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If it were me, I'd look for something the size of a IH 756, or a Deere 4020. If it were me.


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The 2501 will get you by for now........ I thought that when I bought my L2800..... 10 acres more of fence and running horses and wish I would have went a little bigger....It will do it but..... But I gots hills....lotsa hills. My 2800 is known for being tall and narrow(wheel base). Looking at tractor data....the 2501 nets 23.8hp and 20ish on your pto depending on transmission. 3pt attachments like HP, smaller tractors will do it, but more HP does it better. Example...the wood chipper I have will do up to a 6 inch dia tree/limb........ but not with what I get at the pto, about 25hp. Think long term plans where your going with this. 15g will by a lot of used tractor

YMMV
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I don't recall if you have irrigated hay ground but if you get one cut a year just do a share crop deal. If it is irrigated and you get 3 cuts it makes a little sense but is marginal. It takes a lot of hay at $75 a ton to pay for a tractor, baler, swather, maintenance, and fuel. 3 cuts might do it, 1 cut won't. There is, of course, more to it and sometimes it is just nice to do your own thing. If you do buy a tractor by a used one of at least 50 hp and 85 would be better.

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How would letting someone else do the haying and then renting a skid steer work for you?

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My 2501 with a 60 snowblower on back will blow 2 ft deep snow with out choking and it has no problem with thick grass/weeds and the 5 ft brush hog or pulling a JD 40 ground driven manure spreader.. Ralphie has the right idea. Get a tractor that will do almost all you need, but share crop the hay and rent a skid loader for the heavy work.The only thing I can't do is pick a 3x3 off the top of a semi load that my buddy can pick two of them off with his skid loader.


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Originally Posted by RGRJN
The 2501 will get you by for now........ I thought that when I bought my L2800..... 10 acres more of fence and running horses and wish I would have went a little bigger....It will do it but..... But I gots hills....lotsa hills. My 2800 is known for being tall and narrow(wheel base). Looking at tractor data....the 2501 nets 23.8hp and 20ish on your pto depending on transmission. 3pt attachments like HP, smaller tractors will do it, but more HP does it better. Example...the wood chipper I have will do up to a 6 inch dia tree/limb........ but not with what I get at the pto, about 25hp. Think long term plans where your going with this. 15g will by a lot of used tractor

YMMV
Joe
Joe,Can't you turn your wheels around to get a wider stance?


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Saddlesore,

I can and I have , I can go out one more. Being a newbie when I bought it and using it mostly for driveway maintenance and such I didn't really need to. It wasn't until I started fencing,mowing and hauling bales with gritted teeth and that "whoa this is getting exciting feeling" that I discovered that. Then I started researching etc..... Of course I had already bought the implements sized for the narrow wheel base, so currently trying this out before I upsize the implements, if I push the rears out farther the implements will be inside the wheel width. Wish I could do something for the fronts, that will be my next research project. So far it's doing better

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I can't believe you will not be better off to have the hay cut and baled on a shares deal.

The restt of your planned uses seem reasonable enough.


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Barry and Yoder hit on some great points.

Be very careful rating working ability on hp

Barry runs a big mower. HP is huge. And he is dealing
with units that have some mass.

But, many of these newer tractors are mobile power, not
workers. Around here, with our steep hills I have seen old
iron from the 40s and 50's thoroughly embarrass new 4wd
tractors with twice the hp It defies explanation, but the low
rpm, high torque engines, tall narrow tires, on a heavy iron platform
combine to make a machine that will work way harder than the hp
would indicate.

Compare a modern 25 up tractor to one that's 70 years old
and you have a toy beside a tool.


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It's like the old, don't take a knife to a gun fight.


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Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Barry and Yoder hit on some great points.

Compare a modern 25 up tractor to one that's 70 years old
and you have a toy beside a tool.


I don't think the OP is needinga large tractor from what he posts.

