How much tractor?

[snowwolfe]

I been looking to buy a tractor within 6-8 months. So far my #1 choice is a Kubota L4060, 4wd, HST transmission. It will be equipped with a FEL and backhoe. Doubt it will ever be used for mowing and will mostly be used for digging holes for planting, removing stumps, helping us move logs and wood we cut and split, and finally grading our 550 foot long gravel road when it needs it. After we get some small areas cleared it will help us create small food plots under 1/2 acre as well as planting in an old logging road that runs from the front to the back of our property.
My initial thoughts was to stay with something 25-30 hp but after hearing story after story about people buying to small decided to move up to 40 hp.

I am already at the upper limit of what we can spend and the best price quoted is $36,500. Will a tractor this size do what I am asking of it in a reasonable amount of time?

[Tatume]

Only you can decide what tractor suits your needs. Much will depend on how much time you can afford to spend on the tasks you need to accomplish. You can usually do more in a day with a more powerful tractor. I know it sounds like asking the fish monger if his fish are fresh, but you might want to ask a nearby dealer for advice. Out in the country, they are often willing to come out and look at your property, and tell you what they think. Or talk to some of the farmers in your area.

[jmort]

I would consider proximity to a really good dealer over any particular brand. As long as the backhoe is frame mounted I think that would be a great choice. I have a 32 hp tractor which is easy to maneuver. If I were to go bigger, I would go to 50 hp, but day in and day out, the smaller tractor is really easy to use. I have had big tractors and small. Always a compromise. My biggest use for the tractor is a 2,500 foot long driveway that is hilly and gets ruts. I find a box scraper and loader most useful. I only have 55 acres to deal with. 13 in pasture and 42 heavily treed.

[Edward]

Depends on the operator ,you can do most everything you want . 40 sounds good in tractors and guns and both get used at my house , also owned a site development company for 46 yrs and what you want I could do and so can you (it would just take you longer) :bigsmyl2:

[Petrol & Powder]

40 hp will easily do what you are asking of it based on the info given in the first post.

I will say that if you are doing a lot of loader work, the hydrostatic transmission is nice. If your primary use is pulling logs, pulling plows, heavy grading, etc., you may want to consider a geared transmission over a hydrostatic.
Backhoe work doesn't generally require a lot of repositioning of the tractor but loader work does.

A shuttle shift is sort of the happy middle ground between the convenience of hydrostatic and the strength of a geared transmission.

I spent some time on a Ford 8N and I think that was around 22-25 hp? (probably less considering how old the flathead 4 was).
If the tractor is heavy enough, even a two wheel drive model will get a lot done with around 20-25 hp. If you're routinely pulling a plow, logs, etc. - weight and horsepower are your friends.

A Kubota 4060 is a good compromise in size and performance.

[bdicki]

I have a Kubota L3400 HST with a frame mounted backhoe and FEL. The backhoe is easy to remove when I want to grade my half mile gravel road to my house with a York rake. Bigger is not always better.

[snowwolfe]

Two Kubota dealers close to me, one is 18 miles east the other is 20 miles to the left. Still have not ruled out a Kioti or Mahindra as those dealers are close as well.

[WebMonkey]

24hp b series hst kubota.
backhoe and fel.
10 years and wouldn't go bigger. i like the maneuvering.

only thing i would like is more lifting capability on the fel.
i use the electric winch to help out the fel when im using the pallet forks on heavy loads.

[26Charlie]

Mine is the M5140 which was within a few hundred dollars of the smaller L model, because it has a regular clutched trans instead of the hydrostatic. Get as big as you can afford - an old time Maine farmer and repairman of tractors told me “you can do a small job with a big tractor, but you can’t do a big job with a small tractor.” I don’t have a back hoe, but wish I did - a friend down the road helps me get out stumps with his Case 580.

[jmort]

Mahindra gets you a lot of tractor for the $$$
Good quality and heavy build

[rancher1913]

the hst tranny's are nice but they require more than a shade tree mechanic to fix them and are not as bomb proof as the geared tranny's. look on craigs list for a used tractor, that can really stretch your budget. also sites like equipment trader and tractor house can give you an idea what things will cost and they have a lot of good used equipment. several retailers around here offer kits that have the tractor, bush hog, scraper, backhoe, and a trailer to haul it with, all for one money. if it were me, I would steer clear of the hst, but get a front wheel assist.

