Which size tractor--help, please

[airbiscuit]

I would go to the Kubota Dealer and test drive:

L3901 $28,111 w/ SSQA Loader & R14 Tires
Grand L4060 $34,197 w/ SSQA Loader & R4 Tires

My neighbor has a L3901 and it is quite capable, but seems narrow to me. If you have hills, it would make me uneasy. The grand L4060 is wider, heavier, larger tires, and has much nicer creature comforts. Theoretically, they are similar tractors (horsepower) but the closer you look, the more pronounced the differences seem.

This would be a good starting point to just get a "feel" for things.

 

[redman135]

Hello Dakota Joe, in no particular order.
1) If you are going to be moving rocks, get a 3rd service added at purchase time as a retrofit is pricey. Also recommend you get 2 or 3 scv outlets for the rear of the tractor for the same reason, it is good future proofing.
2) At your level of inexperience you will be looking to the dealer for advice. How close are they? Friendly to deal with?
3)If you get a cab then be prepared to prune low branches on the trails to save your cab windows/mirrors.
4) As your skills increace you ALWAYS get mission creep.
5)If you use a contractor to brushhog the 60 acres of medow what effect does this have on your tractor requirements?

 

[cowski]

john deere 5210 with mfd used

 

[Notforhire]

"On the one hand, I'd like it not to tear up or compact the trails too bad given how things can be more damp here now, and I'd like it to work in the forest trails (through which the Kubota L2350 just fits with a 5 foot bush hog).

On the other hand, I only want to buy one tractor and to have it be sufficiently powered and not to have any regrets. "

If I had 60ac to bush hog I would want a 8ft or larger, mower. You can cut 60ac with a 5ft mower, but it may take awhile.
If I was going to grapple brush, move fallen trees and rocks I would want a FEL/tractor combination that would lift close to a ton. (Figure a grapple itself @ 800lbs)
Light weight narrow tractors are outright scary lifting anything on slopes IMO.

I don't think you can cover all these chores with one tractor.
I would think about keeping the L2350 and adding a full size utility tractor, not a CUT.

 

[oosik]

I have 80 acres and a mile long gravel driveway. My land is mainly rolling grass lands with many stands of ancient Ponderosa pines. I have no other tree type on my land. I bought a brand new Ford 1700 4WD in 1982. It weighed around 2500 pounds. It worked, just fine, until 2009 when all the smaller project had been completed.

I traded the Ford in for a brand new 2009 Kubota M6040. This gave me the needed weight and power to take on bigger jobs. My M6040 with rear blade, grapple and Rim Guard loaded rear tires weighs - 10,010 pounds.

Other than the initial cost of the M6040 - upgrading my implements has been rather expensive also. The cost difference between a Class 1 implement vs a Class 2 implement is substantial.

The implements I have - FEL, bucket, grapple, rear blade, land plane grading scraper, disk harrow, rollover box blade, single bottom moldboard plow, chipper.

Most everything on my property can be mowed with my JD G100 mid-mount mower. However - I only mow about two acres of lawn - directly around the house. I will, on occasion, mow, - buck brush, wild multiflora rose bushes and an acre or so of field grass.

From your list of tasks - which task will take the longest to complete. How long do you want to spend doing this task. Can this task be broken into small units to be completed over time.

I think that NotForHire has a valid point. Your list indicates the need for both a smaller & a larger tractor. Keep what you have and consider either a large L-class or 50 to 70 hp M-class Kubota. If you will be mowing with a brush hog - a cabbed tractor is almost a must have.

If you find that all the jobs can be completed with the larger Kubota - then sell the smaller tractor.

Chances are - you are going to find quite a few added tasks that are not on your list and that you will want to take on.

I certainly did - one of the reason for the M6040.

 

[3Ts]

To mow 60 acres, even once or twice per year, I would want a 12' wide or 15' wide twin spindle rotary cutter behind a cab equipped tractor with ~~100+ horsepower.

Mowing 60 acres will require a big mower and lots of HP to turn it. All the other applications you mention can be done with something around 30-35 HP. Why do you want to mow the 60 acres? Why not contract with a local farmer to do the mowing &/or lease it for hay and let someone else provide the big equipment. Grass is one of the most difficult things to cut (believe it or not).

You'll need a grapple for brush, so get the 3rd function on the loader. And I agree with @notforhire on the lift capacity and general size of tractor being a full size utility tractor.

You're going to end up with more than 1 tractor to handle these different chores.

 

[dodge man]

You have two needs that conflict with each other. The trails that the Kubota barely fits down and mowing 60 acres. Like already pointed out I’d let someone else keep mowing the 60 acres for you. I’d look at a B series or a L series if you want Kubota depending on what will fit down your trails. I’d also skip the turf tires and go with R4(industrial) tires.

 

[Milo]

About 50 acres of meadows, 15 acres of scrub/border land, 60 acres of forest, 10 acres for houses, 30 acres runs up the mountain to the Trail and is too steep for a tractor.

I have a similar sized property only more woods but just around 15 acres of meadows that get mowed down once in the Fall which my L2501 does just fine with a 60 flail mower. I generally do it over 3 part days. But if I needed to mow 50 acres of meadow, and possibly the 15 acres of border land, I'd want at least an L3901 (same tractor only more power) to run a wider rotary cutter or flail. As others have mentioned this much mowing will be a lot of work for a small L tractor. But a small L might be perfect for everything else you need to do w/o being to big, heavy, and expensive. I think their advice to get someone else to mow the 50-60 acres makes the most sense, but if you can't or don't want to have someone else do this I would get something like a Kubota MX.

 

[Notforhire]

But if I needed to mow 50 acres of meadow, and possibly the 15 acres of border land, I'd want at least an L3901 (same tractor only more power) to run a wider rotary cutter or flail. As others have mentioned this much mowing will be a lot of work for a small L tractor. But a small L might be perfect for everything else you need to do w/o being to big, heavy, and expensive. I think their advice to get someone else to mow the 50-60 acres makes the most sense, but if you can't or don't want to have someone else do this I would get something like a Kubota MX.

When it comes to mowing, sticking with a L size tractor doesn't gain you much, no matter the HP.
The problem is mower weight.

My L47 is spec. for a max. cutter dia of 6 ft, with a max weight of 926 lbs. My Bushhog 286 actually weighs 962 lbs which is a little heavier than the recommendation. The 3 PH lift cap is 3860 lbs.

A 287 (7 footer) weighs 1127 lbs and has a 50 HP min. requirement.
8 ft cutters run 2000+ lbs

A MX has a lift capacity of around 2310 according to the brochure.

I don't know, but I suspect that Kubota doesn't recommend a 7ft or 8 ft cutter on a MX.

Remember the weight is way out there with a bush hog, not close to the pins.


So the bottom line is with a larger L or MX you move from a 5 ft to a 6 ft cutter, hardly worthwhile when cutting 50 acres.


Since I was young I've dreamed about my perfect vehicle.

It's the combination Sports Car / Dump Truck!

It drives like a Corvette and can carry 22 tons of crushed stone, all while getting 30 mpg on regular gas.

I keep looking, but I think the odds of me finding one are about the same as the OP finding one tractor that will do everything he wants.

 

[Milo]

I was thinking something such as this 8' dual spindle brush cutter/mower on an MX. RCF3696 Series Rotary Cutters | Land Pride