Maggie’s Compact tractor advice.

[whatsupdoc]

Looking to buy a compact tractor. This machine will be used 85% of the time mowing 6ish acres of wavy, hilly grass fields and
the rest of the time moving small rocks trees and stuff on 57 acres.

A good part of the mowing will be with the machine running sideways on a hill and I need the deck to be able to cut some areas at say a height of 6 inches due to rocks. Old timer once said to me "ya cant touch a shovel to the ground here without hitting a stone".

So would a flail mower be a better choice than a deck mower? I am favoring a Kubota B2601 and it seems they dont offer a flail mower so I would have to get an aftermarket one.

 

[XP1K]

Kubota B series and 57 acres doesn't even go together for me. I'd be shopping in the mx series for kubota.

My uncle maintains about 12-15 acres and has an mx5200 and it's a nice sized tractor. Hydrostatic transmission. I tend to favor the hydraulic shuttle myself buy the hydrostatic is nice at times. It's probably all the tractor I would want if I didn't maintain a half mile of private road. It takes a lot of machine for the ground engaging implements.

I went in with my dad and brother on a deere 5075e and we maintain around 40 acres. I haven't complained about having too much machine one time. I'd urge you to go with a little more tractor than you think you need. If you're able to.

 

[whatsupdoc]

I am only dealing with 6 acres the rest is forest, mostly mowing and general bs.

 

[Jscb1b]

Buy the biggest tractor you can get. I've never heard anyone wish they had less horsepower. About the side hill use, if you can go up and down the hill. If not, look for a tractor that has adjustable wheel spacing and set as far out as possible.

 

[Milf Dots]

If it was me I'd be at a Kubota dealer.

 

[LeftyJason]

Not sure you have read some of the other tractor threads. They have some good info in them. Most were asking about smaller tractors but there was recommendations for bigger as well. Some of those posters are no longer with us either by being banned or graduating this life (rip @MtnCreek).

I don't know anything about tractors myself but I enjoy reading these threads.

In order of age

Smaller tractor brands

Kinda chewing on getting a smaller sized tractor for the GF. Looking at brands like mahindra, LS, massey ferguson, etc. not a big fan of john deere-as the dealers here are fucking assholes and i think you pay a bunch just for the name. Looking to see what the folks here have...

www.snipershide.com

Compact Tractor Recommendations

Guys. Not guns but I know some of you know about farm equipment, etc. So I am looking for what seems to be a compact tractor. My requirements, needs are: Mowing front end loader to move stuff and move dirt a tiller for gardens possible towing a bush hog to clear stuff. I only have about 1.5...

www.snipershide.com

Sub, Compact, Utility, 4x4, tractors - advice needed

Living out of town on 4 acres I got snowed in this year when it fell about 2ft and a few times in years past so I'll use it for this when it snows more than 5" or so. Also have a dirt road/s to start maintaining. Rocks to remove on those roads as well. Been leaving the property unmowed because I...

www.snipershide.com

 

[smcfarland]

If involving slopes, hard to beat a PowerTrac. Need to be somewhat mechanically inclined though. Mine was great for the ten years I owned it. Lots of attachments you can get for it as well.

 

[mgoodrich]

You might be better off with a sickle bar mower. Depending on the size of the rocks you are dealing with, the larger ones (5in in diameter and greater) the bar would go over without any damage.

The smaller rocks 2 in and below could knock some of the cutter (sickle) out, but only about a 3 inch piece of the cutter, which is easy to replace.

Hay & Forage | SB31 Sickle Bar Mower | John Deere US

The SB31 Series give you a clean cut, all for an affordable price – so you can shave costs while you cut crop.

www.deere.com

 

[ggmanning]

Get a loader and front/rear remotes. You'll need them at some point. One of my tractors is a 4701 Kubota....I'd opt for hydro trannsmission, R4s filled for weight and rollover stability and a rear mounted finishing deck. You can set it any height you want with the guage wheels. B's are solid machines but they are limited in what you can do with them due to wight and power. Even if you choose less HP the L series is heavier, more solid frame and can do real tractor stuff. I had a 3010 at one time and it was solid for the hp.......it or similiar as small as I would go for your use. You think 85% of your use will be mowing but you will find you use it all the time for other stuff that needs mor than a sub compact.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Get a loader and front/rear remotes. You'll need them at some point. One of my tractors is a 4701 Kubota....I'd opt for hydro trannsmission, R4s filled for weight and rollover stability and a rear mounted finishing deck. You can set it any height you want with the guage wheels. B's are solid machines but they are limited in what you can do with them due to wight and power. Even if you choose less HP the L series is heavier, more solid frame and can do real tractor stuff. I had a 3010 at one time and it was solid for the hp.......it or similiar as small as I would go for your use. You think 85% of your use will be mowing but you will find you use it all the time for other stuff that needs mor than a sub compact.

Yea I was also looking at the L series.

 

[steve123]

One of those threads linked is about me and my Yanmar 235C purchase. I got the cab version with a heater and a AC which is a decision I couldn't be happier about. Baking in the sun, freezing my ass off, or getting stuff blown in nearly every orifice is not an issue I need be concerned about.

