What size tractor would pull this disc with ease?

[RollingsFarms]

Rolling farms: I have a taylor-way disc very similar in design to that disc, and I pull it with a A-C D 12 series III. It pulls very well in our sandy ground, but you know its there when you hit the clay!

I'm not familiar with that model. are you talking about an old Allis-Chalmers? what horsepower does it put out? I am not familiar with models of AC's but would like to hear more about yours. All i know is my 27 hp in 3rd gear(low range) just wont pull it as effective as I belive a 50-60hp(2WD but prefferably 4WD) would get the job done. (i'm CREEPING along now but any lower then that and snails would pass me.haha) I just get tired of going along, then hit a spot and bury the tractor...raise the disk up, back up and go again, do this for longer then an hour in hot enough weather and the tractor overheats(not sure if its the transmission or the motor overheating because the temp light is for both but I have a feeling its the transmission). I really need something that's going to work, and work HARD and work all day if I need it to, even if it is 100 degrees outside.

 

[heymack]

Rollingfarms, take a look at the New Holland TT60 or TT75. Either of these will pull that little disk around all day without problem and they're very affordable.

 

[wushaw]

Ah, but they ARE real. Solid stock no less. They're built for specific use jobs. Forestry people keep them around, usually with a crawler tractor that has a 3-point hitch, to cut firebreaks in a hurry. One pass, deep enough to bring up moisture.... I'm sure a few filter in to a life outside it's intended market. Seen a time or 2 I'd liked to have had that rascal!

There maybe some solid stock on this disk but not all...you can see caps welded on the gang arms so no solid there unless it's filled with lead, and there is a welded bead on the rear frame bar and seen side frame bar.
It could be 1/4" wall tubing and the gang attach points look to be substancial in weight also. I could see 900lbs maybe a little more but not much.

I know my little homebuilt 5 footer weighs 630lbs and does very well on my soil.

 

[RollingsFarms]

There maybe some solid stock on this disk but not all...you can see caps welded on the gang arms so no solid there unless it's filled with lead, and there is a welded bead on the rear frame bar and seen side frame bar.
It could be 1/4" wall tubing and the gang attach points look to be substancial in weight also. I could see 900lbs maybe a little more but not much.

I know my little homebuilt 5 footer weighs 630lbs and does very well on my soil.

i would agree about it weighing 900+/- i'd guess anoywhere between 850-950 tops. what do you tug your disk around with(what size tractor? make? 4wd or 2wd?)

 

[Farmwithjunk]

There maybe some solid stock on this disk but not all...you can see caps welded on the gang arms so no solid there unless it's filled with lead, and there is a welded bead on the rear frame bar and seen side frame bar.
It could be 1/4" wall tubing and the gang attach points look to be substancial in weight also. I could see 900lbs maybe a little more but not much.

I know my little homebuilt 5 footer weighs 630lbs and does very well on my soil.

Try closer to 2000lbs.....Spools (spacers between disc) are heavy. Disc blades themselves are much heavier than normally found on a 3-point disc. Even extra weight built into the hitch. I'm hunting for a link to a forestry equipment manufacturer that build 'em. Can't recall their name to save me right now. Here's a link to a company that makes products for simular applications. Note the weight of some of the super-heavy duty disc's. They pile on the weight in any fashion.

Fireline & Forestry Equipment - Erb & Roberts, Inc.

 

[N80]

I agree with your estimate. A basic KK 6 footer weighs in at 850. That thing is twice as 'dense' as a KK or other low end brand.

 

[Gizmo36]

Farmwithjunk is right they want miss 2000lbs by much.They are for deep Tillage .If he pulls on them allot with a 790 Deere he will be putting a motor in before long.

 

[wushaw]

i would agree about it weighing 900+/- i'd guess anoywhere between 850-950 tops. what do you tug your disk around with(what size tractor? make? 4wd or 2wd?)

I pull mine with a L2800HST 29hp fourwheel drive.


Farmwithjunk, I went to the link and see that the pictured disk is different than the one in question.
The only real way to find out the actual weight is if Rollingfarms weighs it.

Rollingfarms if you have a CAT scale locally and a trailer then you could weigh it that way....get a tare weight first of the trailer then put the disk on and get another weight. CAT scale cost is @7.00-8.00 each weight.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I pull mine with a L2800HST 29hp fourwheel drive.


Farmwithjunk, I went to the link and see that the pictured disk is different than the one in question.
The only real way to find out the actual weight is if Rollingfarms weighs it.

Rollingfarms if you have a CAT scale locally and a trailer then you could weigh it that way....get a tare weight first of the trailer then put the disk on and get another weight. CAT scale cost is @7.00-8.00 each weight.

