Buying Advice Tractor Size for Timber Property Maintenance

taw1126 · Mar 25, 2014

I've spent many hours reviewing the information on this site and have learned much, but figured it's time to get some specific opinions.

I'm in the process of closing on some east Texas timber property that is a mix of loblolly pine plantation and hardwood bottoms. The plan is to convert plantations to more natural, uneven-aged longleaf stands but either way most of the property will remain in timber production and be used as a recreational (hunting) property. The tractor will be used to create/maintain fire breaks (disking), maintain a few miles of road, and for food plots. The only PTO use I expect is broadcast spreader and post hole auger...prescribed burns and disk will be used to control vegetation. Tractor will be purchased with FEL.

Really want this tractor to be simple enough that there's no reason it won't last 40 years with routine maintenance. Along those lines I looked at open station Mahindra -30 and -35 series and John Deere E series (I'd really like to consider New Holland but I'm not impressed with the Workmaster series).

After the "window shopping", I'm leaning very heavily towards the Deere 5045E. Do I have any real justification to move up to the 5055E if I'm not planning on significant PTO use? I don't want to run out of tractor right off the bat but every $ spent on more horsepower is a $ I can't spend on the rest of the list (fence, barn, pond, etc.).

Thanks in advance for your opinions & guidance on right size in the E series and any other tractors I should consider.

newbury · Mar 25, 2014

What size (weight) log do you want to be able to lift?

Run it thru the calculator Log Weight Calculator at WOODWEB.

I tried to buy a 40HP tractor that would lift a ton on the 3pt, but ended up with my M4700 that should lift a ton on the FEL and two ton on the 3pt.

taw1126 · Mar 25, 2014

newbury- great question. Actually I won't be (shouldn't be?) lifting any logs with it. The plantations are pretty big (each 90-acres or so) and will be sold as stumpage, so a "real" logging outfit will do all of the cutting, limbing, and loading.

Deerherd · Mar 25, 2014

Welcome to the forum and remember, tractor shopping is fun!

As a general rule, buy the biggest tractor that you can afford, within reason. Many more people on here move up than down in size or are really fortunate and own more than one! You don't want to over spend but buying too small can cost more in the long run.

All your uses of the tractor might not be readily apparent either, so build in a little room for growth. With a timber operation going on even if you are hiring the main job out, you WILL want a grapple to move tops around. And maybe a wood chipper. Oh and it's cheaper to buy a stump grinder with all these stumps than rent one and how much does a logging winch cost anyways....see how things snowball?!!

I would start with a 45-60 hp machine, the color of your choosing and might as well get the cab now, or you can wait and get it on your next tractor. If you could find a close out tier 3 model like a Kioti DK50 (with cab of course) you might save some cash. There's plenty of good help on here spending your money!

rmorey · Mar 25, 2014

Deerherd said:
Welcome to the forum and remember, tractor shopping is fun!

As a general rule, buy the biggest tractor that you can afford, within reason. Many more people on here move up than down in size or are really fortunate and own more than one! You don't want to over spend but buying too small can cost more in the long run.

All your uses of the tractor might not be readily apparent either, so build in a little room for growth. With a timber operation going on even if you are hiring the main job out, you WILL want a grapple to move tops around. And maybe a wood chipper. Oh and it's cheaper to buy a stump grinder with all these stumps than rent one and how much does a logging winch cost anyways....see how things snowball?!!

I would start with a 45-60 hp machine, the color of your choosing and might as well get the cab now, or you can wait and get it on your next tractor. If you could find a close out tier 3 model like a Kioti DK50 (with cab of course) you might save some cash. There's plenty of good help on here spending your money!

Funny, thats exactly what happened to me. Bought a small bandmill, need a tractor to load logs. Need a winch to harvest logs. Need a trailer to move tractor...and so on, and so on.