TC40DA

[Crisswell]

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking for some time now and have been amazed at the expertise and valuble info made available here! I've thought about registering and getting the dumb questions over with, but felt uncomfortable asking something that may have already been answered a dozen times, so I've been reading and trying to absorb things instead for the last few months.

First, I'd like to confirm what I think is my preferred set-up based on the specifics of my needs. My wife and I purchased 17 acres recently and will begin construction of our new home in the Spring (if all goes well at the bank!). There will is about 900' of driveway already and by the time the house is in, it will be over 1,000'. I'm expecting to have about 7-8 acres to mow and the other 9-10 to bush hog. I expect to plant a number of trees on the 7-8 acres of homesite -- so there will be some open areas, but I'll have a number of trees to negotiate around when mowing, particularly along both sides of the driveway. All 17 acres are fields now. No trees.

I'm 52 and in good health but do not want to kill myself doing chores during my "Golden Years"! Don't mind spending the time to do them, just don't want to have to have a heart attack! That's where the tractor comes in. I've driven comparable models of Kubota, New Holland and John Deere. They are all nice, but the NH just fit me the best. Something about how my South end fits the seat, the grab handle on the right fender to hold onto, the location of the steering wheel, the instrumentation, etc., etc. etc.

Anyway, here's what I'm thinking:

Tractor: NH
Model: TC40DA (non SS), with mid PTO and Sun Shade
Remotes: 2
Attachments: MMM (largest one they make for the TC40)
16 LA FEL (6' Quik attach)
7' Woods Bush Hog
Snow Plow (7' front mounted)
Auger for tree planting (budget permitting)

I already have a garden tractor with a 42" deck for really tight mowing, but don't want to have to use it any more than necessary. I also have a 10,000 GVW, 8X10 utility dump trailer that I pull with my pick-up. I'd like to be able to tow it with the tractor, too.

All that is background to my real question. My budget for this purchase is $30,000, all in, including sales tax, etc. Is this realistic, or should I revisist my attachments list?

Thanks in advance for the advise!

Andy

 

[SWB]

Amen on the seat comfort of the NHs. One of the low cost dealers on the internet is Corriher Implements: www.corimpco.com/ If you e-mail them, they will respond quickly with prices.

 

[hazmat]

I think you are on the right track with the "class III" size tractor. My dad bought a TC40 for his 30 acres (~12 clear, rest forest) See thread here 2 tractor family

You may want to reconsider the MMM for 7-8 acres of finish mowing. Even with the 7' mower, I expect you'd be at ~2 acres an hour. You may want to consider a 12' batwing finish mower if you can swing the $$$ woods batwing Be sure to keep the trees more than 12' apart /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Or you could let more of it be "rough"

As for the bush hog, you've got plenty of HP to run a 7 footer, but it will be more than 10 feet long /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif which hurts manuverability a bit.. A 6 footer is easier to get around. Woods does have dual spindle 80" cutters, but they are $$$$ Besides, we just blew your budget on the batwing finish mower.

Your budget for your shopping list is reasonable.

EDIT HERE

If you got the 12' batwing finish mower, there is no reason not to finish mow the whole property thus saving the bush hog costs.

 

[Crisswell]

Thanks for advice on Corriher. I know they come highly recommended, but based on everything I've read here, I'm now a subscriber to the philosophy that it's best to have a good dealer to know face to face. Also, isn't Corriher the one that's for sale?

Any good dealers that come highly recommended in the Western PA, Eastern Ohio, Northern W VA area?

As for the bat wing idea, I actually thought about it, but more for the bush hog than the finish mower. Does the TC 40 have enough rear pto hp for that? Also, I don't think my budget will handle either version. I'd like to have as many of the attachments listed as I can for the various jobs I expect to have. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm concerned about my neck muscles at this age, having to be watching front and back all the time with an RFM everytime. That's really why I was leaning toward a MMM.

Is it possible to get an offset pto set-up for an RFM and/or bush hog on a TC 40 like you see on the bigger tractors? May help with having to crane your neck to see what's going on - even with the swivel seat.

Thanks again.

Andy

 

[IH3444]

Once you start taking that MMM on and off.......... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[gregNH]

my opinion is ==> don't buy the MMM + mid pto but buy a good mower for the rear pto and spend the money you win on a tc 45 da or something else
7-8 acres is a lot for finish mowing and my dad will do it as fast as possible and i don' t think you will mow hours and hours, you will have a lot of other work on 17 acres
conclusion buy a tc 40-45 da without the MMM an mid pto but with a large rear mower something like hazmat said

 

[lhfarm]

I have a TC40DA and 50+ acres I finish mow about 5 and bush hog about 5 (the rest is woods). I have a 1500' steep drive. Here in central Indiana, it is often to soft to run the NH on the lawn. I'd drop the MMM and put the money on a zero turn mower. I mowed for years with an old Cub. The zero turn cut my mowing time from over 4 hours to under 2. We have lots of trees too and you can't beat the zero turn for finish mowing.

But for everything else, the TC40DA is great. You won't be sorry. I spent some seat time today grading the drive and it was a blast. A couple of weeks ago, I plowed and disc around our native grass field, getting ready for a spring burn. The tactor did a great job.

Lots of fun ahead!

 

[dknarnd]

I agree with the zero turn mower, as long as you have level smooth lawn they can't be beat. But they are expensive, a good 72" model will run you $10,000 which will blow his budget completely.

I think you are going to have to figure out your priority on implements. From the sound of things a rear finish mower and brush hog may be at the top of the list.

 

[PineRidge]

Andy when we purchased our 40D two years ago we added a backhoe in the package. Since the BH is a sub-frame model we had no choice but to go to a rear finish mower for our mowing needs. I have never been sorry that we did and it takes but a few minutes to either pull the mower or install it which is something you can't do quickly with a MMM.

If you'll be using your tractor for other uses on rough terrain you'll want to pull the mower off quickly so you might want to take that into consideration.

 

[Crisswell]

Geez. Thanks for all the posts!

I've been on the fence about the MMM vs RFM, but that neck thing was really weighing on me. Maybe with some experience, you don't have to look back as much. Also, I wondered how tough it was to get to the blades on a MMM to keep 'em good and sharp. You guys have me back in the RFM camp again!

If I swap the MMM for an RFM, I'm still thinking I'd get the mid PTO for the plow as well as any future "can't live without" attachments I may discover along the way. I've read about those in some other theads here - lol!!

So if I spec the tractor as noted, but swap the finish mowers and downsize the bush hog to 6', as suggested, is my budget looking any better to get the full assortment of attachments (FEL, RFM, Bush Hog, Plow & Auger)?

Thanks for the responses. They truly are appreciated!

Andy

ps Any dealer recommendations for my area?