Need advice on buying a small tractor.

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ProjectBazza

ProjectBazza

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I'm thinking of raising-up (flattening-out) the dip in my driveway this summer, and by my calculations this is going to take somewhere between 20 to 30 yards of Class 5, depending on how high I take it. My first thought was to rent a small tractor to do this, but there are some other projects I need to do around the place, so now I'm thinking of buying a small used tractor with a bucket. Except I don't know anything about them....

A good friend of mine has a small New Holland tractor (25 HP) much like the one below, and he's telling me I should probably get a larger one, something in the 30 HP range.

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I'm still in the "What if" stage on this project, but is anyone wiling to share some experience/advice?
 
Used definitely better deal. Bigger better I will lift heavy loads and you’ll use it more then you now many attachments can apply to them. People also buy one that’s got a local repair shop that they can source parts from. I bought a kioti 32hp new with Back hoe hydrostatic. If I was to do it again I would have bought a used one larger for same money. I would definitely get one with a back hoe. Has been priceless.
 
i would buy used in the 40 hp range with a bucket and hoe , those small tractors can't do much when it comes to digging and pushing but they will blow more snow than one would believe .
 
dadsbee said:
Don't pay for the extra cost of going Green! Snow contractors up here have the doors falling off John Deeres and are all switching to Kubotas.
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Agreed! I'm quite familiar with the Green Tax from buying parts for my wife's lawn tractor.
 

jimjimjimmy said:
i would buy used in the 40 hp range with a bucket and hoe , those small tractors can't do much when it comes to digging and pushing but they will blow more snow than one would believe .
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Thanks! I haven't look at anything that big, but I'll definitely expand my search.

And a backhoe would be nice....

:thumbsup:
 
Mopar Momzee said:
Used definitely better deal. Bigger better I will lift heavy loads and you’ll use it more then you now many attachments can apply to them. People also buy one that’s got a local repair shop that they can source parts from. I bought a kioti 32hp new with Back hoe hydrostatic. If I was to do it again I would have bought a used one larger for same money. I would definitely get one with a back hoe. Has been priceless.
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Yeah, I never thought of a backhoe, but I could see where I could put that to use.

And I hadn't considered local service and repair, so....Thank you for that!
 
Still trying to get a bucket / loader for my L5740 with front blower and land pride blade. Only one loader fits it and they are as rare as hensteeth and none of the dealers that have one on a tractor will remove same to sell just the loader. I've found lots of GX900 x 3 point backhoes though for about 6K Cdn for it.
 
dadsbee said:
Still trying to get a bucket / loader for my L5740 with front blower and land pride blade. Only one loader fits it and they are as rare as hensteeth and none of the dealers that have one on a tractor will remove same to sell just the loader. I've found lots of GX900 x 3 point backhoes though for about 6K Cdn for it.
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See, that's another area where I'm absolutely clueless, as I don't know "what" goes with "which", or how Universal things are. My thought is to buy this as a Done Deal, with the bucket/loader included, so that I don't have to deal with this.
 
jimjimjimmy said:
a 40 hp tractor isn't that big anymore not like in the old days , a 40 hp back then was a big tractor .
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We have just under three acres, and about half of it is heavily wooded (and inaccessible?). The driveway is the main concern right now, but there are some stumps I'd like to dig-up and/or pull-out in the grassy areas in the front yard as well....

Would a 40 HP be too large for this?

Of course I should also state that while I'm willing to spend for Quality, I'm not made of money, and I'd like to keep the cost(s) down where I can.
 
Here is a Massey Ferguson 135 diesel 50 hp with a box blade. Aquired it used here locally in Florida to grade and maintain our gravel road.

20250225_160940.jpg


Put a little work into it to get it up to speed.

Engine was smoking so bought it right.

Did the seafoam treatment to the engine and the smoking quit. (knew that would cure the problem, so was not afraid to buy it)

Good for road work.

Here is another John Deere 2520 Gas Tractor 60 hp with a loader, and use rear snow blower in the Winter.

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Use it for many various projects. Almost a must for having a property in the country moving trees, fixing roads and all.


.
 
ProjectBazza said:
We have just under three acres, and about half of it is heavily wooded (and inaccessible?). The driveway is the main concern right now, but there are some stumps I'd like to dig-up and/or pull-out in the grassy areas in the front yard as well....

Would a 40 HP be too large for this?

