Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Sub-Compact Tractors

Is a sub-compact tractor a tool or a toy? I'm looking at a JD 1025R with a MMM and FEL package. Horsepower seems adequate, but the things don't weigh much for pushing stuff around. Would be using it to finish cut 3+ acres of grass/weeds on some hilly ground, move soil and gravel, and maintain gravel roads and dirt trails. I know that it can do all of this, but will it do it well?

My other option would be to go with a heavier compact tractor and a separate zero turn mower. What does the Campfire say?

I'm using a 20hp Kioti.
My excavator neighbor brings me his "dirty" dirt when he has nowhere else to dump it as I am filling in a spot on my property. It pushes it around just fine-unless he has hidden concrete porch stoops in it. Guess i have pushed 100+ tandem loads with mine over the past 2-3 years.

I have 3.5 acres and have a Kubota BX2200 with front loader, 60" belly mower, box blade and 4' bush hog, sprayer and fertilizer spreader. It's been perfect for working around the property. The loader in indispensable.

The only caution I would have is to make sure the 3-point is truly "Class 1" and not a "limited Class 1". Some of the early subcompacts (like mine) had a limited class 1 three point that had a narrower spread and less lift height. It limits you on what implements will fit. Most of the manufacturers changed later models to have true class 1 dimensions.

I have a 1982 kubota b6200. 4wd,ps, 4ftloader, bush hog and rear blade. I use it around the house as well as push snow and on my property to maintain my deer trails and such. It is a workhorse for a small tractor. I paid $5k for it 5-6yrs ago. I imagine I will not lose much money when I upgrade.

Personally don't know much of sub compacts.But if you don't move much dirt and gravel and when you do you don't need to move much then i say your fine.

But the compact tractor with belly mower might suite better with road maintnence

I am looking at Kubota L3800 right now. Anyone seen any better kubota dealers from NC to Me?

Don't expect to do much real work with the FEL
It's slightly better than a shovel and wheel barrow, but more likely to tip over

With out 4WD it will be nearly useless, and with 4WD and the typical narrow tires, it will bury itself

If you need a tractor, buy a REAL tractor and use teh "sub compact" as a mower only

That's a real nice compact tractor with more weight and HP than the sub-compacts. Are you looking at a quote in the low twenties?

I'm leaning your way on going bigger, but a sub-compact tractor would be a very expensive mower!

21-22k depending on tires.

A tractor is like a barn, shop, or garage. A fellow always should buy or build something a bit bigger than he needs. I'd look at something in the 25-30 horse realm about the size of those old Ford 8N's.
I'm not much up on all these new tractor models, but a bigger tractor you can get away without 4 WD, but I would definitely get a bucket, blade, and brush hog. Maybe a belly mower for that finish cut as a brush hog won't do a neat job. Good chains on a tractor with calcium chloride in the rear tires or wheel weights do a lot better than 4WD.

I don't know about the new ones, but two neighbors have Kabotas. One a small one and one medium size. About once a year they bring them over for me to weld up something that broke. Seems they are always broke right next to a weld joint. I don't know if they are over working them trying to use them for something too heavy or the weld/steel is just crappy without stress relieving after the weld.

All the John Deeres around here seem to spend time in the repair shop if they are used to any amount. Mostly the hydraulics and transmission.

Another option is to rent a full size machine to get the bulk of the work done and then have the subcompact for maintenance and small projects.

If you use too small of a machine it'll frustrate the heck out of you based on how long the job will take. But if you buy a larger machine than you need you'll wonder why you put so much money into more machine than you need.

We went with this Kubota and are more than pleased. Bought it new a few years ago for $13K. It is a 28 HP (IIRC) 4WD unit that seems to behave larger than it is.

You paying the bill so he can buy a "real" tractor ? Sometimes money dictates what you can buy. Easy to spend other peoples money.

Whatever you don't put calcium chloride in the freaking tire water. Use some anti freeze it you are worried about them freezing.

Gee, mine has been in for over 50 years .Maybe I have the wrong name

I have a 30 hp Kubota for my 5ac and wouldn't want less

I bought a 63 HP Massey Ferguson 175 with a 9 ft disk, a 7 tine chisel plow, a boom pole and a fertilizer spreader for $5000, and I see lots of real tractors for sale for about the same price as that oversized lawn mower Sears sells


http://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/AgReview/class/March14/Equip.htm

As you might expect, we see a lot of Kubotas in Japan where they seem to be real workhorses for small farms. I particularly see them used for cultivating rice paddies before they are flooded.

One thing to watch out for in a lot of the small tractors is the front bucket dump angle. Some of them will only go down to 45 degrees. It needs to drop to 90 and even more is good if you're pulling dirt. 45 will dump water and marbles but not wet dirt or sand. You'll be shoveling it out.

I've seen a number of them with this problem.