Buying Advice Seeking advice on a first tractor

[airbiscuit]

Remember, the tractors shrink when they get on your property.

True that! AxleHub is pretty proud of his small equipment. Check out the B and the L, and see what you like, but do think about shinkage

Also as an aside. Many Kubota dealers in our area used to be Massey Dealers, but Kubota just outsold them LOL.

 

[AxleHub]

Remember, the tractors shrink when they get on your property.

But skills also improve and you learn that brute force isn't the answer as often as you think when you are just starting. I also noted in Emerson's response that he overweighted his woods cleaning process to all at once rather than recognizing you want some projects that slowly develop over time so you can be doing more than just mowing lawn after the first year or two lol.

A perfect example is to move the deadwood out and move the tree line back. You don't need to move all the deadwood out to push back the tree line 20 or 50 feet. I think he'd find spacing the projects over time would be more enjoyable and far more efficient potentially too. Kind of a burn and heat theme each year. Lol.

 

[Ortimber]

My property sounds very similar to yours. I started with a BX tractor and it was entirely too small for almost every chore. I replaced it with an L3901 and am very happy with it. It's still small enough to work in the tighter forested areas, but large enough to pull decent sized implements.

No matter what you choose, I highly recommend getting an HST transmission.

 

[AxleHub]

My property sounds very similar to yours. I started with a BX tractor and it was entirely too small for almost every chore. I replaced it with an L3901 and am very happy with it. It's still small enough to work in the tighter forested areas, but large enough to pull decent sized implements.

No matter what you choose, I highly recommend getting an HST transmission.

Just curious. Is your property a total of 8 acres with 2.5 being lawn or pasture and the other 5 being hillside woods?

 

[Grandad4]

A question for Emerson76 in connection with the subcompact vs. larger tractor issue. You've clarified your wood handling needs, and indeed it sounds like that's not going to be difficult. But what was of greater concern to me were your comments about having lots of rocks to be cleared. You've wisely recognized that a car-sized boulder isn't going to be moved with a tractor, but even much smaller rocks than that can be extremely challenging. Limestone and granite rocks weigh about 175 lbs/cubic foot, so a 2' x 2' x 2' rock will weigh about 1,400 lbs and a 3' x 3' x 3' rock will weigh more than 4,500 lbs. You know your place and what you'll be getting into better than anyone, but please consider the work at hand if your rock clearing involves anything of significant size. If I have misread the type and extent of your crop of rocks, by all means temper my suggestion about looking at more robust equipment.

 

[Emerson76]

Sometimes a picture works better, so here are a few shots of the place.

These are common up here. Gallon jug for scale. These have to be moved before using a rotary cutter, obviously.


More of the typical size. These were piled up by hand. There aren't piles like this everywhere; it's just an illustration of typical size.


This size will be staying where they are.


The road.


An attempt to give an illustration of the slope here. The usable land is like this. It does get steeper, but I'll get some seat time on the tractor before I try to tackle the steeper stuff.


I went back to the Kubota dealer. They sold their L2501, so I didn't get to drive it. I did get to try out a B2601, and really liked the layout. The tight turning radius is great, and it seems like it would be easy to get it into most tight places on the property. Parked next to the L3301 (same size as the L2501), it seemed more to scale with my place. It's hard to believe the L is narrower than my Tacoma, but it is. I guess it's those big rear tires. I was trying to keep in mind the "shrinkage" factor.

I wandered around with a piece of PVC pipe cut to the width of the L as suggested, and it looks like the L will fit in most places, at least in terms of width. I'm getting the distinct feeling that either will probably do most of what I want to do. Both will fall short for some jobs, and in different ways. The B will require more manual ground work from me, such as cutting logs up smaller, prying rocks up that won't pop out with the FEL, and making several more shallow passes on the road with a blade. The L will be more difficult to maneuver into some areas, especially with a rotary cutter and the FEL attached.

I have at least ruled out the BX entirely. Whatever I get, it's pretty clear that it has to have a hydrostatic transmission. I tend to prefer smaller machines, so I really like the B. Money is also a factor. Though the tractor is the most expensive item on my list, it certainly isn't the only item. The plan for now is to visit another dealer to try out the L2501 next weekend, try to decide if it's worth the extra money, and keep trolling the classifieds for an appropriate used machine in the meantime. Maybe he'll also have a B2650. It looks to be right between the B2601 and L2501. I initially thought the B50 series had a DPF, but looking further, it appears just the B3350, and not the B2650, has that.

A good friend came over for dinner yesterday who owns a 4WD 50hp Massey, and he said he'd be inclined to go with the L, just for that extra weight.

Again, thanks for all the suggestions and perspectives.

 

[Emerson76]

Well, I just noticed my photos aren't working. They worked fine earlier. Just saw a couple other posts talking about a database problem today. If they aren't working tomorrow, I'll try posting 'em again.
***EDIT*** Just uploaded them again, and they appear to be working now.

 

[Teachu2]

The weight gives traction and stability. It's at least as important as horsepower. Many small tractors don't weigh enough to keep the tires from spinning - which is worse than low power. You'll run out of traction long before you'll run out of lower gears, especially with a lightweight tractor. At the same horsepower, the heavier tractor will do more work than the lighter one. The L weighs close to 50% more. Some of your rocks that are too big to pick up can still be chained up and dragged - I've moved a few that way.

 

[AxleHub]

Emerson76,

Seeing your photos helps. It seems to me looking at the photos, that a mini grapple would be a very helpful implement for your consideration. A mini grapple is not a large piece of equipment. . Actually only 1 foot wide. But it allows the lifting of a rock or log as large as 28 inches (jaw opening) and of course needs a front hydraulic remote.

 

[Emerson76]

Howdy folks. Sorry for dropping the thread. Several things came up, and the tractor hunt had to wait.

I did have a chance to visit a small farm in my area that has very similar terrain to my place, and they're doing a lot of the same work that I will be doing. They have owned a John Deere 790 since new, and have been very happy with it. It's similar in size to the Kubota B2650, if I'm not mistaken. They also said they were definitely glad they had not gotten a smaller machine, but that they seldom wish for a larger machine. However, they also have a backhoe for their Deere, which would obviously help with stability using a front loader.

So... the Kubota B2601 is no longer up for my consideration. Almost everyone insists it's just too small for my purposes and terrain, and I think that's a correct assessment.

I did find a used 2008 Deere 3005 with FEL, 4' Howse rotary cutter, and a boom pole. It's 4WD, has 190 hours, and looks very clean. They want $12,500 for it. I've read other threads on the 3005, and the tractor seems well-regarded. Does the price seem reasonable? Any opinions on the 3005 in the mountains? If I'm understanding correctly, the 3005 is just an updated 790.

Thanks for any thoughts.