Small 4wd tractor, or skid steer?

drkelly

drkelly

Dipstick who put two vehicles on jack stands
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Oak Ridge/Stokesdale, NC
I'm thinking about buying a small 4wd tractor to use for landscaping and snow removal at our new house that is currently under construction. Our driveway is about 600 ft long, is going to be heavily shaded in the winter due to the angle of the sun, and it is not flat. I'm thinking of basically something like a large riding mower on steriods that is 4wd. I don't need a full size tractor since I'm not going to be planting crops. I'll be using it to move rocks, dirt, small trees, dig holes, till, etc. Any advice would be great. Maybe a small skid steer would even be an option? I don't know squat about tractors.

Thanks,
Danny
 
moving snow in the carolinas? LOL If you need it for snow & to be versitile a skid steer on tracks is the best bet. Get the snow blower attachment, you can only push snow so far & so high..
 
A good used Compact Utility Tractor ( C.U.T) is easily the best tool purchase anyone with land can make.

Look for a machine with a front end loader ( FEL), and a belly mower, add a box blade and any other attachment you may need/want and you'll be able to do most anything you need, 4wd is a must if you're gonna do snow or heavy grading

Massey Fergusson, Kubota, Kioti, JD, all good brands, beware of " grey market " machines, you'll pay he'll getting parts ( Kubota won't sell parts for non US spec tractors) if any of the data tags are in anything but English, walk away ( pretty good indication it's non US spec )
I've got a 24hp Kubota B2400hsd, best tool I have bought for the yard that I never thought I needed, it's 15yrs old runs like a champ, and has been easy to maintain, I had original gone out looking for a Massey, but found this one with loader and belly mower. It is pretty much an over grown riding mower, but it kick ass mowing where a typical rider will stall or melt.
 
Last edited:
Blkvoodoo said:
A good used Compact Utility Tractor ( C.U.T) is easily the best tool purchase a
nyone with land can make.

Look for a machine loader, and a belly mower, add a box blade and any other attachment you may need/want and you'll be able to do most anything you need, 4wd is a must if you're gonna do snow or heavy grading

Massey Fergusson, Kubota, Kioti, JD, all good brands, beware of " grey market " machines, you'll pay he'll getting parts ( Kubota won't sell parts for non US spec tractors) if any of the data tags are in anything but English, walk away ( pretty good indication it's non US spec )
I've got a 24hp Kubota B2400hsd, best tool I have bought for the yard that I never thought I needed, it's 15yrs old runs like a champ, and has been easy to maintain, I had original gone out looking for a Massey, but found this one with loader and belly mower. It is pretty much an over grown riding mower, but it kick ass mowing where a typical rider will stall or melt.
Click to expand...

^ this

We had a sub compact Kubota BX2350 with quick detach loader and 3 pt hitch. From the sounds of it something in this range will do all you want to do. Ours didn't have a belly mower, but it did have the option for one. It is as you call it a lawn mower on steroids, I use to call it "barely a tractor". You can get everything you need to go behind it from box blade, scrape blade, rototiller, etc..... As for snow removal, the first year we had it I used it to clear my parents road with it, roughly 1/4 mile long plus some of the driveways for the neighbors. We upgraded this year to a John Deere 4200, cause dad just wanted something bigger but the Kubota handled all we put it thru.
 
Thanks for the replies. A 4x4 CUT (compact utility tractor) sounds like exactly what I need. Any suggestions on how to find a good used one?

I know we don't get much snow, but the driveway will be a challenge if we get any substantial accumulation and the temperatures don't rise for a few days or more. My wife has to be at the hospital by 6:15am, and never knows when she will be home. Calling out of work due to bad weather is not an option for her, so I need to be prepared.
 
Orangetractortalks.com/forums/ . The NC4x4 of Kubota tractors

Tractor dealers, Craigslist, tractorhouse.com (good one to help value a machine as well )

Craigslist has a lot of scam sales, but they're easy to weed out. If you can't go see it in person, it doesn't exist. You want to operate all the hydraulics, check for leaks and other issues, make sure it has full hydraulic power when at operating temp.

