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Tractor/equipment for up to 5 acres

Well I'm gonna just stay out of this conversation....

I have 3 tractors, lowest HP is 40, highest is 75, all used for my hobby farming, I have 40ac, then theirs the ford backhoe, it's a old thing but it sure will dig a hole and stumps...

I use a 6' 3pt finish mower for the most part and a riding mower for getting close to stuff, wife wanted a push mower for some reason so that is hers, I won't push when I can ride :rolleyes:

If I were to give advice it would be get more than you think you will need, the extra always comes in handy...
 
Agreed, better to go a little bit too big than have one that's too small. A lawn tractor would be too small when it comes to the loader/forks is what I'm thinking. The 30-40hp sized models seem to be very common around here with reasonably priced attachments, and that's probably the size I'll end up with it looks like.
 
red said:
Agreed, better to go a little bit too big than have one that's too small. A lawn tractor would be too small when it comes to the loader/forks is what I'm thinking. The 30-40hp sized models seem to be very common around here with reasonably priced attachments, and that's probably the size I'll end up with it looks like.
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WHAAAAAT, NO BIG BUD ? ? ? ? LOLOLOL
 
red said:
Here in Utah the snowfall is usually less than 1ft per storm unless your higher up in the mountains (lands I'm looking at are not) or big lake effect. It's also not as wet/dense of snow as what yall get in the east.

Inclined to agree about Deere. More expensive parts from what other mechanics have mentioned (proprietary) and their fanboys remind me too much of the Dodge fanboys. Seems to be a good product, but with the way they act it just pisses me off haha.

Would something around 30-40hp be too large? Friend of mine has a family member with 2 old International tractors kinda rotting away in his field. One of them has a front end loader and backhoe on it, guessing 1960-70's for the age.

Most brands use the common SAE bellhousings on these correct?

As for budget, realistically cheap haha. Planning on a budget of 10k unless I go back to working in the oilfield again for a few years once I'm done at the university.
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I would not go less than 40 hp. A lot of stuff I looked at required 40 hp or so to run
 
Jaryd said:
I bought a used 44” cut zero turn lawnmower when we were building the house. It’s a little small for all the yard I have to cut but it’ll get us by for several more years I hope until we can afford a bigger mower.
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I've had good luck with Toro diesels. I have 2 with 72" decks. Older units. 1996 223D and 1999 325D.

They are pretty rugged and easy on fuel.

On another forum a guy made a telehandler out of a Toro 325D - I think it was.

Watch the rear pivots on the rear axle. They can be a PIA to fix if they are allowed to wear out past the bushing. I had to do some welding and then have it line bored to make sure it was lined up straight.

I paid $2500 for the 223D in 2003 or so.

The only bad for us is they are rear wheel steer and not true zero turns.
 
btfarm said:
About 30 PTO HP is pretty much what you'll be happy with. Get a 6' wide bucket loader with live rear PTO. For rough mowing a 6' 3pt rotary is best but for finish mowing consider getting a Garden tractor with 54" deck rather than spending bucks on a finish mower for the loader. You simply can't go wrong with one of the older JD units but they ARE proud of their parts... But they are always available going all the way back in years past the 1960s. For your area I agree on looking for who is closest. As for the old IH tractors, they also are pretty good on parts but if they've been sitting they might have some big troubles you don't need. As you get closer to zeroing in on something, let us know.
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Most definitely want a live PTO.

As far as garden tractor, I would stick with something that has front and rear PTO capabilities and 3 point.

I've had a John Deere 400 23 hp garden tractor since 1985. 60" deck and snowblower - the snowblower is awesome. It would be much handier if it had a 3 point and rear PTO - and was a diesel.

We are actually looking to get rid of it because it is not a diesel. We keep diesel here and it's a 15 mile round trip to town to get a can of gas. We actually have straight gas delivered just for that lawnmower But we don't like having the extra tank here.

You can get the 3 point & rear PTO kits for the 400's and a lot of attachments - they are all specific to the 400 without doing any modifications. For as much as the PTO and 3 point kits cost, we'd just as soon sell and buy a little diesel to replace it
 
red said:
yea everything has risks to take into consideration. Thought about a backhoe, but the versatility of a tractor wins for my plans. Maybe a skiddy (skid steer), but absolute pain in the ass to work on those in my experience and I'm not a big guy at 165 lbs 5ft 10in haha.

I'm dangerous on a utility/hunting 4 wheeler, never have more than 2 wheels on the ground. Might be the front 2, back 2, left 2, or right 2, but always on 2 wheels hahahahaha. That's one of the things I like about the k5, if it rolls all I gotta do is hold on and try to dodge the stuff flying in the cab haha.

Reminds me of the vehicle rollover simulators, the MRAP and humvee ones
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Deals can be had. I paid something like $2400 for my 1975 Ford backhoe. A friend had a replacement engine for a worst case scenario. It was getting coolant in the oil. I pulled the valve cover and there was a pencil lead sized hole in a freeze plug on top of the head. Made a nice little fountain.

Replaced the freeze plug and have been running it for 25 years or so.

I was looking for a tractor and loader at the time I found this. For the price I could have both.

The 1965 John Deere 4010 diesel wide front I had previous to that was one of my favorites. I had a Schwartz loader I picked up cheap that was way better and lifted higher than the deere loaders. 14'if I remember right.

