Buying Advice Tractor or mower?

[aquafiend]

Hi everyone,

Long time reader, first time poster here.

I'm in the market for my first tractor (maybe).

I have about 3/4 ac to mow and about 800 feet of flat driveway to snowblow in the winter - these are non-negotiable tasks. I originally thought I would get a mid-range riding mower with a 48" snowblower and be done with it. But the rest of the property is large - 3 acres of pasture that should be bush hogged occasionally and another 40+ woods and bush that are just asking for projects. And I would love to have something that can pull a small plow to open new garden beds and maybe a tiller once opened.

Option 1:
Get a nice mower (x300 series?) with a snow blower and save up my money for a real compact tractor in the next couple of years. Problem - will I regret not just going for a bigger machine?

Option 2:
Try to find an older garden tractor (or very small farm tractor) with a deck, blower, 3 pt and hydraulics. Problem - I'm fairly handy but not a major gear head - will the maintenance be a nightmare? Also, with the larger, older machines, I'm nervous not having roll over protection (esp being an inexperienced user).

Option 3:
Bite the bullet and buy a new (or newish) sub compact (a JD dealer near me recommended the 1023E). It's very hard to justify the cost in the budget right now but if the cheaper options end up being a waste of money it's false economy.

Any opinions and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[bohaslup123]

I opinion only get the largest unit that allows you to complete your tasks.You will always wish you had the next size up if you settle for a small unit. A 4X is always a plus good luck

 

[flusher]

You've concentrated attention on the smaller tasks and then tossed in the 40+ acres of woods and bush "that are asking for projects". Put on your thinking cap and figure out what those projects are before looking for tractors that probably will be too small to handle them. You can appreciate the disconnect between your tasks for small (10-20 hp) lawn and garden tractors and tasks in your woods and bush that are more suited for larger field tractors (30-50 hp).

 

[TigerfaninAR]

I wouldn't rule out compact tractor either. The smaller compacts made by Deere and Kubota aren't much more than the subcompacts but gives you more ground clearance etc. I think Kubota still has 0% for 60 months which helps. I'm sure some other brands still have some 0% offers.

 

[Pagoda dweller]

Aquafiend, I am pretty much in the same boat, although I have 10 acres of woods, not 40.

Quality stuff costs, but you get value. Cry once..that's what I'm telling myself.
I think for me a solid Sub-C will do the trick. Finding one equally good for mowing and blowing is my task now....

That said, in speaking with dealers, it seems that the incredible financing on new stuff seems to be holding down prices on lightly used if you can find it and if you have the cash in lieu of financing.

 

[Grandad4]

Aquafiend, there's good advice here so far. You're definitely going to need something bigger than a garden tractor once you get past mowing your lawn and clearing your drive. It's inevitable that there will be bigger tasks, so you do need to plan ahead.

What is not so certain is just how much tractor you're going to need, because that depends on what your plans for the property will be. It could be fairly minimal if you will be keeping it close to its current, original state and a good compact would do well for such purposes... mowing, snow removal, clearing and rough cutting trails, tilling a garden, etc. Alternately, if your plans are larger in scale, you'd need bigger equipment.

Although a subcompact such as the 1023e would certainly do your basic work, I'm kind of with Tigerfan about looking initially at a slightly larger machine to give you more ground clearance for rough ground work. It could still mow your yard and drive, but offers more capability as well.

 

[Pagoda dweller]

Projects in the woods (something Aquafiend and I might be wanting to do)....beyond mowing and blowing.

Is there a consensus as to how much power is going to be needed to comfortably create some trails, pull small stumps and pull tree lengths out of the woods. I am talking like cedars and poplar, maybe up to a foot in diameter, maybe up to 20 feet in length...is this beyond the realm of a capable sub-compact?

 

[leonz]

Its better to solve your immediate issues
and save for the upgrade.

The problem is that you need the tooling
now and you have the work for the mower
and snow caster.

I stil use the 20 year old hydro wheel horse as well as the
new JD115 that will be all over the place this winter
moving the wood spliter and opening the driveways
as well as using both of them for hauling wood and coal.


I would see if your dealer has or can find a crated LA115
with a new mower and the 42 inch snow blower for it.

PS-dont let them talk you out of the 2 stage snow caster
for the 115 as the 20 horse power hydro is plenty for the
snow caster.

I was out the door for less than $3,700.00 with the mower,
snow caster, rear weights(82 pounds)and new chains.

I will be buying a non JD soft cab for it soon as snow
is just around the corner.


The mower will have little value for trade anyway so thats
incentive to keep it in your stable of work tools.

_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[flusher]

Projects in the woods (something Aquafiend and I might be wanting to do)....beyond mowing and blowing.

Is there a consensus as to how much power is going to be needed to comfortably create some trails, pull small stumps and pull tree lengths out of the woods. I am talking like cedars and poplar, maybe up to a foot in diameter, maybe up to 20 feet in length...is this beyond the realm of a capable sub-compact?

40-50 hp (pto) minimum to do these tasks "comfortably". Sub-compacts have no place in the woods IMHO--they lack power and their ground clearance is too small. It's easy to poke a hole in the radiator, oil filter, hydraulic filter while working amongst the debris typically found in the woods.

Be advised that pulling stumps with a tractor can be extremely dangerous. Backflips can happen in a few tenths of a second.There are plenty of threads in the TBN "Safety" forum concerning problems some folks got into when pulling stumps. Be careful out there.

 

[leonz]

Projects in the woods (something Aquafiend and I might be wanting to do)....beyond mowing and blowing.

Is there a consensus as to how much power is going to be needed to comfortably create some trails, pull small stumps and pull tree lengths out of the woods. I am talking like cedars and poplar, maybe up to a foot in diameter, maybe up to 20 feet in length...is this beyond the realm of a capable sub-compact?

The power issue is more relevant with the
type of soil and how wet it is.

Flush cutting the stumps eliminates the
need to yank them out and they will rot.

Pulling cut stumpage requires adhesion and
you will need a lot of it with dense hard woods
in log length.

In most all cases you would be better off using a
small winch from Baileys and a pulling cone as
you will be out much less money and you can
buy long pulling cables/ 400 foot lengths of
pulling rope for an open spooling winch and
move a lot of log length wood with no fuss
other than planning the route for the log(s).

You have to rememebr that log does not care
if you have a tractor or a winch and its dead
weight period. that is where the pulling cone
shines for a winch or a small tractor but the
winches from Baileys will handle this easily.

_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool: