I need a tractor, help me choose well

The title says it all! Well not really, here is the rest (sorry, a little long).

My wife wants a tractor, and who am I to argue? She says she wants a Kubota, but that is based on good advertising and a friend that has one.

Tasks that will be done with it, in general order from least to most - moving firewood, dirt, large rocks, and other stuff around, loading the pickup, driveway repair, maybe snow plowing the driveway, maybe a little excavating, maybe bushhogging, etc.

My wife, who is not particularly mechanically inclined, and is a petit upper middle-aged woman, will be operating it probably as much as me. I will maintain it and swap implements as needed. She can drive a stick, and runs other quipment, so I think she will do OK if the steering is not too difficult.

We live on 10 acres of mostly wooded land. The lawn (1/2 - 3/4 acre?) cutting is currently done with a riding mower, and I think that method will continue. The driveway (800 ft) is currently plowed with a very tired pickup with a blade, but I can probably keep that going. I suspect it is easier to plow with the truck than the tractor would be. So we have methods to accomplish these jobs, but I am open to improvements.

All wood and other things are currently lifted by hand, and moved with the truck. A FEL is absolutely the big reason why we would want a tractor. Wife is thinking forks as well, hoping to palletize the wood, but I am not so sure about that.

A backhoe would be used, but I am not sure if it would enough to justify its cost. I'm listening, go ahead and tell me. (BTW, we have lots of boulders, that the wife would move aroud if we had a way to do that.)

The heavily forested part of the land (most of it) is overgrown, and could be cut. A bushhog might work, but there are those bolders I was talking about, and uneven ground.

Maintaining the gravel driveway is currently done by hand. I would not mind improving on that method.

Either gas or diesel works for me, probably diesel is better, but I would have to store another fuel. I think 4wd is worthwhile as well?

Oh, and I have never owned a tractor, I am a former city boy. I have no idea what I am talking about, and don't know other ways that a tractor could add value to my life. Edumacate me ....

I am good with new or used, I can maintain equipment. Parts availability is important. If used, I think probably something built in the last 2 decades. Budget - I hope $20k or less, could swing $25k for well equipped.

What would you be looking at?

 

I like orange. They work. Some of the guys here can lead you to good used stuff. After getting a skid steer I never saw the need for a tractor. Big orange makes them too.

 

With about 90% of tractor owning FHC'rs having orange tractors...I think I know how this ends...

 

Agreed. I must add that I would get the quick tach with a tractor purchase. Any skid steer implement will work then. Cheap to rent if only needed a couple times a year.

 

This.. the quick attach is key from all that I've seen. 4wd is pretty much a must if you want to work it well in that woods.

 

We purchased an extremely lightly used BX25D last year.

I like it a lot, it is on the small side and lacks some power compared to larger models of course.

I like the backhoe a lot, but a mini excavator is way more efficient if doing a lot of digging or trench work.

Avoid any backhoe that isn't frame mounted, I've read nothing good about 3pt attached backhoes.

FEL is great to have, if you have the availability, quick attach is a game changer. Highly recommended, especially if you want forks.

A third function valve is a good addition if you look towards a grapple, as I believe it is required. PLZ correct if I'm wrong on this guys.


Box blade works great for driveway maintenance. One hint here that I didn't know, you can adjust the BB angle, via the 3pt attachment to crown the drive.


Haven't plowed with mine.

3 pt bushhogs can be found relatively easily, and not too pricey at times.

Another note of advice, if you purchase from a dealership, have them weight your tires.


Good luck shopping, and of course..

 

L series Kubota, Skid Steer style bucket, either forks or a grapple. 4wd, loaded tires, rake, grading scraper or box blade for your driveway.
Backhoe is the wildcard. Think long and hard about how much you'll use it. You could buy a L2501 equipped as I detailed above for around the 25k budget, add a hoe and you'll be in the low 30's.

 

Pick the one you like in the size you think you will need then step up two sizes!

 

Read Well Seasoned thread he got a Kubota, I have a 2008 50 HP way bigger than you need but it maintains my 1/4 mile drive and has been extremely reliable,
yes diesel
Yes quick release
Consider canopy makes for easy plexi doors
4wd makes sense
As many xtra hydraulic as possible
Forget back hoe rent excavator a week a year

 

Sounds like everything you want it for is exactly what we use ours for, so I'll give you my experiences.

We bought our LS J2023H 6 years ago now when we bought our house on 40-acres in northern NH. My recommendation right off the bat would be to think hard about what size tractor you need...then get the next size up. While Im very happy with my tractor and the slightly smaller size is handy a lot of the time, I wish I went just the next size up. Mostly just for FEL capacity if nothing else. The smaller size is handy in that it fits in my tighter trails for brush hogging easily and doesnt take up as much space in my garage...but slightly larger would be nice.

