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

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steve123

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Mar 16, 2008
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none of your business
#1
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 don't own a riding mower but would like to do it once or twice a year.
Sometimes I would like to move heavy stuff around - getting old and putting stuff in the back of the truck is harder.
Holes to dig, been putting that off.
I might even take on a few smaller jobs using the tractor eventually.

I finally can afford a tractor now, new or used.
The problem is I don't know crap about them.
Worried about buying too small a one with low clearance to the ground and then struggling to move snow. Too big a tractor gets expensive.
Buy used and worried about taking somebodies problem off their hands and spending more to get it fixed.
Used tractors are not very common around here.
Buy new and pay taxes. I did learn by watching videos to buy a tractor that has good dealer support in my area. Problem is there's no farming where I live so no matter what I'm gonna have to travel approx 100 miles to get that support, or for that matter buy a new or used tractor.
Best accessories??
Most reliable brands??
John Deere tractors are so expensive and so are the accessories.
Leery of the new chinese tractors. Saw some videos of people complaining of warranty support and parts availability.

So far I'm leaning towards new YanMar because of my perceived value of it, lower cost, and warranty??? Not sure how good they are??
Not sure on size of tractor either.
Dealer 100 miles away.
Sub $50,000 and hopefully much less.

The experienced please comment.

Thanks
 
#4
Yanmar engines are well respected in the boating crowd. Nothing runs like a Deere...except the French. :whistle:

If you can afford it, buy new, pay the tax. As you mentioned, you dont want somebody else's problems and unless you like working on them, buy new.
 
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#5
My brush cutter and rake are Frontier(a JD owned company still I think.) The RC2048 cutter has been super dependable for me and cuts a little over 3 acres multiple times a summer. The rake gets very little use for me

Bucket is a JD as well and gets the shit beat out of it on a regular basis.

My box blade is a Tufline and has seen moderate use with no issues for me.

Post hole diggers is a Spreeco. Very little to no use for me honestly so can’t speak to ruggedness.

Pallet lift is a no name something or other I bought used at local ag shop for about 100 bucks I think. It has served me very well moving stuff around though.

There is another thread on here that talks pretty on depth about these little tractors as well. Or at least there was a while back
 
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#7
www.nextechclassifieds.com

John Deere 3032E tractor with loader and box blade

Tractor is in like new condition with 65 engine hours. Has 31 HP diesel engine, is 4wd with hydrostat transmission and has 3 point and PTO. It has recently been serviced and ready to go. Comes with 4 foot long pallet forks and 5 foot quick attach bucket and 5 foot Frontier box blade. Asking...
www.nextechclassifieds.com www.nextechclassifieds.com

Pretty simple if you know where to look.
Looks like quite a few accessories come with it....and it only has 65 hours on it.
 
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#9
We have owned 3 Kubota diesel tractors/mowers. A BX2360, a TG1860, and a MX6000.

TG1860 bought new in 1996, still mowing my nephew's yard today. Mowed over 4 acres regularly.

BX2360 bought new in 2012, mowed food plots, tilled gardens, and still mows our place.

MX6000 bought new in 2021, does everything I need done.

None have ever had any issues.
 
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#10
Might want to look into a Caterpillar skid loader. It will do anything a tractor will do, better, and its a Cat. In my travels through Central America and Mexico I saw a lot of road construction, 99% of it was Cat. They're tough as nails, airconditioned cab, which is nice if you drive through a yellow jackets nest, and you can get any attachment you want. Their service/parts is second to none...or it used to be. Its one of the few I'd consider buying used.
 
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#11
Purchased a new 1025r with 60" mid-mount mower, loader, 48" pallet forks, and RC2048 brush cutter. Went to 3 different JD dealers before received a decent (excellent) price. Just rolled 100 hours on the clock, no issues so far other than broke both turn signals on ROPS, they stick out just enough when turning i keep pulling them off on trees and branches. Because this is a small tractor 3-point hitch only has very limited clearance. My property was severely overgrown jungle with hurricane damage, the pallet forks work better than the bucket when separating down trees and then pulling vines from branches, swing around and run the brush cutter and move forward etc. Also added the Heavy-hitch toothbar for earth scraping/digging money well spent. For me being inexperienced the JD was far easier to swap out attachments then many of the other brands. Others looked at Kubota, New Holland, Kioti. My advice would be get out to the dealers and test stuff out, I was interested in Yanmar but closest dealer was 300 miles away, dropped corporate office email and they kept emailing me some terrific deals. My previous tractor was a Ventrac 3000 unfortunately when Toro purchased the company the line was dropped would of purchased again in heartbeat.
 
