Buying Advice Starting from scratch (both land and equipment) - 5 acres

[stuckmotor]

There are probably reasons to get an atv and try to make it do the work of a tractor. Other than speed I just can't think of any. I suspect attachments will be easiest to get if the tractor has a cat1 3pt hitch and I'd want a loader with a skid steer quick attach for the bucket, forks, etc. Again, attachments for SSQA are easier to find and usually less expensive.
Good luck. You're off on a great adventure.

 

[jeff9366]

I'll need to get something relatively newer as I'm not very mechanically inclined. Roughly how long does a tractor go before it starts needing quite a bit of ongoing maintenance?

Surveys on T-B-N indicate residential users average eighty engine hours on their tractors annually. Maintaining five acres, you may average 160 hours.

Well maintained, single owner, diesel tractor engines can go 12,000 hours.

Multiple owner tractors are a gamble.

After finding how slowly well equipped tractors depreciate, many find 'new' with warranty and '0' financing is the better way to go.

If you change your T-B-N profile to include a more specific location, someone here may notify you of a good used tractor or implements near you. This happens pretty regularly.

 

[Nic3456]

Surveys on T-B-N indicate residential users average eighty engine hours on their tractors annually. Maintaining five acres, you may average 160 hours.

Well maintained, single owner, diesel tractor engines can go 12,000 hours.

Multiple owner tractors are a gamble.

After finding how slowly well equipped tractors depreciate, many find 'new' with warranty and '0' financing is the better way to go.

If you change your T-B-N profile to include a more specific location, someone here may notify you of a good used tractor or implements near you. This happens pretty regularly.

Thanks Jeff, I really appreciate - Im in Sunbury,OH and will update my location.

 

[AJ197816134]

NIC,
Sounds like you are on the correct path, the guys here helped me about 2 years ago with what I was needing. Again depends on your budget, but I always stray away from used, and I am mechanically inclined. I don't wanna spend the year fixing someone elses's problem. Granted there are exceptions.
As one member stated:
Tractor with Loader with Skid Steer Quick Connect
3 pt hictch with remote hydraulics.

Ask questions here, people here are GREAT. I know I made my decision based upon here, and pricing and value. No sense beating up your truck. and I am not sure how a ZTM will do snow removal.

 

[jeff9366]

Here are tractors on eBay; two links. One for current offers. Second for completed transactions. Both localized to zip code 43074.

This will give you a real world experience of used tractor market prices.

Tractors | eBay


Tractors | eBay

 

[Nic3456]

So here's what I'm thinking -
Buy a new (or relatively new) compact tractor with diesel & 4WD with these implements
- A PBM (unless I get a great deal on a MMM) for mowing
- box blade for leveling land,driveway,etc
- snow blade (any recommendation for front blade vs rear blade?)

I've seen hundreds of people talk about how useful a FEL w/ssqa is but for me it seems like I may not need one initially (except maybe for mulch?) - it certainly would help with my costs right now. Other than MMM Is it recommended that the implements be the same brand as tractor or is that irrelevant? (Assuming the connections are compatible)

 

[varmint]

Generally speaking, getting the loader with the tractor is most efficient in terms of costs and convenience. SSQA is good, even if you don't initially see the need. Having used a rear blade for snow removal for many years before getting a hydraulically operated front snow blade, I would NEVER want to go back. One 24" blizzard will make you happy about spending the money for the front blade. Keep in mind, with well-bought tractors and implements, you have an investment that will maintain its value, pretty much, while providing useful service. Tractorhouse and Craig's list have worked for me, since eBay isn't "local" and shipping heavy gear isn't cost effective. Not to mention being able to carefully inspect stuff before purchase. Trust you instinct when talking with the seller, and take along a buddy with more experience. Lots of us have had good experiences buying used, saving a lot of money, and re-selling as needed without taking a hit.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Im starting to lean towards a tractor (unless I can find a ZTM that I can use for snow and leveling the driveway) so I only to worry about one fuel type, one engine,etc. I'll need to get something relatively newer as I'm not very mechanically inclined. Roughly how long does a tractor go before it starts needing quite a bit of ongoing maintenance? (Just trying to decide how old I can go).