[Geezer in NH]

Hydro pass, want a backhoe? buy a real one that can do more than plant tomato plants. Sorry but the tiny backhoe attachments are just hilarious.

You want to dig for real get a real item. Seen to many who bought less and felt screwed later

[rancher1913]

actually some of the smaller backhoe attachments are quite good nowadays. I have run all the big name selfcontained backhoes and had the same opinion as you until a friend bought a massy with a backhoe attachment. he needed me to show him how to hook and unhook the hoe and had about 1/4 mile of electric line to bury so after getting things going I dug for about 200 foot to show him how to do it and was quite surprised at the ability of the unit, it handled heavy hard soil as good as a larger unit. granted its dig depth and reach were much less than a full size unit but it was fine for electric lines and water lines.

[redneck1]

Sneer all you want about the small backhoe attachments .
But even a bad one will out work you and a shovel !

[Petrol & Powder]

Mahindra gets you a lot of tractor for the $$$
Good quality and heavy build

I have a 25HP Mahindra and it is a pretty good little tractor. I don't work it hard; some grading, push a little snow, mowing but no heavy work. I agree the tractor is built fairly heavy but I'm unimpressed with the belly mower. I think they cut some corners on that deck.

The Mahindra replaced a Kubota that was also a good tractor but it developed problems with the hydrostatic transmission after about 12 years of hard work.

[Petrol & Powder]

the hst tranny's are nice but they require more than a shade tree mechanic to fix them and are not as bomb proof as the geared tranny's. look on craigs list for a used tractor, that can really stretch your budget. also sites like equipment trader and tractor house can give you an idea what things will cost and they have a lot of good used equipment. several retailers around here offer kits that have the tractor, bush hog, scraper, backhoe, and a trailer to haul it with, all for one money. if it were me, I would steer clear of the hst, but get a front wheel assist.

I'll agree the hydrostatic transmissions are not as bomb proof as a geared transmission but they're nice when doing light loader work in a tight space. If you keep the fluid clean and don't overheat them, the hydrostatic will hold up ok. But, overwork them and bad things happen. Voice of experience here.

A friend had an old grey market Yanmar - geared tranny, 3 cylinder diesel, 4WD and worked hard. That tractor confirmed my belief that simple is good. It took incredible abuse and continued to work.

[rl69]

I think you will be happy with a 40 hp. It's small enough to get in tight spots but heavy enough to move a load.
I would stay away from the hydrostatic on that size tractor. My boss has a 60 hp with shuttle shift. The plant I work at has a 40 hp with a standard transmission and I think I like it better.

I have a 25 hp with the hydrostatic and I like it a lot for what I do with it. ( light work )

[arlon]

I would think more about weight than HP unless you are plowing/towing heavy with it. I have a 30hp tractor (Mahindra 4530) with a loader and backhoe. Backhoe was factory and has full HEAVY subframe. I have not found anything I couldn't do around our property with 30 hp but I'm NOT farming 500 acres, just clearing and reshaping 12 acres. For 30 hp, it's a beast of a tractor. All I could do with more horsepower would be to get the wheels off the ground faster. This the smallest HP available in this big frame tractor. Manual trans but my wife doesn't mind driving it.

This tractor weighs around 9000lbs. Weight might be an issue if you have to tow it a lot. Mine doesn't leave the property unless my neighbor borrows it. If I had to tow it all the time I might have wanted something smaller.

[jmort]

My tractor has more power than the 30 hp Mahindra ^^^^ but weighs about 1/3 in comparison. Kubotas are also light comparatively. The 40 hp Kubota is half the tractor of the Mahindra pictured above. Still a good tractor, but a lightweight in comparison.

