Tractor

[rhall]

I have recently purchased land and have 12 acers that I would like to plant corn ,clover etc. to attract deer for hunting. I would like some recomendations for a tractor. I think I want to buy new, but I want to be logical with price . Any suggestions on tractor brands and size I might need ? Also on what will bring in the deer the best ? Also I would need a loader on the tractor. Thanks for some thoughts !

[hudr]

You need to check out CBN's sister site Tractor By Net

Tons of info.

[Pat]

There are oodles of opinions on tractors but keep in mind that 12 acres is NOT LARGE. That said, also consider that no one ever complains about their tractor being too powerful and gettin the work done too fast.

A smallish CUT would be my recommendation for managing 12 acres. depending on what you intend to do you might want to consider 4WD. A 4WD tractor in the vicinity of 40 HP at the PTO will do just about anything a 60 HP tractor will do in 2WD. I would not recommend anything larger for your small acreage than about 40HP and depending on the tasks yo will attack you might do very well with a considerably smaller unit. There are lots of decisions to be made. Will you use hyudraulic controlled implements? Then you need an aux hydraulic connection by the 3PH. Will you spend long hoiurs on the tractor in inclement weather? If yes, then how about a cab model with heat and air.

Will you be JUST MOWIN' or will you want to seriously play in the dirt with a FEL and box blade. If you want an FEL that isn't fragile then you need to start out with a tractor designed for the front axle loading and enough hydraulic capacity to git 'er done. I have seen lots of tractors that were great for their intended purpose but were used for other things, poorly. I have two friends who both do FEL work with aftermarket FEL and have both had to rebuild the front end suspension/spindles and axles because the tractors weren't engineered for the load on the front.

This is just scratching the surface of the choices. Propane, gasoline, diesel... Shift on fly tranny, hydrostat, or plain Jane gearbox. Hydrostat is great for lots of manuevering but never intended for hour after hour of pulling a good load like a large brush hog, plow, disk or whatever. Row cropping type activities aren't well suited to a hydrostat.

I have a Kubota 3 cyl diesel 40 HP 4WD wth cab heat and air, and a hydrostat trany. I used the heck out of it in house building activities, drive building/maint, and a fair amout of mowing, logging, landscaping, and whatever. It has turned out to be the best compromise I cold imagine. It is too big for a few things but not many and too small for a few things I want to do but not many. It has been extremely robust and reliable. All problems I have had with it were of my own making and not the fault of the design or manufacturing of the unit.

Sometimes when I need to do something llike disk a fire break around a pasture in prep for burning I am really glad to have a freind show up with his BIGer tractor and get the job done in a small fraction of the time it would take me. The smallest controlled burn we have disked fire breaks for was 80 acres or 1/2 of my land. I can pretty well manage most anything I need to do with the Kubota. It was ideal for supporting the hoiuse build and is pretty well sized for what I need to don on the 160 acres.

I would think you would do OK with a smaller tractor unless you are going to try to do a lot of fairly intense or large jobs. I did not size my tractor to be able to do EVERYTHING I would ever need to do as that is very impractical and imprudent. I have hired buldozer and excavator work done because it would have taken me weeks to do what the right equipment can do in a day or two.

Hope some of this makes sense to you and helps you refine your requirements. It is impossible to make an informed decision about what tractor you need until and unless youcan quantify the jobs you will want to do with it. You can't just ask what is the best tool without a good idea of what jobs the tool will do.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[rhall]

Thanks for the suggestions Iam now looking for a tractor around 38-40 hp. I'm thinking about a kabota with a loader and bush hog any thoughts on what brand impliments or attachments ?

[GAFarmer]

Before you go jumping off the deep end, do you have a Kubota dealership around you? As a wise man once said, "A tractor ain't worth nothin' if you can't keep it running".

[Pat]

rhall, Again, it depelds. If you are able to restain yourself and not tryto over do it then standard duty (AKA lighter cheaper implements ala the King Kutter brand and similar) can be a good value for the dollar. I have some but my FEL is HD Kubota. The 6 ft box blade weighs way over 1000 lbs and is quite robust. I have a King Kutter rear mount angle blade (now bent because I backed up a bit with one end touching the ground) and a KK sub soiler/bottom buster and universal platform. For things that will take a beating and keep on ticking you need top of the line implements. You can pay your money up front for quality and robustness or you can make payments over time repairing the bargain variety implements and replacing them and end up paying as much or more over time and never getting the service of the good stuff.

I tried to buy the quality level that was appropriate for my intended use of each implement. I wasn't too far off. I'm not dissing KK. They are worth what you pay if you don't exceed their limits.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[mffarmall]

I find that people that get a Massey or JD seem to have better luck with there tractor situations. I love my Massey, would get a 1533 for what you need. I just don't like Kabota. Mostly for the same reason that I don't buy Hondas. There are not many people that have worked on them. But a Ford I have options. The same is possible for Tractors. I can find many people to work on my JD.

[mffarmall]

I mean out where I am. I don't like to take my car to the dealer for the cost. The same is said for my tractor.

[Pat]

mffarmall, You have certainly made an excellent point, as regards automobiles. However, my land holdings are not so extensive or widely separated that I ever get far from my KUBOTA dealer so I don't have any need to find just any good ole boy with wrenches to try to fix it. If for some reason MY mechanic is sick or on vacation and I have a pressing need for KUBOTA specific service there is another KUBOTA dealer the same driving distance, just a different direction.

If I had just happened to live in an area devoid of higher tech third party service and KUBOTA dealers then I would likely have bought whatever else was popular in the area so as to be able to secure knowledgeable mechanical service (even if that was a team of mules.) I have no illusions that KUBOTA is the only CUT worth owning but I haven't seen better and in my area the KUBOTA dealer probably has the best mech I have ever had.

But under the appropriate circumstances another brand could be the best choice. I wouldn't buy something that didn't have good support where I was using it no matter how wonderful I thought the tractor was. I have learned the best approach is to consider the big picture over the lifecycle of the machine, considering such things as initial cost, average maint life/cost, availabillity of parts and so forth. If you only shop horse power, color, and cost you aren't being realistic.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[rpeter]

What many of the “guys” on Tractor By Net will tell you is to shop the dealer. John Deere, New Holland, Kubota; you would be happy with any of them if you had a good dealer. Make sure the dealer is there to give you service and answer your questions rather than just selling you what he has on the lot.

I have a Kubota B7800 that is 28 HP. It does most of the things I need to do on my 22 acres.