Of course I should also state that while I'm willing to spend for Quality, I'm not made of money, and I'd like to keep the cost(s) down where I can.
Click to expand...
Were I bought mine trying to get me a 23hp I went bigger and still should have went bigger for 2.5 acres
 
I agree with your friend, a 30hp tractor would be better.
A wider stance is nice, especially if you've got hills.
A cab is nice in the winter, but a removable canvas cab will do just fine.
If it has a ROPS on it, make sure it can fold down. Makes working around trees a lot easier.
And whatever you do, make sure the loader has a universal mounting plate on it. Not a dedicated manufacturer-specific mounting system. Not only does it make changing implements a snap, but it doesn't limit you to one manufacturer's machinery. For instance, if you need a grapple you can rent one from the Gehl or Case dealer and not be limited to what the Kubota or J.D. guys have on hand.
If you do get new or reasonably new, remember that Big Green doesn't let you work on your own equipment anymore... Big lawsuits in the courts right now, have to see how that pans out.
Oh, and get a set of pallet forks for the thing right away. I use them as much (or more) as the bucket, honestly. And hardly ever for pallets.
 
ProjectBazza said:
We have just under three acres, and about half of it is heavily wooded (and inaccessible?). The driveway is the main concern right now, but there are some stumps I'd like to dig-up and/or pull-out in the grassy areas in the front yard as well....

Would a 40 HP be too large for this?

Of course I should also state that while I'm willing to spend for Quality, I'm not made of money, and I'd like to keep the cost(s) down where I can.
Click to expand...
That would be something you will need to decide a tractor in the 30 to 35 hp range might suit your needs . If you will be blowing snow make sure it has a low range reverse nice and slow . My tractor is a little fast .
 
I know time changes manfacturers offerings, and im not 100% up on whats current...... BUT, when i qualified for Ford/New Holland plan pricing a few years back, I was so unimpressed by those machines and the operator layouts, that i very luckily ended up with a Kubota 3400hst backhoe..... now i have complemented that machine with a BX2680 to mow the lawn and blow the snow..... they are both purchases i will never regret, especially because my wife and kids can run them both with ease, but many many other reasons as well.
 
Over the last 40 yrs. I have accumulated 3 25ish hp. small tractors. 2 Kubota's and 1 JD. All three are Diesels . Much better than Gasoline IMO. But do keep in mind that later model 25hp + Diesels will have emission crap of some kind. Generally a box blade is the most effective way of smoothing, moving, grading etc. for soil gravel and the like. For hard ground be sure the box blade has "rippers" as they can be dropped down to break up the soil. As for stumps, at least in this area, if they are large don't even consider it with anything less than 50 or so hp.
My 2 cents worth.
My opinions are worth exactly what you pay for them...

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I owned a Kubota BX and now have a Yanmar SA325. 25hp with no emissions. I use it with 4ft tiller, Stump grinder and FEL with grapple and bucket. Yanmar made JD stuff forever and they make their own tractors. This tractor will lift 1200 lbs with 400 lbs ballast. Impressive! A few things...stump digging is tough. I have a 40hp Kubota at my forestry gig with a stump bucket. It's terribly rough on everything but small stuff. The rake and box blade work well. My 2 cents.
 
Unless you’re moving big bales, you can do one hell of a lot of work with a 30hp tractor. Hell I know of a guy that dug his basement with a Kubota 25 hp BX tractor without a backhoe. If I lived on an acreage I’d probably have two tractors, a 25 hp Kubota BX and a Kubota L 40 hp both with a loader. I would look for a used low hour pre emission tractor.
 
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i have a yanmar thing has been best thing ive ever owned ....i use it as a trash compactor and push cars
but my 'new' kubota is so much better ,sold my backhoe one cause it not worth it ...unless your digging ...more trouble then it worth
i would say hydro and power steering is what makes to new so much better .... if your using the loader ...power steering
 
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I bought this new Kubota BX23s backhoe about 7 years ago. I have 2.5 acres in my homestead and I have found many uses for it. I have the universal skid steer mount system on the loader. I bought a grapple, pallet forks, post hole digger and snow blower attachments and they are easy to attach and use. I wish it had more than 500 pound lifting force on the loader, but smaller loads are safer. It will dig out stump with some effort. It’s always fun to use! It only has a 23 HP diesel engine. I would not get the belly mounted lawn mower though (per recommendations of others). Good luck on your choice!
 
Step son bought a new little Kobota, I don't know the model. It has a bucket and belly mower. I am inpressed by its power. Not by what it costs. he usually just talks about what the payment is which is backwards to my thinking. I guess it probably cost $12-15000? But I am 78 and he is 33.
I sold my last tractor when I moved to Tx. 100 hp Internation built back in the 70s. Ran for hours on a nickle worth of diesel, it cost me $3000 back there (not in Tx,! ha) needs nothing.
OK so I am not a burbanite and we have no snow!.
 
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