Tractor advice needed

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by B25guy

Honestly, I don't know what some guys do without something like this.

And gals too!

[overlander63]

I had a Ford Hydro drive tractor for a while, and was very disappointed. I think I may have been asking too much of it, as I was trying to perform tasks suited to its size, and not its power. Traded it in on a Kubota diesel 4x4, and had zero problems with it. My friend has a 25hp John Deere diesel AWD Hydro drive he got from the same place as Pick, and loves it. I have used it also, and it seems a good tractor. IIRC, it is a 5250, or maybe a 2525--I hate getting old.

[till]

Cub Cadet Compact Tractor. Or a Kabota.

[thecatsandi]

John Deere 4000 or 5000 series tractor.
Not else comes close.

[wahoonc]

I will second or is it fourth the Kubota's I have a several over the years, bought and sold them as we needed them and all of them are still in daily use by plumbers and landscapers. We currently have five tractors and a backhoe with the youngest tractor (backhoe is a 89 Case 560K) being a 1974 JD 2020 series II oldest being a 51 Farmall Super A...kind of handy...we don't have to remove implements just use the tractor that has what you want on it. Another possibility would be to get the smaller tractor you need for everyday use and rent a bigger machine on the weekends for the heavy projects.

Aaron

[maxandgeorgia]

. . .Have to add to this post that you can rent a Bobcat and get a ton of yard work done in a weekend for a fraction of it's cost...that's what we did

So, can an "ordinary" person who rents a Bobcat for a weekend of leveling and dirt/gravel moving work safely operate one? What knowledge/experience is necessary? We need this kind of work too, and have joked about buying one, but more seriously discussed renting one, but we are apprehensive about operation. Discussion, those of you who use them? This might be informative for Yukionna too. Thanks. ~G

[Pick]

I believe all of the smaller diesel powered Deere's are assembled in Augusta, Georgia. (2000 through 5000 series) I think the 6000's are done in Europe, and 7, 8, and 9000 series done in Iowa/Illinois.

Some of the smaller Deere's back in the 80's and 90's (6,7,8,900 series) were contracted to Yanmar in Japan. They were Deere designed tractors, but manufactured to their specs, by Yanmar.

[Ultradog]

So, can an "ordinary" person who rents a Bobcat for a weekend of leveling and dirt/gravel moving work safely operate one? What knowledge/experience is necessary? We need this kind of work too, and have joked about buying one, but more seriously discussed renting one, but we are apprehensive about operation. Discussion, those of you who use them? This might be informative for Yukionna too. Thanks. ~G

I rented a Bob Cat twice before. It took a little getting used to but if you've operated a forklift or driven a tractor and are reasonably astute about mechanical things you could do it. Ask them if you can rent it in the yard for half an hour. It'll look better if you go get it with a 3/4 ton pickup. Once I used one to clean up after I'd torn the porch off a house. The other time I actually did some digging with it to divert the rain around a friends wet basement. Aa whole day. On her nickel. It was more fun than Wally World.

[wahoonc]

Georgia,
I agree with Ultradog, a Bobcat is fairly easy to operate. The basics are easy to get a handle on. They are a very stable little machine. Besides we all have to learn something sometimes

Aaron

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by enduroryda

Have to add to this post that you can rent a Bobcat and get a ton of yard work done in a weekend for a fraction of it's cost...that's what we did

Yes, I have thought about this but would then need to buy and maintain additional machines to mow the lawn, rototill gardens, pickup leaves/acorns, and move the snow. I pulled together a quick rental cost analysis using sample Bobcat rental costs I found on the internet (see attachment for details). Note, the rental fees used in the spreadsheet are daily fees.

The bottom-line is if I rent, it will cost me approximately $6800 the first year for rental fees and additional machine purchases. I do plan on removing more trees/stumps over time and doing more lot leveling after I remove the trees so would need to rent the bobcat again for 4 - 8 days per year. So, that would add in approximately an additional $1000/year for rental fees.

On the other hand, let's say I purchase the tractor for $10K. My calculations show that I would see a cost savings from buying vs. renting after three years of ownership.

[enduroryda]

Wow Yuki...you do have your work cut out for you. I do think a tractor is more up your alley as breaking up ledge and digging up and regrading your driveway is more than a couple of days job. Everbody has given great info here...the best part is that if you do decide to purchase...tractors hold their re-sale value pretty well. I would check in the Want Advertiser...you can find some pretty good deals in there. Good luck with your purchase...

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by enduroryda

Wow Yuki...you do have your work cut out for you. I do think a tractor is more up your alley as breaking up ledge and digging up and regrading your driveway is more than a couple of days job. Everbody has given great info here...the best part is that if you do decide to purchase...tractors hold their re-sale value pretty well. I would check in the Want Advertiser...you can find some pretty good deals in there. Good luck with your purchase...