Beware the newer Kubotas, the smaller machines have a cooling fan for the hydrostatic drive under the belly, if you don't have the mower on it, it's easy to damage (plastic) and requires almost total disassembly to replace (splitting tractor ) there is a guard for the fan available' but it is an option, it's also a good thing to know about when looking at machines, as it is not a warranty covered repair, ( several hours of labor for a $30 part) and some folks will opt to sell off to an unsuspecting buyer instead of making the repair.

Older machines have less plastic and seem to be more durable. ( true for most anything these days) don't be afraid of a 10-15yr old machine, especially if it has low hours ( mine has 1274hrs, it's a '97 model ) I've put 104hrs on it in then 3 years I've owned it. Most of it mowing.
 
Another vote for the Kubota tractor. Good equipment at an affordable price.

Skid steers are good for contractors, not so much for homeowners. If you want to use it around the house doing misc. yard work, it will tear up the grass pretty bad.
 
I have a JD tractor and love it. Granted it is way bigger than you need but do not be afraid to look at them . They treated me better than any other dealer locally.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
Nothing but Kubota from a someone who has used them for over 30 years.. Get you some salt for your driveway though. You will peel off any snow and make it slick with a scraper.. Better off leaving snow if you have it. Ice is our issue.
Good luck finding a good used tractor.
 
another vote for a tractor, I scored a full frame 45 ish hp massey (diesel) with front end loader, gill box blade, front industrial forks and man lift (I built yrs ago), and a 6 ft bush hog for 5k. I'd only trade it for another tractor. I've used a skid steer for alot of stuff but they aren't nearly as easy to get work done without alot of specific attachments. They also tear the crap out of a yard where if your easy you can do a lot without abusing the ground with a tractor. Hard ground or wet slick stuff you can hang it up unless its got tracks. You can pull and push a lot more weight with the right tractor compared to a skid steer. Skid steer power is in the hydraulics and attachments. Plus I've rarely found a cheap skid steer unless it needed a lot of work or was too good for a reason. If you don't mind payment and got decent credit most all the models have fairly decent new purchase incentives. I prefer fewer payments if I can help it. Older full size tractors are sometimes easier to get right now due to the demand for sub compacts. Tractors to me are like buildings and trailers: get all you can afford you'll use it.
 
I also agree that a 4x4 CUT is the way to go. My dad and I bought a Hew Holland TC30 a few years ago and it has been a truly outstanding machine. TONS of front end loader work, mowing, scraping, post hole digging, pulling round a farm trailer...it's just way more versatile than a skid steer and the implements are cheaper and more readily available. If you'll be doing a lot of front end loader work I highly recommend going with a hydrostatic drive model and 4WD, it makes a huge difference for that kind of work.
As for buying a used one, good luck with that. These machines hold their value in a big way and really good deals are few and far between.
 
Sounds like for what you want a compact tractor is better, but if you are moving a lot of dirt, or need maneuverability, you can't beat a skidsteer. A tractor is just very slow in comparison. I've got a tractor with a 6ft box blade, and a skidsteer with a 5ft 4n1 bucket, and I'll scrape the driveway with the skidsteer because I can get it done faster and better. It does take a little more skill, but once you have some time on it, its amazing what that little machine can do.

Skidsteers definitely tear up the ground more. If I've got anything to do in the yard, I try to do it by hand or with the tractor.

I used to think I would want a finish mower to go on my tractor for cutting the yard. Then after maneuvering the tractor around the yard a few times for other stuff, I decided it wasn't such a good idea. Now I've got a zero turn mower, and cutting the grass is almost fun.

Whatever you end up with, get a 4 in 1 bucket. You can grab rocks, and rip trees out of the ground without ever getting off the seat.
 
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