Spend my money!

wvrocks · Oct 24, 2005

Cart99, thanks, I've read that thread multiple times trying to make up my mind. Lots of great info in there.

As an aside, I have pretty much narrowed this down to 2 or 3 models that I'm trying to decide between. I didn't say what they were so that I didn't apply my own bias to the discussion.

crown · Oct 24, 2005

With the snow you describe, I would think a cab would be very nice. The 3030 will do fine for the mowing and brush hogging but may be a bit light for some of the other work you described.

Again if I am spending your money I would like a L 3130 or an L 3430 with a cab, but either will cost a bit more than the tractors you stated, but 70 acres is alot of land and I would get the biggest I could get take a look at the two mentioned above maybe 0% interest may make the deal look better.

Best of luck and keep us posted. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

kozak · Oct 24, 2005

wvrocks,

With all the land you have & what you are thinking about doing I would go no lower than a 32 / 33 HP machine. I only have 2.3 acres & ended up with a 35 HP model. So far have not regretted it. The last thing I wanted to do spending big dollars was to go too small. Now I agree with you, I don't think I would have ended up with a brand new 35 HP machine, so I opted out for a used Tractor (2001 bought in 2004) with only 79 hours on it. To me it was a steal compared to the 33 HP (New) that I was looking at getting. Just another avenue to consider.

RedDog · Oct 24, 2005

In all honesty, I think all the tractors you are looking at are to small. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I would think with 70 acres, eventually you may want to do something different with your land requiring a bigger tractor.

Good luck and look at'em all.

RedDog

wvrocks · Oct 25, 2005

Thanks for the replies. I agree that the models I'm looking at may be small if I was working the entire acreage. In reality I'll only be working regularly on about 20 max. Most of the forested areas are entirely too steep to use the tractor. They may be too steep to use goats. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif The workable areas in the woods are pretty tight so a big tractor could be a hinderance. The majority of the 30-35 acre field is left alone for hay. My thinking is that I should buy for the work that I know I will be doing regularly, then if in the future a need comes up for a larger tractor I will look for a good used unit. It is possible that I'm looking too small for the work I know I will be doing. I don't really know.

The other option I have is to buy used now and go slightly larger. However I have had a hard time finding anything used at a reasonable price. With current low rate financing its difficult to pass up buying new.

Thanks again to all of you. This really is a great site.

CTyler · Oct 25, 2005

Perhaps renting a couple machines would be good idea. Then you could work the various machines to see how they really size up to your tasks.

wvrocks · Oct 25, 2005

Good recommendation. I'm not sure if anyone local rents or not but I can check. My closest dealer for any brand is about 40 or 50 miles away so they may be reluctant to bring something by to try out.

Soundguy · Oct 25, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( In reality I'll only be working regularly on about 20 max. )</font>

Normally.. I like to size my tractor for the entire acerage.. and 30hp is too small for 70 ac.. but as you mention.. 20ac max regular use.. 30 hp range is good.

Another poster touched on a good point.. a low hour used unit.. When i bought my ex NH 1920 (33hp ) I was originally going down to get a tc18 (18?hp).. due to total cost... Ended up getting the couple year old traded 1920 for just under 2k$ more than the tc18.. twice the tractor.. etc.

Also.. as you mention.. a used util / AG tractor could be picke dup for hay.. anything 50hp and over should do for hay for that size. Big oldies are cheap...

Soundguy

wvrocks · Nov 18, 2005

Thanks to everyone who posted to help with my decision. We finally made up our minds and today I ordered a New Holland TC-33DA with the 14LA loader and filled R4's. Got one rear remote, the grill guard and the quick attach bucket. Also got a 5' Bush Hog SQ600 rotary cutter, a 6' Bush Hog ATH7200 finish mower and a 7' Bush Hog 35-07 rear blade. Delivered for a grand total of $23000 before the state takes their cut. The tractor is at the dealer already but he has to order the loader. So now the waiting begins. Hopefully I'll have it the week after Thanksgiving if all goes well.

I have to say this was really a tough decision. All the tractors I looked at probably would have worked just fine. Most of the dealers were good. I came within an eyelash of buying the Kioti CK30hst but the good dealers in my area were unwilling to move on price and the one that had the best price was a bit shady. I have no doubt in my mind that it would have been a fine machine.

Sure the TC33 cost me more but in the long run I think I made a good decision. The dealer is great and has a very nice facility. He's only 40 miles away instead of 80-120 like some of the others were. My family has bought several trucks from the Ford side of the dealership and has never had a complaint. When it comes right down to it the dealer made a big difference for me.

Anyway, Thanks again for everyone's help. I'll post up some pictures as soon as I can.