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#12
I wouldn't buy Mahindra, Yan mar, etc...The skid steer idea is valid, if you don't need the tractor for plowing, finish mowing etc...Bobcat, Takeuchi would be my preference. Have a Kubota SVL 75-2, love it, except the ac. Pain to clean the condensor. Def. Kubota for compact tractor.
 
#14
Skid steer has ZERO ground clearance and if it gets stuck (inevitable) it is damn near impossible to move.
Yea, I've run a bunch of them, geil, cat, bobcat, kubota, etc etc.
Take a good look at the ground clearance here......dunna matter if it's wheeled or tracked, same clearance.

CCE_SSL_photo_5-1-18_SR220_JEZP_13_007-3798_effect_mr-SR220-1.jpg
 
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#15
My family swears by New Holland, my dad has had everything from 23hp to 75hp New Hollands and all have served him well.

He's got 2 tractors (50hp and 75hp), a skid steer, and a mini excavator and the tractors are by far and away the most useful piece of farm/land equipment you can own. Get a bucket on the front and make sure you have hydraulic hook ups and PTO on the back, and with attachments (which you can rent or buy depending on how often you'll use them) and it will do a ton of shit.

He lives 1/4 mile down the road from me so I get the benefits when I need them, without the payments lol.
 
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#16
I would look used. Drive by a tractor dealer and you will see a line of tractors with exhaust pipes that look like several 55 gal drums welded together and placed to block your view. That's tier 4. Ide find a late model name brand tier three. I would look for a three point hitch, a pto, and a loader.
 
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#17
roostercogburn98 said:
My brush cutter and rake are Frontier(a JD owned company still I think.) The RC2048 cutter has been super dependable for me and cuts a little over 3 acres multiple times a summer. The rake gets very little use for me

Bucket is a JD as well and gets the shit beat out of it on a regular basis.

My box blade is a Tufline and has seen moderate use with no issues for me.

Post hole diggers is a Spreeco. Very little to no use for me honestly so can’t speak to ruggedness.

Pallet lift is a no name something or other I bought used at local ag shop for about 100 bucks I think. It has served me very well moving stuff around though.

There is another thread on here that talks pretty on depth about these little tractors as well. Or at least there was a while back
Click to expand...

Ha, silly me, it turned out I do have a local dealer. They sell JD, and Bobcat. Its back on an industrial road I don't go down. The reason I got confused is there is a equipment rental place in the vicinity that sells their old highly used tractors on occasion so I had crossed it off my list.

Thanks for taking the time to tell me about your accessories.
 
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#19
n2ishun said:
Skid steer has ZERO ground clearance and if it gets stuck (inevitable) it is damn near impossible to move.
Yea, I've run a bunch of them, geil, cat, bobcat, kubota, etc etc.
Take a good look at the ground clearance here......dunna matter if it's wheeled or tracked, same clearance.

View attachment 8072101
Click to expand...

Eek, it looks like it'd get high centered in snow.
 
#21
I agree on more power but for me, its weight. When I use my 5' blade to grade my road or move heavy snow (say more than 6-8") the rear end gets pulled over rather than the material. I can manage but it just takes more time.

One other consideration is trailer weight. If you need to take it for service, having a proper trailer will make a big difference.

I would have typed earlier but ran out of time.
 
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#22
steve123 said:
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 don't own a riding mower but would like to do it once or twice a year.
Sometimes I would like to move heavy stuff around - getting old and putting stuff in the back of the truck is harder.
Holes to dig, been putting that off.
I might even take on a few smaller jobs using the tractor eventually.

I finally can afford a tractor now, new or used.
The problem is I don't know crap about them.
Worried about buying too small a one with low clearance to the ground and then struggling to move snow. Too big a tractor gets expensive.
Buy used and worried about taking somebodies problem off their hands and spending more to get it fixed.
Used tractors are not very common around here.
Buy new and pay taxes. I did learn by watching videos to buy a tractor that has good dealer support in my area. Problem is there's no farming where I live so no matter what I'm gonna have to travel approx 100 miles to get that support, or for that matter buy a new or used tractor.
Best accessories??
Most reliable brands??
John Deere tractors are so expensive and so are the accessories.
Leery of the new chinese tractors. Saw some videos of people complaining of warranty support and parts availability.