[samari46]

Have a older Kubota L3800 with fel and bushog. They don't make this model anymore as they have gone to tier 4. Which means regardless of what gear you are in you have to run it at 1500 rpm or more to prevent clogging up something in the exhaust system. My L3800 can run as fast or as slow in any gear I select. Bushogging grass requires 2300 rpm. For general duties I keep it in mid range and about 1500 for stuff like removing dead tree limbs. In fact when I asked the local dealer whom I can't say enough about them. Had sent over one of their mechanics to show how to realign the splines after greasing the tube told me never to sell if I could. The above is one reason why I'll never sell. Think its about 30 hp and does what I want no problems. Maybe check on an older model below tier 4 if the dealer has some for sale.? My dealer usually has a few from trade ins. Frank

[possom813]

I've got a Kubota 2350 4wd with a fel and an old Ferguson 35.

They both have their jobs around the house. The 35 gets used primarily for brush hogging. It used to be the do all tractor.

Wife bought me the used 2350 for father's day. I've had it about 2 weeks now and don't know how I ever lived without the fel.

It's smaller than the 35, but has a lot more oommf. The 35 has to downshift to now up our little hills, the 2350 never slows.

As for what you're doing, buy more tractor than you think you'll need. With your budget, I'd be looking at 50+ hp mahindra or a good used machine.

[Blanket]

I think you will be happy with a 40 hp. It's small enough to get in tight spots but heavy enough to move a load.
I would stay away from the hydrostatic on that size tractor. My boss has a 60 hp with shuttle shift. The plant I work at has a 40 hp with a standard transmission and I think I like it better.I have a 25 hp with the hydrostatic and I like it a lot for what I do with it. ( light work ) Come on a 40hp Kubota won't pick up chit on the FEL

[Elkins45]

My L3800 is gear/shuttle for a couple of reasons. One is the simplicity and the other is that you don’t lose as much HP to the drive system. I vastly prefer it to the 2wd MF 245 I used to have, even though the Massey had more weight and HP. Having power to the front wheels makes a big difference on hilly ground. I used to have to practically stand on the diff lock, but now I can go just about anywhere.

Whatever you buy, splurge for Rim Guard in the rear tires.

[rl69]

Come on a 40hp Kubota won't pick up chit on the FEL


I don't know ,I haven't run that many kubota's ??? The 40 hp John deer at the plant will lift around 1200 safely 1800 if I have to but I'm bouncing hard.

4 wheel drive is a must with a fel

[snowwolfe]

I been researching this on other forums as well trying to keep an open mind. So far no one has presented any good information to convince me the 40 hp tractor would be a bad choice. Am also leaning towards the HST transmission.

[Traffer]

I just bumped into this. I am not a member so I have no idea what they have or want for stuff, but thought I would pass it on in case you are a Face Book person:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/370524613050965/

[crowbuster]

Snowwolfe. I would add only If you get a tractor that is a yr old new stock you will save a bunch, tell them you are looking at other tractors, nuther grand off, they all have wiggle room. And you shuld look at grapples, worth their weight in gold for logs and brush. Have fun, choose wisely.

[jcren]

Kubota puts a lot of power to work in a give size. Out current 65hp Kub will far out work out old 75 Deere and is smaller in every dimension. Even disc or plowing is easier with the smaller tractor. I would consider chassis size more than a couple up for your application. There are a lot of places I could use a tractor on our place that that 65 with cab just can't fit.


Also, consider a model without a cab or even a sun top. Both limit where you can go. For a utility tractor where you aren't cutting hay for 12 hours or such, one with a fold down roll bar would be nice.

[EDG]

My Grandfather and I farmed 178 acres with a 1948 Farmall H. This was a 2 wheel drive 25 hp gasoline tractor. He later bought a Massey Ferguson 165 with a Perkins diesel.
Both of these tractors had more power and weight than what you need. Pulling stumps is not really something that I consider for tractor buying criteria. You can get hurt doing that and damage your tractor too. Just dig up and chop the roots with an ax and stumps will come out without damage or danger.
Really big tractors are good when you are beating on them every day on a large farm or ranch. Otherwise they are not as useful as a medium machine and the smaller tractors are easier to transport.
My impression is large tractors are more dangerous and I knew a number of people mangled or killed by them. A couple of times it was almost me and almost my grandfather.

[Nazgul]

I have JD 5205, 50hp. Has a 6' bucket and pylon for moving logs. Have pulled a 78' 20" diameter log with it. Need a bush hog and grader blade for it.