Thanks! One other thing I think bears mentioning -- I know when I estimate yard work projects that I haven't tackled before, I typically underestimate the task and the task ends up taking more time due to my inexperience and to unforseen circumstances (i.e., a big rock hidden 6" under the ground where you want to rototill that garden, etc.). I dread the thought of renting machinary because that means I will have to work at full tilt the whole weekend so that I can get my "money's worth" on the rental. By the time Monday rolls around, I'm stiff and sore for the next week. It is no fun at all. On the other hand, I'm smiling right now just with the thought of my own shiny (or not) tractor sitting in my barn ready to take on yard tasks at the flip of a switch! I'm actually looking forward to the yard work!!!

[Danetree]

From the amount of work you are talking about I think you need a tractor in the 40 hp range. for the loader and eath work you are talking about. We have a tree nursery so have many tractors and loaders around. The New Holland 40D would be a good choice it can be puchased with super steer so it is quite manuverable. Take it easy on any of these smaller tractors when using a loader. Dirt work with a loader will take its toll. I don't advise the older tractors. I have several including an 8n Ford and B JD. they were great in there day but modern tecnology is hard to beat.

[maxandgeorgia]

. . .Once I used one to clean up after I'd torn the porch off a house. . .

I had to laugh when I read this. Driving into the family room or tearing the porch off the house is the kind of thing I'm afraid I'll do WITH the Bobcat! The tutorial in the rental yard sounds like a pretty good idea for this non-mechanical gal. Thanks for the info Good luck, Yukionna. ~G

[carnegie1935]

We have farmed for years and have all sizes of tractors. JD 4020 deisel. JD 530 gas (restored for tractor pulls and parades) 1510 Ford deisel, JD 50 gas, 1520 Ford deisel. Kabota trackhoe. and Gravely 52" riding mower.
We have too many , but we just can't seem to part with any of them yet.

You seem to know your needs pretty well so I will only tell you that for the most part the 1520 is our favorite. It is 2 wheel drive with hydralics set up for a front end loader. we change out the attachments from a hay fork, to a bucket, to a fork lift some of these have been fabricated here on the farm(hay fork). rear has a pto and a 3 point hitch. we have a 4 ft mower. a rototiller, a blade. post hole digger, and a scoop for the rear. we modified some old equip to plow and make rows in the garden.
Our friend has one like ours that is 4 wheel drive and a little stronger. he has a backhoe for his. ours has power steering.(NIce as we AGE)

We bought the 1510 new and the 1520 used and have gathered attachments as we needed. there are other brands that will do the same thing just try to get something that you can add too . The most important thing for us has been the pto, 3 pt hitch and the hydralics.

My husband still drives the 1520 every day even tho he is on oxygen 24/7. we just transfer his oxygen from his scooter to the tractor in a clip holder and off he goes to load scrap , mow or just inspect the farm.

our trackhoe was a big investment but, we have really used it a lot . digging up tree roots, digging holes to plant new trees at our local cemetery( everyboby was facinated by it), digging new septic lines, and many more large digging projects.

We also have a JD dozer that is under major repair now. Have had the dozer since the 60's.

Great grandson claims the trackhoe and the dozer as his so I guess there is no way to sell them. He is 14 and can operate the trackhoe really well.

I hope that you find the right tractor for your needs, Not too big or too small. One unit with lots of goodies will really do you a great job

Kay

[85MH325]

Well, of necessity, I have a little more useful tractor comparison shopping experience now… Yuki… have you bought anything yet? My beloved little Honda has had fuel problems and has been down and/or in the shop now awaiting parts for over two weeks. It’s the first major repairs it’s had in twenty-one years though… so I guess I can’t complain too much. It will live again, but… it’s got me looking at new tractors.

I’ve done some fairly exhaustive research into subcompact tractors in the past two weeks and thought I’d share what I’ve found. My tractor tasks are not nearly as daunting as what Yuki has planned. I mow about two acres total in two locations (trailer the tractor between), and use a snow blower for our 60’x20’ driveway and a 1/3 acre parking lot at our apartment building. I also have a dozer blade for leveling gravel and other odds and ends. I want a 3 point hitch (currently don’t have one) for convenience in using my sprayer and other attachments. I don’t use ground-engaging equipment like tillers or plows. My Honda has a heavy steel welded chassis, four wheel drive, all wheel steering, locking rear differential, live PTOs front and rear, and hydraulics front and rear. It has all of those features on a chassis not much larger than an MTD lawn tractor. I like those features and want them on my next tractor. The Honda chassis is the perfect size for the tasks I ask of it.

In looking, I settled on the 18-25hp sub-compact class tractors. You can get some of the features I want on standard lawn/garden tractors, but not all of them and what you can get are expensive options. So, the step up to the subcompact tractor class was necessary. I looked at Case IH, Club Cadet, New Holland, John Deere, and Kubota. A Case IH DX18E equipped with an 18hp 3 cyl Shibauru diesel, two-stage front mount snowblower, 54” mower deck, and 54” manual-angle blade was quoted at $14,950. The DX25E was $750 more, and they hydraulic angle blade was an additional $500 totaling $16,200. I like this tractor. It’s competent and a joy to drive.

