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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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PNWView
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 5 Banks, Oregon
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-06-09          112107


Hi Folks - based on inputs from a range of forums, good local dealership support (my "estate" neighbors have New Hollands; the real farmers here use Ford, Case, Massey, and JD), reasonable price I've decided to go Boomer Blue.

I have a size and use question to bounce off the old-hands here.

First, the background:
The land size is 17+ acres. About 7 of that is on slopes too steep for a tractor; the rest is "varied" and of timber use origin. I say origin, because the land was clear-cut in the early 90s, sold, had my house put on it, and allowed to get to mostly volunteer timber, scotch broom, and blackberry before my family and I moved in last summer. Oh, and about 50% of the "varied" land is populated by big stumps and slash. Driveway with about 150ft drop in 1/3 mile - it will need annual work, as the past winter showed us.

Current state: I took the advice offered by several tractor-centric websites, and have had a pro-clearing team come in and do the initial land clearling/road repair. Cool to see what one large and one VERY large pair of Bulldozers + a 120HP TracHoe w/grappler can do to clean up a bit.

Planned use: "estate" like - we are not going to make our living on this land, but will like to love being here by keeping everything well maintained. The spaces reclaimed from scotch broom-yuck will go to pasture and timber and 'small' garden. I won't need better than a brush hog for the grass (around the house-yard I'll use a ZTR rider).

My concern: the land remains pretty 'stick-filled' and surprisingly rocky ('soft' shale type chunks in clay/loam soil). The local dealer has a very good rep, and treated me well (even though I am all wet behind the ears) - he recommends a 33DA, 14L loader, Landpride hog, box scrapper, and tiller [total package priced out at 23.6k - not a bargin deal, but the dealer was very straight with me and said this was not a discounted price. I'm okay with a good dealer making a living, as long as I get good service, and he has a rep for good service]. I've seen plenty of comments from OneAce and other old hands here suggesting real careful thought on 33D vs 40D - is the 33D up to the rocky-ness and heaviness of the soil? If you got this far, hope I didn't bore you too much with my issues. If you have some feedback, thank you in advance.

Bruce in Banks




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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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BillMullens
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 649 Central West Virginia
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2005-06-09          112109


If you're not going to be using the tractor for mowing the lawn, or other uses where a smaller physical size is desirable, I would go with at least the TC40 or TC45. I use a TC29 for mowing my 4-ac lawn, and also for small garden plots and brush hogging. It is adequate for light to medium work, but too small and under-powered for heavy stuff. It really gets worked hard in brush hogging heavy field grass, and tilling is slow. Plows pretty well as long as the 4wd is used and a reasonably slow speed is maintained.

My TC is probably the most practical tractor I have; but after brush hogging with an old Ford 801 (~50 hp gas engine) I appreciate the advantages of more power and weight.


Good luck,
Bill ....


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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2005-06-09          112117


Hi neighbor, I live in Banks too.

If you want to pull a medium duty 6' brush hog around here you need 35 hp at a minimum. If a 5' hog works for you the TC33 should do the job. Tires are a big issue. I can say from experience that R4 tires stink in the clay soil around here, wet OR dry. You need R1 ag tires. But they will leave deep tracks when wet, which is most of the time. So you will have to plan paths where you can drive to and from the fields without driving over your lawn. Graveled trails work for this and look fine when integrated into the landscape.

There are two threads in the archives about my R4 experiences. If interested, search on the subject lines "I hate my R4s".

Oh yeah, good luck on the blackberry and scotch broom. Scotch broom seeds last in the soil for 60 years or so and they will pop up every year. Round-up (glyphosate) browns them for a year but they will be back. Crossbow (2,4D with Triptophan (sp?)) is what the forest managers recommend. ....


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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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oneace
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1490 south central pa
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2005-06-09          112135


I would recommend the larger unit at least the TC40. I would also recommend ag's as well. They seem to do bet as stated before in clay and rocky soil. The price that you were quoted for the 33 package is not too out there if you keep in mind that Land Pride is near the top of the price chain. ....


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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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BillMullens
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 649 Central West Virginia
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2005-06-09          112148


I agree on the ag tires.

I've had a chance to work side-by-side with a TC40 (std trans) and me on my TC29 (also std shift) in some knee to hip deep field cutting. The 40 performed much better, though it still wouldn't hang with an old MF 135 that was working, too.

Good luck,
Bill ....


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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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PNWView
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 5 Banks, Oregon
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-06-10          112156


Bill, Oneace, KWS - thank you for your inputs. I'll have a discussion with the dealer tomorrow. HP aside (the consensus on the board points to 40), the comments on the R1 vs R4 tires are especially welcome, as two different folks at the dealer said different things. One - R1, the other, R4. The R4 comments came with a rationale along the lines "won't scar up the ground like an R1 will, are heavier, so balance out the R1 traction-profile advantage"...surprised me a bit. I will be checking out the "I hate my R4s" thread KW! I really like the gravel path suggestion - thanks to you all on the tire point alone. Back to HP...one neighbor has a TC30, and for what they are doing (hogging, loading-digging) their comment was "a little under powered for what we want to do".

Hmmm, Oneace or Brokenarrow or other dealer-aware reader - if you are up to it, I'd be interested in a ball-park (very round numbers) newprice compare on two packages
- 33DA, 14L loader, R1s+Ca solution, Landpride cutter (RCR18-60), LP boxscraper (BB15-60), LP tiller (RTA15-58)
vs
- 40DA, 16L loader, R1s+Ca solution, LP cutter (RCR18-72), LP boxscraper (BB15-72), LP tiller (RTA20-72)

overall - I appreciate the help. ....


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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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PNWView
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 5 Banks, Oregon
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2005-06-12          112271


Ken, Bill, Oneace - thanks for you comments. The landscape pro's doing the scotch broom/slash clearing had a few farmers in the bunch (formerly of Indiana and one fellow currently in McMinnville) and some choice comments, as they were looking at the land I would be working. Unanimous - R1s, more power. The 40DA with R1s will be showing up late next week! I have to say, BrokenArrow's love of his TC40 was also a motivator. Thanks all. ....


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new tractor purchase - size question - terrain and use

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tw-20ford
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 20 yankton
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2005-06-20          112595


We have a 29d but it seems like you need bigger. I would see you go with a 40d fwa. Make sure you get idustrial tires. good luck, robb ....


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