The other thing is every time you turn around you'll find various uses for a tractor that you wouldn't even think of unless you had one. It seems like I use mine at least twice a month for all kinds of things. One use lately was removing a old front deck. I pulled it up with the backhoe, turned the tractor around and scooted it up on the bucket, lifted and turned the bucket up so it wouldn't fall off, then brought it to the junkpile which took not quite 10 minutes. Without a tractor it would have taken a couple hours of hard labor. The list goes on and on.

The main negative thing is that small tractors are slower moving than bigger ones. Mine only goes about 10 mph. I'm retired so I don't care much about the extra time compared to the $15,000-$20,000 for the next size up tractor.

Kubota's are stupid expensive where I live which is not farming country and the model I wanted was hard to come by at the time. It'd been $11,000 more for the competing model Kubota as my Yanmar which made it an easy decision.
Zero problems with my Yanmar so far and it has a 10 year warranty so.......

Hope you the best in your tractor search.

 

[jrhtx]

I have a L5240 on 30 AC and wish I had bought larger, AND a cab in this heat! Downside is a cab with my trees would be tough.

Talk with the dealer about "extras" like front/rear hydraulics now rather that later. When I decided to add them, Kubota had discontinued the kit. Was a real pain to find. Buy with the tractor and have them install.

If you can't have someone fab a heavy duty front bumper NOT just a brush guard. Brush guards are soft and bend easily. Ask me how I know.

 

[stevieb92]

I was born and raised on a dairy farm in eastern PA, so I've been around all sorts of tractors nearly all my life and worked as a heavy equipment mechanic at a John Deere Construction Equipment dealer for 8 years before getting my ME degree from Penn State in 2004. On our farm we had lots of John Deere and International tractors and some Kubotas made appearances from time to time.

We had a unique application for a compact tractor that required high traction, stability, maneuverability, speed and efficiency. When the Steiner Tractors came out, we gave one a try and it was a paradigm shift. Lots of attachments. Articulating frame. Four wheel drive (select-able front or rear axle or both). Two speed hydro static transmission. Very stable on off camber hills. Very powerful. They outperformed anything else we tried.

We bought Steiner tractors for our application. The main thing was cleaning out the second floor of a chicken house, which required driving it up a staircase with a 60 inch power angle blade on the front it. It crawled right up the steps. That machine was then used to push all of the chicken bedding (sawdust) and manure to centralized holes in the floor to fall to the floor of the first story below. With the articulating frame and power angle blade, it could literally push shit around a 90 degree corner of the building. This machine cut our cleanout time in half, easily.

I've repaired a bunch of different tractors and equipment over the years and these Steiners are built like tanks and super tough. We didn't baby them. They look kind of funky, but don't let that fool you. They are beasts.

Take a look and give them some consideration. I would recommend the model 450 with the 3 cylinder Kubota diesel engine (75-75025). It isn't cheap, but hey what isn't anymore. Get the dual wheel option and you could run sideways on hills without much fear of rolling.

https://steinerturf.com/450-tractor/

 

[IronSkillet]

I was born and raised on a dairy farm in eastern PA, so I've been around all sorts of tractors nearly all my life and worked as a heavy equipment mechanic at a John Deere Construction Equipment dealer for 8 years before getting my ME degree from Penn State in 2004. On our farm we had lots of John Deere and International tractors and some Kubotas made appearances from time to time.

We had a unique application for a compact tractor that required high traction, stability, maneuverability, speed and efficiency. When the Steiner Tractors came out, we gave one a try and it was a paradigm shift. Lots of attachments. Articulating frame. Four wheel drive (select-able front or rear axle or both). Two speed hydro static transmission. Very stable on off camber hills. Very powerful. They outperformed anything else we tried.

We bought Steiner tractors for our application. The main thing was cleaning out the second floor of a chicken house, which required driving it up a staircase with a 60 inch power angle blade on the front it. It crawled right up the steps. That machine was then used to push all of the chicken bedding (sawdust) and manure to centralized holes in the floor to fall to the floor of the first story below. With the articulating frame and power angle blade, it could literally push shit around a 90 degree corner of the building. This machine cut our cleanout time in half, easily.

I've repaired a bunch of different tractors and equipment over the years and these Steiners are built like tanks and super tough. We didn't baby them. They look kind of funky, but don't let that fool you. They are beasts.

Take a look and give them some consideration. I would recommend the model 450 with the 3 cylinder Kubota diesel engine (75-75025). It isn't cheap, but hey what isn't anymore. Get the dual wheel option and you could run sideways on hills without much fear of rolling.

https://steinerturf.com/450-tractor/

Doosan Bobcat bought Steiner turf, they are trying to market the 450 As a Bobcat last I seen.
Toro purchased Ventrac but seems to have left them do their own thing.

 

[packratt]

What dealers do you have nearby? Ask some area farmers who they like. Our local Massey Ferguson dealer sucks. The local New Holland dealer closed and I'm on the fence about the next closest (50 miles) Deere is good and I've only bought parts from the case dealer.

Personally I wouldn't go smaller than 40hp.

 

[Major Wader]

We currently own 3 pieces of Kubota equipment, and sold another one about 3 years ago when we sold the property where it was. Great products, great dealer network.

 

[Trailgomer]

Have had a Kubota B7800 for over 15 yrs.
We got the 60” belly mower, brush hog, box blade and front end loader. Has almost 2k hours and is a versatile machine.