The Cub Cadet 5254E with a diesel engine with the same attachments priced out at $16,555. What little I've been able to find on the larger Cub Cadet series by MTD hasn't been very positive; particularly in the area of getting replacement parts in a timely fashion.

I haven’t priced the New Holland series, but they are identically spec’d as the Case IH tractors, except they’re blue. I expect they’d be priced similarly. The nearest New Holland dealer is about 12 miles away and I just haven’t made it over there.

I looked at a John Deere 2305 24 hp diesel. It has a 3 cyl Yanmar diesel. It was priced out with all of the same options including the hydraulic 54” angling blade at $14,450. This tractor is clearly the best buy. I sat on the 2305, but haven’t actually driven it. It’s a high-quality tractor as well and I’m impressed with the Yanmar diesel. I don’t care as much for the way the 2305 seat feels though. The one I sat on leans back too far and has a “low-rider” feel. I may have to find another one to see if it’s just that tractor or the way they’re designed. The controls aren't as logically laid out for me as the Case IH or Kubota, but they may be JD standard. I've never been around JD much... those who farm in our family have always bought red.

Both the Case IH DXxxE series and John Deere 2305 are physically much larger tractors than my Honda and are almost too big for the areas I use them in. I went to Kubota yesterday. Although the nearest dealer is 40 miles away, and I really wanted to buy my tractor locally, I may end up with a Kubota.

The BX series is amazing. Kubota builds at least two full-featured sub-compact tractors with chassis sizes smaller than either the JD2305 or the DX series Case tractors; the BX2350 and the smaller yet BX1850. Both have 3cyl Kubota diesels, 4WD, power steering, mid and rear-mount PTOs, three point hitches standard, and hydraulics. My Honda has a 46” mower deck, and the BX1850 is available with a 48” deck which will still fit on my 54” wide trailer. The BX2350 prices out around $13,500 with the 50” snowblower, 54” mower deck, and 50” blade, but the BX1850 which has a chassis only slightly larger than my Honda was quoted at $11,900 with the 48” mower deck. The seating is comfortable, although not as nice as the Case, and the controls are logically laid out and easy to see and reach. They’re willing to bring the BX1850 out for me to try out next week, So I’ll report back.

All three have excellent financing right now…

JD is 0% for three years with 10% down; CaseIH is 0% for two years, 2.99 for three with 10% down; and Kubota is 0% for a year, 0.9% for two, and 2.99% for three years with no down. Cub Cadet had 3.99 % for 36 mos with 10% down. The CaseIH warranty is two years overall and three years power train. The JD warranty is 3 years on everything. The Cub Cadet is 2 year or 1500 hours. The Kubota warranty on the BX series is two years overall (or 1500 hours) and three years powertrain.

As much as I wanted to buy a "domestic" and buy it locally, there just isn't anything built in the chassis size I'm looking for but the Kubota... and they're signficantly less money to boot!

Roger

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by yukionna

Yes, I have thought about this but would then need to buy and maintain additional machines to mow the lawn, rototill gardens, pickup leaves/acorns, and move the snow. I pulled together a quick rental cost analysis using sample Bobcat rental costs I found on the internet (see attachment for details). Note, the rental fees used in the spreadsheet are daily fees.

The bottom-line is if I rent, it will cost me approximately $6800 the first year for rental fees and additional machine purchases. I do plan on removing more trees/stumps over time and doing more lot leveling after I remove the trees so would need to rent the bobcat again for 4 - 8 days per year. So, that would add in approximately an additional $1000/year for rental fees.

On the other hand, let's say I purchase the tractor for $10K. My calculations show that I would see a cost savings from buying vs. renting after three years of ownership.

The John Deere I mentioned in my earlier post cost $22,525, delivered from Marion Tractor, brand-new. It had:
Tractor
Front end loader
Bush hog
Flail
Rear dozer blade
Small utility trailer
It is diesel, hydro drive, full hydraulics, PTO, 4x4, power steering, and sun roof.
I used it to clean up around the farm where we stored our Argosy (25 acres), and it has never failed. Zero defects, either, the only problems were self-inflicted.

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

Well, of necessity, I have a little more useful tractor comparison shopping experience now… Yuki… have you bought anything yet? ....
Roger

No, we needed to put our tractor evaluation on hold while we deal with our New England flooding situation. Thanks for the additional evaluation information, tho. It is very helpful and on track with some of our thinking too (with regards to choosing Kubota).

[jamesardis]

Yukionna- I love my ford 1520 I think its about 20 hp--3 cyl. diesel--jim

[jamesardis]

forgot the pic--