We have a 1200' driveway I plow with a rusty old truck and also have a snowblower on the tractor. The snowblower is great for the big storms where the plow would really get bogged down. Having went with the slightly smaller tractor it has a mid-mount PTO in addition to rear PTO...larger tractors only have a rear PTO. The advantage to the mid-mount is I got a FRONT mount snowblower which I LOVE. Its very nice and handy to drive up and down my driveway in the forward position.

The FEL is great for moving firewood, I also bought a 3 point carry-all from Tractor Supply and built a nice wooden platform on it with "sides" sort of...so between that and the FEL I can load it with quite a bit of wood to move around.

Moving rocks (we have a LOT in New Hampshire)...ehh, the tractors not the best for it. Anything that can be muscled by hand I can roll into the bucket and move, but anything bigger or partially buried Im very limited. I wouldn't plan to move anything too large if you get a similar size tractor.

I personally wouldn't bother with a backhoe unless you are buying something large, like in the 50 horse range. Backhoes really need WEIGHT to be effective. I have an 11,000 lb excavator and even that gets tossed around when Im trying to pull big stumps or rocks, so I suspect a much lighter tractor would be just about useless. Plus they look very cumbersome to hook/unhook from the tractor and I am constantly changing implements so that would get old fast.

Forks are hugely helpful, even if you arent planning to palletize your wood for transport, they come in handy so often I wouldnt shy away from getting a set.

Bushhogging is about 30% of what mine does, I mow a bunch of fields around the property and maintain a ton of trails. I bought a cheap used 4' bushhog when I first got my tractor and with regular maintenance/new blades its been great for me. A 25 hp tractor or so is plenty for hogging grass/saplings.

I also maintain our 1200' gravel driveway. In addition to using the FEL to move/spread gravel each year to fill in holes, I tow a DR power grader behind the tractor every spring to regrade the driveway. It works wonders, after about a dozen trips up and down the driveway it looks good as new.

If you're talking $20-$25k that opens up a lot. I paid about $13,500 for mine brand new 6 years ago. LS tractors are made by LS which makes New Holland Boomers...mine is literally a New Holland Boomer 25 with different stickers for about $5000 less. The Mitsubishi 3 cylinder has been good. The fit/finish is not the best, and Ive had a few minor issues, but Im sure any tractor in this size will. My advice on which brand to buy is pick the one that has the dealer closest to you. I drive by both a Deere and Kubota dealer on my way to the LS dealer and it pizzes me off (not that Ive gone to the dealer much, but over the life of the tractor I am sure I'll make trips to and from). If I could do it over again I'd buy a slightly larger (30 hp range) Deere just simply because the dealer is 10 minutes from me.

Oh and plan on some sort of ballast weight for the rear. I got a 300 lb concrete block that mounts to my 3 point hitch and its on the rear end anytime an implement isnt. The tractor really needs that weight, especially when carrying weight in the FEL.

 

Might want to look at the power trac tractors also. Their very efficient at doing most of the jobs you mentioned.


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These posts are both correct.
If you don't think you'd use a BH very often, then your money is definitely better spent in upgrading sizewise.

I use mine frequently enough that I've only removed it twice in the year we've had the tractor.

While I wouldn't say my BH use useless, it does have strict limitations.

It works for my purposes, but I'm also not moving boulders or removing huge stumps.

I have moved some large stones, and removed smallish stumps. It takes longer with such a small machine, but still accomplished my goals.

I would agree that the machine should be of appropriate size in reference to the task.


List your priorities, and talk to different dealers in your area.

Location of the dealerships in your area is also good advice. Do you have a trailer to move around this tractor if necessary?

Something to keep in mind as well.

 

What dealers are close to you? We have a L3130 Kubota with FEL. Wish it had the quick attach loader on it. Works great

 

L48. Once and done. Early to mid 2000’s era. Comes with the backhoe, skid steer qa bucket, and front auxiliary hydraulics

 

Tractors are handy much better than hand work but they are limited when it comes to digging and moving rocks I have had several tractors all with loaders Bobcat CT120,CT450,New Holland powerstar 4.75 and they all served their purpose well mostly making hay but I have a S-650 bobcat skidloader and for grading, moving logs ,brushmowing,and snow removal and I would never go back to tractors I also have been running skidloaders for 30 years and thousands of hours I would go to a show where they have demo areas and try them out also if you have limited experience a hydrostatic machine is the way to go good luck JB

 

I totally agree. In my honest opinion the best attachment is a root grapple. I use it more than most.

Edit: make sure to get pilot controls

 

And the rabbit hole goes deeper.




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