Tractors and Small Properties

[3930dave]

Tractors generally hold value well, so worst case if you bought one and decided it wasn't for you (IMO, nil chance of that, if you like mechanical things at all.....), then you shouldn't lose much selling it.

Just a general comment on diesels (can't tell from your post what your exposure is) - a big advantage to staying with a small diesel (modern production) is no complex emission system, which have been mandated on larger tractors for some time.

Having a PTO drive on even a small tractor opens up lots of possibilities as to what you can play with (call it work in public ) for accessory equipment.

Rgds, D.

 

[GeneV]

Actually I have a 5 acres partially hilly, and I have found that the MF 1715 I bought is probably a bad investment for me, not that its a bad machine because it isn't... It is not nearly as agile as my JD L120 48 inch riding mower and can not reasonably mow where my JD rider can...... A $13,700 investment and another $100 for quick hitch, and $400 for rear scraper, and about $1200 for 48 inch mower deck.. And had to make 500 pound ballast box to counter the weight FEL is capable of lifting.... IT was just not a practical purchase because it is more work to use than actually not having it.... Should have just bought a new $2500 riding mower and and small $120 trailer and been happy with that... I have to actually look for uses for it to justify having it.... It's now 2 years old and only has 60+ hours... Tells you how much its used...

Many people will respond with different justifications for getting tractor, but for 1.1 acre postage stamp, not sure of practicality...

I am 75 and in reasonably good health and I find its just easier to go do something with riding mower and "hand" tools then to start up tractor, attach implements load tools and have to weave around various obstacles (trees) as with FEL on, it is a long and awkward thing to drive in tight places..... And I have to get off and use a rake or hoe to clean up all the tire tracks left behind ...

Dale

I wonder why nobody builds 4wd tractor loaders in the size of a garden tractor. Like the old case 400's, that size. If they had something like that, I'd choose that over my gc1710, even if it didn't come with a hoe.

I'm on 2.6 acres, some hilly, floodways/soft ground to deal with, lots of ruts here and there. I was managing most of that with a craftsman gt with locking diff. The massey tractor purchase was mainly for the loader and 4wd.

 

[GeneV]

I have a house on a 1.1 acre lot in eastern Massachusetts that's mostly wooded - maybe about 1/4 acre is grass and the rest is either driveway (almost 400ft), or forest (60' tall monster leaf producing oaks with nasty continually tick infested underbrush).

I've been tackling it with a 22" walk behind mower, 18" chainsaw, weed whacker/brush cutter, 32" walk behind snowthrower, and basically blowing leaves into the nearest spot into the woods, and creating brush piles when I have to take down a tree (often right next to where the tree went down). As I approach 60, I'm thinking that I need a plan to maintain this place for the next 15 years, and depending on my back might be a bad idea.

Would one of these subcompact tractors be a good fit for a property like this? Or would be over-kill? Some of me feels like this is a mid-life crisis purchase, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hiya Yard, welcome aboard! First thing I'd do if I was you, get you a backpack mist blower and some bifenthrin, get a handle on those ticks! A scut with a loader is handy, definitely. You could get by with a good garden tractor (with ballast), maybe add a winch to it to yank out some fallen trees. Also definitely need a dumping utility cart.

 

[Imold]

A tow behind big cart would be nice to have. Hmmmmmm.

 

[chim]

.............................Would one of these subcompact tractors be a good fit for a property like this? Or would be over-kill? ..............................

First, Welcome Aboard!

Browse around and you will likely discover this isn't the place to come if you want to be talked out of buying equipment The lawn mower of choice for our 3-1/2 acres is an L4240HSTC with a 7-1/2' rear mower.

 

[BX23D]

I think the correct answer will largely depend on your needs.

As another perspective to Dale, I have 5 heavily wooded acres, and I recently bought an LS XR4145HC (45 Hp, 4400 lb bare tractor weight, with a cab). It was probably one of the better decisions I've made in my life. It may seem overkill, but it has proved an incredible time/money saver for me.

My primary uses are maintaining a gravel driveway that is about 800 ft long, including snow removal. It cuts snow removal down from 2-3 hrs to about 30 minutes. My road is no longer full of pot holes that open up after heavy rains, and rattle my car apart. I also built some boxes on casters and use it to transport wood from my shed to the boiler in the garage. What was a weekly 1 hour task is now about 20 minutes.

There are many more jobs I plan to tackle now, whereas before my property was getting out of control because there were so many things I just couldn't realistically do without a tractor. For example, clear out the 30-40 face cord of downed timber that I have in my woods.

I have put roughly 20 hours on my tractor in about 6 weeks. I would have put more hours on it by now, but I just don't have the time to spend on it. Also, I do simply enjoy the act of being out working on the tractor.

Finally someone with sense. A tractor is not based on the area of one’s property alone but on the work you have for it. I have a BX23TLB on a .5 acre lot in a city, for 3 years it was on a 1/3 acre lot. BX23 with 60” deck never felt too big, but I’m not to lazy to remove the FEL or 53” 3pt snowblower. When I had a large job I brought in a very large tractor that had a chore turning around on my small lot. Do yourself a favour and filter out a lot of the garbage that gets posted as good information, then use your mind and decide what’s best for your needs with the good information that’s left. If you don’t know what your needs are, don’t buy anything.

 

[4570Man]

I’ve done a lot of work and have a lot more to do on my 2 acre property, more than I’d want to do with a SCUT. It’s been an ongoing project for years with upward of 2500 tons of dirt moved. Current project is expanding the driveway and that’ll be another 30 or so tons of dirt moved and 20 tons of gravel brought in.

 

[dodge man]

I have 3 acres, fairly hilly, about half trees and half lawn. I had a Kubota BX for 10 years and wonder how I got by without it. I recently bought a JD2025r and had some buyers remorse. Then we had a windstorm and had 3 or 4 tees blow down. The buyers remorse went away that weekend. The big question is can you afford it? They really are an investment.

 

[Tomtint]

When I got my first tractor ( BX22 ) I was on 3 acres. Lots of lawn and about 2 acres of woods. I used it to mow my lawn, thin out the over brush in the woods, clear the driveway of snow in the winter, dig trenches for drainage pipes from my downspouts..... And numerous other things that I can't recall. If we ever moved to a smaller property in the future, another BX would be on my list of things to buy.

 

[kenmbz]

I have a little over 6 acres and love my GC1720. I have a Piranha bar for the scrub brush and that works well. about 4 acres is solid forest with large Tulip Poplar, Oak and Maple. The SCUT can get through some of this, even with some slope involved. Used it to make a 100' long trench, move 10 tons of gravel, and getting ready to plow the shared driveway (about 600 feet).
Just look at the tasks you need to do and figure what you would need to do it. For one or two large jobs it might be worth it to rent. For the dozens of large jobs I needed to keep this property the SCUT has worked really well for me.
Try a test drive and imagine your property while doing it to see where the tractor might be useful, and Welcome