Buying Advice Tractor sizing advice, please.

[incontrol6253]

I have tested all the other compact and sub compact tractors available with the exception of an ls.... Some but not all included several versions of each of the following ... Kioti, Kubota , John Deere, New Holland, Mahindra, Case, and Branson. I fell in love with the Branson 3520H. I don't really want to spend the money for any one of the 30+HP tractors though if say a Branson 2400h would do what I need. Can I get some opinions please. I will own 10 acres. The most I would use a box blade is 1 or 2 times a years on a driveway. About 8 acres consists of rolling hills of shin high thick grass. The only brush is less than an inch thick around some wood line that I would only need to clean up once and then keep maintained. Will the smaller tractor fit my needs? Even if I have to use a four foot rotary cutter going to 5 or 6 ft cutter wouldn't save that much time, although I would be cutting the rest every week or two. So thoughts?

 

[BMan2005]

It'll work and be very handy compared to not having one at all. Especially if you're getting FEL and 4wd. But coming from someone who originally worked 14 acres with about 9 in pasture/grass with a 32hp and 4' mower, there was several times I with I had a 40-50hp to speed things up. Just my bit of advice.

 

[LD1]

Since you didn't mention any requirements of needing to lift a certain weight.......

A small tractor will do everything a large one will, just slower.

 

[Tractorable]

Instead of approaching this in a "what's the smallest and least expensive tractor I can get away with", I suggest you asses what your property maintenance needs are and purchase a machine that will handle them with easily.

You have 8 acres of thick grass to mow. Nothing taxes a tractor more than mowing through thick grass. You need horsepower for that. A 4ft mower is very small and it will take you a long time. A 5ft or 6ft mower would be much better.

The general rule of thumb for rotary cutters is 5hp per ft of mower. So 4ft requires 20 PTO hp and a 5ft requires 25 PTO hp. The 35hp tractor (~27 PTO HP) is going to be much more suitable for your needs. It will also provide you with more capability for the other tasks required on your 10 acre property.

 

[ericm979]

If you can afford it, get the 3520. It'll run an appropriate sized rotary cutter and you already know you like it more. When I was shopping Bransons I thought the 20 and 25 series was better built than the smaller models.

I bought my 3725 in February. It replaced a Kubota B7100 which is a little smaller than the 2400. I've been using the 3725 so much and getting so much done with it that I could have justified spending quite a bit more than I did. But I need some more implements like a grapple so that'll take care of spending more.

 

[Tractorable]

Also, look at the new Yanmar YT235 while you're comparison shopping. 100 year-old Japanese company. It'd be perfect for 10 acres.

 

[Rmart30]

Stuck on a new one? You could get a nice lightly used higher hp machine for probably less than the newer ones you are looking at.

 

[BMan2005]

OP, just noticed you are in TN. This Tractor is in middle GA at a dealership, trade in. I think it was a 14', it's a Workmaster 55 with 202 hrs, asking $20.5k. That's probably in line with most the tractors you mentioned new. May be to big for what you are after, but passing along just in case.

 

[bilrus61]

I maintain a 300 yard long gravel driveway with just my loader bucket. I just dump a load out of the bucket and drag the bucket over the gravel backwards. You'll not wear out a bucket. Hold off on the box blade till you see if that is all you need to keep your driveway smooth. I've been doing it that way for 20 years.

It takes forever for a 4ft cutter to cut a acre. You'll end up lapping almost a foot to get a clean cut and that means your doing it with a 3 footer. I would consider a 5 footer minimum to cut your acreage every week or so.

 

[timswi]

I do the same with 250' of driveway and almost 1000' of right of way...I use my landscape rake every so often to smooth/churn things up. Dump and pull works well especially using float. Sometimes I have to push the bucket down but either way works well.