Was looking at a used 40 hp tractor when it sold before I could make the deal. They took this one in on trade, with 1400 hrs on it. Paid $1,000 less than the smaller tractor for it. For once I was in the right place at the right time!!!!

Don

[Petrol & Powder]

snowwolfe - I think 40 HP is plenty for what you mentioned in the 1st post. The issue is more putting that power to the ground than the total amount of power available.
Would you say your work will be more Front End Loader work or more Pulling work?

[snowwolfe]

We will use the FEL about 40% of the time and the backhoe about the same amount. The remaining 20% would be split between grading our road and eventually using a disc to dig up small areas to plant for food plots. I do plan on installing forks on the front bucket to help lift and move logs. I do not plan on pulling stumps out, that will be the main use of the backhoe.

[Petrol & Powder]

We will use the FEL about 40% of the time and the backhoe about the same amount. The remaining 20% would be split between grading our road and eventually using a disc to dig up small areas to plant for food plots. I do plan on installing forks on the front bucket to help lift and move logs. I do not plan on pulling stumps out, that will be the main use of the backhoe.

During backhoe operation the tractor just sits there and you just need hydraulic power. So transmission type isn't terribly critical there.
FEL work involves lots of direction changes, lots of starting and stopping movements and generally more need for fine control. A hydrostatic transmission shines here as long as it is well maintained and not over worked.
A geared transmission is a lot tougher when heavy pulling work is being done (pulling plows, pulling logs, heavy grading, etc. )

A shuttle shift is the best of both worlds. The strength of a geared transmission and nearly the ease of a hydrostatic.

I don't think horsepower is a real issue for the work you are considering. Weight, track (width the wheels are apart), wheelbase (distance between front and rear axles) and transmission type are the real keys. Heavy is good for both stability and traction.

[rancher1913]

look at a quick change system for you fel and get a dedicated set of forks, the forks that attach to the bucket move your center of gravity forward and decrease the lift capacity and they have a habit of bending the lip of the bucket which ruins it for grading and dirt work. a three point weight helps add a bunch to the lift capacity of your fel, but be careful of your front wheel assembly as it bears almost all the weight from your fel.

[jonp]

After doing research and narrowing it down to the size you think you need for the jobs you have in mind buy the next size bigger. Trust me on this one and don't neglect the 2wd used ones. I know that 4wd's are the rage and I'm certainly not knocking them but a tractor with a locking rear and a set of chains will do about everything you need doing.

Unless someone had done something very bad with it, a tractor will far outlive you. Don't neglect used ones

[jonp]

My Grandfather and I farmed 178 acres with a 1948 Farmall H. This was a 2 wheel drive 25 hp gasoline tractor. He later bought a Massey Ferguson 165 with a Perkins diesel.

Learned how to drive a tractor on a Massey 165. Friend of mine used it as his main tractor on a family dairy farm for decades and probably still does. We used it for haying, mowing, logging, running the bulk tank when the power was out, plowing the yards in the winter, etc. It was a work horse and shows that a tractor doesn't need to be a giant 4wd to get the job done.

[jsizemore]

I asked this question of folks that work the earth for a living. To a man they said stay away from hydrostatic if you plan on do more then scratch the surface.

[snowwolfe]

[QUOTE=jonp;4387388]After doing research and narrowing it down to the size you think you need for the jobs you have in mind buy the next size bigger. /QUOTE]

Which is exactly why I am looking at a 40hp model. My first thoughts were to buy a compact in the 25-30 hp range.

[rl69]

With the hydrostatic you need to keep the rpm' up to work the fel. With a standard you control the rpm' with the throttle. I mostly use my tractor for mowing, I'll set the rpm and go it works great.moving dirt I ether have to set rpm's high and leave it or keep fiddling with it.

[snowwolfe]

I revisited the Kioti dealer today. Was quoted $32,500 for the NX4510 HST with FEL and backhoe. It is now my #1 choice. 5 more HP than the Kubota for $4,000 less. Plus I haven’t even tried to negotiate yet.
45 hp will do anything I need to do. Only negative is will have to buy a heavier duty trailer to move it as it weighs in at 7,100 pounds with FEL and back hoe attached.

