Tractor advice needed

[Yemenileopard]

My wife has 120 acres of woods and meadows in Northern Minnesota where we will be spending our retirement. I would like to buy a reliable used tractor to mow, skid, haul, and do other routine chores on the property but I need some recommendations before I can start looking. Can anyone out there suggest a good, reliable basic tractor that can do these things and about how much I should expect to pay for one in good shape? I am looking for a good balance of dependability, versatility, and economy. Thanks.

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[flusher]

My wife has 120 acres of woods and meadows in Northern Minnesota where we will be spending our retirement. I would like to buy a reliable used tractor to mow, skid, haul, and do other routine chores on the property but I need some recommendations before I can start looking. Can anyone out there suggest a good, reliable basic tractor that can do these things and about how much I should expect to pay for one in good shape? I am looking for a good balance of dependability, versatility, and economy. Thanks.

For 120 acres, I'd consider something like my 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, gear tranny 8F/2R, power steering, triple hydraulic rear remotes) with the ML250 front end loader (FEL, 6-ft wide bucket, 3 chain hooks welded to the top of the bucket, skid steer quick attach option on the FEL arms to quickly change front end implements). Cost new was about $19K. You could probably get one used for half this amount.

[/ATTACH]

The 5525 is a basic, heavy large utility tractor that could handle your jobs.
There are similar tractors from other manufacturers that you might consider.

 

[samhudson3]

Welcome to TBN. flusher's rig is nice!

 

[moored4]

:welcome: to TBN! :thumbsup:

Happy :tractor:ing!

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks Flusher for your quick reply to my question. It looks like a nice machine...a bit more than I had hoped to pay, but it's giving me something to think about and maybe my expectations are unrealistic.

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks, Muhammed. I'm not a tractor owner yet, but I'm working on it.

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks Sam. I'll Google it!

 

[KYDan]

Are you going to be plowing snow with it? Building a driveway? 4WD is a big plus for these applications, something in the 50-60 hp range for that acreage would be very nice. Are there any dealers near the property? Unless, you are a decent mechanic maintenance and repairs can be a real issue. If you purchase from a local dealer you will most likely get better service.

 

[Hollow]

Mahindra has a few good choices on affordable, tough, simple to use tractors. You should also look into Massey Fergison's 2000 series and New Holland's TT and Workmaster series tractors.

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks KYDan. These are all excellent things to consider. Snow is definitely an issue up there. I'll be cutting trail, skidding logs and hauling things mainly so power is important. We're pretty remote and I am not a natural mechanic, either.

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks, Hollow. I'm starting to narrow things down with advice such as yours and getting a feel for what's out there.

 

[powerpace]

Welcome. Do your research on TBN. You will get all the info you need.

 

[RollingsFarms]

As well as you described your needs, you basically narrowed your search to about 50 tractors that would fit the bill perfectly. Dontcha hate when that happens? I have a tractor the size of Flusher ad while it does some big jobs all over my farm but just the other day I took it over to my mothers house to do some work in her yard. She needed some old shrubs pulled up right near the house. Worked perfectly! So no matter what you decide to get you will find more uses then you originally intended.

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks Powerpace. This is proving to be a very helpful community. I reckon that by the summer (I live overseas) when I'm ready to go shopping, I'll have made the right choice based on all the advice I'm getting.

 

[Yemenileopard]

Things are happening pretty quickly Rollingsfarms. It's been about 16 hours since I joined the group. At that time I must have had thousands of choices. Now I've only got 50. That's rapid progress.

 

[Hollow]

Thanks, Hollow. I'm starting to narrow things down with advice such as yours and getting a feel for what's out there.

Anything I can do to help :thumbsup: As you can see in my avatar, I've got a NH tt45a (40hp), its a great tractor. It does pretty good pulling my 6' cutter and 8' disc, but if I had 120 acres I'd want something a bigger. Preferably 50 to 60hp with a loader, 4x4 would be nice but not necessary. Wishful thinking I guess

 

[rsewill]

Northern MN? As in 98% woods and swamps? 40 HP to 60 HP should do you fine. 4WD would be important. Lots of money for you to spend. Otherwise get an older 2WD like a Deere 4020 which may come with implements.

http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/index.html

 

[Yemenileopard]

Thanks for the advice. I should probably clarify things a bit. We probably have about 5 acres of meadow that we'll want to mow occasionally, but the land will be manged for wildlife. We'll cut some trails for better access, do some thinning and a little bit of logging but we are definitely not going to work all 120 acres.

 

[Yemenileopard]

rsewill, it sounds as though you know Northern Minnesota pretty well. Specifically, Cook 20+ miles north of Virginia in St. Louis County. Plenty of woods and plenty of swamps. Thanks for the advice.