I have said it plenty of times - fortunately, I have a smaller tractor so I can use it. When I bought my last tractor, I had decided to buy a 75 hp tractor. The salesman at the JD dealer asked me what type and size of equipment was I going to run. I said nothing over 8 ft - I cant get down my trail with anything larger. He said a 55 hp 4wd would do everything I wanted to do. He said I might sometimes have some difficulty with an 8 ft bush hog in thick grass. I ended up getting a 7 ft bush hog because I didnt want one with two gearboxes - and a 65 hp tractor. The 75 hp would have truly been a waste of hp. The money I saved bought a 7 ft frontier bush hog, pallet forks, and a sun shade for drivers station. Not one time in 1000 hrs have I wished for a bigger tractor. I do use my 28 hp tractor almost as much as my bigger tractor. There are things the little tractor cant do and things the bigger tractor cant do.
Tractor HP
- Thread starter MN guy
- Start date
PrairieShadow
5 year old buck +
I’m very glad I got a m7060 over the mx5400 I was originally looking at.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Unicorn. Ha
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
I got the mx5400 hst. Wish I had gotten the 70. As opposed to swamp I many many times wish I had more tractor. Honestly more for the stability. I have a lot of hills and it can get a bit dicey. More weight more than anything.
PrairieShadow
5 year old buck +
I bought my gp606nt before I had a tractor for it. I still had to add 1000lbs of weights on the front of the m7060 to be able to steer when I lift the drill.
I wont be able to get my 65 hp jd out of the yard for a month - if it quit raining today - which it is not. I used to plant 25 acres a year with my 28 hp tractor. It can accomplish pretty much everything the big tractor can do - but slower. The bigger tractor can not get around at all in some of the tighter areas and soil conditions have to be much better to use it. I have other property that it is also much easier to get the smaller tractor to.
TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
I suspect your bottomlands will be mostly unworkable now until august
Most of mine are
bill
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
my FEL helps. I’ll often put some seed bags in bucket to not have to come back to barn to keep planting and add weight.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
MN guy,
Tell us a bit more about your land plans? Sandy soil is easy to work. I thought the smallest BX is 18hp ? Are you looking at the old L175/L185's from the 70's or the B series from the 80's?
Far as a small backhoe/bucket, they don't need much horsepower to operate. Hydrostatic drives make up for HP with slower speeds. Where the BX eries needs horsepower is tillage/pto usage/ and HP.
BX can do alot for a landowner. However, you pretty much need to buy new implements. Category zero ones are hard to find. I've owned a 1990;s 45hp and a 2012 32hp L series. Even the 32hp L was underpowered at times. The hydrostatic drive saved it though, could go slow enough with my snowmblower.
I do think any BX series tractor can be more useful than an ATV or UTV far as doing land work. Any UTV / ATV implement can be used on the BX.
What vehicles do you own now? ATV / UTV? Pickup truck? Trailers? Check out your local rental places. Some places have relatively affordable rental rates, because they hit folks with transportation. If you can get the tractor back n forth on your own and buy a implement or two, you can save alot of $$$.
Im sitting here instead of being at work because I ripped a muscle in my abdomen/chest. As we get older, we can't do as much. If there's a good deal on the 16hp one, go for it. IF you can afford a bit more tractor, that would be prefered.
I do about 2.5 acres with an ATV only. We have a few members doing alot of habitatit improvement with just ATV/UTV's. One guy on here just does food plots with a zero turn mower.
Tell us a bit more about your land plans? Sandy soil is easy to work. I thought the smallest BX is 18hp ? Are you looking at the old L175/L185's from the 70's or the B series from the 80's?
Far as a small backhoe/bucket, they don't need much horsepower to operate. Hydrostatic drives make up for HP with slower speeds. Where the BX eries needs horsepower is tillage/pto usage/ and HP.
BX can do alot for a landowner. However, you pretty much need to buy new implements. Category zero ones are hard to find. I've owned a 1990;s 45hp and a 2012 32hp L series. Even the 32hp L was underpowered at times. The hydrostatic drive saved it though, could go slow enough with my snowmblower.
I do think any BX series tractor can be more useful than an ATV or UTV far as doing land work. Any UTV / ATV implement can be used on the BX.
What vehicles do you own now? ATV / UTV? Pickup truck? Trailers? Check out your local rental places. Some places have relatively affordable rental rates, because they hit folks with transportation. If you can get the tractor back n forth on your own and buy a implement or two, you can save alot of $$$.
Im sitting here instead of being at work because I ripped a muscle in my abdomen/chest. As we get older, we can't do as much. If there's a good deal on the 16hp one, go for it. IF you can afford a bit more tractor, that would be prefered.
I do about 2.5 acres with an ATV only. We have a few members doing alot of habitatit improvement with just ATV/UTV's. One guy on here just does food plots with a zero turn mower.
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Since the OP has not said much to clarify, but not sure where thoughts on having a backhoe attachment on this little unit are coming from. But those backhoes are pricey, probably doubling the value on a used tiny little tractor. I would much rather spend money on jumping up to bigger tractor than a sub 20 hp with a backhoe and paying a premium for that. Unless this little tractor is a steal of a deal from some family member or you know the history and basically can sell it with 100% confidence and get money back and move to something else.
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PrairieShadow
5 year old buck +
I’ve got lots of equipment but my zero turn still gets used way beyond its intended purpose.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Have you got your tires loaded? That really helps with stability and ballast for your loader, etc. I've got beet juice in my rears and air in the fronts.
Edit: Also some wheel spacers can reduce the tippy feelings. I think Bora makes good ones.
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omicron1792
5 year old buck +
I do.
My place is just really hilly. Never struggles from a hp status. I just have to stay straight up and down hills.
I cant even take my ranger down there now. By far the worst, slickest mud I have ever seen. I guess five days of frozen ground immediately followed by an eight in rain makes for an unbearable combination.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
I hate that frostline glide. Frozen underneath and an inch of wet slime up top. Awesome time to scratch the top layer of grass for weed control before you frost seed a new spot.
Omicron, Did you flip the wheel for a wider track? L series had that. No matter what you're dirving up a hill, you get that queezy im gonna flip feeling. If you spots you regular up and down, filling those lumps n holes can make a big difference. Some guys remove the whole bucket assembly to make it more stable. I just put it as low as I can.
Totally agree with rocknstumps on the backhoe attraction. With smaller trees you're clearing, I'd just push the whole tree down with the front bucket. Like 4 inch or less ones. Some 6 nch ones depending on how it's in the ground.
USed 3 point backhoes can be found around $2000 range.
The orignial poster was vague on their intentions. If you are putting a home in with habitat work, then the backhoe is more important. Leech field, foundation digging. All depends on how much you want to do.
Brian662
5 year old buck +
Glad I didn't consider (for very long) the 606nt for my mx6000 then!
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
From what I have seen, if you need to do alot of turns while seeding, the tow behind wheel kit does better.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
I think you have that backwards. The tow behind works better on long straight stretches. The 3 point works better with turns because you can pick it up and back up.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Me either. If I can’t pick it up I ain’t using it.