[Petrol & Powder]

You can get that NX4510 in a manual transmission with a shuttle shift. I would recommend that you at least look into that option.

[snowwolfe]

I did look into a shuttle shift. Every dealer and person I talked to in person that owns a tractor said the HST is the way to go. About 95% of the feedback I got on other forums also said go HST.

[Petrol & Powder]

I did look into a shuttle shift. Every dealer and person I talked to in person that owns a tractor said the HST is the way to go. About 95% of the feedback I got on other forums also said go HST.

As someone that ISN'T trying to sell you the HST on my lot........take another look at the shuttle shift.

[bdicki]

I revisited the Kioti dealer today. Was quoted $32,500 for the NX4510 HST with FEL and backhoe. It is now my #1 choice. 5 more HP than the Kubota for $4,000 less. Plus I haven’t even tried to negotiate yet.
45 hp will do anything I need to do. Only negative is will have to buy a heavier duty trailer to move it as it weighs in at 7,100 pounds with FEL and back hoe attached.
Will you have the tires loaded?

[snowwolfe]

Will you have the tires loaded?

Not sure. Will have to see how it goes with traction and stability.
Not buying till fall at the earliest so have time to change my mind about the transmission. Also might upgrade to the 5010 if the price is good enough.

[snowwolfe]

Also decided not to buy a new trailer. Just to much weight and expense. Will pay the dealer to pick it up if service is needed.

[john.k]

there is nothing wrong with HS,provided its properly specced,as will be anything Kubota......HS does have an hour run limit,about 7000hrs for the smaller quality machines.Look for quality components like Daikin, Sundstrand,Eaton etc.......When HS goes wrong,you cant poke and hope...you must have full test equiptment to find a problem.If a HS component fails,it often wrecks the whole hydro circuit with steel chips,so they can be dear to fix,and very risky secondhand...........grey imports wont get any help from anyone in the industry.

[arlon]

Another consideration is resale. If you plan to keep it for as long as you can get in the saddle, bargain brands work but their resale value is going to be less percentage wise than the green or orange. If you plan to use it a few years and sell it you'll get a lot of your money back. I got my Mahindra used for the price of a much smaller less equipped green/orange tractor of similar vintage. I hope I never have to move the Mahendra I have on a trailer. My 7000lb car hauler will not handle it even with everything off of it. Trailer for it would add a few $K to the cost of owning it.

[rancher1913]

most dealers have a "play" area, try both style trannys and get a real feel for how they work. I have been messing with tractors most all my life and have used about every brand out there. after using the hst style and seeing how complicated they are to work on (john deere, kubota, et al) I would not have one unless I was very rich and could afford the repair bill that will come at some point. with a good shuttle shift you can load and dig faster. have yet to come across a hst style transmission in construction, only seen them in homeower stuff and some light duty landscape stuff.

[Elkins45]

I did look into a shuttle shift. Every dealer and person I talked to in person that owns a tractor said the HST is the way to go. About 95% of the feedback I got on other forums also said go HST.

Easy to spend other people’s money.

[EDG]

If you are a farmer or rancher way off in the boondocks the last thing you want is some gadget loaded undependable tractor.

[wildwilly501]

The HST is a lot nicer for loader work the shuttle shift is Ok but the Hydro is nicer.The funny thing is almost all construction equipment is some kind of hydrostatic/hydralic drive.The compact tractor backhoes are light duty if the stumps you are digging are fresh and have any size to them you'll find out.Very few of them'The fact of the matter is very few people are bought by people that use them most are bought by town farmers people that buy a couple acres and become instant farmers.Like it or not look around see who owns them.But what do I know I've only been building roads and farming for 50 years.

[rancher1913]

hydraulic driven and hydro-static drives are close but not the same. hydraulic driven has a motor that is easy to swap out when it goes bad, and your right most construction equipment is hydraulic driven but I have yet to ever find a piece of heavy construction or farm equipment that is hydro-static driven, only the real light duty or homeowner versions

[snowwolfe]

Joined the Tractorbynet forum and people there are overwhelmingly in favor of HST transmissions for just about all applications except if you are doing a lot of plowing, which I will not. If I have issues that is what the 6 year powertrain warranty is for. I also want my wife to be able to jump on and use it on occasion.

