Space for storing your sub-compact tractor?

[zuren1cs]

As you can see, I'm very new posting here but have been lurking about, reading threads and searching the archives for a couple weeks now.

As of this past Friday, I bought my first home with 2.21 acres of open yard/scrub and 2 car garage in a very rural area. I negotiated for the lawn tractor to stay but it is only a Yard Machines lawn tractor with 17.5 HP engine and 42" mower. It should be fine for now, but I don't anticipate a $1000 tractor to last very long and it's only good for cutting the grass. I'm already thinking about upgrading to a sub-compact (Kubota BX series, Case DXE series, Simplicity Legacy XL or similar) with mower and FEL in a year or 2 to aid in landscaping and other projects I already have in mind.

Since I only have the 2 car garage, I don't really want to take up space with a bigger tractor with bucket. If you were to store such a tractor in an out-building with the mower and bucket attached, how wide and deep would the internal dimensions need to be? I'm looking for length and width dimensions from those who may own a similar tractor with an added 1-2' around all sides so I could still move around it. I would have to build this out-building, so I need to keep my future size requirements in mind when I'm looking at shed/small garage plans. I'm estimating 10+ ft. deep but not sure on width.

Thanks!

 

[MrJimi]

I don't know your layout but consider a type of lean-to with walls attached to the side or rear of your existing structure. And I'll tell you a secret, build it much bigger than you want, shovels rakes etc. it will shrink fast. Really
And you can run an extension cord to it temporarily
look at what your friends have and what they have in theirs and that will tell you lots
Jim

 

[schmism]

i know i could easly fit my class 2 CUT into a single car garage. (10' wide x18' deep)

while the tractor wont fill that space it gives you plenty of space to move around it.

technically speaking i could fit my "larger" tractor in a space about 8x12....add addtional 4-5' for an impliment off the back...

i should add my width is governed by my 72" MMM. (i have a 60" bucket on the FEL) i also have a 72" rear blade but that doesnt have to come in with me.... (but again no wider than my mower deck)

 

[Dmace]

My carport for the tractor is 12' wide, 20' long, 6' walls, 10' peak
The tractor with backhoe fits in with about 1' to spare front to back. With the FEL and snowblower there is about 3' to spare. Side to side I have about 2.5' on each side. 12' wide is probably as skinny as you want to go. Your average CUT FEL bucket is about 54" or so. A Mid-Mount Mower would save a lot as far as length needed, but in case you get a backhoe or Rear-mount mower you will need the extra space. 20' is a good length. I can fit my tractor with cab in no problem under the pitched roof even off center a little.

For comparison, my CK20 (tractor only) is 9'10" long and 3'8" wide.

See attached picture.

 

[mark4Jesus]

I bought one of those aluminum carports for mine. It is a 16X20. I can fit my tractor, Bush Hog, a small trailer, boom pole under it and still have room. Of course it does not have walls, so the tractor gets dusty when the grass gets cut around it, but it is out of the rain. Plan for something large enough to store implements that you want to keep out of the weather.

 

[sandman2234]

If you have any implements at all, they will take up at least as much room, and probably considerably more room than the bare tractor. Figure on leaving the most used implement on the tractor when you park it. (Usually a bush hog and loader). After stretching the seat time to the max, it would be a pain to have to remove them before hitting the shower in time to go off somewhere with the wife, or miss the kickoff of a good game because you had to park the tractor and remove the implement.
David from jax

 

[roxynoodle]

Yep, leave room for implements. You will find them accumulating. Every time I think I have everything I need I find uses for more stuff! Extra room is always good for materials for projects you will get into. You don't want to leave new lumber, etc, out in the rain.

