Recommended Tractor for 4.5 acres

[Honey Badger 2828]

Hello! I’m under contract on a house with about 4.5 acres (1.1 ac wooded) and would like some opinions.

Most of the property is grassland, so mowing would be the most frequent usage. It has a 300’ dirt driveway and the property needs some grading and dirt work near the foundation, so I’d like a box blade. After the initial grading, the box blade usage will be seasonal for driveway maintenance.

The current owner is using a zero turn mower, but about an acre of the property is severely overgrown. I’d prefer a fail mower to a brush hog for maneuverability.

It also has a hobby farm set up that we’ll continue to use, so the loader will be handy.

It’s in Kansas, so some snow, but not in huge quantities… usually.

I was originally looking at the Kubota BX2380 and Deere 1025R. I’m leaning to Kubota, but it looks like I can get a B2301 for only $1000 more.

This will be my first tractor, but I often used my dad’s Deere 4310 when I was in high school on about the same amount of land. He lives in a state with a lot of snow, so it’s mostly used as a plow.

Are there any other contenders I should look at? And is the B01 worth the price jump over the BX?

Thanks!

 

[M59]

Honey Badger 2828,

Welcome to TBN.

Without asking what your big picture is, now or into the future, I would make the following three suggestions.
First: The BX230 machine has a front loader the B2301 does not so you are ahead of the game by having a front loader and what it enables you to do, otherwise they are essentially the same machine.
Second: The biggest mistake first time tractor owners make is buying too little machine. As you get used to using the tractor, you will want to do more and that requires weight and horse power.
Three: A tractor is only as good as the implements/ attachments that you can add to it to get work done. By having a loader, you have already checked off a major attachment.

 

[duffer]

The loader is paramount IMO (agree with M59). You'll do far more work with the loader than you will with a box blade. I have a ¼ mile drive, and I use a landscape rake to "rough" groom it, and the FEL to do the final back drag to give it a finished look.

The landscape rake is also used to move brush, limbs, leaves, and smooth out other areas. If you get one that rotates 180°, you can also use it for a snow plow. (Just make sure to get one wider than your wheels)

Once you become proficient with the FEL, the box blade will sit in the corner.

Just my 2¢

 

[Honey Badger 2828]

Thanks for the replies. And sorry for the confusion, but I’ll be getting the loader for either. It looks like the B2301 FEL has about 200 pounds of lifting capacity over the BX2380 (948 vs. 739).

The attachments I’d be looking to buy at the jump are the loader, belly mower, box blade, and maybe a brush hog or flail mower.

Is a loader easier to use than a box blade for creating a slope away from a foundation?

 

[Eagle1]

Once you become proficient with the FEL, the box blade will sit in the corner.

While my FEL is used for everything I can. The Box is the king when it comes to putting gravel back on a driveway or fixing potholes after a big storm. Even when I use the loader to haul rock up the hills I drag a full box behind me, then dumping and spreading at the same time. Lord knows I move a lot of rock. Now if I have to pick one FEL is on top does a lot things. I guess the rake would do some of work but I can't see it being useful when you have to rebuild a road that washed 1/4 mile of rock down to the bottom.
I've worn through bottom of my FEL bucket twice having to weld in new steel and the cutting has been replaced. I've also need to rebuild the box again. All edges are 2 to 4 inches shorter than were after the last rebuild..... I maintain a few miles of gravel road in the ozarks.

 

[Diggin It]

Don't limit yourself to orange and green. Red (Massey, Mahindra, TYM and Branson) and blue (LS and New Holland) are every bit as capable and usually cost quite a bit less.

 

[TractorTYMe]

A Branson 2515(Heaviest class 25Hp tractor), TYM T25/T264 are some very capable machines.

 

[oldballs]

Hi HB.........

.I'm on 3 acres in Kansas and on my third Kubota with all the common attachments..... Also I have a Cyclone Rake, a Stump Grinder and Chipper. In your case, I'd consider moving up to a HP similiar to your Dad's....i.e. around 40 HP....and then maybe a ZT for yard mowing.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

John deere 9series. Probably go with duals all around. Maybe triples if you mow a lot

 

[Honey Badger 2828]

Don't limit yourself to orange and green. Red (Massey, Mahindra, TYM and Branson) and blue (LS and New Holland) are every bit as capable and usually cost quite a bit less.

I’ll take a look at those as well. I’d be lying if country of origin wasn’t a concern of mine though. Thanks for the recommendation!

A Branson 2515(Heaviest class 25Hp tractor), TYM T25/T264 are some very capable machines.

Thanks for the models, I’ll have to see if there’s a dealer near me.

Hi HB.........

.I'm on 3 acres in Kansas and on my third Kubota with all the common attachments..... Also I have a Cyclone Rake, a Stump Grinder and Chipper. In your case, I'd consider moving up to a HP similiar to your Dad's....i.e. around 40 HP....and then maybe a ZT for yard mowing.

Cheers,
Mike

I think his is a 30 horse model. I didn’t look that high up the range because we never really used it to it’s capability, I always thought it was too much tractor for the land. I’m quickly seeing that was the wrong assumption. Unfortunately, $25k is already towards the top of my price range, so I don’t know that I could go much bigger unless some of the other brands are considerably cheaper.

Thanks for the advice.