Tractor input!

[Bigchillin83]

Yup!!! They like Chevy, Ford, dodge, Toyota!!! They all are the best and they all suck!!! Lol pick the one that fits your options the best abs your needs… they all do so things great and lack on others…

 

[sksshooter]

We have 7 mahindras at the camp and work them pretty well each year. I have a 35hp 2wd with loader snd gear shift. Its been a tuff tractor and done all i need. My dad and another guy recently bought kubotas. 34 and 40 hp. They dont compare at all to the mahindras. Both are hydrostatic and 4x4 with loaders. The loaders are pretty weak and go into bypass well before you would expect. There is plastic everywhere and electronics exposed everywhere. My dads has had a stick through the radiator and coulle sensors damaged from sticks kicking up. There is just no protection on any of it. I havent looked super close at the new mahindras but im considering a new one in the next couple years so i can have quick connect bucket, i will also have front and rear remots and grapple. Its much cheaper to get what you wanf on them at purchase than to add after

 

[Old School]

I have a New Holland TT 60, very plain, a gear shift and a throttle and 60hp. I have had a lot of issues that seem to be something electronic .My biggest problem has been getting it fixed, it been to Chauvin Bros tractor two times and i still have the problem. Chauvin is nothing but part changers. I would not buy another New Holland. and stay away from Chauvin Bros.

 

[Core]

Ford

 

[MOTOR51]

Ford

Chevy


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[flyboy]

Dodge

 

[Neil09]

Thanks for all of the input, I ended up picking up an older Kubota. Picked up a 1996 L2350 4x4 with FEL.

I’m a used car dealer so am used to dealing with high vehicles in this market, but damn it’s with tractors too! Anything under 10k with a front end loader sells instantly. I ended up driving 4 hours away for it but the search is over thankfully.

 

[Magdump]

John Deere lost me years ago. Tractors don’t have to be so complicated and shouldn’t break that often or be that costly.
I grew up on a 60’s JD crawler 2 cyl gas. My first tractor was an old Ford N. I bought a new Mahindra 35 HP I think in 2001 and it was a solid workhorse and a great deal. I’m a stickler for maintenance and I never had an issue with it.

 

[paddle007]

I'll backup sksshooter's comment on the Kubota's lack of protection. There is no protection under the radiator. I replaced my neighbors radiator and just did a patch job on a good friends fan shroud. I fabricated a mesh steel cover and installed it on the bottom of the frame. Next I welded mesh steel to the front radiator guard.

 

[Neil09]

I'll backup sksshooter's comment on the Kubota's lack of protection. There is no protection under the radiator. I replaced my neighbors radiator and just did a patch job on a good friends fan shroud. I fabricated a mesh steel cover and installed it on the bottom of the frame. Next I welded mesh steel to the front radiator guard.

This one has a cover over front. Not sure if it’s factory or not.

 

[paddle007]

Looks good.
My own tractor is an old 2WD bucketless model smiliar to your. I would love to own your size tractor with a bucket and 4WD. I service and repair this L4400 for a friend for no charge. The payback is I get to test my work
Besides the obvious threat of ramming something thru the radiator the other vulnerability is stuff being directed upwards by the front axle. On this L4400 the lower mounts for the radiator protrude past the frame. The radiator has pins that insert into rubber bushings. One bang on that and it's new radiator/open your wallet time.
The first pic shows my attempt at hardening the belly exposure. So far so good.
The next two pics display the vulnerable lower radiator mounts.

 

[cbbr]

Any new advice for someone in the compact tractor market? I will be working on 40 acres, bush hogging or bailing around 25 of that. Light work as this is just a hobby farm that will have more fruit/nut trees/sunflowers/wild flowers than actual food growing.

I know that I want a front end loader and 4WD as other than bush hogging driving trails, I want to maintain them too. And move dirt, fencing, gravel, building materials.... general "excuse to drink beer" work.

The new market has crazy "0% forever" deals which are tempting, but used is fine if that's where the deals are. I am just starting to look and am thinking that something in the 25-30 hp range is about right because I will also need to trailer it as no one lives on the property right now and the vandals seem to have caught on.

