Tractor Thoughts

YotaOnRocks said:
I've got an old 65hp tractor from the 50's , a mini ex, and a tracked skid steer. Come up one day and try them out to see how you like them for certain task. Plenty of stuff around my place that could stand be knocked over, dug up, moved from A to B.
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May take you up on that sometime!
 
APJeeps said:
@jeepinmatt
I've got a older f150, newer truck isn't really in the cards at the moment. So something the 150 could pull relatively easy would definitely be a plus. It's kinda one of those situations where once the work is done it will be used for maintenance around the property, belly mower isn't required just a thought.

Skid steer sounds like itd be perfect but geeeez the price point on them is crazy. I know, I know they are worth their weight in gold. But after remodeling the house and lil man is due next month, I'm going for what will cover most of my needs for the money. Probably should explain what I need it for. Light land clearing, light grading work, have a small retention wall I need to build (2-3ft). I have a riding mower I could do around the house and a finish mower would prob be okay once I seed the area that needs to be cleared.

The Kubota L2501 /2502 price point is definitely tempting with the 0% and the warranty. Will more than likely get some pricing from local dealers just to get a better idea.

I am a fan of being debt free so in the mean time I'll continue to look for a older tractor that could do everything I need. Don't need fancy, just functional.
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I'd be interested in what you find out from the dealers. Everything I'm seeing on FB Marketplace is $20K+ for a L25 series. I plan on going to talk to the local Kabota dealer at some point.
 
APJeeps said:
I've got a older f150, newer truck isn't really in the cards at the moment. So something the 150 could pull relatively easy would definitely be a plus. It's kinda one of those situations where once the work is done it will be used for maintenance around the property, belly mower isn't required just a thought.
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Most skidsteers would be fine to pull with an F150 if you're not doing it everyday. Wheeled ones are in the 5-7k pound range for the most part, tracked skidsteers generally range from 6-12k pounds.
APJeeps said:
Skid steer sounds like itd be perfect but geeeez the price point on them is crazy. I know, I know they are worth their weight in gold. But after remodeling the house and lil man is due next month, I'm going for what will cover most of my needs for the money. Probably should explain what I need it for. Light land clearing, light grading work, have a small retention wall I need to build (2-3ft). I have a riding mower I could do around the house and a finish mower would prob be okay once I seed the area that needs to be cleared.
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In your situation, I'd hang tight for 6 months and let things settle. Sounds like you got a lot going on.
 
awheelterd said:
4 n 1 bucket and rear remotes.

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Says pending. 4 in 1 bucket. I have seen that term but have not looked it up to see what it is. Rear remotes is another thing I have seen. If I'm reading that add right it also has hydraulic on the front to run things like a post hole digger?
 
ghost said:
Says pending. 4 in 1 bucket. I have seen that term but have not looked it up to see what it is. Rear remotes is another thing I have seen. If I'm reading that add right it also has hydraulic on the front to run things like a post hole digger?
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4 in 1 is the bomb. The bucket can hydraulically open up and be a regular bucket or a grapple. They're heavy though. They're great for getting that last little bit of a dirt pile you can never seem to pickup with a regular bucket. Remotes can be for all sorts of stuff. Log splitter, backhoe, auger, etc.
 
As far as the 4n1 bucket I would love one but the weight alone on my frame of tractor (L2501) is pushing it and reduces the lift capacity significantly in relation to the tractor. Neighbor has a similarly framed bobcat tractor with a 4-1 and a BH and it is almost too much attachment (weight) hanging off the the front. I’d say anything 40hp or bigger would be good. But just my dose pesos.

Now, a small root grapple would be sweet. It would make cleaning stalls SO much easier grabbing up old hay bedding and such. Once again this is my circumstances and each individual user will need to spec their tractor accordingly.
 
Another L2501 vote. Add top and tilt to feel like a king. Don’t forget Pat’s easy links…

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On rotary cutters vs.HP, I don’t know how all those 8ns and old Internationals ever did all that hoggin 🫨

I have no trouble with my 5’ rotary, once it’s spinning it’s hard to stop.
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
They had lots more tq and rotational mass, that helped way more than HP alone.
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ponykilr said:
On rotary cutters vs.HP, I don’t know how all those 8ns and old Internationals ever did all that hoggin 🫨

I have no trouble with my 5’ rotary, once it’s spinning it’s hard to stop.
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Yes. I was amazed at how well the little Ford from the 40's did in the garden. I agree with a salesman I spoke to who said modern tractors should be 25 to 35 percent larger in HP to do the same work as older units aside from hydraulics. Now the clutch and three point not working like modern flat wore me out and took some finesse. Little sucker just plain chugged for a gas engine.

But is still wouldn't stick it in 3 feet of heavy Johnson grass with a cutter the width of the tires foot print.
 
awheelterd said:
4 in 1 is the bomb. The bucket can hydraulically open up and be a regular bucket or a grapple. They're heavy though. They're great for getting that last little bit of a dirt pile you can never seem to pickup with a regular bucket. Remotes can be for all sorts of stuff. Log splitter, backhoe, auger, etc.
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Agreed. If I only had one attachment for the skidsteer, it would be the 4n1 bucket, no question. That's all I had on my first skidsteer. Used the hell out of it for like 10 years. Picking up trees, scooping dirt, grading, dragging gravel like a box blade. Pretty much anything that doesn't require a rotating implement.
 
I have a gas International 424 here and while I love it, it doesn’t run a brush hog any better than my Kubota. It is a good bit heavier and as a 2wd pulls a plow and disc well but PTO power isn’t any better than the newer tractor. I admit I’m not ever in 4’ jungle.

