Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Looking for a tractor

I have a small acreage 13 to be exact and am looking at something I can keep the weeds down with and move some dirt. This whole process is driving me nuts! Between being too small and too big for my needs and probably wanting more tractor than my need it's about enough to make a guy pull out his hair.

I think something in the 30-50 horse power range will fit my needs the best. However finding something in my price range in that size of tractor is difficult. However, finding something in the 90+ hp range in my budget is far easier. Then there is the fact that with a larger hp tractor I kind of need larger equipment to get out past the wheels to mow, scrape dirt, and while not necessary I like a front bucket at least as wide as my rear wheels puts me over budget again.

WTF is a guy to do! I'm looking about an $8-9K cash budget or $20K total with financing. I was going to buy a tractor last year but shattering my leg and being out of work for a full year between paychecks kind of made me lower my expectations of what I wanted. Last year I was ready to spend $40K but with the way "[bleep] happens" I'm lowering the expectations a lot.

I drove nearly 400 miles total yesterday to look at used and one new tractors ranging from $4-18K. The tractor I liked the best was a used 1999 Kubota L3010 HST with loader for $13K, but the 2017 Kioti CK3510 shuttle transmission was only $18K with loader. However I don't know if a 18 year old Kubota with 1000 hours is worth the money when I can get a new tractor with 6 year power train warranty for $5000 more?

Everything else I looked at was either rode hard or came in at the top of my cash budget without a loader. Or they were too small for my needs or way to large, 22 hp being the smallers and 110 hp being the largest. I'll get one too large before I settle for a small tractor.My main uses will be mowing, cleaning pens, landscaping, post hole drilling and moving an occasional round bale by 3 point.

You mentioned "financing" around $20k.

I got my Mahindra 4510Cab w/ loader with a 6' shredder for about that money. The tractor was used with 250 hours on it. 2012 model. The shredder is HD and new.

45hp is pretty handy.

Since then I have added a post hole digger, 6' rotary tiller (gear driven).

Nice to have the cab too....





Food plot I put in with it.

you will have a hard time finding a smaller tractor that move round bales well

Be thankful you're not in Alaska, the few used tractors in that range you see up here are clapped out and priced outrageously.

Tractors that size hold their resale because they are so useful. You're best bet is to find one equipped with all the attachments you want and pay what it costs. In the long run it'll be much less than adding attachements to a bare tractor. A year or two back their was a like new Kubota 30 horse (97 hours and stored in a garage) with loader, backhoe and box pan that sold on ebay for $19k.

They'll move the hell out of round bales with a 3 point hitch spear.

Not so much with a bucket spear...

Dude, you got a hell of a set up.

Thanks!

Between that one, and my 100hp, I spend lots of hours in them.

About the time you decide you have spent a lot of money on tractors, you decide you must have a barn for them...

I'd only finance $10-12K as I have the rest cash. Mahindra isn't popular around here, but I'm sure it's a good tractor. Closest place to get parts or look at a tractor is over 100 miles away, and the opposite direction I traveled yesterday. There are only three dealerships in Colorado to choose from and two are owned by the same company. I do have Kubota, NH, JD, Case/IH, MF, and LS all within a 30 min drive though.

I'm willing to travel to look at tractors as I'm close to KS, OK, and TX but I haven't got the nerve to buy one from one of the tractor trader magazines sight unseen. Work conflicts is my biggest issue though with traveling to find a tractor.

Cabs are nice, but most of the time they aren't in the budget. I have tons of tractor experience but all of them are larger tractors 100+ hp. I just get tired of driving 130 miles round trip to go get one of the larger farm tractors my family owns to maintain my property, I'm looking for something small to keep on my place.

I have a 40X60 shop with concrete floor and a 50X120 hay barn, so at least I don't have to build something to store what I buy.

Yeah, getting support and parts is an important consideration.

I have a 25 mile drive into town for parts for either of my tractors.

Take a look at TractorHouse.com LINK. You might find what you're looking for. There are a lot of tractor dealers who advertise on that site.

I found mine (Kubota L5030) through that site, it was at a small tractor dealership about forty miles from here.

I'm very fond of Kubotas as they are a great, solid tractor and hold their resale value. I wouldn't be afraid of a 1999 Kubota with only 1,000 hours on it IF it had been maintained.

Ed

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/10881541/2010-yanmar-fx28d

Hours aren't mentioned, but if it's in half decent condition can't pass it up at that price. Yanmar makes good diesels.

I've been all over tractorhouse.com for better than a month, and I find great deals but a lot are too far away. I have no issues with Yanmar diesels, they've been around for several years. My issue is buying a tractor sight unseen, it isn't something I'm comfortable with. I don't know how I'm going to like the ergos of the controls,the foot pedals and such.

I have been looking for a small tractor that can do a bit of food plot farming, pull my 200 gallon weed sprayer around, and keep the driveway plowed in the winter. We have a few in my area but most are 65 miles away. I have a skid steer for loading round bales and cleaning the corrals but, like you, I am tired of driving all around looking at them. I need a Kubota but cannot find a decent used one and the new ones are too expensive in my mind.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive several hundred miles to check out a tractor that seemed like it would work for me and be a good deal. A $100 for gas and $100 for a hotel room would be money well spent to find the right deal.

I agree, but it costs me more than $200 to find a tractor. The one you linked would take me a minimum of four days to look at. That's taking time off of work, not to mention the gas and hotel room. It would cost me closer to $1000+ just to look at a tractor in Oregon from Colorado.

We have a large membership here. Someone. Close would look for you I'm certain.

steering is way over rated. The smaller one will move them on the 3 point. Not good for unloading off a trailer or on hilly ground

I ultimately found mine on Craigslist after looking for months online and all over the 4 states I travel.

Keep your search current and have money handy. I found my Kubota on a Sunday and closed the deal within a few hours. The seller had 2 other prospective buyers on the way and many calls (several while I was there). I seriously checked Craigslist listings within 200 miles or so every morning and every evening. Yes, it gets old, but good ones tend to go fast.

I'm a big believer in the ability to get parts in case they're needed, and at a decent price. That's my beef with brands like Mahindra and Kioti. Now, having said that, I've never owned an "off-brand" and am only going by what I've heard people who have owned them say. I think a lot depends on how much you use a tractor, because if you use one almost every day, dependability should be at top of the list. Whereas, if you just use one every now and then, maybe you could by with a little less. One thing about the smaller tractors that I've found is that they lack the traction that a bigger tractor has, and that's because they weigh less. That might not matter in mowing, but when it comes to something like using a frontend loader, it will make a big difference.

Test drove a 2014 LS 40 hp tractor yesterday that had less than 3 hours on it. It really was a more substantial tractor than any I've looked at so far. 2700 lbs lift capability on the FEL almost 1000 lbs more than the L3901 I looked at as well, plus it weighed in at 4300 lbs vs. the Kubota's 2900. Too bad the LS is over budget, might have to hold out a little longer.