Tractor Question

[BHMC]

Looking at buying a new tractor :D . I saw the Kioti and they are seemingly good. Good wieght, extra remotes etc. I also have sat on and like the layout of the New Holland. Then enters the Kabota which allot of people like. I am looking at a small farm, a little produce, a few animals...part time hobby. I need the tractor to handle a 900 ft. driveway, york-rake, remove snow etc. Drag a few logs for the sugar wood and wood stove...The tractor will also have a loader. I will put a snow-blower on the rear. Some don't like it...It is fine with me. So give me you thoughts on what you have and what you think is good. I live in NH so I have a few good dealers around for all the major players. I am thinking under 50 hp. would work just fine. Thanks for the help.

[3rdgen.maple]

You will get many answers and right off I wont tell you I think john deere has hit the wall. First off look at what implements you would like to get and any in the future and what hp requirements they recomend for them. Dont cut yourself short on hp. Next I would be considering if you want a real transmission or one of those hydrostats. Personally I dislike the hydro. It has some good points about it but limitations. The next big thing to me is how close is the dealership and how good of a service do they provide. You can buy a tractor that hardly ever breaks but the one time it does and you cant get parts or service you are sol. There are some really great buys on new tractors right now so do your homework. I know most dealers around me will drop one off at your house for a few days to test or atleast let you mess around in there own back 40 with it. Dont get sucked up in all the bells and whistles , do you want a work tractor or a toy with lots of fancy buttons and lights to break. Oh and the last and best peice of advice I can give you is no matter what you buy tell them right off the bat to get rid of those junk industrial tires they put on them and get yourself a good set of ag tires on it. I borrowed a brand new Montana when the jd broke again this spring. Nice tractor but dang I couldnt even go up a 2 foot incline in the snow without sitting there spinning. Had to use the loader to crawl everwhere even after the trails had been packed and driven on for days with the jd. Also check the fender well clearances. Its nice to throw a set of chains on the back wheels when needed and alot of these newer tractors have minimal clearance for chains. AG TIRES a must unless your plowing a parking lot lol.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Did you see all the tractors Bobcat has come out with:) Nice small rigs with great looking Hydraulics. If they can servive the rental market they will be good.

[Brokermike]

I went through this decision making process twice, the first time I bought too small (25hp Massey Ferguson). The second time around I smartened up and bought a Kioti DK40SE with the HST transmission. I LOVE IT. It can lift a full ton with pallet forks on it, it has rear remotes stock, I had the rear tires loaded and built a #800lb weight box for when I'm doing a lot of loader work. the loader controls are so much smoother than every comparable HP tractor that I tested, and I tested them all. Nearly all of the time I keep a small Farmi winch on the back which has proven itself to be a life saver (I welded a 2" receiver hitch on the bottom of thwinch for ease of moving trailers etc).

I would strongly consider a Kioti, or the equivalent Bobcat (Made by Kioti). For some reason I can't help but think that the Kioti's will eventually all be branded Bobcat through acquisition or marketing strategy. I opted for r-4 tires because I drive across the lawn when I bring firewood to the house and because I use it to spread mulch and woodchips for landscaping. I wish I had the Ag tires most of the time, but they really will do a number on your lawn.

Good Luck and have fun. Most importantly find a good dealer

[Dill]

I'm not a fan of hydrostatic. The only one that you can do any real field work with is the old IH hydro setups. They are good for plowing snow but not much else.
I'll agree with you about the new Deere's. I'm looking for a new loader tractor so I've been hitting all the dealers lately and Deere just has gone too cheap on the metal. The castings have shrunk and the are not even covering parts of the operators stations that they used too.
One good thing is interest rates are way down (well Deere is still 3 pts higher than the other big 2). And Farm credit is 4.25-3.8 for used.
I'm a big fan of slightly used, lots of mid 80s to mid 90s tractors out there with under 3k hours on them.
Right now I'm looking at IH 585s and 685s. Deere 2355s, and some various MFs.

[Shaun]

I have a small sawmill, and an outdoor wood furnace. If you are looking to handle wood don't undersize. I purchased a 35 hp kubota, great tractor, but I had a few scary experiences hauling firewood. I later purchased a 65 hp mahindra based on price, and weight,(with loaded tires and loader this tractor is approaching 10,000 lbs) Hp is not a huge issue I think the heavier the better. My land is also very steep.

[rob1640]

Two years ago I was looking for a new tractor and looked at every tractor available. I started looking for a 50hp but after being told over and over again not to go too small I bought a 70hp Kubota and i'm gald I did. If you are going to use the loader much you will be happy to have the bigger tractor.

[3rdgen.maple]

Dill Im with you man. I would recomend anyone without alot of experience with older tractors to go out and test one. Work the loader on them and play for a bit. Then go out and jump on a new one. Yeah sure the newer models have nice quick hydraulics, Lazy man quick disconnect attachments and other crap but they are not even close to the durability of an older tractor. Just look at the weight of the new ones compared to the older tractor and that should say it all...and yes hydrostat are nice for fast plowing and maybe some field work.. I remember the first time I used one. Hooked up to a log to drag out of the woods and it just sat there and did nothing. It was a brand new 60hp NH. Buddy couldnt believe it when my geared smaller 40hp pulled it like it wasnt even there. Tried to plow the food plots down to camp with a kubota hydrostat and it was alot of fun driving a few feet forward and it would stop the tractor dead in its track, back up a few feet and get a running start. Did that for about an hour and gave up. Nothing but gears for me.