I’m not anti-hp or drinking koolaid about 2501s I just think it’s like remembering old rifles or muscle cars as being magic when most any new rifle or new V6 sedan performs better.
 
Put them into a 4ft high field and see which one cuts faster.
 
 
shawn said:
Put them into a 4ft high field and see which one cuts faster.
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It doesn’t even have to get 4ft high.

Our lower pasture has a fair amount of broad leaf weeds. Some are natural regen sweet gum sprouts some just various field weeds. The cows eat around them. About twice a year I have to mow the field to keep the weeds from overtaking what’s left of the fescue. (Yes I know I should spray it kill it disc it and replant it. but I don’t currently have a safe effective barricade to keep the cows out and that makes that solution not currently viable). The old ford 2910 will pull a 6’ rotary as fast or slow as you wanna go - and being terraced there’s a lot of places where you wanna go slow). I had it tore down last fall and used dads new just a step above the 2501 kubota. Think it was a 33hp. Now no mistake the boys was more comfortable and the power steering better and lots of other niceties. And it did acceptable pulling the hog at speed. But stop to turn at row end or to navigate a terrace and it would lug and leave a 10-15’ swath choppy.

Lacked the torque without the speed to chop it.

That’s before we even talk about weight.

That’s my personal biggest complaint with newer tractors. they don’t weigh enough to work. The 2wd ford will chug and get it to places the bota has to be in 4wd because it’s ~1400 lbs lighter. Though obviously where you are and specific circumstances could favor lighter also. Just not my use case
 
Ron said:
It doesn’t even have to get 4ft high.

Our lower pasture has a fair amount of broad leaf weeds. Some are natural regen sweet gum sprouts some just various field weeds. The cows eat around them. About twice a year I have to mow the field to keep the weeds from overtaking what’s left of the fescue. (Yes I know I should spray it kill it disc it and replant it. but I don’t currently have a safe effective barricade to keep the cows out and that makes that solution not currently viable). The old ford 2910 will pull a 6’ rotary as fast or slow as you wanna go - and being terraced there’s a lot of places where you wanna go slow). I had it tore down last fall and used dads new just a step above the 2501 kubota. Think it was a 33hp. Now no mistake the boys was more comfortable and the power steering better and lots of other niceties. And it did acceptable pulling the hog at speed. But stop to turn at row end or to navigate a terrace and it would lug and leave a 10-15’ swath choppy.

Lacked the torque without the speed to chop it.

That’s before we even talk about weight.

That’s my personal biggest complaint with newer tractors. they don’t weigh enough to work. The 2wd ford will chug and get it to places the bota has to be in 4wd because it’s ~1400 lbs lighter. Though obviously where you are and specific circumstances could favor lighter also. Just not my use case
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This is a perfect example of tractors built for different purposes doing the same task with notable differences in performance.

Now, put a loader on that old ford and see how it compares to the 2501. Probably not nearly as efficient as the newer Kubota. Not that it’s not capable nor able, it’s just not as efficient compared to the newer and more nimble HST tractor.

It really boils down to what the user needs. Brush hogging a lot? Then a 2501 probably isn’t the answer, but if you do a lot of loader work on a small farm and have to navigate trees, fence gates, and need to keep the grass in good condition while using, then the lighter newer tractors with HST are probably more beneficial.

I’d never use my 2n with a loader, but it does a hell of a job with the box blade and the PTO chipper at a hell of a price
 
Ron said:
It doesn’t even have to get 4ft high.

Our lower pasture has a fair amount of broad leaf weeds. Some are natural regen sweet gum sprouts some just various field weeds. The cows eat around them. About twice a year I have to mow the field to keep the weeds from overtaking what’s left of the fescue. (Yes I know I should spray it kill it disc it and replant it. but I don’t currently have a safe effective barricade to keep the cows out and that makes that solution not currently viable). The old ford 2910 will pull a 6’ rotary as fast or slow as you wanna go - and being terraced there’s a lot of places where you wanna go slow). I had it tore down last fall and used dads new just a step above the 2501 kubota. Think it was a 33hp. Now no mistake the boys was more comfortable and the power steering better and lots of other niceties. And it did acceptable pulling the hog at speed. But stop to turn at row end or to navigate a terrace and it would lug and leave a 10-15’ swath choppy.

Lacked the torque without the speed to chop it.

That’s before we even talk about weight.

That’s my personal biggest complaint with newer tractors. they don’t weigh enough to work. The 2wd ford will chug and get it to places the bota has to be in 4wd because it’s ~1400 lbs lighter. Though obviously where you are and specific circumstances could favor lighter also. Just not my use case
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Thats the reason we still bush hog with our old Ford Super Major. Its heavy and I have yet to stall it on a restart. The old girl just keeps chugging along and doesnt really care what you throw at it.
 
rockcity said:
This is a perfect example of tractors built for different purposes doing the same task with notable differences in performance.

Now, put a loader on that old ford and see how it compares to the 2501. Probably not nearly as efficient as the newer Kubota. Not that it’s not capable nor able, it’s just not as efficient compared to the newer and more nimble HST tractor.

It really boils down to what the user needs. Brush hogging a lot? Then a 2501 probably isn’t the answer, but if you do a lot of loader work on a small farm and have to navigate trees, fence gates, and need to keep the grass in good condition while using, then the lighter newer tractors with HST are probably more beneficial.

I’d never use my 2n with a loader, but it does a hell of a job with the box blade and the PTO chipper at a hell of a price
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Yea we have a Yanmar 4x4 with a loader. When its running, it digs well and is much more agile. Our Fordson Long has a loader and itll do it all, just very slowly.
 
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