Tractor Recommendations for a Novice!

[winchester]

After 10 years of being a land owner – I am going to have to face facts and admit to buying a tractor!

I am at a stage where my husqvana lawn mower breaks nearly every time I use it for working it to hard and rolling bales of hay though the mud/snow in the Winter is just getting a little to much for me!

Ideally I am looking for something that can top my 10 acres of fields, horrow and roll them, roll my school, and if possible move a big round bale of hay (i think big round bale of haylage would be asking too much)!

Any recommendations – or am I asking the impossible?

 

[Rowreach]

So are you looking for a mini tractor (which might not really be man enough for the field work but would be okay in the arena) or a real tractor which would be great for the field work but you wouldn't be able to harrow the arena with it?

I'm a huge fan of Zetors, as they are cheap and cheerful to buy, do a very good job and are easy to maintain. My first one was bought almost new in 1983 and I had it 21 years. Should have kept it really but traded it in for another nearly new one which I've now had 8 years and I love it. The "proper" farmers round here laugh at me but it does all I need and more. Both mine have had front end loaders which have been invaluable.

Personally I'd go for a real tractor and find some other way of doing the arena - maybe still using your mower or your car?

 

[martlin]

It depends how big is the arena
you could go for the middle ground, small real tractor. I haven't got a particular recommendation for you, horses for courses and all that. The farmers around us seem to get on with New Hollands, but it might have something to do with a dealership being just down the road
A smallholder tractor, a David Brown or a well looked after Fergie?

 

[Rowreach]

lol I was imagining a fairly normal sized arena

 

[martlin]

mine is 45 x 65 m and although apparently it looks scary, I have it harrowed, power harrowed and rolled with one of these:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?num=...79&start=42&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:42,i:218

 

[Rowreach]

Don't you leave big tracks on the corners? What's the surface?

 

[Mike007]

I would say the best tractor for stable work is an old MF 135 with a loader. Powerful enough for anything you want to do, easy to drive ,compact,all parts are still available,easy and cheap to service .Never goes wrong.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

akin to the MF135 with loader, we use a 1976 John Deere 2030 with loader, 75hp, which is enough to do all the jobs you mention and more. Anything under 50hp could struggle if you want to use a full sized loader or full sized standard implements (minatureised ones would be fine of course with a smaller tractor but they are proportionately more expensive to buy and fix).

If you are moving big round bales of hay and dont always want to have to use a trailer, you ideally need a small standard tractor like those above. Get an old but not 'classic/vintage one' and you wont pay too much for it, prob no more than for a 'compact' tractor. Dont get a little grey Fergie tho (Ferguson) as some are too early to have a 3 point linkage and they are favoured by collectors so price is inflated.

Edited to add, if you have grass tyres not plough tyres on the tractor they can be quite light on the ground. TBH the moving bales/topping etc says standard tractor, the 'corners of the manege' suggests compact. Might have to decide which is the priority tho both tractor types will do both jobs. You can always level the manege with a 4x4 pulling a gate/leveller ))

 

[martlin]

Don't you leave big tracks on the corners? What's the surface?

The surface is sand and no, I don't leave tracks in corners as we use a power harrow, pto driven, obviously, so you turn, then back up, drop the harrow and away you go. I also don't have corners, well, I do, but they are rounded... sort of, oh, well, I know what I mean, lol
The tractor is not mine, that would be quite an overspend for the 40 odd acres we have, but my kind neighbour trusts my driving skills, poor bloke, so is happy to lend. He would lend me something more conveniently sized, but it's the smallest he can offer.

 

[agsam27]

I love MF 135, live forever tractors, but because they are a popular choice means they can be scarce or abit pricey. My father in law recently aquired a little Zetor tractor, which is ideal for any of my horsey field work etc (plus they have a better cab lol). all the farm workers laugh at me as they are in there massive tractors in the farm yard and im in my little zetor bouncing around. If you can get a tractor with a front loader type fix is really handy for pushing muck heaps up etc. i wanted a one but father in law said i would have to put up with the stupidly massive JCB loader!

 

[Shazzababs]

We've got a Siromer Tractor (http://www.siromer.net/), the 35hp one. We've had it for 10 years now and it still looks good (barn stored!)

