# What kind of a tractor?



## Bluebeard (Dec 4, 2010)

I posted looking for a bi-directional tractor, and there really isn't any way for me to justify paying $60,000+ to get one where I will be facing forward, just to do my mile long driveway. So, I guess I am back to looking for a more conventional tractor. I literally know nothing about the different brands and I need some expert and on the ground advice. 

My situation- I have a mile long driveway- this year, our area received over 50 feet of snow falling from the sky this year. Fortunately for me, I live in a very windy place, so not all that snow stayed in my neighborhood. We have about 10 feet of snow on the ground right now, and when I blow my driveway, I usually have big snow drifts to contend with. So I need a tractor with enough horsepower to blow the snow a long way out. In the summer time, I'd like to get a backhoe attachment and a hydraulically activated gannon box (tilt, angle, up and down)- I assume that either of those attachments will work well on any tractor- so I assume my main criteria is having the horsepower to blow heavy, mucky snow a long ways out. 

I am borrowing a friend of mine's 24 hp New Holland tractor, and it doesn't have enough horsepower and it is too light to do the plowing of the snow (sometimes our snow has the consistency of wet, mashed potatoes 2-3 feet deep and the tractor will just stop while trying to push a small pile of snow)- not to mention, since it doesn't have hydrostatic drive, when I am in low range and blowing, it often bogs down to the point that it wants to die. So then I have to drive forward for a while, let the rpms get higher and then back into the snowbank for another couple of feet, until I need to repeat the process. Very annoying and slow process. 

So, I am looking for a used, enclosed cab tractor (I've had it with stinging ice crystals biting me in the face when it is blowing 70mph- I want a nice warm cab) with enough horsepower to accomplish my blowing needs. I'd like the tractor to be very reliable. The usage would be pretty minor around my 10 acre property in the summer, but it will get lots of use in the winter. I can afford to spend up to roughly $30,000- give or take. 

Any recommendations of the best bang for the buck? My neighbor has a Kubota, and I believe they are supposed to be pretty good tractors- I like the hydrostatic drive he has. I haven't run his tractor, so I have no idea how well it works.


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## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

That's some snow fall.
By the sounds you done most of your home work.
Blower would seem to be answer for winter..maybe front blower for you have extra long driveway,but front blower seems to cost again as much compare to rear blower.

Your neighbors maybe be the key...hp,attachments etc. for season use,also get to know your local dealer.


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## Bluebeard (Dec 4, 2010)

Thomas-

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, where I live is less than a community that has many tractors. I live in a ski resort community and there is no "local" farm equipment dealer. My neighbor who has the kubota is a Physician and he rarely uses his tractor. I am the self-proclaimed "keep the road open at all costs" kind of guy- so I spend 10x more time on a tractor than he does. 

The closest tractor dealer is 40 miles away at a desert dealership. Again, I was hoping to get some feedback as to the appropriate sized tractor and maybe some feedback on which brands are the most dependable.


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## dbear (Sep 17, 2003)

Bluebeard, you didn’t mention whether you were thinking new or used, but I'm thinking you might want to consider a full-sized utility tractor (possibly used), instead of a CUT primarily for one reason: weight. Most CUTs run 1000#-1500# lighter than their equal HP utility cousins. Granted you could add weight to a CUT, but you'd still be starting with less, and you may find you'll want to add weight to a UT, especially with a FEL.

Even if you stayed within the CUT family, you’d probably be toward the top end in terms of HP for any current brand. With few exceptions, hydrostatic trannies are not available greater than 40 or 45 hp. However, synchro shuttles are, and some, especially those with 16 gears, usually do offer one or two ground speeds below one mph.

I grew up on a farm, and, while not as long as your mile driveway nor snow as deep (10' annual average); we did clear a lot of area around the house and barns. We used an 80 hp UT (Ford 7700) with FWA and cab, equipped with a rear mounted 8' McKee snowblower. It’s 8x2 trans with dual power effectively made it a 16x4. I recall only a few times while in R low-low where I may have had to depress the clutch to let the blower catch up. This reveals another plus of the UT: fully independent pto.

All that said, and sort of in summation, I'd lean toward at least 45-50 pto hp, FWA, and 16x16 synchro shuttle tranny. With regard to brand, I’d say any of the current well-known makes would work, to include Kioti. (I dug around a little on line, and have to admit the Kioti DK55 looks pretty good on paper.)

What brands does your "local" (relative term I know) dealer handle?


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## Bluebeard (Dec 4, 2010)

Dbear- You need to clue me in on your acronyms- I have no idea what a CUT or any of those other acronyms are. The "local" dealers are Kubota and New Holland. And I guess some of the off brands from China. Good Info, if I could understand what you were talking about. 

Clue me in.


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## dbear (Sep 17, 2003)

Sorry. Here's some common acronyms:

SCUT = Sub-Compact Utility Tractor
CUT = Compact Utility Tractor
UT = Utility Tractor
FEL = Front End Loader
FWA = Front Wheel Assist, also frequently referred to as FWD for Front Wheel Drive, or even Four Wheel Drive. Although, technically, Four Wheel Drive (4WD) is only found on articulated steering tractors.
MFWD = variation on FWA or FWD. Mechanical Front Wheel Drive, or Assist. So named because initially, they were hydraulically driven (combine rear drives are still this way)
PTO = Power Take Off
3PT = 3 Point Hitch

Not sure what other ones you might need right now, but I hope this helps.


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## howierd3866 (May 18, 2008)

check with your local dealer... you said is about 40 miles away buy what the they sell in case you ever need parts. I would think something like a New Holland TN75 cab 4x4..its about 75hp can run anything you meation and with a loader and all should beable to find alot in your price range. I have four that size and love mine..I like the orange tractors too but they are alittle lighter in weight


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## dbear (Sep 17, 2003)

Bluebeard said:


> ...The "local" dealers are Kubota and New Holland. And I guess some of the off brands from China...


Some folks have had very good luck with some of the brands from China; some folks have experienced their worst nightmare. I don't have any experience with them at all, so I can't really comment, except to say that many "brands" are identical machines from the same factories, just with different paint.

Looking at Kubota and NH UTs:
Kubota M5140 or M6040 would be in that HP range I mentioned. The biggest issue is that they only come with an 8x8 shuttle tranny. I don't see ground speeds in listed in their specs.

The NH T4020 looks like a real nice snow moving machine (std 16x16 shuttle tranny on cab model with 3 gears <1mph) that tips the scales at 1600# more than the M5140 and about 1300# more than the M6040, despite the 'bota M-series being a UT.


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

I used a friend of mines new Mahindra it was 35hp with 4x4 and for the compact size it was really strong. I am pretty sure they can be out fitted with cabs, and front blowers, etc. We used it to drag some 5 or so ft diameter 60ft trees to the back of his property, and it did so with little effort. But as mentioned you kinda want to have a dealer as close as possible for parts, repairs, etc.


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