Compact tractors anybody?

[Rodent]

Last Fall I stepped into a great season closeout package deal on a 2032R from my local John Deere dealer. Package included front loader, backhoe, 48" rear PTO rotary cutter, several cold winter niceties (like a block heater), liquid filled tires, etc ...

Wanted on at my previous place, but I could never justify the need so I opted for a zero-turn riding mower to cut the 1-1/2 acres. The new place has 2-1/2 acres of orchard and landscape lawn, plus another 1-1/2 acres down below along the river. The riding mower can handle the upper orchard and lawn, but the lower yard isn't accessible nor of the finesse that it needs, so tractor justification finally achieved

Who else here is working a large homestead sized tractor, and what you driving? Are you satisfied with the one you chose, or do you wish you'd have done something different?

 

[day_trippr]

How much was that amazing looking machine? [Whisper it to me - nobody else will know ]
I totally want one. Was hoping the post-pandemic market would bring the price of similar machines down but they are stubbornly holding steady...

Cheers!

 

[PCABrewing]

Last Fall I stepped into a great season closeout package deal on a 2032R from my local John Deere dealer. Package included front loader, backhoe, 48" rear PTO rotary cutter, several cold winter niceties (like a block heater), liquid filled tires, etc ...

View attachment 815139

Wanted on at my previous place, but I could never justify the need so I opted for a zero-turn riding mower to cut the 1-1/2 acres. The new place has 2-1/2 acres of orchard and landscape lawn, plus another 1-1/2 acres down below along the river. The riding mower can handle the upper orchard and lawn, but the lower yard isn't accessible nor of the finesse that it needs, so tractor justification finally achieved

Who else here is working a large homestead sized tractor, and what you driving? Are you satisfied with the one you chose, or do you wish you'd have done something different?

Do they offer a snow thrower attachment (Front PTO)?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Have you ever had to buy Deere parts? The rear hydraulic cylinder went out on my garden tractor, and it was something like $150 for a new one. The part was garbage, too. Welded shut to insure I had to buy new ones when the seals failed, and the seals on any cylinder will eventually fail. And the tractor was built to be a real pain to work on.

The grille for my tractor costs $900. I have a bigger Kubota, and the price for a grill was something like $75 when I checked, and it's a much bigger and more complicated part.

My tractor has a belly mower which is supposed to fall off with a couple of touches of a finger. In reality, you have to fight with it and bang on it with a deadblow hammer because the parts were made misaligned.

Another fun fact: when the alternator belt goes, it's virtually impossible to install a new one without taking the tractor apart. There are some bolts you can supposedly loosen to move the shaft back to make room, but in reality, they freeze in place, and getting a tool on them with any kind of power is not feasible.

I hope your machine causes you less grief.

The Kubota has only had one real problem, which I made worse. The steering cylinder lost a seal, and on this model, Kubota hides the cylinder inside the frame. You have to remove the radiator to work on it. I took it out and got it fixed, and then when I installed it, while I was moving it around so I could put a pin in, I drove the rod through the engine's front cover. Turned a $250 repair into a $2000 repair! But I learned a whole lot about the tractor. I don't feel bad about it, because over the course of my life, working on things myself has saved me thousands more than it has cost me.

The best thing about it is that it has none of the awful pollution stuff they come with now. I don't even know how that stuff works. The worst thing is that it came with no quick-detach on the front or rear. I added both, by myself. Then I had to convert the old-style bucket to quick detach because covid dried up the bucket supply.

I would never use an old style rear quick detach. Some guy in Kentucky makes two little parts you can bolt onto the 3-point hitch in about 10 minutes.

 

[Rodent]

@Clint Yeastwood SWMBO found driving the JD more comfortable (and less confusing) than a Kubota. Team Orange was my first choice, but my allowance giver liked Team Green better, and green is far better than Team Invisible

Here in my local agriculture community it's mostly Team Blue (vineyards and fruit orchards) and Team Green (hay) with very little Team Orange. Wasn't a real fan of the New Holland compact tractors, and the local dealership was more proud of their pricing than any of the other brands.

 

[Rodent]

How much was that amazing looking machine? [Whisper it to me - nobody else will know ]
I totally want one. Was hoping the post-pandemic market would bring the price of similar machines down but they are stubbornly holding steady...

Cheers!

I believe we walked out the door at $25K for everything including taxes, extended warranty, and delivery all included on a 5-year 0% loan (why pay cash when they were offering 'free' money) Tractor was trucked over from dealer inventory somewhere in Eastern Montana, and the rotary cutter was trucked up from a dealer an hour SE of us. Barring something unforeseen, I'll have it paid off by middle of next year

Wishing I'd also have added the rear PTO tiller and posthole auger in that package, but both turn up on CL within an hour drive about every other month

 

[passedpawn]

Man I wish. I love to use equipment like that. I love to move the earth. Not my world now, prolly never will be. Good for you brother.

 

[Sailingeric]

The wifey and I own the home my MIL lives in in Alabama and it has a 1 acre lot so we got her a riding lawn mower and when ever we go to visit I love spending part of the day mowing the lawn and driving the mower since all I have is about an 8000 sq ft lot that I can mow with my electric push mower.