Gary - my lot is a flag lot. It's basically a 60' wide strip from the road for about 400 feet, then opens up into a square.

That explains a lot, I guess lots of folks end up with something like that or a ROW for a road to go back 1/4 mile to some acreage.

I really cant see anyone with more than a couple of acres without a tractor. I have only 11 acres and have 2 ZTR mowers and 2 tractors, way more than I need MOST of the time. We had a storm a couple weeks ago that blew down a 100+ year old oak tree. What was left after I cut up all I could cut with a 20" bar on my chainsaw was all I could push or drag with my LS P7010. So it came in handy rather than having to just leave the huge tree trunks to rot in place. We salvaged some firewood out of it for my neighbors son-in-law(Travis). I now remember why I didn't want a fireplace in my new house, it took us 3 partial days (too darned hot to work past 9 or 10 am and then back at it for a few hours before dark) to cut up that tree and haul all the wood to a curing location. My bottled water/gatoraid bill was about as much as the wood was worth. I am just glad Travis was here to help cut up and load those cut pieces and clear the brush.

I think that if I were buying a tractor to mow, I would get a rear finish mower rather than a belly mower since they are much cheaper AND they aren't in the way for other chores. Lots easier to service also, no dragging the deck out (or jacking up the tractor) to change the blade. You will likely want to get a zero turn mower later on anyway because they are much faster than the tractor is going to be and likely a lot smoother riding.

 

[jeff9366]

So here's what I'm thinking -
Buy a new (or relatively new) compact tractor with diesel & 4WD with these implements
- A PBM (unless I get a great deal on a MMM) for mowing
- box blade for leveling land,driveway,etc
- snow blade (any recommendation for front blade vs rear blade?)

I've seen hundreds of people talk about how useful a FEL w/ssqa is but for me it seems like I may not need one initially (except maybe for mulch?) - it certainly would help with my costs right now. Other than MMM Is it recommended that the implements be the same brand as tractor or is that irrelevant? (Assuming the connections are compatible)

MMM reduces your tractor ground clearance dramatically. To do the smoothing you have specified as a primary task, you will have to remove the MMM. MMMs are much more awkward to mount and dismount than a Finish Mower.

MMMs are proprietary to each tractor brand. A Kubota MMM will only fit certain sizes of Kubotas, Deeres/Deeres etc.

I have a Box Blade so I do not want to discourage you. But understand a Box Blade requires quite a lot of time to learn how to operate well. For maintaining your long drive a Box Blade will require thrice the operating time of a Land Plane Grading Scraper. LPGS requires almost no learning curve.

Get the FEL with your tractor order. Buying it later will cost you 50% additional over buying it as part of your tractor package. If you ever sell used, potential buyers will discount the price of your tractor to the amount required to add an FEL, so you pay whether or not an FEL is on your tractor. You are building a home. An FEL is a powered, flexible wheelbarrow. You will use it plenty for landscaping. Its also "prime" for moving snow.

Generally speaking, Three Point Hitch implements connect across all tractor brands. Tractor Three Point Hitches, including PTOs, are standardized all over the world.

SSQA required to attach a front snow plow or front snow blower.

 

[jajiu]

The truck plow is nicest to use, comfort-wise, but a tractor with a front plow on a SSQA loader will do the job, and you can lift/tilt the plow up to push snow into high piles if needed. A rear blade will maintain the gravel drive. A post hole auger will make fencing easy. A loader is... very useful, and pallet forks are handy. Very. A 6' rear finish mower will make mowing go quickly if it's mostly open ground. A modest 4WD diesel tractor will be a good investment over the years, and if you get and maintain a Kubota, it will hold its value.
My "avatar" photo is of plowing a 30" snowfall off a gravel lane. A plow truck was tearing up the gravel, but my carefully adjusted plow did the job with little damage.

View attachment 476672

Varmint, you need a cab on that thing. I plowed my 1000' gravel driveway with an open station for years, now I have a L3560 HSTC and love the heater and the AC in the summer.