Tractor Sizing TRACTOR WEIGHT as ONE (1) CRITERION in TRACTOR SELECTION

[Blue Mule]

I learned the hard way that a guy should NOT buy a heavy tractor unless he can afford horsepower to go with it. The two specs are not mutually exclusive. What good is a 3,500 lb tractor that's confined to operation in low range?

 

[Berlock]

There are definitely some compromises with increased weight too.
Soil compaction; especially working on turf in a rural residential setting.
Transportability; bigger trailers and vehicles required to move the tractor.
Cost.

I’m actually considering getting a lawn tractor for mowing due to the SCUT creating ruts. It’s just too heavy for that application in the wet springtime.

 

[jeff9366]

I have a 5 acres in N Central Arizona. All flat, about 2 acres is horse pasture. Well not grass pasture, but dirt and rock. The other 3 acres are 'grassy' but not nice grass.

Plus there are spots with rocks that need to be cleared and always horse manure to spread.

Here are my parameters: Decent HP (24?) - 4x4 - rear box scraper - front bucket - canopy - mower deck. Other than that I'm flexible. Budget is under $20k. I'd like to go new to get a warranty, plus most manufacturers are offering $0 down and 0% financing which makes it doable....

After much searching, I basically know nothing much more than when I started looking.


Your parameters include tractors with a bare tractor weight varying from 1,700 pounds to 2,800 pounds. Tractor capability is more closely correlated to tractor weight than any other specification. Tractors weighing 1,700 to 2,000 pounds typically come with a mid-PTO to operate mid-mount-mowers. Heavier tractors forego the mid-PTO but are wider and have larger wheels, making them more stable platforms for heavier work over uneven ground.

Bare tractor weight is a fundamental tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used. Shop your weight range within tractor brands. Budget will eliminate some choices. Collect a dealer brochure for each tractor model in your weight range.

I spreadsheet tractor and implement specs, often a revealing exercise which cuts through specification clutter.


MORE: Tractor Sizing - Almost Daily Thread: SUBCOMPACT or COMPACT TRACTOR?

BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR​

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I have a 5 acres in N Central Arizona. All flat, about 2 acres is horse pasture. Well not grass pasture, but dirt and rock. The other 3 acres are 'grassy' but not nice grass.

Plus there are spots with rocks that need to be cleared and always DG (?) to spread.

Here are my parameters: Decent HP (24?) - 4x4 - rear box scraper - front bucket - canopy - mower deck. Other than that I'm flexible. Budget is under $20k. I'd like to go new to get a warranty, plus most manufacturers are offering $0 down and 0% financing which makes it doable....

After much searching, I basically know nothing much more than when I started looking.


Your parameters include tractors with a bare tractor weight varying from 1,700 pounds to 2,800 pounds. Tractor capability is more closely correlated to tractor weight than any other specification. Tractors weighing 1,700 to 2,000 pounds typically come with a mid-PTO to operate mid-mount-mowers. Heavier tractors forego the mid-PTO but are wider and have larger wheels, making them more stable platforms for heavier work over uneven ground.

Bare tractor weight is a fundamental tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used. Shop your weight range within tractor brands. Budget will eliminate some choices. Collect a dealer brochure for each tractor model in your weight range.

I spreadsheet tractor and implement specs, often a revealing exercise which cuts through specification clutter.


MORE: Tractor Sizing - Almost Daily Thread: SUBCOMPACT or COMPACT TRACTOR?

BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR​

Jeff I want to honor and thank you again for your continued effort to point this out and help the newbies get a understanding of this. As I have mentioned in the past, the tractor sales people either do not understand this or don't see it important enough to mention/explain it.

 

[jeff9366]

Thank you. Developing this thread over 3-1/2 years had been interesting. I learned a lot from T-B-N peer criticism.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Thank you. Developing this thread over several years had been interesting. I learned a lot in the process from T-B-N peer criticism.

Your threads have been a game changer for me and I am ever so grateful. My hat will always be off to you.

 

[jeff9366]

We buy hay. We need to move bales. Bales can be 800-1200 lbs.


It is understood you need to move bales. Do you need to lift bales in order to stack them two or three bale rows high?


An open station tractor with a bare weight of 3,700 to 4,000 pounds can lift and move 800 - 1,200 pound round bales using a bale spear on the Front End Loader and stack bales two high on level ground if you purchase a FEL with sufficient lift capacity 500mm forward of the pivot pins. However, the tractor will feel very tippy to a neophyte operator lifting bales to stack.

An open station tractor weighing 3,700 to 4,000 pounds can transport 1,200+ pound round bales safely with a Three Point Hitch mounted (rear) bale spear but can only lift bales a few inches. Transport but no stacking. The tractor is stable because the bale weight is low and bale weight is carried on the large, rear tractor tires, which do not pivot/steer.

This is the mid-weight category of compact tractors, a high volume segment. Every tractor manufacturer produces an economy model and a deluxe model in this weight range. Horsepower options range from 40-horsepower to 60-horsepower in this weight range.

A tractor with a bare weight of 3,700 to 4,000 pounds is suitable for actually working 10 to 25 acres of farm acreage. Working acres, not total acres.


For safety most recommend a 5,000 pound bare weight tractor for moving and lifting bales heavier than 1,200 pounds using a bale spear on the Front End Loader and for safely moving/stacking 1,200 pound bales by inexperienced tractor operators using a front bale spear. A 5,000 pound bare weight tractor can stack round bales at least three high.

A tractor with a bare weight of 5,000 pounds is suitable for actually working 20 to 40 acres of farm acreage. Working acres, not total acres.

 

[IndyIan]

My tractor at about 5500lbs(tractor ~4100+loader~900+loaded rears~500) working weight does fine in 2wd with 4x5 round hay bales, with some ballast on the 3pth. Either another bale or the box blade near 1000lbs. It barely does a 3 high pyramid though using a hay fork with two tines on the bottom. My regular single spear fork can't stack a 3 high pyramid. I would think moving a 1200lb 5x6 bale wouldn't be much different but then it could only do a 2 high pyramid.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Hey Jeff, I want to share this article as I believe it perfectly conveys what you are trying to communicate to everyone on this thread. Please take a read:

What Horsepower Ratings Mean to Work on Your Farm

If you are planning to buy a new tractor and ask about horsepower (hp), you might want to rely on your experiences buying the right cartridge for your printer, a battery that fits your phone or a replacement razor blade that works in your razor.

www.dtnpf.com

"It's easy to see the new tractor is rated to pull the same as the H, but the engine has to be packaged around a tractor built like the H." The author says everything but stops short of saying "weight". The article was well written but it ended without the final conclusion being pointed out which was like listening to a song reaching climax and then just abruptly stops.