 

[swampfoxx]

I bought an older Yanmar YM2500, 28HP a couple of years ago. Turns out, it was made on the same line as the JD 940, just painted a different color. Service manual in English is for a JD. I have a grader box, bushog and a gin pole and it takes care of everything I need to do on my little farm.

 

[cbbr]

I just learned something new - I had never heard of a gin pole on a tractor.

 

[sksshooter]

This is an old post i see i replied to and has been resurected. I did end up buying a new tractor. Ended up going a good bit bigger than planned with a new mahindra 5145, 45hp 4x4 shuttle. Ive put right at 60 hours on it so far and am very pleased. I added 3rd function to it and a grapple and it has been pretty awesome. My old 2wd 35hp mahindra was still going strong when i sold it. This one has extendable 3pt arms. I will NEVER own one without them again. It eliminates the need for a quick hitch and the issues they bring with very little effort to hook up.

 

[swampfoxx]

I just learned something new - I had never heard of a gin pole on a tractor.

Looks like they call it a boom pole. Great for hauling large limbs and trees. I have a set of tongs that I grab one end with then drag it if I can't lift it.

 

[Akajun]

Any new advice for someone in the compact tractor market? I will be working on 40 acres, bush hogging or bailing around 25 of that. Light work as this is just a hobby farm that will have more fruit/nut trees/sunflowers/wild flowers than actual food growing.

I know that I want a front end loader and 4WD as other than bush hogging driving trails, I want to maintain them too. And move dirt, fencing, gravel, building materials.... general "excuse to drink beer" work.

The new market has crazy "0% forever" deals which are tempting, but used is fine if that's where the deals are. I am just starting to look and am thinking that something in the 25-30 hp range is about right because I will also need to trailer it as no one lives on the property right now and the vandals seem to have caught on.

You dont want a small tractor if youre gonna be working with round bales. 55-65 hp min.

 

[sksshooter]

You dont want a small tractor if youre gonna be working with round bales. 55-65 hp min.

i don't know that i would base that solely on tractor hp. tractor weight is going to play a bigger role in handling the weight of a round bale. i have 2 other guys in my hunting lease with higher hp kubota tractors that are less capable at certain tasks because they can't put the hp to the ground. one has a 65 hp that weights in right at 2k lbs lighter than mine. so while he may run a bush hog at a faster cutting rate than i can. he cannot pull the disc i can nor was it as capable with a grapple due to the lower lifting capacity of the loader.

 

[cbbr]

I doubt that I will ever need to move round bales - I am more in the "grounds keeping" with some materials moving camp. The property is really just going to be an oversized hobby farm/shooting range. My grandparents had cattle on it when I was young, but since no one lives there I likely won't. Either way, its good to know that weight is a factor when it comes to speed.

That said, I se tractors with counterweights - does that make a big difference if the HP is fairly equal?

 

[Bigchillin83]

i don't know that i would base that solely on tractor hp. tractor weight is going to play a bigger role in handling the weight of a round bale. i have 2 other guys in my hunting lease with higher hp kubota tractors that are less capable at certain tasks because they can't put the hp to the ground. one has a 65 hp that weights in right at 2k lbs lighter than mine. so while he may run a bush hog at a faster cutting rate than i can. he cannot pull the disc i can nor was it as capable with a grapple due to the lower lifting capacity of the loader.

You would be surprised how much better a light tractor will do if you fill the tires with antifreeze/water mix… makes a big difference hitting a pile ect… but not so good on super soft/mud..

All that said I would never consider less than a 38/40hp and must be 4x4 and must have a front end loader…

I have a smaller JD 3038e with front end loader and attachments, I have 7.5 acres and its perfect for that.. I have around 350 hours on it and have prob moved well over 250 loads of dirt and 7-8 loads of gravel.. and I have a finishing mower on it also.. and to be honest I have never felt the need that I need a bigger tractor..

When I first got my property had a buddy come over with his 55hp 2x4 tractor, we were both moving quite a few loads of dirt.. with the 4x4 I was smoking him with hitting the piles and getting it spread.. he was only able to get 1/2 buckets ect cause he couldn’t dig into the pile.. just a thought…