I realize they're completely different designs, but the point is, for the application, they're built with extreme weight incorperated in their basic frames.

It may take 'till I get back to the office this coming tuesday to find the name, and then the link to the company I suspect made the disc in question. Can't recall their name.....Getting old.....

 

[Turkeyman]

I would look at a 55 -65pto hp 4wd tractor. Maybe one with a rabbit /turtle so when you hit clay you can push a button and power thru it. ALtman NH in Florence has a Kubota 8580 4wd w/cab and loader for $25 k. They show several other 4wds as well. Sparrow & Kennedy have several 55-75 hp 4WD as well. ( Fastline Mid Atlantic).
The problem w/ these is moving in the woods with one. Big farm tractor are often too big for woods work. I would avoid a cab but get a FOPS as dead pine limbs are always falling.
55 pto Hp would also easly pull a 12-14 cutter for those fields.

 

[rm2005]

Greetings! This is my first post on TBN. Just reading these posts are scaring me. I, like Rollings Farms, am in South Carolina as well. I have 45 acres about an hour from Columbia and only have about 6 or 7 total acres to bush hog and disc. (also sandy soil) The rest are pines and some hardwoods. Some of it is along a powerline, about 3 acres of open field and the rest 150 yds long by 30 feet wide that I plant for deer food plots. For the last 5 years I've been hiring the work out so the ground has been turned a few times. I am wanting to buy a tractor and start doing the work (play) myself but have gotten so much conflicting info from dealers that now I don't know what I need. I prefer a compact and looked at the JD 2520. One dealer says good with 5' disc and cutter, one says only good with 4' implements and one says too small for what I need to do. Have been looking hard at Kubota compacts but almost afraid to go with Japanese considering the problems right now in Japan. Maybe problems with parts availability in the future. Starting to consider the JD 3032E now. Any advice would surely be appreciated.

 

[N80]

I think you should buy whichever brand you like but I would not worry about Kubota in light of Japan's current problems. Kubota is a huge company.

Anyway, I still have my Kubota L4400. It is 45 hp, 4wd and fairly light. I pull a 7' disk through tough soil with no problems. Pull a 2 bottom plow with no problems. I use a 6' JD rotary cutter with no problems. Landscape rake is 7', all other implements are 6'. All that is to say that you should be fine with smallish tractor in the 45-50 hp range. A heavier tractor might be a plus for you but do not forget your towing capability. If you have an F250 or 2500 level truck it won't make much difference, but if you have a 1/2 ton truck those pounds start to push the limits pretty quick.

 

[rm2005]

Thank you for the info. The L4400 is a nice tractor. I looked at it at the Palmetto Sportsmans Classic but it is more money than I want to spend. I'm looking for something in the 30HP range. Maybe the L3200 or the JD 3032E. I will not be using anything larger than a 5' rotary cutter or 5' disc harrow. One thing about the JD 3032E is that the HST has only 2 speeds where I believe the L3200 has a 3 speed range. I'm wondering if 2 speed range will be a problem for disking or cutting. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[N80]

I can't help you since I know next to nothing about HST tractors. My L4400 is gear drive. But that's what made it so I could afford it.

 

[nybirdman]

With a tractor the size of the L3200 I think you would be better served with a tiller rather than a disc.Some thing you could pull would not weigh a lot and would take multiple passes to do what a tiller would do in one pass.I tried a three point disc with a L3130 in our soil it didn't work very well.I plow and roto-till.

 

[Grandad4]

Welcome to TBN, RM2005. Good advice so far. Both Kubota and Deere make excellent equipment, are big companies that have been around for a long time and will be around in the future... don't let sales talk or other misinformation mislead you about the Japanese manufacturers.

With all due respect, I'm thinking you've got the cart before the horse somewhat here. You're letting an implement you own dictate the size of tractor you need, instead of first looking at the work to be done and sizing both the tractor and the implements to the job.

A rotary tiller seems like a good solution for what you want to do, since, other than that monster disc you have, you really don't need a 70-100 hp tractor for the work you do on your 7 cleared acres. A 30-40 hp compact with loader, 5 or 6 ft. tiller, 5 or 6 ft. brush cutter, maybe some other implements like a box blade would do everything just fine, I would think.

There are any number of good Deere and Kubota models to choose from in that size range, and you'll have equipment that will last a long time and hold its value. I would recommend an HST model for a tiller... they can creep at the extremely slow speeds needed when running a tiller. Otherwise, find one that fits your taste and budget.

 

[LeadPoison]

If it were me I would look for a used Kubota M6800 in 4WD. Tractorhouse.com has some near your area. My Kubota M4900 2WD pulls 850# with no problem, but you will want a more stout 3 point hitch with that much weight back there all the time.