[steventhomas42]

Since I brought this up in another thread, I thought I would go ahead and ask the question.

My wife and I have about 3.25 acres. Approximately 1 acre has bee well-maintained as lawn for years. Another 1 acre is "reclaimed" pasture/garden land that is now grassy, but rough underneath.
The remaining land is a mimosa forest (thanks the former owner pushing a smaller number of mimosas down and covering them with dirt).

I want to buy a used tractor that I can use to
a) smooth out the rough land,
b) use various implements to push, pull, plow and otherwise rip mimosa roots up for burning, and
c) use a rotory cutter to help manage what grows later.

I've been told in the past that a used bigger tractor is often less expensive than a used compact utility. I want something that is small emough to store under roof without having to build a bigger shed.

I guess my questions here are
a) which implements would be most vital to the aforementioned tasks, and
b) what size tractor would be the bare mimimum I would use to accomplish them?

Thanks for the advice.

Steve

 

[Live Oak]

Depending upon the bells and whistles you prefer; I would suggest a Deere 790 if you like a basic simple but VERY reliable gear shift tractor. The older 790 are 30 hp and the newer models are 27hp. VERY good, capapble, and reliable machines. If you want more operator's station room, hydro trans.; I would suggest the Deere 4100, 4200, 4110, 4210, or 4115.

I would say the rotary cutter and FEL would be the most vital as well as most used implements followed up by the box or grader blade. A tiller is nice but kind of expensive.

Take a look at these machines and the Kubota L2400, L2410, 7500, 7510 as well.

 

[GreenMtnMan]

I'm a JD fan, but must say that the New Holland TC30 might also be a good economical choice. Compared to the JD 790 it has wet brakes, three more hp, and is available with an HST. However, I think the best in that size range is the JD 4115.

 

[Chipmaker]

Only problem with the used bigger teractor thing i yuor area is the price of used tractors are ungodly in price in your area, and the surounding counties. Been there done that on numerous opccasions with friends looking for a decent used tractor, and that includes used CUTS. I would have to be really hard pressed to spend over $4500 for a well used and abused Ford 2000 gas burner, but it did run..........that is more than could be said about the numerous other JD's Fords etc that were priced equally high and smoked like a burning tire.

I'm not knocking your area or even mine (2 counties away, but there are just too darn many rednecks and hunters that buy these tractors in this area and abuse the hell out of them planting green fields and let it set the rest of the year in the woods etc. Buying from the dealers is also a chance, as they know when they have a decent machine and the price is marked accordingly. Seems a lot of equipment in ALabama is used very very hard and put up wet. So its ot something your gonna go find ina weekend or two. Best bet is find out names of some old farmers and check with them. A lot of times their sons etc have no desire to fool with farming on a small scale or any scale so that is usually the best plan i this area.....scope out the old folks with tractors, and hope you can beat the numerous auction equiupment dealer types that also haunt these prospects as well.

Lots of luck...........good used farm equipment at a reasonable price is a rare commodity in Alabama

 

[steventhomas42]

If the price was right, I'd probably buy just about any well-known brand, but I'd prefer a JD.

I'm thinking along the lines of the JD 670, 750, 755, 855, or 870.

Roy, as you pointed out, I know that it is difficult to find a good, affordable used tractor in the South. That's one reason I'm starting to work on my own small tractors now.

I want to work my way up mechanically as I progress to the larger tractors. That way, hopefully I'll be able to make necessary repairs to a project tractor rather than purchasing one that is already in terrific shape at a high price.

Ultimately what I hope to do is keep buying increasingly larger L&G tractors and making the necessary repairs. Hopefully, as I get the latest one working, I can sell the smallest one I already have and have some seed money to buy the next larger one.

Having my JD 180 nearly complete (I had some medical challeges and haven't finished restoring the 46" deck), and being nearly ready to swap the motors in the 116, I hope to find a 90's-era 200- or 300-series tractor that I can take on as my Fall project. Then I could sell my 116 next Spring.

This would work out well, as I never want to be only a one tractor family again. Too much hassle if there's a mechanical problem and you can't finish mowing until you fix it.

 

[bontai Joe]

I like your plan Steve! Another place to possibly score a decent used tractor is estate auctions. those 5-10 acre farmettes that the owner is selling out of usually have a tractor or two in the back of the barn. Those have lived a pampered life and haven't seen the mega abuse of other machines.