Tractor HP

MN guy

Yearling... With promise
Question for you guys- would I be sorry if I go with the 16hp Kubota diesel? Or should I go bigger or different brand? Smaller property, sandy soil. Use will be tilling, digging, moving logs.
 
My lawn tractor only used to mow an acre of grass has more HP than that. Just saying.

Kubota is a real good brand in those little units. Personally would want to have at least 23-25 something HP diesel. You are talking about with a loader correct? Hydrostatic is gonna suck a few HP too compared to gear. If you do any sort of lawn mowing with it, hydro is the way to go
 
My 54” zero turn mower is 23hp.

I can’t imagine what you could possibly use a 16hp tractor for and have it do the job efficiently.
 
Definitely wouldn't want to do any dirt work with something that small. My parents have one of the smallest class kubotas but I think it's a 23hp. Only thing it gets used for is mowing with a belly mower.
 
Kubota diesel is a good brand, but 16 hp will leave you very frustrated with lack of power. I would look at minimum 25 hp. Make sure you get liquid cooled.
 
Question for you guys- would I be sorry if I go with the 16hp Kubota diesel? Or should I go bigger or different brand? Smaller property, sandy soil. Use will be tilling, digging, moving logs.
Other than the "any tractor is better than no tractor" argument, I concur with the other responses that 16hp is too little. For any dirt work you will need a loader. Some of the B series Kubota's had those, and most owners were disappointed in the performance. 16hp will work with a 4' tiller or 4' rotary cutter, but even with those smaller implements, they are marginal.

I had a John Deere 3025E that did all you suggested. It was a great tractor. I could not imagine anything smaller.

Kubota and John Deere are both great brands with access to parts. 25 hp min. would be my recommendation as well, and get one with a factory loader. Buy once-cry once.
 
If your looking for versatility and a tractor that will hold it's value, I'd say you should get at least 25 HP as said by others. Typically it takes about 5 HP per foot of implement width. So a 25+ hp compact tractor is ideal with 5 wide mowers, tillers, disks and such. Smaller implements are somewhat specialized and can cost more than 5 footers.....which is the typical "base size" implements......tho there are now a number of 4 footers for the sub compact tractors (SCUT).

Keep in mind you get more limited in hydraulic lifting capacities and attachments as you get lower HP tractors too. Not sure your budget. My first tractor was a JD 790 with a loader and was 30 hp. It did fine for me.....but it was a gearshift tractor which made using a loader a bit more tricky as well as using my stump grinder due to the lack of "precision placement". It was also on the lower power size for use with the implements I use.....and the lift capacity of the loader was limited.

The first thing you need to do is ask yourself which implements and what sizes would work for what you are doing. (almost) Nobody has ever said they wish they would have bought less tractor power.

In the compact tractor biz.....Kubota and John Deere likely sell 75% of the tractor market and are well-regarded.....but there are other good brands too. Mahindra seems to be selling allot of tractors at reasonable prices.

Go to Tractor By Net and look up reviews on the models that are of interest to you. Good info there most often. Also can check prices at. Tractor House.com. (takes a bit to navigate the site....but it's worth it).
 
Good info. Thanks boys!
 
I would be fine with 16hp if all I was doing was using a mid mount mower on it. No shot that I’d consider any type of ground engagement with that hp. I got up sold from a 3025D to a 3043D and sure glad I did. 99% of the time it’s more HP then I need but man that 1% is worth the few extra bucks.
 
Tractor hp is rated on the pto hp much different than vehicles or riding lawnmower that are engine horsepower. I think you would regret having a Tractor that small. They seem to be more like a toy than a piece of equipment you could actually be productive with. I agree with 356 I would try to getting something in the 3000 size.
 
1947 John Deere A. 18 HP

IMG_0580.jpeg
 
Question for you guys- would I be sorry if I go with the 16hp Kubota diesel? Or should I go bigger or different brand? Smaller property, sandy soil. Use will be tilling, digging, moving logs.




To give an idea on what I'd do, I'd need to know, property size, what size logs and are you talking backhoe digging?
 
Here you can bid on this but going to take more more than $6700!

Actually the description is a good typical setup to keep in mind when comparing equipment.
Screenshot_20240207-082149.png

Another pic showing bolt on bucket goodies and plumbing for grapple?
Screenshot_20240207-084653.png
 
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My grandmother has one of their 16.6hp BX series, and it is only useful for mowing and light garden work. I second the recommendation to go up to the 30ish HP range. And at that size, I would absolutely want 4 wheel drive. We have pretty hard, heavy clay, ground here and even a 30hp 4x4 John Deere with a rotor tiller is barely heavy enough to break ground many years. If you have sand loam, or a lighter soil you can probably get away with the 25hp size.


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I planted 25 acres a year for a long time with a 28 hp jd 790, awd and loader. I run five ft implements - bush hog, tiller, disk. Drug a lot of logs to my mill. The loader is ok for dirt already loose or piled. Poor for actually digging dirt. It is a good rig and use the 20 yr old machine every other day even now - spreading seed and fert, pto sprayer, garden work, tnm in harder to reach areas, etc. I have a 65 hp jd for the bigger, open area work, now
 
Haha. Actually we never had the 47 A. We had a 52 A and a 47 B
IMG_0581.jpeg
Power
Drawbar (claimed)12 hp
8.9 kW
Belt (claimed)16 hp
11.9 kW
Plows2 (10-inch)
Drawbar (tested)11.80 hp
8.8 kW
Belt (tested)16.01 hp
11.9 kW
Performance test details ...
 
Engine hp will be about 10hp higher than what you'll get at the p.t.o. 30hp tractor gives you about 20pto hp.
 
Question for you guys- would I be sorry if I go with the 16hp Kubota diesel? Or should I go bigger or different brand? Smaller property, sandy soil. Use will be tilling, digging, moving logs

Back in the old days it was all about low gearing, as I have digressed. . 😔. The stuff you want to do, you would want to get the biggest you can afford. Especially moving logs and stuff. You won’t regret getting a heavier machine and probably a 30 HP Modern tractor.
 
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I bought a 58 hp tractor and have wished I had gotten bigger from day one. I have never met someone that said I wish I had a smaller horsepower tractor.
 
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