Tractor Advice needed

[Painless]

I am new to this site, I recently purchased 15 acre hobby farm. There is about 12 acres of pasture, it is in pacific northwest so it will be wet a lot of the time. I have a friend with 200 acres says I need min 30hp 4wd shuttle shift. I have another friend who is sold on hydrostatic. I will need to brush hog, move soil rocks etc, maybe post hole dig. Any advice on min hp requirements, shuttle shift vs hydro and gas vs diesel. I will be buying used and $ is a factor.

[Snyder's Lawn Inc]

Around here 8 speed 30-50 hp gas or Diesel 2wd Ford tractors What lot hobby farmers use
I sold lot4000-4600 fords that I fix up to re sell
But in OR you might want 4wd

[larryinalabama]

If $ are a factor your in trouble. Tractors do not loose value like automobiles. I seriously doubt you can buy a 5 year old 30hp 4wd tractor with a front end loader for less than 10k. A new one will run between 15to 20k. If your property is wet you need 4wd and a loader or you will spend all your time digging your tractor out of the mud. 30hp 4wd will likley do what a 40hp 2wd drive will do. Shuttle shift is good if you haveto go back and forth alot. Im not a fan of hydrostat as most tractor work is done slowley anyway. I dont think anyone has built a gas burner in a real long time. Most small tractors will be 3cyl diesels.

Mahindra has a 40hp 2wd that you can find sometimes new for 10to11k.

Theres still a lot of old Ford tractors for sale, most will be 2wd. Still easy to get parts for them. If you buy a old tractor be sure it has power steering.

The main thing with any tractor new old or other wise is BECAREFUL. Thesae machines can and will kill you.

[OrangeToys]

I just bought a 50hp 4x4 Kubota that has done everything i asked it too with ease. and I trailer it arould with a 2500HD

[Painless]

Thanks, what are peoples opinion on Yanmar, Kioti, and Mahindra?

[Left Field]

I love you .

[Maxify]

You could even purchase a Grey Market tractor.

Figure on a compact tractor (27 hp min) FEL, 4WD, Diesel,
G-1 Tires (For your climate), Shuttle Shift....
It seems to me that I bought my PTO screw for around $700 or $800
from Everything Attachments.Com

Should set you back around $8-$9K.

Now that's refurb'd. If you want new and the name badge to impress
everyone including your banker/credit union staff at the counter, please be
be my guest.

If your property is not a business venture and as such not returning any cash flow such as a farm vehicle or landscape/hardscape mule then I suggest purchasing something that doesn't come with all the marketing, warehousing of parts and shop maintenance personnel attached to it via hidden costs.

In my case, I could've spent $30K for a Kubota/Deere or any other such
vehicle but as the tractor was not a revenue producer I had a problem with spending that much money.

Keep in mind, however, that you will spend some time under the hood, so to speak, finger printing some of it's parts for maintenance. If you want less expensive......IT AIN'T FREE. If you want turn-key equipment, pay the guy well that does the work that you don't want to do. He's the one wearing your grease, buying & turning your wrenches and having his wife wash his clothes of the diesel fuel you should've spilled on yourself.

We're not even gonna discuss the flesh left behind on the framework of the beast from your hand when the socket slipped off the bolt, the 3/4" sockets or the 1" and larger wrenches you'll have to buy.

....but if you want to keep from paying for the fancy named tractor, you can do it.

Bush hog? You can find them for $300-$500 used, all day long but they'll be beaten and abused. I didn't say non-serviceable.. I said that you'll have to, once again, get dirty and bust some knuckles.

That shiney new Kubota's looking better all the time....:hammerhead:

[larryinalabama]

Thanks, what are peoples opinion on Yanmar, Kioti, and Mahindra?

Yanmar is considered a "GREY MARKET" tractor. They come from Japan after a few years of use, many are refiburshed in Viet Nam or othe third world countires. THere is no distrubution or dealer network in the US. Most are sold on used car lot type places. There is however pleanty of parts avaible on line. As far as I know Yanmar builds the smaller tractors for Jophn Deere. Their reputation for small Diesel engines is fantastic.

Kioti is a new brand of tractor that I relly dont know much about. They do have dealers. I think they are built in Korea, I have no idea about whos engines they use, nor do I know even if they are a good value.

Mahindra is automible manifacutrer in India, and they also make tractors. Similar to Ford, unitl Ford sold out its tractor manufacuring to New Holland in the 1990s. They have made tractors I would guess since tractors were being made. They have decient dealers. The smaller tractors have Mitishbushi engines, after 40hp the engines are Mahindra. They are likley the best "value" in the industry.

If your mechanically inclined there is create tractor avaible from China. You have to put the fenders and wheels and a bunch more stuff on therm. Jinma is the most popular and has the most parts avaible in the US. Chech on ctoa.net or chinasbestproducts.com. These tractors are a hobby same as your mini farm.

Small herd of goats and electric fence would also do the job lol

[alanauer]

"... peoples opinion on Yanmar, Kioti, and Mahindra?"

Yanmars can be grey-market (usually fout-digit models like YM1500) or export models (usually three digits like YM226). There are no export-model utility tractors being sold any more but you can get parts. Greys are cheaper. You can't trace their history, some instruments/controls/displays are different, tires tend to be "ricers," you can't get factory manuals in English, and they may lack equipment like guards and PTO over-run clutch. All are diesel, mostly 3-cyl, some 2 or 4. Models that end in "D" are 4WD.

Kioti offers way more for the money than competitors, like PS, subframes, adjustable 3-pt hitch features, oil cooler. And you can get their loader, back-hoe, front snow-blower. All 4WD. Most work as well as, say, Kubotas, but some present problems that point to poor quality control. The warranty is great on paper but an uncooperative dealer will attribute the problem to your misuse and deny your claim, so I'd want a dealer I trusted, preferably nearby.

Mahindra I don't know, so I'd look for owner groups and see what they say.

[sideliner]

Painless, I would buy 35 pto hp minimum. 4x4 in the northwest is a must have. Hydro truly is the way to go if it fits the budget. I have owned many of both and will only buy hydro from now on. Kubota John deere and New holland always have great resale and you can get parts. Some of the off brands are hard to find parts and buyers for so be carefull.

[hosejockey2002]

I've got a Kioti, and while it is a good machine there are some quality issues, specifically the ignition switch. Other electrical systems seem to be a little sketchy as well. Mechanically it's great. It can sit for two months and it fires right up as though it ran yesterday. My biggest issue is dealer support. The dealer that sold it to me stopped carrying the Kioti line, so now I have to order parts online.

For your size property I would agree that 30hp would be minimum, and 4WD a must.

FWIW, before my Kioti I had a little grey market Yanmar, and while the Kioti is much stronger and faster, that Yanmar never missed a beat and didn't give me any trouble the five years that I had it.

[FoghornLeghorn]

28-45 hp 4x4 should be enough for all your needs on 15 acres.

Case or Kubota seem like the best bet to me.

[DK35vince]

I have a Kioti DK 35 and have owned it for 10 years, has around 1600 hours on it.
I have been very pleased with this tractor. Works great and has been very reliable.