 

[matt_m]

Over 20 years ago but I bought a John Deere 4110. Toward the end of our time at that 10 acre property with about 3 acres of grass I bought a zero turn that was a better mower in every regard but I used the heck out of the tractor and sold it at a good price when we moved to suburbia. When we originally bought that property my wife and I had the agreement that I was buying whatever tractor the dealer recommended so I didn't end up like some acquaintances that spent basically all their time mowing.

I have a lawn guy now.

 

[day_trippr]

I believe we walked out the door at $25K

That seems to be the market price for that size machine and your attachments.
And I would totally get the tiller, that'd be a major reason to get the beastie in the first place for me...

Cheers! (Have fun with it! Uber envious! )

 

[Rodent]

The backhoe is going to be super helpful when I start digging holes for the 2023 orchard expansion. We're at a total of 20 new plum, peach, apple, sweet cherry, Pluot, and nectarine trees for this year's effort to expand on the 10ea 20-year old well maintained Rainiers that were on the property when we moved in.

 

[Rodent]

I'm 20 new fruit tree holes on the backhoe, and several other large once-growing things have been dug out and added to a growing burn pile. All of the sod for the new trees was collected into the front loader and carried/dumped in a location where it can dry out and be sifted at a later date for soil reuse.

After another full day of work yesterday, I came into the house wondering how I ever got by without a tractor. was reminded of how long it used to take getting projects done, and sat amazed that we ever finished a project at the former homestead.

The river (spring snow melt runoff) is up so the lower yard is soggy and partially flooded, so it'll be a few weeks before I can finally give the rotary mower it's first outing.

 

[Sailingeric]

If one was to get a tractor...go big..get a Lambo...that way you can say you drive a Lamborghini on the weekends

 

[brewbama]

I have a 2305 with a front end loader, mid mount mower, 32 gal sprayer, aerator, sweeper, and spreader that I tend ~2 acres with.

 

[Rodent]

Finally finished up on the backhoe work and am getting ready to mow the roadside and lower acreage this coming weekend. Rotary mower has replaced the backhoe, and thanks to the added 3"-4" of the iMatch attachment there was no need to trim the PTO shaft

Giving the mower a safety check, checking oil levels, and greasing the U-joints and PTO shaft (adjustable sliding area) tonight before a maiden voyage one night this week.

 

[Rodent]

I would never use an old style rear quick detach. Some guy in Kentucky makes two little parts you can bolt onto the 3-point hitch in about 10 minutes.

I saw these in a video yesterday evening - looks like a great (and significantly less expensive) solution. Too late for me as I already own the iMatch, but something I'll keep in mind if I ever need a 3-point type implement that the iMatch won't work with.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I really like it. The whole business weighs around 10 pounds.

 

[brewbama]

I’ve used Pat’s Quick Hitch for 13 yrs.

 

[Rodent]

I’ve used Pat’s Quick Hitch for 13 yrs.

thank you BB! I know it would be an additional spend for me, but ordering a set of these would allow me a QD option for implements that don't fit with JD's current iMatch design

the QD for PTOs is also quite interesting, though I can't really justify the $ for that system with the few implements I currently own

 

[El Whedo]

I've bought, rebuilt, and sold several Ford 8N's, and one Ford 9N.

I've never had a need to own a tractor, but if I did it would be a 8N without a doubt.

 

[Rodent]

put the tractor to use this past weekend, giving the rotary mower a good break in. Had a couple hours of road repairs to kick off the morning on Sat before I could take the tractor down to the lower yard

here's what I was greeted with upon arriving down below

About 90 minutes into the day I saw my wife waving up above, so I shut down to hear what she was shouting. Hopped back up to discover that the neutral sensor had been knocked loose when I caught something in all that 6' high growth. Given it was getting late, I opted to fix the next day. progress to this point

Stopping also gave me time to mark out the culvert location where I can cross an irrigation drainage ditch.

Got the sensor reconnected and finished up mowing by late afternoon on Sunday. I spent a few hours on Monday weed whacking the river edge, and also clearing along that irrigation drainage ditch. I'll start the other half next weekend

And a view from below just before I headed out

Overall I am well pleased with the tractor. 4WD got me unstuck in one place where it was still a bit marshy, and definitely helped traversing the up/down the primitive and steep in places access roadway. never felt I was lacking power to operate the tractor + PTO mower. Need to do a bit more road repairs and tree limb removal so I have sufficient space in the turnaround spot before I can bring the rotary mower back topside

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I feel like every day I spent living in cities and suburbs was punishment for something.

 

[Agent]

I don't have any beauty shots of the stupid things I've done with my '88 Ford 2110, but I found an action shot of my rusty rig finishing up the second crop of hay two weeks ago.

 

[huckdavidson]

I don't have any beauty shots of the stupid things I've done with my '88 Ford 2110, but I found an action shot of my rusty rig finishing up the second crop of hay two weeks ago.

View attachment 835091

Making them bales heavy?

 

[Agent]

I'm not sure on the physics of it, but the last couple bales in a day sure seem to be the heaviest of the bunch.