The HST transmission is always in exactly the right gear to develop peak engine torque. The gear ratio can't help but be right because that is the way HST works. It's like a gearbox with an infinite number of gear ratios. And I suspect that the multirange HST trannys are even more efficient. The HST on the Kioti has 3 ranges.

[Bo1]

I have no dog in this hunt, but was reading all of the comments, and thought I might be able to give a reasonable opinion. I have owned a 32 horse Kubota 4x4 with a loader, and it was shuttle shift. I did some mowing, bush hogging, grading, food plots with the tiller, as well as most other tasks you can do with a tractor. The 35 horse handled 95 percent of any of the jobs I did with it, and with ease. I sold the tractor and have since bought a Kubota L4060 4x4 with a loader, and have most attachments for the tractor, except a backhoe. I am VERY pleased on the performance of the tractor. I am not a farmer, but it will do EVERYTHING I ask of it.

About the hydrostat transmission, my younger brother had a New Holland 32 horse with a loader and all attachments including a frame mounted backhoe, including a hydrostat transmission. It was a well built tractor, and performed well. The problem with the hydrostat is that you constantly have to either be pushing the pedal forward or backward to be moving. This is a pain when you are bush hogging roads in the deer lease, or grading roads for a mile or two. I personally prefer the shuttle shift. Put the tractor in the gear you want, give her the right amount of throttle, and let her eat. Just my 2 cents and experience.

[snowwolfe]

The problem with the hydrostat is that you constantly have to either be pushing the pedal forward or backward to be moving. This is a pain when you are bush hogging roads in the deer lease, or grading roads for a mile or two. I personally prefer the shuttle shift. Put the tractor in the gear you want, give her the right amount of throttle, and let her eat. Just my 2 cents and experience.

Maybe this is why the nicer tractors have cruise control. I know both the Kubota GrandL4060 and the Kioti NX4510 (which is likely what I will buy) have cruise control standard.

[bdicki]

Maybe this is why the nicer tractors have cruise control. I know both the Kubota GrandL4060 and the Kioti NX4510 (which is likely what I will buy) have cruise control standard.
My L3400 HST has cruise control and 3 ranges.

[wildwilly501]

hydraulic driven and hydro-static drives are close but not the same. hydraulic driven has a motor that is easy to swap out when it goes bad, and your right most construction equipment is hydraulic driven but I have yet to ever find a piece of heavy construction or farm equipment that is hydro-static driven, only the real light duty or homeowner versions
Maybe reading this would help https://www.constructionequipment.com/hydrostatic-transmissions-provide-smooth-operations or call a Cat,Case or John Deere dealer and ask what transmissions they use then call a Case/IH dealer and ask what the Hydro sticker means on some IH tractors.

[rancher1913]

nice article but its all fiction, those equipment all have gears and a forward and reverse selector on the steering wheel, at least the 40 or 50 different models I run all do. the closest any of the big players come to hydro static type is john deere and fendt, both use clutches and gears to allow a more variable speed but they still use gears. a true hydrostatic transmision uses a single foot pedal to either go forward or reverse and the more you push the faster it goes, when you let off the machine stops. here is a video from cat showing their variable speed trany, it is not a hydrostactic drive but does use a hydrostatic system to help the gears. boils down to your definition of a true hydro static drive and for me this is not it.
https://www.forconstructionpros.com/equipment/earthmoving/loaders/video/12086774/video-how-caterpillars-continuously-variable-transmission-for-medium-loaders-works

[wildwilly501]

nice article but its all fiction, those equipment all have gears and a forward and reverse selector on the steering wheel, at least the 40 or 50 different models I run all do. the closest any of the big players come to hydro static type is john deere and fendt, both use clutches and gears to allow a more variable speed but they still use gears. a true hydrostatic transmision uses a single foot pedal to either go forward or reverse and the more you push the faster it goes, when you let off the machine stops. here is a video from cat showing their variable speed trany, it is not a hydrostactic drive but does use a hydrostatic system to help the gears. boils down to your definition of a true hydro static drive and for me this is not it.
https://www.forconstructionpros.com/equipment/earthmoving/loaders/video/12086774/video-how-caterpillars-continuously-variable-transmission-for-medium-loaders-works
Amazing Komatsu was able to become the second largest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world and they don't even know what transmissions they put in.According to you.