So far I'm leaning towards new YanMar because of my perceived value of it, lower cost, and warranty??? Not sure how good they are??
Not sure on size of tractor either.
Dealer 100 miles away.
Sub $50,000 and hopefully much less.

The experienced please comment.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Get a mid sized kubota tractor with loader, box blade. Bush hog and tiller. She be able to get all that as a package for less than 50
 
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#23
Owned a 33hp Kubota with a skid steer bucket, 60in mower and back blade for 6 years, zero issues, still on the original battery even. It makes owning 5 acres awesome.

Pay half down, finance with Kubota insurance and they warranty everything you finance for five years, even if you break it, they fix it.

Tractorbynet.com. If I recall it correctly is a great resource.
 
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#24
I've een very happy with my Kubota L2650 that I bought used 8 years ago. I've probably put 200+ hours on it. 28hp,loader, brush hog mower. It's a little small for lifting really heavy stuff, very fuel efficient and does pretty well moving snow with chains on back.. Narrow wheelbase, its kinda sketchy picking up heavy stuff at an angle, the back opposite tire can come off the ground in a hurry < i may have done this a few times>. They're really durable and dependable. Orange FTW
 
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#25
Here is the link to the previous thread. There might be another good one but I don't recall.
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 www.snipershide.com
 
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#29
Skid Steers can be great and they are better at what they do than a tractor and that can include moving snow. A skid steer in a parking lot with a pusher box works better than a tractor. It moves more snow and fits/turns tighter, but the tractor can do this too. However, I can clear secondary roads with a 75hp tractor, I'd never do that with a skid steer.

Tractors are more versatile than a skid steer. You're not going to chain drag your gravel driveway, till your garden, or put out a bale of hay with your skid steer in my opinion. Assuming a track machine, the skid steer is harder on turf than a tractor as well.

To me the skid steer is just a more purpose built machine. They can be extremely handy, and its very nice to have one/access to one, but if you could only pick one my vote would be the tractor jmho ymmv.

For brands I'm not sure you can really go wrong with New Holland, John Deere or Kubota. We've always had new hollands (just seemed to get better deals), but I've got uncles with John Deere and Kubota that both like their machines and haven't really had any problems.
 
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#30
Here is some of what I’ve done with my Kubota BX25D-1:

A3F654EF-FB31-4F71-9FD1-EF2FD1518D0B.jpeg

1349722B-CC23-4538-9197-A26CAA6F149C.jpeg

4ABE098C-113C-4999-9F45-35E4B8459085.jpeg

42398CF3-ACAB-49AC-8479-4F833E7C08C4.jpeg

AB58F14E-0071-4CBF-A1FA-BD91C1235494.jpeg

05B5BFEE-BA1D-4EC8-941A-DD999F02EB26.jpeg

687BE4E3-E4F6-4551-B16B-8BE844A20BDE.jpeg


I use mine for my side gig. Getting a skid steer or compact track loader is fine, if you don’t have any nice lawn to work over. A lot of my jobs come my way because I can do a lot of work in a small amount of time and not tear anything up.

What size tractor you need is dependent upon what you realistically want to do. I get by with my BX for 95% of what I want to do. If I need bigger, I’ll rent it.
 
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#31
I just went through this myself (5 acres) bought a New Holland 1920.
I would look for:
Strong hydraulics with great reviews-
A four cylinder diesel (40-60 hp)-
Skid steer attachment loader-
Hydraulics up front and behind-
 
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#33
For the size you’re needing Kubota is king.

I’ve had a 3200 and have a 3901 now. Great machines. (60+acres)

You can still get non emissions with 25hp or less. A B series would serve you well.
 
Last edited:
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#34
If your paying cash buy a tractor slightly used. A couple years old with a couple hundred hours will save you 30-40 percent off new. The biggest reason is because most people that buy compacts are financing them and the dealer has great rates for new tractors. Massey Ferguson would be at the top of my list. Then Kubota then John Deere. The Massey in a 40 hp with a cab is what I have and it’s pretty damn sweet. Do not buy anything that takes DEF fluid.
 
