH and Kioti dealer in Rogersville, and an LS dealer near Marshfield.

 

[Creekpaddler]

I've bought 4 used tractors of various sizes for different needs. I don't mind buying one that needs some work if the price is right. Even if I put $$$ into them, I've still come out ahead each time compared to buying new. That approach may or may not work for you.

If you buy a used one, a major consideration should be availability of parts. When I had my IH 2400A 2WD FEL tractor, there came a time when parts were difficult - or impossible - to find. It was time to upgrade so I bought a used JD 5225 4WD FEL 56hp (45 hp PTO). I've been very happy with it and parts are easy to find.

It can be difficult to find one "perfect tractor" to do everything you need to get done. If it were me, I would determine how much I want to spend, prioritize the tasks I need to do, then look for a tractor best suited for the most frequent ones. And available time, especially for mowing, would be a factor in my decision. Example: For 12 years I mowed 7 acres with my tractor and a 72" PTO mower, but it took too long. The grass grew faster than I could cut it. This year I shopped for a fast front-deck mower and bought a used JD F925. And I still have my 5225 for all the other jobs.

Texasjohn is right about the FEL. Once you get one, you'll wonder how you got by without it.

 

[Russ7127]

I decided to purchase a used tractor because of the price savings. I went with a Kubota 3650 GST. The GST (glide shift transmission) is almost as good as a hydrostatic transmission for most work. You can change gears without stopping. Shopping for a used tractor takes much more time to find the options and price you want. Usually you wind up give up some of the options you might like to have. some of the more useful options like third function valve, rear remote hydraulic, and cab can be added later but they be come very expensive. You will need the evaluate which option you really need.
Mowing the lawn with a tractor big enough to use in the woods is questionable. A riding lawn mower and a tractor might be a better choice.