Go BottomWhat tractor for oranges
 | Joe Radon
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3 St. Cloud Florida 
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2002-04-08 37178
I have just moved to my new house on 15 acres. Have never owned a tractor and am looking for advise. 10 acres are orange grove. I wish to mow the rows, fertilize, spray and pull out trees as needed. 5 acres are open, about 1 acre is sodded or seeded and I will maintain it with a MTD riding mower. The other 4 acres needs to be leveled and bush-hogged. I would like a front loader, bush hog and boxblade. I probably will buy new and plan to keep the tractor for life.I appreciate any inputs.
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| green jeans
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-04-08 37190
Joe,
You came to the right place for advice, I will expect there to be 10 replies in about 24 hrs so be prepared to read.
Your first conceren should be the size of your barn door. If there is no barn or you are planning on remodeling you can forget this statement.
the second concern is time. How much time do you have to do the work.
the third conmcern is money. get as abig as you can afford (as long as it fits in the barn)
Point to ponder:
You can do lots of small work with a big tractor, and if the work gets too small, it probably isn't that hard to do by hand. But a smalll tractor will only pull what it can. You can slow down, but traction is the key.
when in doubt, get the big one. I might suggest a John Deere 4500/4510 and a 460 loader. This size is compact yet powerfull.
Now...lets here it from all the blue and orange fans...The floor is yours. ....
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| joe radon
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-04-09 37213
Thanks greenjeans. I also forgot to ask for backhoe advise ....
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| JohnS
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-04-09 37215
Also consider mowing under the orange trees in the max size tractor calculation. If you are on near flat ground (sounds like it), and you can live with yourself avoiding the safety requirements, you might consider a folding ROPS, to prevent snaring branches when tight under trees. Just a thought.
JohnS ....
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| bigbukhntr
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 56 flower mound, texas
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2002-04-10 37247
yes , think about your time, and if u have plenty of time to work on the tractor or take it back to the dealer when it breaks down, then by all means consider the green ones, but if u would rather just turn the key and start working, then orange is the way to go...J/K greenjeans!!!
actually, if u are gonna buy new, than any of the big 3 should last u forever...main consideration is size and ease of use...folding ROPS is a definate if u are going around lots of trees, prob a belley mower for only 5 acres, HST transmission for ease of use and letting wife/kids drive it while u do something else, unless u just want a really big tractor, something along the B7500 size w/ FEL should just about do u...B7500/FEL/MMM/5'Boxblade/ 16'Trailer can be had in dallas area for bout $12,500... ....
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| Jim on Timberridge
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 172 La Crosse WI
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2002-04-11 37312
have you considered the embarrassment of not being able to find your tractor when parked out in the grove if you bought a Kubota?
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| joe radon
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-04-12 37334
Good reply Jim. However, it would be harder to find the green tractor since there are more green leaves than orange oranges on the tree. Maybe the blue one would be better. ....
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| Jim on Timberridge
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 172 La Crosse WI
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2002-04-12 37350
Ah, but....
Green owners wouldn't even think of leaving their babies out in the grove. in fact mine has occupied half of the garage all winter, while my car sat forelorn in the drivway.
jim ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2002-04-13 37371
Guess I'm coming into this thread pretty late, but I had a thought. I might be good to start with the work and time it takes and then work backward to the tractor.
I've started thinking in terms of trying to get implement widths that divide evenly into the widths of what I'm working. In terms of tractors and oranges, I'd say that a good approach might be to think of how wide a swath needs to be mowed between the rows. For example, if 12' needed to be mowed, then a 6' mower would be good because the mowing could be done in two passes along each row. A narrower mower would take three passes, which would waste time, and a wider mower may need a bigger tractor.
Of course trying to mow without any overlap between passes would require precision steering and also take a bunch of time. Maybe an example of 11'6" swaths would be better.
It might be easier to figure out the best implement widths for the work and then look for a tractor within the recommended power ranges for the implements.
....
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| lbrown59
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2004-10-02 97544
ORANGE
lol ....
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 | Archdean
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 279 Oklahoma
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2004-10-02 97546
I got a real kick out of this thread!
But no pics so far! BAWAHAW
Here you go!
Dean
....
Picture Link
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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2004-10-02 97548
If you are concerned with a smaller footprint; I would suggest a John Deere 4115 with a folding ROPS which will provide good hp for rotary cutting and most other tasks but may fall short pulling out trees of any size. If you can go larger, I would suggest the John Deere 4310 or 4410 with eHydro and folding ROPS and 430 loader. Just stay away from the back blading with these compact tractors and you should not have any problems. ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2004-10-11 98066
If you plan to use a back blade then your ultimate goal should also be a tractor with draft control. Tom, you left some good points that are right on as far as getting the work but you have to figure some overlap on the mowing or most any job! I've had people that had it figured out that they wanted a 26" snowblower to even out the number of trips on the driveway. After overlap consideration they bought a 30". ....
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| tjkadar
Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 2 Sumter, SC
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2005-02-20 106484
Another option might be an Antonio Carraro tractor. The TC 5400 or TC 8400 could be a pretty good fit for your needs. Both tractors are powered by a Detriot Diesel 3 cylinder motor, with the 8400 being turbocharged. The 5400 is rated at 48 HP while the 8400 is rated at 68 HP (both at 2600 rpm). The low profile design of this Italian built tractor is perfect for working under tree braches, yet it can still deliver a significant amount of grunt for heavy chores.
You can equip the tractors with either a Roda or Sigma FEL. The tractors are MFWD, have 16 forward and 16 reverse speeds, and an independent PTO with electrohydraulic engagement. They pack a lot of features and power in a physically small package.
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Link: Antonio Carraro Tractors
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 | AnnBrush
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 463 Troy OH
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2005-02-20 106495
Anyone think 68hp would be a tad excessive for general work on this property? ....
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| tjkadar
Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 2 Sumter, SC
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2005-02-20 106497
Depends on the size of the trees he intends on pulling out and the equipment he uses to do it. The cost difference between the TC 5400 and the TC 8400 is about $1,400. Doesn't hurt to look at both tractors when you consider small price increase from one to another.
In addition, both tractors are physically the same size so the extra HP doesn't come with a big step up in bulk. However, judging from the original date of the post, the issue is probably moot.
There is never such thing as too much horsepower. ;) ....
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| Archdean
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 279 Oklahoma
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2005-02-20 106501
Joe,
I couldn't help but notice that I have not a clue where you are!~!
My recommendation is for you to Check out both Kubota Narrow Tractors and the New Heavy Hitter from England.. [McCormick], I work for a dealer who handles both and while we are into the large McCormicks 100 HP and above here in Oklahoma my brother just bought a smaller one 50 HP (narrow) to use in his upstate NY apple orchard and he loves it!!
I don't mind admitting if I had the acreage I would own a 4x4 McCormick they are appointed out like a Lincoln and they sound so good!!! And what a pleasure to deliver to a new buyer!!! The smiles just don't quit!!!
Dean ....
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 | jwngej
Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 53 Wisconsin
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2005-02-20 106504
Check this out, you just might go red...http://www.mahindrausa.com ....
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