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#36
I had been procrastinating on getting a different tractor for several years. I have a 1982 Massey 1020 21 hp that does most things I needed. I also have a skid steer, Bobcat 751 that rarely gets used, but they are darn handy when you need them. I had been debating getting a larger tractor so that I could use the skid steer grapple on the front, the little Massey didn't fit the bill, too small, no quick tach bucket plate, and no use investing in a 3rd function to control the grapple. My reasoning for a different tractor was that I could sell the Massey and the Bobcat and just have one machine. This is a long way of saying to consider everything you may want to do with a tractor before you pick one as weight and hp may come into play. I read something that made sense to me, the weight determines the work you can do, and the hp determines how fast you can do it.

Also consider the tires, which style do you want? I have turf tires on my old Massy, and really like the lack of disruption to the yard when I use it there. The tires are not the best in mud or for snow plowing although they do pretty well with the 4WD. I decided I wanted a hybrid tire, not ag and not turf, although for my use the turf tire would still work. Thinking of ground clearance, I had to use the Massey to assist in pulling out the skid steer from a muddy side slope. The skid steer just clawed its ways down until it was sitting on the frame so I had to pull on it while my brother was in the skid steer. They do have low ground clearance...

Brands? I considered Massey, Kubota, and Kioti. My wife draws the line at green (John Deere's, lol). Kubota was at the top of my list due to 1) having a local dealer network, 2) reputation from others that have them, and 3) they have their own parts where others use 3rd party parts. I ended up with a Kubota as I stopped in to the local dealer to ask him about minimum machines that could handle a grapple effectively for the weights I was considering. As we were talking he asked if I needed new or if used was ok. I said used was fine depending on condition. He had a newly traded L3901 with 308 hours as the owner traded up for a full cab model. I had him add the 3rd function to the loader and put on the tires I wanted and had the rear wheels fluid filled for some extra rear end weight to help with grapple use and stability on side hills.

Long story short, figure out everything you may want to use it for and then see which machines can handle it.
 
Last edited:
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#39
Maggot said:
Might want to look into a Caterpillar skid loader. It will do anything a tractor will do, better, and its a Cat. In my travels through Central America and Mexico I saw a lot of road construction, 99% of it was Cat. They're tough as nails, airconditioned cab, which is nice if you drive through a yellow jackets nest, and you can get any attachment you want. Their service/parts is second to none...or it used to be. Its one of the few I'd consider buying used.
Click to expand...
I'm a firm believer that if you can only own one piece of equipment, get a skidsteer.
More versatile over a wide range of jobs. Huge accessory market for any job you could think of....and some you wouldn't.
The one downside is if your place looks like a golf course they can be tough on turf.
 
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#40
jmp1 said:
I'm a firm believer that if you can only own one piece of equipment, get a skidsteer.
More versatile over a wide range of jobs. Huge accessory market for any job you could think of....and some you wouldn't.
The one downside is if your place looks like a golf course they can be tough on turf.
Click to expand...
I used to be in that camp as well. I now prefer compact tractors. Variables such as the layout and size of the land, the type of and scale of work to be done, the property owners goals and budget, and even the climate can affect the decision, but if the work has an agricultural element, which most do, then I would recommend a tractor.

OP Some things to consider which have over time swayed me:

- Rented skid steer attachments can contaminate your machine.
- The contamination can total your machine.
- New attachments are NOT cheap.
- Wheeled machines have a pretty high PSI signature.
- Tracked machines, which remedy the problem, can get pricey to maintain.
- Compact tractors now offer skid steer quick attachment loaders.

If raw power was my primary objective, or construction was my foremost purpose, I’d get a CTL. If I was using the machine in an arid or frigid climate, or if I was homesteading on a hillside, I’d probably choose a skid steer. But for the majority of property owners, wanting one machine, the compact tractor is more economical.
 
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#41
Check out your local Craigslist for tractors and implements. At least you'll get an idea of the dealers that are in your area. I've heard that the compact tractors can be harder to find implements for and that full size three point attachments are cheaper and easier to find. You could buy those used as well.
 
#42
Maxduty said:
Check out your local Craigslist for tractors and implements. At least you'll get an idea of the dealers that are in your area. I've heard that the compact tractors can be harder to find implements for and that full size three point attachments are cheaper and easier to find. You could buy those used as well.
Click to expand...

Been doing that the last few days. Thought I found two and darnit they were both scams.
 
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