Maybe true with large tractors, but compare say an old Ford 8N vs a newer same size tractor like a Kubota 2501 The old Fords don't have the mass in the front axle to do heavy lifting BTDT. A 2501 Kubota has about the same HP raring as the old Ford, but the Ford didn't have the gearing..It is about like comparing a 58 Ford 1/2T with a newer F150 that has tow rating of 13,000 lbs (not that I would ever try to max that out. ) Plus with these newer tractors,you get a 5 ft bucket vs the old Fords had 30" one or so. It wasn't even as wide as the front wheels. I have had older Fords 8n an 9N's, John Deere 40's and Massey Furgeson. I sure like them at the time and have even spent some time using mule teams to pull equipment, but sure won't go back to them.

Originally Posted by RGRJN
Saddlesore,

Wish I could do something for the fronts, that will be my next research project. So far it's doing better
I tried that on my 2501,but the front tires came too close to the tractor frame when in a tight turn.


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Yep on the 8n.

I might draw fire, but they are the most overrated old
iron running. They had the best lift hitch, it became the standard.

That's about all the good I have to say about them.


Well, I never saw one run out of power in the dirt...
They didn't get good enough traction.

JD, A/C, Farmall, Case.... any over a Ford for ground working.


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My late father in law was a JD man, and he used to say that all a little Ford tractor was good for was to use to gather the eggs with............whatever that meant. lol

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Originally Posted by saddlesore
[quote=Dillonbuck]
Plus with these newer tractors,you get a 5 ft bucket vs the old Fords had 30" one or so. It wasn't even as wide as the front wheels.



A Wagner loader option was a 4' bucket.

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Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Yep on the 8n.

I might draw fire, but they are the most overrated old
iron running. They had the best lift hitch, it became the standard.

That's about all the good I have to say about them.


Well, I never saw one run out of power in the dirt...
They didn't get good enough traction.

JD, A/C, Farmall, Case.... any over a Ford for ground working.


Fluid in the tires helps.


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Originally Posted by JamesJr
My late father in law was a JD man, and he used to say that all a little Ford tractor was good for was to use to gather the eggs with............whatever that meant. lol


Front end loader, cultivator, plow, disc, bush hog, dirt scoop, post hole auger, cord wood buzz saw, belly mount sickle mower, back blade.

My Granddad called it his hired man.


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Fluid is the norm here.
Cast iron wheel weights are very common.
I would imagine it's the same there.

I found it weird when Barry commented negatively on extra weight.
I get it, weight will sink him. Different conditions, different solutions.


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Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Fluid is the norm here.
Cast iron wheel weights are very common.
I would imagine it's the same there.

I found it weird when Barry commented negatively on extra weight.
I get it, weight will sink him. Different conditions, different solutions.




Yeah, this sandy country down here will ruin your day if you are too heavy.

About 4 years ago, I had my big shredder go down to bottom in a pasture. Couldn't do anything with it. Luckily, it was my last ranch to shred of the year.

Had to unhook from it and wait for conditions to dry out. My tractor had enough float, I didn't get it stuck, but it was still iffy...

That shredder stayed in the pasture for about 4 months IIRC. frown

Now I have this Bad Boy...

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Gotta be real careful to not stick it too.


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Fluid is mostly a thing of the past. Cast weights have proven to be much better.

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Just my .02

If I understand, the OP is wanting to cut, rake, and square bale. He is also wanting to use a sickle mower and a side rake. For those two operations, a 25-35 HP tractor will work fine. When I was in high school, I hauled hay for some fellows that did commercial baling. They cut, raked, and bailed around 250,000 bales per year. All of it was cut with a Ford 2000 and a 6' sickle mower. It was raked with a Ford 3000 and a NH side rake.

The square baler was also a NH and it was pulled with a Ford 3000.

Prior to these fellows buying the 2000's and 3000 tractors, they commercial baled for years with a Jubilee cutting and 2 541's doing the raking and baling.

The rotary cutters and round balers take more HP. I knew a fellow that had a JD round baler, but it only made about 600 lb rolls, and he used a 990 David Brown with no problems.

Having said this, I'll be the first to admit that extra HP is a good thing, because you will always wind up trying to do something, where it is needed. That's just human nature.


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