[maxreloader]

Hydro pass, want a backhoe? buy a real one that can do more than plant tomato plants. Sorry but the tiny backhoe attachments are just hilarious.

You want to dig for real get a real item. Seen to many who bought less and felt screwed later

Spent a day and a half digging out a 36"+ white oak stump with my buddy's mid-sized Kubota. Figga my time was worth more so spent 17K on a Cat 416 and that thing is a BEAST compared to the Kubota. Used Bangor Peavy hooks on a grade 8 chain to pick up a granite boulder that was 4 x 4 x 3 (roughly 7,000 lbs) with ease. We already have a small Deere with a 57 loader on it and attachments that clears the dust the Cat stirs up. Into everything for 22K and will last my lifetime because I run them hard enough but not too hard. A good eye and a little knowledge will go a LONG way in buying a nice piece of used equipment anyplace, anytime. Find someone that is knowledgeable with used machines and take them with you on the hunt... Good Luck!

[BD]

If you are looking for a tractor for the traditional uses of a tractor, plowing, cultivating, dragging, even rototilling, gearing and hp at the pto are the primary considerations. If you are primarily interested in the FEL and a backhoe, weight of the machine and its wheelbase along with the pressure and gpm of the hydraulic pump are the primary considerations. You can have all the HP in the world but your tractor can still only lift weight equivalent to it's own equivalent counterwieght behind the pivot point. Hydrostatic drive uses about 3% to 5% of your hydraulic capacity, and the newer HD tractors typically have more hp in a smaller package to compensate for this. Doesn't men they can do more work though. Gear driven tractors use none of their hydraulic capacity to travel. Tractors were traditionally designed around their ability to drag an implement through the soil. "Remote" hydraulic attachments came later. The "strongest" hydraulic arm on most traditionally designed tractors is the rock shaft, not the FEL, and it was traditionally designed to be able to use the total of the hydraulic capacity without any effect at all on the pulling ability of the machine. I can pull out much larger rocks and stumps with my rockshaft than I can move or lift with the FEL or the backhoe on my 870, largely because with gear drive I can run the pump at max capacity while in the lowest gear traveling only 1-2 mph. This is why you can easily flip a tractor over backwards by fetching an implement up on something immovable while in gear. The basis of most earth moving equipment on the other hand is the largest most powerful hydraulic pump that the engine can power, with some capacity bled off to move the machine when necessary. This is why you can stall a skid steer or loader while trying to lift and travel simultaneously. Very few farm style tractors have anywhere near the digging ability per horsepower of something like a loader or a excavator. And most earth moving equipment, (other than bulldozers), has very little ability to pull a load. If I was looking for a farm style tractor, with FEL and backhoe primarily in mind, I'd go for one of the industrial L series Kubotas, as they are designed around the FEL and backhoe. I think the older L35 was probably the most capable compact tractor ever built in this regard, a durable workhorse with the ability to do some real earth work, something like 17 gpm from the hydraulic pump, (compared to around 10-12 on a typical 30hp compact tractor, and 20+ on a 40 hp mini-X) and they are extremely durable. A used one in good shape is still worth about what it cost new in 1999.

[Leslie Sapp]

I live on 165 acres that is primarily timberland. We have a JD 5103 (50 hp)with a loader and an older 3 cyl. diesel JD 820. You've mentioned moving logs a couple of times. If you are moving saw timber sized material, don't go smaller than a 50 hp. If all you need the loader for is cleaning up brush and the occasional fallen tree, the 40 horse will suffice.
Get a 4WD model if you can afford it. It's hard to believe how much difference having the extra traction under the front end when the bucket is loaded makes until you've experienced it.

[Blanket]

Not a Hydro fan and prefer weight and hp over anything. Have set on a bunch of tractor seats over the last 50years and have a 9000 lb 77HP JD 2640 with a FEL and gears to do my playing

[jonp]

Not sure. Will have to see how it goes with traction and stability.
Not buying till fall at the earliest so have time to change my mind about the transmission. Also might upgrade to the 5010 if the price is good enough.

