Overwhelmed newby/potential buyer

[HJRS]

Hi,
I’m current building a house on a property that’s just under 3 acres which needs a lot of landscaping done. It was suggested to me by my partner’s father that instead of paying someone to come in with a bobcat each time we needed something done that perhaps we should look at buying a tractor with a front end loader (he mentioned Kubota). Being a 32 year old kid this perked my interest as the thought of having a new toy sounded great  However I’ve never owned a tractor before, so I started looking into it over the weekend but the information is pretty overwhelming. In looking I’ve come across a few small Kubota that to me look great but I wonder whether they would be up to the task. I’m hoping a compact tractor will be mainly because I’d imagine they’d be more manoeuvrable than the larger tractors and being a newby probably a bit safer (I don’t think my partner would appreciate a front end loader crashing though a wall on the new house lol).

Things I’m not sure of are
- what sort of HP/size will be sufficient
- If I cant find a tractor with a FEL already attached how do I know if one can be put on?
- Are there only certain brands that will fit? From what I’ve read Cat 0 – 1 will fit but not sure if ALL would be compatible?

Things I’m looking to use it for are
- gradually moving the dirt around the property to level it out a bit
- create a driveway, so bit of levelling, spreading crushed rock etc
- I’d want a slasher for the grass
- spread horse manure
- move heavy objects around etc

The block was previously used by an earth moving company to dump/store dirt and so there are quite a few large mounds or dirt/sand that has been sitting there for years. There’s also a creek running through the middle of the property and so maybe a backhoe could be used to clean it out occasionally (although there’s probably no reason why I could just use a shovel!).

Any hints or help you can provide would be much appreciated. While I’ve played around motorbikes and quads before, tractors are totally new to me, especially diesel engines.

Cheers,
Harley.

P.S sorry about the life story!

 

[Bluegill]

Welcome to the site! And congrats for picking the 'right' brand.

What size tractor? Something between 30-40 hp is what I'd want. Smaller and larger will work too... I would buy used or new, but would make sure I bought a rig with 4wd and loader already installed.

I cleared 3 acres, then later a 10 acre lot years ago with a L245, 2wd, 24hp tractor with 5' mower. No dirt work, because it had no loader. If the rig could push the tree over, it got mowed! Then moved to a 400 acre place here and for 10 years I attempted to kill that L245, couldn't kill it though. Cleared and leveled 4 home sites and a place for a big shop, with a 5' box blade. It wasn't fast, but it did it!. Also maintained a 1 mile drive way and mowed around 50 acres yearly, sometimes more.

Traded it 12 years ago for a well used L3750 45hp, 4wd with loader. Big move up in size and a pretty good do all tractor. But I did miss the little Kubota.

5 months ago bought a like new (14hrs), used L3800 4wd with loader and I love it! It will do all your chores and more, but some will say it's too small.

The reason for my life story, is to show a small tractor can do a lot of work. Budget is the big factor in my tractor purchases.

Good luck!

 

[HJRS]

Thanks for the reply Bluegill

I probably should have mentioned that my budget is also part of the reason for a smaller tractor, probably only able to spend $5k to $8 or $9k. My girlfriend isn't too keen on spending $9k but i'm hoping to be able to convince her that we'll be able to sell it after doing all the landscaping etc (although i'm sure it'll be hard to part with it!) and so will ultimately save us money hopefully.

I'm not after a new tractor by any means, just something that can do the job. Also it doesn't matter if it takes me 12 - 24 months to do what we have to do.

thanks,
Harley.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I think you should have no problem finding something in the 20-30 horse power ranges with a front end loader easy. Check around on Ebay and Tractor House and use that as a reference tool to help you gain an idea.

 

[hodge]

I think you should have no problem finding something in the 20-30 horse power ranges with a front end loader easy. Check around on Ebay and Tractor House and use that as a reference tool to help you gain an idea.

I think that finding a tractor that size with a loader for under $9000 could be difficult, unless it is old or a low quality tractor. A friend of mine bought a 57 horse, 4wd Belarus for $5700, but he got what he paid for.
What do tractor prices run in Australia? That is the next question. It is hard to judge by the market here.

And, Welcome to OTT! It is cool to hear from others outside of the US. I just sold a set of stabilizers to another member in Australia. I love the global community that the computer enables.

 

[Bluegill]

Yeah, your 5-9k budget will limit you to a well used, smaller rig. But if you're patient, you will find one.

Our 1984 model L3750 was 12.5K in 2000. It was rough with high hours, but worked good and still does.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Heres a few tractors for UNDER 9 grand.

This first one is selling for 4 and needs a FEL which sells for about 4
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kubota-M403.../150822642636?pt=Tractors&hash=item231dbae3cc

This one is HST and has a FEL
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-KUBOTA.../370616705319?pt=Tractors&hash=item564a7a2127

A little older 20hp with FEL
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kubota-L235.../230795047953?pt=Tractors&hash=item35bc74f411

Compact Kubota with FEL
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kubota-B240.../390422440497?pt=Tractors&hash=item5ae6fdaa31

Another Compact with FEL
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kubota-B751.../130692718563?pt=Tractors&hash=item1e6de49fe3

Compact Belly Mower and FEL
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kubota-BX22.../220999698453?pt=Tractors&hash=item33749bc815

 

[HJRS]

Thanks for the responses guys, great community here

There doesn't seem to be a hell of a lot of Kubota's for sale in Aus which is a shame, and the one's available tend to hold their value pretty well, a B1600D up the road from me was going for $9900 with FEL and in good condition. I'm happy to buy an older one, that doesn't fuss me too much.