Its got front and back hydraulics and CAT1 3 point linkage. Its been really great. We have 4 acres on the side of a hill and we started with just a front loader, topper and grass harrow, but I've acquired a number of attachments for it (mostly off ebay) over the years to do other things. Would love a hedge cutter, but its not going to happen!

However whatever you buy you will need to find yourself a friendly tractor expert to help you with all the gotchas in running the thing. Some of our head scratching moments where our long suffering 'expert' neighbour has been fantastic have been:

How to connect & engage the PTO on the topper so it actually spins the blade ..it looked so simple in the instructions...
How to change the sheer bolts when you try and top a rock\large branch
Why doesn't it go, I ran out of fuel but I've put some in now ...This one was not easy to fix, so I recommend you try not to run out of fuel!

 

[jrp204]

MF 135's are making mega money, some of the International's are good little tractors IH584 or Ford 4100's.

 

[Mike007]

MF 135's are making mega money, some of the International's are good little tractors IH584 or Ford 4100's.

Yes but they do hold their value. Internationals are less user friendly and less manoeverable though they will still do the job. Ford tractors of the same sort of vintage ,eg the ford 4000 had design faults with the engine (porous block) and are best avoided.

 

[TTK]

I've just bought a restored 1963 MF 35X to top, harrow, etc. It's a nice bit of kit. Was recommended to me by a tractor mechanic as the best to buy as easy to maintain, parts widely available & cheap. The tractors themselves are not cheap but will hold their value. Cheaper than a Fergie though. I am told Zetors have electrical problems and Dextas are a pig to start & John Deeres are great but a bit overpriced. Good luck with your hunt.

 

[Britestar]

I have a Stockman Tractor. Its a bit bigger than a mini tractor. It does everything. Harrows the field (no arena here), tops witha mower and it can move a big bale of haylage with no problems.

We also use it with the back bucket to clear the drive of snow when needed.

The only thing a don't have for it is a front loader to shift the muckheap (it cost nearly the same price as the tractor itself!).

There are other brands that are virtually the same.

 

[Mike007]

I've just bought a restored 1963 MF 35X to top, harrow, etc. It's a nice bit of kit. Was recommended to me by a tractor mechanic as the best to buy as easy to maintain, parts widely available & cheap. The tractors themselves are not cheap but will hold their value. Cheaper than a Fergie though. I am told Zetors have electrical problems and Dextas are a pig to start & John Deeres are great but a bit overpriced. Good luck with your hunt.

MF 35 s are good but the 4 cylinder versions can be absolute bastards to start .

 

[JanetGeorge]

Just DON'T touch a Chinese tractor. I'm sure SOMEONE has had a good experience with them - but I haven't met one yet! I've had two - one I got rid of and I'm seriously contemplating pushing the other one into the river! That one I've had from brand new and it started going wrong the 2nd day I had it - and hasn't stopped going wrong since.

On the other hand, I bought a 2nd hand Kubota - 45 HP - with front loader - and it is worth its weight in gold. ALWAYS starts, does the jobs I want, easy and pleasant to drive etc.

 

[marmalade76]

I'd also recommend a vintage one, even I can manage one of those. My fave is the Dexta (never any trouble to start) but hubby has just sold it :'(

 

[Dry Rot]

Another fan for the MF135. Had mine for over 20 years and never any major problems. Always starts first time and uses very little fuel. I've always fancied a little grey one too, but I mustn't yield to the collecting bug!

I wouldn't worry about not having a front loader. Lots can be done with a tractor (or even a quad) with a long rope. I can load big bales into trailers, even a hay rack, without a loader. Just drag the bale to where it's needed, put the brake on the trailer, rope over the front, and drag the bale up the ramp! Simples!

I bought some big bales off the field last year and loaded them onto the Landrover trailer this way. The farmer is still convinced I'm Mr Muscles and rolled them up the ramp myself!

 

[miller]

We have iseki to do exactly what you want and it's never missed a beat, friend has more expensive siromer which again has been fine for last 6 years

 

[elbee]

My OH is the tractor expert in our household but I do know that if you want to keep it undercover be aware that the one's with tall exhausts can make that tricky unless you have a very high barn. We just cover it with a tarpaulin though which works fine. We have a vintage Ford 4100 which has been brilliant. It's used mainly for topping and harrowing our 10 acres.