Texasmark
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2012
- Messages
- 3,703
- Location
- N. Texas
- Tractor
- Ford: '88 3910 Series II, '80 3600, '65 3000; '07 6530C Branson with FEL, 2020 LS MT225S. Case-IH 395 and 895 with cab. All Diesels
I guess the model numbers relate to PTO HP. To me the 85 would be more than plenty especially with 4wd. With 4wd you could do a heck of a lot of work with that many ponies. I used to have a JD 4010 which was around 70 PTO hp 2wd and easily unloaded 5x6 round bales stacked 2 high on a semi trailer. With 85 acres you could operate some quite large implements with that hp, especially in 4wd which I will never be without once owning my first. Small squares with that machine will be WAY overkill and may wind up being a hindrance.
Get a fast removable loader which has a bucket to loader relationship setup on Bobcat designs. 2 easily operated levers and the bucket is on or off. Then get a hay spike (about $200) for your round bales. Much easier in my opinion than a grapple and you will NEVER have a bale roll back over the operator's station. However, if you are going to move a lot of logs, you might want a grapple.
Self leveling bucket, you bet.
Nothing wrong with Firestone tractor tires and R1 for me as in the mud you need the tread and self cleaning ability. Only place I would run R4 industrial would be mowing or on a relative hard or dry surface. Radials to me are overkill for what you said you were going to do.
Size the bucket to fit the tractor. For that large of a tractor go with the big one especially with a 4wd front end under it. Rule of thumb around here is that the bucket needs to span the tread width.
Yes on loading the rears. Helps on loader operations and lowers the CG for any slope mowing you may do.
I don't know how wide is wide on the wide wheel option, but just like duals, the wider, the larger turn you have to make to keep them out of the implement's tongue. Also, when using your bucket for things like driveway repair or excavation, as I said you want the bucket to span the rubber foot print. Oh with respect to rocking your driveway, moving forward with a FEL bucket tilted just past vertical can do one sweet job of laying out a sweet looking driveway. Hands down better than a box blade or scraper, hydraulic or not. Reason is the tractor is running on the smoothed out material, not the rough piles. Does make a difference.
Yes on 3 remotes. Never have enough, especially with a hydraulic 3rd member and something like a MOCO where you need another for height and a 3rd for azimuth. Yeah I know the MOCO is a drag implement, but once you hook up your hydraulic 3rd, you just leave it be.
I have 3 ranges and 4 gears on my Branson with shuttle shifter and I would recommend a shuttle for any kind of close in work. I also have a creep selector that cuts the speed of whichever gear in half giving me 24 F. I think in 7 years I only used the creep once and you can not use it under all conditions. So for me, just 12 F would have been plenty.
You didn't mention a cab. The Branson is my first cab tractor and I love it. 2 reasons. It has it's own environment and it keeps the dust out of my lungs, both problems with open stations. Take that $6k you were looking at with the larger tractor and put it in a cab. You won't regret it, especially as you get older.
References: My reply is based upon my experiences of farming over 30+ years operating in less than 100 acres and max tractor hp of 100.
Hope this helps,
Mark
Get a fast removable loader which has a bucket to loader relationship setup on Bobcat designs. 2 easily operated levers and the bucket is on or off. Then get a hay spike (about $200) for your round bales. Much easier in my opinion than a grapple and you will NEVER have a bale roll back over the operator's station. However, if you are going to move a lot of logs, you might want a grapple.
Self leveling bucket, you bet.
Nothing wrong with Firestone tractor tires and R1 for me as in the mud you need the tread and self cleaning ability. Only place I would run R4 industrial would be mowing or on a relative hard or dry surface. Radials to me are overkill for what you said you were going to do.
Size the bucket to fit the tractor. For that large of a tractor go with the big one especially with a 4wd front end under it. Rule of thumb around here is that the bucket needs to span the tread width.
Yes on loading the rears. Helps on loader operations and lowers the CG for any slope mowing you may do.
I don't know how wide is wide on the wide wheel option, but just like duals, the wider, the larger turn you have to make to keep them out of the implement's tongue. Also, when using your bucket for things like driveway repair or excavation, as I said you want the bucket to span the rubber foot print. Oh with respect to rocking your driveway, moving forward with a FEL bucket tilted just past vertical can do one sweet job of laying out a sweet looking driveway. Hands down better than a box blade or scraper, hydraulic or not. Reason is the tractor is running on the smoothed out material, not the rough piles. Does make a difference.
Yes on 3 remotes. Never have enough, especially with a hydraulic 3rd member and something like a MOCO where you need another for height and a 3rd for azimuth. Yeah I know the MOCO is a drag implement, but once you hook up your hydraulic 3rd, you just leave it be.
I have 3 ranges and 4 gears on my Branson with shuttle shifter and I would recommend a shuttle for any kind of close in work. I also have a creep selector that cuts the speed of whichever gear in half giving me 24 F. I think in 7 years I only used the creep once and you can not use it under all conditions. So for me, just 12 F would have been plenty.
You didn't mention a cab. The Branson is my first cab tractor and I love it. 2 reasons. It has it's own environment and it keeps the dust out of my lungs, both problems with open stations. Take that $6k you were looking at with the larger tractor and put it in a cab. You won't regret it, especially as you get older.
References: My reply is based upon my experiences of farming over 30+ years operating in less than 100 acres and max tractor hp of 100.
Hope this helps,
Mark