So it sounds like the smaller sized tractors should do the trick then. From what i've heard 4wd is a necessity when using FEL's? Can all Kubota's have a FEL attached? If not, how can I tell?

Thanks again.

 

[Bluegill]

4wd is a huge plus with FEL!

You can put a FEL on the Kubota BX, B, L tractors. Kubota made and aftermarket. If you find a good used tractor without loader, nothing wrong with adding a loader later.

 

[Garry]

hi i am in NSW and have bought a BX2360 with FEL, fantastic machine much tougher than you think. dont know about second hand prices but new i got the lot for 20k. lots of Kubota dealers here in AUS and they will also look out for 2nd hand if you tell them your budget and what you want

 

[HJRS]

Hi Garry,
yeh 20k is a bit more than i want to pay hehe.

One thing i'm a bit worried about is whether or not i'll be able to do what I want with the FEL. As I said we've got a few large mounds of white sand/dirt in the yard that have been sitting there for years, I'm just worried that these little tractors wont be heavy and powerful enough to be able to dig in and get a bucket load and not just sit there spinning the wheels? Hope i'm making sense, clearly i know nothing about this sort of thing

I've been looking around on youtube for videos to see if i can see one of these in action but haven't really seen anything that's been of help.

 

[Lil Foot]

Not sure how big a tractor you are considering, but here's an interesting thread:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6265

 

[HJRS]

hey lil foot, yeh saw that thread, pretty awesome. The MX5100 is a bit bigger than what i was looking at however. I was sort of looking at around the 25hp range...

 

[Lil Foot]

I have a 16hp B7100dt gear with lots of implements (see signature) and use it here in the city & at my place in the mountains. It's 3+ acres, and the work is mainly road building & maintaining, a little trenching, digging out stumps, planting trees, snow removal, and moving heavy stuff. I also pick up the occasional landscaping job. Sometimes a bigger tractor would speed things up, but I like the seat time, and I can get into places the big boys can't.

 

[HJRS]

Mate that's pretty much exactly what i'd like to get if it'd do what I need. I wouldn't NEED the backhoe but I think it'd have to be a hell of a lot of fun . Looks like you've got a great set up there.

 

[Kytim]

Hello from Kentucky! I have a B7100dt without a FEL. I do have a box-blade though. I've been building a house the last little bit. I can tell you that I have had NO trouble moving several dump truck loads of dirt and rock with just this. don't sell a CUT or SCUT short on abilities. between here and another site some of the **large** loads of dirt have set for 2 yrs or longer. Shoot, a little time and a box-blade with good scarifier teeth can move lots of soil. it cant pick it up and carry it 10 acres away but it can pull it several hundred feet. That is as long as you understand how to keep it adjusted to accomplish what you want to do. A one setting does all approach will not work with a box blade. In my experience, they are **SO** much more valuable than a regular back blade. I've said all this to say, sometimes there are other options out there that while it may not be as sexy or glamorous it can and will do the job.

 

[Bluegill]

Yeah, a box blade is a very valuable tool. I moved many, many tons of dirt with the old 24hp 2wd Kubota and box blade years ago.

One thing i'm a bit worried about is whether or not i'll be able to do what I want with the FEL. As I said we've got a few large mounds of white sand/dirt in the yard that have been sitting there for years, I'm just worried that these little tractors wont be heavy and powerful enough to be able to dig in and get a bucket load and not just sit there spinning the wheels? Hope i'm making sense, clearly i know nothing about this sort of thing

No worries mate, a little 4wd tractor, will move the dirt! Might take a little longer, but the smaller rigs can be much handier than the larger ones...

 

[Kytim]

Lil Foot, thanks for those pics. I think it may illustrate the versatility of our smaller tractors such as ours. Oh, i'm really loving the rear wheel weights on that B7100, been searching for a long time and havent found any yet. I've finally got fronts.

 

[Lil Foot]

Lil Foot, thanks for those pics. I think it may illustrate the versatility of our smaller tractors such as ours. Oh, i'm really loving the rear wheel weights on that B7100, been searching for a long time and havent found any yet. I've finally got fronts.

No problem! I realized after I posted the pics that #1 was taken the first weekend I owned it, before ROPS & wheel weights, #2 & #3 were post ROPS, pre wheel weights, and #4 is current. I am constantly amazed at the increased traction that the front & rear weights add.

 

[HJRS]

You've got me thinking re the box blade, I think i'd be able to put that to quite a lot of use (drive way and just spreading dirt generally). Probably something I could put together myself also.

Bluegill - I really want to get as small a rig as possible for that exact reason, ie manoeuvrability etc.

Kytim you mention rear weights, i take it that makes a bit of difference traction wise? I've seen some people make their own ie rubbish bin full of concrete etc.