I wouldn't do it until I played around with it first

[15meter]

I like my 6000 lb. hydraulic jack.

222240

For the safety patrol: This shot was taken before I put oak 8x8 under the front wheels and lowered the mower.

For the price, I couldn't justify getting anything bigger/more elaborate. I bought this in 2003, a friend came to me and said a widow at his church had two old tractors that had belonged to her late husband at her mother-in-laws house and the M-O-L wanted them gone. He had looked at them and told me he didn't think they were worth anything, they didn't have a motor in either of them. I went and looked, climbed up on the first tractor turned on the ignition switch and stepped on the starter--instant ignition. He almost went through the wall of the barn when it fired up, scared the carp out of him. He had never seen a two cylinder before. One was the one "60" in the photo. The other was a 1949 "A". Bought them both. Sold the A, Dad and I did a spiff up/repaint on this one. Less than $2000 after a sandblast/repaint/rebuild loader cylinders/new clutch/new radiator core/rebuild power steering pump/tuneup. Nice thing about this tractor is I can work on it my self. Parts are cheep and available. The only thing I would like is a hydraulic bucket, much more controllable that a trip bucket, but for the money, I can do all I need. I take off the bucket and put on an eight foot wide blade on the front during the winter to keep my mother's yard clear. After using back blades and front blades I would only push snow with the front blade. Way easier. The bucket during the summer to clean up around the buildings and clear brush. Log chain has pulled every dead tree that I have dropped. Doesn't have 3 point hitch but the rockshaft is there if I ever got that ambitious. And it makes a great hydraulic jack.:D

[BD]

On the construction equipment debate, I'm pretty sure that every skid steer and excavator I've been on in the last 15 years had a hydrostatic transmission.

[rancher1913]

they use a pump and a motor, close but not a true hydrostactic, but very close. my trackhoes and skidders I can work on and change a bad component easily, a true hrydrostatic has all the stuff, including the throttle all in one package and requires a lot of know how to make work together. I have a kubota with a hydrostatic drive and I have been trying to fix it for years, it goes but not much power. I have followed all the manuals and still don't fully understand how all the components tie together. my skidder and trackhoe have a pump on the motor that runs through a series of valves that control the oil flow to the drive motor, the more rpms the more strength, easy to work on and understand.

[snowwolfe]

Thought I would update this thread since I started it. Finally completed, signed, and handed over a deposit to seal the deal today. Tractor is a Kioti 2018 NX4510 hydrostatic 4x4 with FEL, backhoe, canopy, filled tires, and free 50 hour service including no charge for pickup and delivery. Not in a hurry to get it and told dealer we will complete the deal in October/November. That will give me time to find a box blade as well.
It will be an interesting next 12 months as my tractor and backhoe experience is zero! LOL.
Appreciate the advise. My wife is more excited than I am as she will not ever have to dig a hole for a berry bush, tree, etc again!

[Fishman]

Have fun and above all, be safe. It’s easy to mess up with tractors.

[Chad5005]

ive got a kabota m5030 4x4 and a m9540 4x4 the m series is a little heavier built than the l series but both are good tractors the 5030 is 52hp and id never buy another one smaller than that for what we do, unless just a 2wd mow tractor both of mine have fel,but in all reality 40hp should do all of what you need,just have to really work it on bigger jobs

[BD]

My advice to anyone who has never used a backhoe oe excavator is to go someplace some distance from anything you can damage, then dig a hole and fill it in a few times. Get it under control before you get near anything that matters.

[Elkins45]

My advice to anyone who has never used a backhoe oe excavator is to go someplace some distance from anything you can damage, then dig a hole and fill it in a few times. Get it under control before you get near anything that matters.

That’s good advice. I would also advise that for the first couple of years you own it that you carry a damage/accident policy on it. It would be terrible to roll or otherwise crack up a brand new tractor accidentally and then have to eat 100% of the loss. I bought a policy through Kubota for around $300/year when I bought my new one. My primary worry was theft, but some drunk slamming into it on the trailer during transport was also a worry.

I would carry it for the first year for sure because that’s when it books for the most, but mainly because your chances of breaking something are pretty good when you’re learning to use it.