[Dill]

Tractors have shrunk and horse power numbers have gotten more than a little deceptive. Most of the numbers are now "engine numbers" not pto or drawbar available horse power. So a 60hp turbo motor on a new MF might only net you 45 at the PTO. Deere is holding better, but kubota is terrible on this. Also the hydro nets you way less real power than a gear. Its better than a it used to be but usually your looking at 10hp less than a gear setup. Also from the mid 80s on most companies made a synhcro mesh trans, so you can shift on the go which really eliminates the need for hydro in my opinion.
The other issue is the shrinking of tractors. My father and I have always run 50-75hp utility sized tractors. Big enough for field work but small enough to be good on fuel and towable behind a 3/4 ton truck. But now we are having to look at 75hp class tractors to get the same frame size as the old 60hp class.

[Pete S]

I somewhat recently bought a 40hp tractor. I didn't want to go too much bigger, but definately DID NOT want to go smaller.
For "me" the compact tractors appeared to be a bit lightweight, and the hydro tranny just didn't warm up to me.

My tractor is used 4x4, if you're making syrup you're in the woods and maybe it snows a bit in New Hampshire. :-0 Spend the money for the 4x4. This is my first and it is litterally unstoppable. I'd stay away from the R4 tires, no good in snow/mud.

I have a manual tranny, with a sincromesh set of gears. For snow blowing I wish I had one more lower reverse. My wife drives this thing too.

The utility tractors are nice and low and are built with the intention of having a loader on them.

Previously I had a 50 year old Allis,................and I still get goose bumps when I start up my little 3 cylinder, diesel SIPPING sweetie. I love the smell of diesel, WHICH BTW it appears that I can run my 6' finish cut mower for about 2 hours, and come near to my wifes 27 hp lawn tractor (gas) in amount of fuel consumed.

Don't promise the "Boss" that this will be the LAST tractor you'll need. Mine thinks all you need is one.

[maple flats]

I have 2 Fords, now Boomer and I like them. However I have been thinking of upgrading one of my tractors which are bothe about 30 yrs old and get lots of use. Long hours of running at full RPM with a hydraulic cultivator on one and a brush chipper on the other, both for working in my 4.5 acres of blueberries. I am seviously looking at a Mahindra. They look very heavy built and claim to be the #1 selling tractor in the world. They seem to offer what I need at a decent price range. I need tractors that will fit down my rows (65" or less wide max) and in HP's that will work for me. I now have gear drives and like them but may study hydros for the cultivating tractor for infinate speed control. I now have 12 forward and even that is often too fast when close cultivating and operating the in out motion of the hydraulic tiller inbetween the bushes. Take a look at Mahindra, but only if there is a good dealer near you.
As for weights, I do not like loaded tires. In woods work they are much more prone to get punctures because if a tire rides over something pointy it has no give. For my tractor with a loader I have double 4 wheel weights mounted on each wheel. The std is 2 weights but I double mounted by putting the std 2 on the outside and another 2 on the inside. I have no stability issue but I also use amounted bucket on the rear full of crushed stone if I am doing heavy loader work for an added measure of safety but mostly to ease steering on my manual steer tractor.

[Dill]

I like the older Fords right before they went New Holland. I've been looking for a 5610, but there are not many in this area to begin with.
The 2 I'm trying to decide between now are a Ford 4630 and a Case IH 585. But are low 50 pto hp, which is on the smaller side of what I'm looking for but will do just about all of what I need.

[THCPrecision]

Hey dill if you like the 5610 there is one at Keats in Keene nh that will be auctioned off at the store closing sept 11th its 4wd and I think loader too kinda a big monster. but didn't look too bad at all .IT is a no reserve auction. Check it out.. Think I saw you post you were going to swanton for the fournier auction so this is closer. But definately the just pree newholland name stuff is much better built. I am about ready to sell a 1986 FORD 2110 4x4 with loader but sounds much too small for what you are used to.

[boondocker]

well im really not sure wich way to go on this thread, my father in law has a 28 hp montana seem like a nice rig, gear driven, backhoe, york rake, bush hog, and a tiller on the way. little under powered but as long as your not in a hurry its a decent tractor. i have always been a john deer fan, i got a new 3032E with a bucket and loaded tires for $16500.00 plus tax delivered. i dident think that was a bad deal for a 32 hp tractor. i looked all around at all the other brands, i almost pulled the trigger on a new holland but they just wouldent deal. i personally think kobota is way over priced for small diesle tractor. $18700.00 for a 35 hp with no bucket or loaded tires is a bit steep if you ask me. i will agree that JD doesnt make the same quality rig that they used to, but they do still use all the same running gear for the most part and yanmar makes a hell of a little engine

[VT maple maker]

Dont underestimate the R-4 tires. I purchased my Kubota L2900 4X4 about 3 years ago now and it came with them on it. The tractor itslef it a 1998 with the glide shift tranny which in my opinion is the best of both worlds. I dont have to clutch to shift everytime and its forward and backwards on the collumn. The first year was fairly miserable trying to haul sap out of the woods. I called the dealer to price out some new ag tires and they basically told me they would take the R-4's on mine and give me ag tires for no cost at all. The tires on it were like brand new and the tractor only had about 300 hours on it when i purchased it. I talked with some neighbors and 2 of my uncles who have both been farming their whole lives and owned/operated many makes and models of tractors. They told me to buy a good set of chains for the back tires and keep the R-4's because they are wider and will float better and not dig up ruts like the ag tires. So that's what I did, I purchased a set of rear ice pick chains and to this day there has not been a single place I couldnt drive or skid logs with that tractor. The chains themselves are or were about $700 dollars when I got them but if you have to buy ag tires im sure you will spend somewhere in the same ballpark anyways.