# Tractor Advice?



## Lizard King (Apr 11, 2007)

I am new here and new to tractors. I'm looking to purchase my first tractor. I have 15 acres with horses so it will need to be able to pull a good size cutter and do basic chores with hay and stuff for horses. What size should i be looking at. i was thinking maybe a TC40/45 from new holland or equal Kubota but what size bush hog can i pull with 40 pto HP. what size with a 50 pto HP? how big would i need to go in order to pull a bat-wing 10 or 15 ft wide? What are the major differences between the New Hollands, Case IH, Kubota, and JD that would sway someone from on brand to another?


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## Skipper (Apr 11, 2007)

A 40 horse should be able to handle a 7' bush hog, I kinda doubt it could handle a batwing mower. That's getting up into the 100+ hp territory.

As far as brand goes, IMO, it's pretty much up to you. Factors would include dealer confidence, price, service availability. It also would include how does the tractor suit you and what you intend to do with it. Most tractors have the same controls but some feel better to some individuals than they do to others. If you are a big guy and they put the hitch lift lever under your hind end where you can't easily reach it another machine might have it on the fender and in a more comfortable place for you. 

Some tractors are wider, some shorter, some narrower, and other factors that might affect your decision. If you are going to be working in open pastures, a wider tractor is probably a better option. If you are going to be skidding trees out of a wood lot, narrower is probably better. If you are going to be on and around hill sides you probably want a shorter tractor that you can weight the heck out of to keep it on the ground.

Gear shift or hydro? For open pasture operation like mowing gear shift is cheaper and likely as good as any. It's stronger and once you get going it won't mater anyhow. If you are going to be working in tight places and frequently changing directions Hydro is the cat to have.

Generally people recommend the brand they have because they want to feel good about their purchase. In the case of a tractor, people's needs and use varries widely and what works for me won't be best for others.

Skipper


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## chrpmaster (May 5, 2004)

You mentioned in your post "do basic chores with hay and stuff for horses" so where you thinking of something with a front end loader and maybe the bale spear or forks? If you get into the 100hp range to handle a bat wing mower its going to be kinda large and not very manuverable with a loader compared to a CUT. 

Andy


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## Lizard King (Apr 11, 2007)

Well I wasn't sure how big you would need for a bat wing mower. Didn't think you needed a tractor that big for it. I was asking because i found an excellent deal on a New Holland TC55. and i was mainly wandering if it was worth it to go for that size instead of the TC45 or TC40 if it would bump me up to a 10 or 15 foot mower. if the difference is only being able to pull a 7' mower instead of a 6' then I would rather go with the hydro transmission. but if i can get a 10' mower back there then I'll go with that.


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Lizard King,

Remember that the TC series of tractors are compact tractors and NOT ag tractors. They are just not built to take the useage with heavy duty type impliments. 

For instance the John Deere 4000 Ten Series tractor transmission cases AND drive axle housings are made of aluminum. Not a material you want to put to the test in my opinion. 

Last week we hit a really hard panned field while planting trees and the guy the tree planter I contracted wanted me to pull a sub soiler with my 4410. I don't doubt that it might be able to pull the subsoiler, but for how long? Hydrostatic drive has its limits. 

For light duty use with some limited heavier duty use applications, the TC55 would work fine with a 7 ft. cutter or possibly a larger pull type cutter. I would stick with the 7 footer lift type cutter max. The TC 40 or 45 would also do fine with a 6 foot cutter. 

I cut about 50 acres with my 4410 and a 4 ft. heavy duty cutter. Granted it took awhile (over 90 hours) but used a lot less fuel than a much larger tractor plus I had the advantage of being able to manuever in tight spots. Yeah, this is kind of on the pain in the neck side but I won't be cutting this much in the future, at least not on a regular basis so I just used what I had. 

Once you get the areas cut down and cleaned up; the cutting won't take near as long as long as you keep up with it. 

I think a 15 ft. bat wing cutter might be overkill for 15 acres and the cost of a cutter this large is around $10,000 and up depending upon brand and model. 

You would need a much larger tractor to operate a cutter like this. 

If you are partial to New Holland; I think the TC 45 or TC55 would be a good choice to cover just about any application for a property your size and then some.


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