Tractor Searching

[DenbowLawn]

So like the title says I'm in the search mode to get a tractor. Right now the the primary job is going to be brush hogging, but I'm hoping that I could get into some other jobs that require a Bucket, Box Blade, and some other accessories.

The dealers that I know of in my area are Kubota, John Deere, New Holland and possibly Case.

What model or brand do you all see being best for the money?

[lawn king]

Your question is too vague. What size rotary cutter do you want to run, what do you have for a truck/trailer set up, whats your price range,etc.

[DenbowLawn]

6ft in cutting width, 2500HD Silverado, and roughly 20k

[lawn king]

For rear pto implements you want 5hp per ft. 6 ft. rotary cutter / 30 hp pto. With 20 grand you can get a nice cut. Dont rush into this purchase, you need to do research. Do you want a cab model or open station, gear,shuttle or hydrostat tranny? Loader? Turf,ag or industrial tires? Mid pto ? Most people dont buy the right tractor the first time! You should spend some time surfing www.tractorbynet.com

[DenbowLawn]

ya im deffinetly doing my research on this. Thats why im asking on LS. Right now I was looking at the JD 5100 and Kubota L2800. But I don't know what im looking at as far as bells and whistles and other options.

[lawn king]

I would go grand L if you go kubota. The hst + tranny is amazing. I was fertilizing and spraying athletic feilds wednesday, cruse control set at 4 mph, ac on low, beatles m.m. tour playing in the cd and i thought, they pay me top dollar for this. KOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DenbowLawn]

what all do you use yours for? and how do you charge?

[lawn king]

My situation is unique. I use my machine daily during the season to load fert/pallets into trucks. The primary use for my machine is fertilizing,core aerating and boom spraying large accounts (athletic fields,cemeterys,estates,etc) for this i charge by the sq. ft. I also rotary cut fields, landscape rake, move large B&B plants with forks and perform loader services be it mulch,stone,compose, loam or snow for local landscape companys, for these services i charge $75. per hour, 4 hour minimum. My machine never sits for long. Once you own a tractor you will find lots of work for it if you hustle. I can earn 6 months of payments in a week during planting season.

[DenbowLawn]

Once you own a tractor you will find lots of work for it if you hustle. I can earn 6 months of payments in a week during planting season.

Thats what I am curious about. Right now I would only need it to brush hog 2-4ft grass, and Im trying to think of other uses that I would use it for, because 20-25k is a lot of money.

[lawn king]

You dont have to spend that much. You can buy a low hour used machine and spend the saved dollars on implements. Buying the tractor is great but its only the power plant, you need the attachments to work. Landpride,woods,sitrex,ryan and demco make great equipment.

[godflesh]

With a 20k bank roll..... You can pick up a lot of machine with 15k. Lawn king is spot on about getting a good low hour used machine. Go ahead and go for a model with a quick attach front end loader, you'll kick yourself if you don't get the loader. The tread you will need will vary depending on what you end up doing with it. R4 tire tread is a fairly good all around tire, not very good in mud, not very hard on turf. As far as attachments.... start out with the basics. a good heavy built rotary brush cutter, a good rigid box blade with solid shank adjustable rippers, an angle blade and a finish mower. You can buy all of the other stuff as you have a need for it.
If you get out and hustle up work for that machine, you'll end up having to hire a guy just to run the tractor. I bought mine starting off just to cut fields and lawns that get out of control. Now I build gravel driveways, finish mow huge yards, cut fields, dig out ponds, till and plow gardens, level yards..... you get the idea.

by the way, you ever run a tractor before?

[DenbowLawn]

With a 20k bank roll..... You can pick up a lot of machine with 15k. Lawn king is spot on about getting a good low hour used machine. Go ahead and go for a model with a quick attach front end loader, you'll kick yourself if you don't get the loader. The tread you will need will vary depending on what you end up doing with it. R4 tire tread is a fairly good all around tire, not very good in mud, not very hard on turf. As far as attachments.... start out with the basics. a good heavy built rotary brush cutter, a good rigid box blade with solid shank adjustable rippers, an angle blade and a finish mower. You can buy all of the other stuff as you have a need for it.
If you get out and hustle up work for that machine, you'll end up having to hire a guy just to run the tractor. I bought mine starting off just to cut fields and lawns that get out of control. Now I build gravel driveways, finish mow huge yards, cut fields, dig out ponds, till and plow gardens, level yards..... you get the idea.

by the way, you ever run a tractor before?

Thanks for the tips. I found out that Im not really in the spot yet to buy a tractor yet but Im going to do my research still so when the time comes that I can buy I will get it quick. I do think that I want to go get a Kubota but I don't know what all I'm looking at yet.

I have only operated a tractor with a bat wing mower, but I have used a Skid a lot more than a tractor.

[DenbowLawn]

so im back to searching like I was originally.

[lawn king]

With 20 grand in hand you could buy outright or put a huge downpayment on a new machine if thats the way you want to go. Kubota has a semi marrage to landpride, you can put new landpride implements into a package throhgh kubota credit corp. APR rates are as good now as i have ever seen them on hydraulic equipment!

[Heavyduty1]

Have you checked Tractorhouse.com? You might find a good deal, you never know.:)

[PROCUT1]

First I would look for used. The deals are out there bigtime.

I bought my John Deere 4700 with low hours for a steal. The guy needed money and I grabbed it. I called the dealer the day after I got it to buy a new seat and the dealer offered me $10,000 MORE than what I paid for it to buy it outright, not even as a trade in.

As far as which brand to go for......That comes down a lot to personal preference.

I have the most hours running New Holland, John Deere, and Kubota.

I find they are all well made, great tractors.

My personal preference is John Deere in the 50hp range tractors. I just find them more comfortable to operate. I like the location of the controls. I feel more stable on them whereas I felt a little more "tippy" on the others. But that could also be just me, or the way they were set up.

The 3 tractors I ran of the brands, all were comparable specs and HP. They all had great power and I cant say much bad about any of them.

I highly recommend the next couple of Jobs you have to rent them. Spend a day on each one and then pick what you like. Thats what I did. I used to rent tractors a lot before I bought mine. Had 3 rental places and each one had a different brand. I found that after a few times, I always went to rent the Deere. So thats the one I bought

[godflesh]

Pick up an old ford 8n or 9n for next to nothing. Get used to cutting grass that is taller than you and playing in the dirt and gravel. Get a feel for the machine and the work you will be doing with it before you go into a high dollar peice of equipment. Thats how i got started.

[IMAGE]

If your looking more at just mowing, an old farm tractor will give you more bang for the buck. Something like an old JD 4020 will run forever and run a brush hog with no problems. Granted its not compact, but they are cheap horsepower. I missed out on a cheap 4020 recently... but have dibs on a 4230 cabbed, when it comes available :)

[Heavyduty1]

If your looking more at just mowing, an old farm tractor will give you more bang for the buck. Something like an old JD 4020 will run forever and run a brush hog with no problems. Granted its not compact, but they are cheap horsepower. I missed out on a cheap 4020 recently... but have dibs on a 4230 cabbed, when it comes available :)

That 4230 is a nice tractor esp. if it has the powershift trans.