I remember doing something with the hydraulics to fix the old John Deere / loader hydraulic issue - I don't even remember what the issue was. LOL That's been over 35 years ago Also installed a Joy stick

If you would happen to go with an older John Deere. - you can pick up a decent 4010 for under $6000 around here.

A lot of 4010's have the 4020 recall kit. I don't remember what all was entailed, but they made considerably more power. Both the 1965 , I had and the 1963 I have now had the 4020 kit
 
Twisted Steel Performance said:
Well I'm gonna just stay out of this conversation....

I have 3 tractors, lowest HP is 40, highest is 75, all used for my hobby farming, I have 40ac, then theirs the ford backhoe, it's a old thing but it sure will dig a hole and stumps...

I use a 6' 3pt finish mower for the most part and a riding mower for getting close to stuff, wife wanted a push mower for some reason so that is hers, I won't push when I can ride :rolleyes:

If I were to give advice it would be get more than you think you will need, the extra always comes in handy...
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Love the old backhoe for digging stumps. Beats the heck out of grinding them or trying to burn them out,
 
We just bought a Mahindra for the club and have only 1 negative to say about it. The WTS light takes F O R E - E V E R, and apparently if you start the tractor prior to waiting for the light it goes into a limp mode after so many partial glow starts.

This is a $40K tractor though with 50hp. We also got a set of forks and monster mower for the back, 8' swath.
BGUUzrf.jpg


Your going to have a tough time in that price range unless its an older model or 2wd. When we were younger my parents had a hobby farm on 5 acres and we did everything with a 755 John Deere. It was not enough, but we made it work for 10 years. Its a 20 hp unit with a belly deck, tiller, bucket and rake. My dad still has it to this date but it is TIRED, plows snow mostly. He now mows with a sweet little 2wd Deere (oversized garden tractor)
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I am considering getting a tractor to do the grading, drainage, and cut a drive for paving stones at our Fullerton home, then selling it when I’m done. F’n bids for the job are almost what we paid for the home. I figure that I can figure out how to do it. Get it done over time, then sell the tractor for about $5K less than what I paid for it.

Looking at Kubota MX5200 (52 hp) with loader, box grader with the teeth, and a back hoe. Used are $25K to $30K with 1,000 or less hours.
 
Big T said:
I am considering getting a tractor to do the grading, drainage, and cut a drive for paving stones at our Fullerton home, then selling it when I’m done. F’n bids for the job are almost what we paid for the home. I figure that I can figure out how to do it. Get it done over time, then sell the tractor for about $5K less than what I paid for it.

Looking at Kubota MX5200 (52 hp) with loader, box grader with the teeth, and a back hoe. Used are $25K to $30K with 1,000 or less hours.
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Haven't heard great things about the backhoes for those little machines.
For the price of the backhoe attachment, I'd look into a used mini hoe, an older industrial backhoe/loader or a skid loader and backhoe attachment.

From what I've seen the little tractors and attachments won't hold up to serious use.

I only gave about $2400 for my 1975 Ford Backhoe loader, 25 years ago or so.
I've seen several others go for reasonable prices in the past year or so.
I'm always keeping an eye out as mine is no spring chicken
 
Look on YouTube how it works Kubota BX23 with back hoe BT603.
A large and powerful tractor will do the job faster; for leisurely home use, a small tractor will suffice.

0716_bx23e_quick_coupler_0011-jpg.jpg
 
For the kind of work you're looking to do @Big T I'd recommend buying a mini excavator over a tractor. Especially if you plan on reselling it. A mini ex is far superior for excavation and grading and is a lot easier to maneuver than a backhoe which has a more limited range of motion. The mini does better in compact spaces if you need to trench near a foundation and is easier to operate as well, in m experience at least. The tractor having a loader will be more efficient for moving material, but if you need to go that route just rent a skid steer for a day, they are even more efficient than a tractor loader for moving material from point A to point B

I have a kubota KX91-3 and love it. Sometimes I want the size bigger 121-3. Depending on the scale of your projects you may be able to get away with the next smaller model KX71-3. Mini excavators hold their value really well so you may be able to flip it at not much of a loss if you find the right deal. Also any mini excavator before 2015 won't have emissions crap on them, at least as far as Kubota goes, so try to buy a pre emissions one as it will be a good selling point for when you want to offload it in the future.
 
DieselAmateur said:
For the kind of work you're looking to do @Big T I'd recommend buying a mini excavator over a tractor. Especially if you plan on reselling it. A mini ex is far superior for excavation and grading and is a lot easier to maneuver than a backhoe which has a more limited range of motion. The mini does better in compact spaces if you need to trench near a foundation and is easier to operate as well, in m experience at least. The tractor having a loader will be more efficient for moving material, but if you need to go that route just rent a skid steer for a day, they are even more efficient than a tractor loader for moving material from point A to point B

I have a kubota KX91-3 and love it. Sometimes I want the size bigger 121-3. Depending on the scale of your projects you may be able to get away with the next smaller model KX71-3. Mini excavators hold their value really well so you may be able to flip it at not much of a loss if you find the right deal. Also any mini excavator before 2015 won't have emissions crap on them, at least as far as Kubota goes, so try to buy a pre emissions one as it will be a good selling point for when you want to offload it in the future.
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What all Does the "no emissions" before 2015 apply to?


Wife bought an LX2610. - to big for it's horsepower and to underpowered to do anything.
She wanted me to have something that I didn't have to work on. She likes it.
 
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