 

[tf116]

I also just bought a place and I needed storage for new tractor,backhoe,FEL,etc.I bought one of the metal canopys that are setting everywhere......
I got the 2 car one.....21' long by 18' wide and with 9' legs....all I had to do was find a level spot and run extension cord...two dudes showed up a dawn and 2.5 hours later,they left.....Cost? 904$....
with the 9' legs, I could buy 6 sheets of metal roofing (cover 3' ) and in a couple of hours I had sides....not sure of cost of extra roofing metal....but couldn't of built a building for that price.....going to block off rear of building in near future,using old tin off of a bldg I'm tearing down.....
Mike

 

[weesa20]

I have a GC2300 (great SCUT) that is housed in a 10x12 foot shed. 12 feet is barely long enough to fit with the 3 pt hitch operational (not folded) and toothbar on the bucket. I use the space to the sides as a work and storage area. I could put my 3 attachements next to the tractor but I would be tripping over them, so they stay outside and I am adding a lean-to area at the back to cover them in the winter. BTW, I don't have a mower, so add 6+ inches to either side and things would get real tight.

W

 

[briancd]

I got my NH TC26DA this spring 2006 and although I bought a backhoe with it I resigned myself to leaving the bh outside for now and just storing the tractor with FEL inside. "Inside" meant using an existing shed on our vacation property and modifying it by adding double doors on one end and a bumpout on the other for the FEL. The shed was only 8x10, and the bumpout is about 6' wide by 3.5' deep, for the FEL. See pics! As you can see the shed is FULL with the tractor, and I really want some space for the bh not to mention my push mower, and other gas-powered things I don't want to store in the basement of the house. But this summer we realized the shed was OK for the short term but have gone ahead and started construction of a 28x28 garage/boathouse...my bh (and my boxblade, a recent addition) will be protected when the winter snows hit, and it won't be SUCH a precision operation to get the tractor "inside". BUT if you want to know the minimum size for a tractor of this scale, it CAN be done with an 8x10 and a bit of carpentry work...

 

[DavidA]

Don't forget about the height of the ROPS. You must either fold it down or build high enogh to drive under with the ROPS up. I believe it would be much easier on the building, tractor and your memory to build it high enough to drive under with the ROPS up. I have heard of them hitting the entrance of a building. Never saw it, just heard of it.

 

[briancd]

Actually I left my comment about my ROPS and my shed modification out of my last post...when I modified my shed to fit my tc26 I used standard entrance double doors, which ar 80" high. I discovered on the second time I entered the shed that my ROPS, when upright, is about 80.25" high!!! So the top of my brand new door frame got a little bent out of shape...but not too badly that a hammer tap didn't put it right. But it's a good point - CAREFUL WITH THE ROPS!

 

[Neil L]

25 years ago I needed a 12X16 cover for my new JD 2040, BB,BH, Fel.(Now on third tractor NH29D). Waited 5 years and decided 14X20 made more sense, 3years later got going on 24X30 which ended up 28X38 concrete floor(needed workshop, tablesaw, bandsaw, welder, workbench, etc. etc. etc. Now have 20X34 shed off of main struture and almost enough room to do some things if I move a lot of stuff. If you keep the acrage you can't have enough tool/equipment room. Maybe better to get condo and visit the country. Very Best, Neil

 

[MossRoad]

I store our Power Trac PT425 and all implements in an area that is 16' deep by 7' wide. I have a foot and a half on each side and a foot at the rear. I have a 60" snow blade, 60" finish mower, 48" brush hog, 5 cubic foot rock bucket, 10 cubic foot light material bucket, pallet forks and a few smaller items all in that area. If I need more space, I may put in a shelf at the end some day to stack implements. Oh, yeah, I also store 3 six gallon fuel cans, a weed eater, many hand tools like shovels and rakes, etc... some washtubs, chains, buckets, etc... and a couple of paintings that I don't like but can't bear to part with, on the walls. Amazing what you can store in a small space. The quick attach feature of the tractor allows me to remove ALL implements from that space in about two minutes without getting off the tractor and set them in the lawn near the shed. I can then choose which ever one I want to use.

When picking the size of your shed, you need to consider how tight you want to pack any implements and if you will be able to get them out and use them without any hassle. I would suggest waiting to build a shed until you decide on what tractor you will get and what implements you want to store inside. Then buikd a shed to suit. As MrJimi said, build it much bigger than you want.