Buying Advice Should I buy a new tractor?

[Grandad4]

I have photos of my father-in-law moving snow with a bucket like that on his Farmall in the 1940's. It worked, but it was slow, tedious work. The guys at work who say the loaders on the smaller SCUTs aren't that safe or useful, are simply full of beans. You can find hundreds or thousands of CUT and SubCUT owners here on TBN who safely do real work - including snow removal - with their little tractors. You can even watch it happen on YouTube or whatever. Actually, loader operation on that old Farmall, with its crash box transmission and high center of gravity, would be both slower and more sporting.

But you really need to get some seat time on a modern CUT or SCUT to form your own impressions.

 

[nikdfish]

We picked up a 3038e back in 2010 for use on 20 acres (woods + fields) that had been ignored for quite a while, and in 2013 got a 1025R FILB (factory installed loader/backhoe) as a "house" tractor (4.5 acres, mostly wooded). Both have been greatly useful in their own way.

The 3038e handles the "bigger" items like chipper, tiller & rotary cutter, where HP is needed. It also has the greater capacity FEL. The 1025R is great around the house as it works in tight locations better and the backhoe + thumb adds a lot to our capacity for dealing with stumps, fallen wood, large rocks etc.

Each package cost about the same (3038e w/FEL, 60" box blade & 60" rotary cutter - 1025R w/FEL & backhoe), at roughly $20K. 10% down & financed the rest at 0% via John Deere for 60 mos. An advantage to financing is the cheap replacement level "all hazards" insurance that you can bundle in for the duration of the loan.

Both get stored at the house most of the time (I trailer to the acreage when needed) & both get used. Which one depends on what I'm doing. The 1025R gets the smaller FEL jobs + digging, the 3038e comes out when I need the larger bucket, more power or greater 3pt. hitch lift range (the 1025R doesn't lift as high). I finish mow the yard & private rode verge on the 1025R with the 60" 3pt. "estate" mower I originally used on the 3038e at the MIL's place. Not as nimble as a belly mower, but does a good job with a very even cut & easy on/off. I can recommend the 1025R for small acreage use without reservation unless there are specific needs that call for something bigger.

Nick