Small Farm Equipment Recommendations

[AlbergSteve]

I assume this is a type of attachment you can only use with an excavator type vehicle. Perhaps I will rent one when needed. The soil here is crap and there is a lot of rock under it, so an Auger might not even help in the long run.

It's a standard plate packer for that machine with a six inch ring welded to the forward edge of the plate. Fencing guys will have a dedicated one for their machine, excavator guys will some times tack weld a temporary ring to an existing packer for a one off job. We've got rocky soil here as well, the post just pushes them out of the way.

 

[jaoneill]

My $.02; as generally agreed above a 40ish hp tractor is still small enough to be "handy" but should do all you need it to do comfortably. You will find a side x side UTV invaluable. FWIW, I have a basic 16hp sidexside Simplicity Trail Cruiser that has served me well for 10 years or so, similar in size and capacities to a Ranger, will carry about 1/4 cord of wood +/-. My brother, on an adjoining farm, has a Kabuta that is also very similar size and weight wise. Either of these machines are quite adequate except for one issue that my bro doesn't seem to mind, but to me is critical. When the ground is the least bit soft they will leave a muddy rutty mess. It is probably due primarily to tire size. Both of these machines (and most on the market today) come from the factory with 22.5x8" to 10" wide tires. If I were you, I would look for a machine that has enough clearance to utilize 12" to 14" wide rubber. I also have a JD Gator 6x4 that has 25x13" wide rubber. Where it's a bit soft, either of the smaller machines require locking in the 4 wheel drive, and will make a muddy, rutty mess of things, the gator will barely leave a tread mark.

 

[SpaceBus]

My $.02; as generally agreed above a 40ish hp tractor is still small enough to be "handy" but should do all you need it to do comfortably. You will find a side x side UTV invaluable. FWIW, I have a basic 16hp sidexside Simplicity Trail Cruiser that has served me well for 10 years or so, similar in size and capacities to a Ranger, will carry about 1/4 cord of wood +/-. My brother, on an adjoining farm, has a Kabuta that is also very similar size and weight wise. Either of these machines are quite adequate except for one issue that my bro doesn't seem to mind, but to me is critical. When the ground is the least bit soft they will leave a muddy rutty mess. It is probably due primarily to tire size. Both of these machines (and most on the market today) come from the factory with 22.5x8" to 10" wide tires. If I were you, I would look for a machine that has enough clearance to utilize 12" to 14" wide rubber. I also have a JD Gator 6x4 that has 25x13" wide rubber. Where it's a bit soft, either of the smaller machines require locking in the 4 wheel drive, and will make a muddy, rutty mess of things, the gator will barely leave a tread mark.

I've got my eye on the Honda Pioneer 500 with a cargo tray and some doors, roof, etc. They start at $9 grand without a windshield or roof with just a luggage rack, but it can carry 450 lbs and tow 1000 lbs. The narrow 50" width will be awesome in our tight trees.

 

[jaoneill]

I've got my eye on the Honda Pioneer 500 with a cargo tray and some doors, roof, etc. They start at $9 grand without a windshield or roof with just a luggage rack, but it can carry 450 lbs and tow 1000 lbs. The narrow 50" width will be awesome in our tight trees.

Nifty machine but, as I noted above, the tire size is a limiting factor spring and fall on soft ground unless you don't care about rutting things up.

 

[SpaceBus]

Nifty machine but, as I noted above, the tire size is a limiting factor spring and fall on soft ground unless you don't care about rutting things up.

I should have said so, but it has 24x12 from the factory, so they shouldn't destroy the grass. We don't have soft turf or anything like that, just wild grass.

 

[jaoneill]

I should have said so, but it has 24x12 from the factory, so they shouldn't destroy the grass. We don't have soft turf or anything like that, just wild grass.

On line specs indicate 24x8 fronts, 24x10 rears; your dealer probably ordered them with the wider tires. My concern here is not so much with grassy areas but woods trails where it eventually ends up being just dirt. Since most of our soils contain a fair amount of clay these trails can get muddy in a hurry.

 

[salecker]

Get one of these,sell for $6000 canadien and can be driven on the street.I can haul 1/3 cord spruce.I was on a trip with 15 4 wheelers and 7 side bu sides and had no trouble keeping up and going through mud and bush with them.
It was a rainy day i was dry listening to my cd's.I run ATV tiresn it for the bush and it also came with ATV tracks which bolt right on.
I bought mine with ATV tires,street tires and the tracks for $4000 candaien.

 

[SpaceBus]

Get one of these,sell for $6000 canadien and can be driven on the street.I can haul 1/3 cord spruce.I was on a trip with 15 4 wheelers and 7 side bu sides and had no trouble keeping up and going through mud and bush with them.
It was a rainy day i was dry listening to my cd's.I run ATV tiresn it for the bush and it also came with ATV tracks which bolt right on.
I bought mine with ATV tires,street tires and the tracks for $4000 candaien.View attachment 238056 View attachment 238057 View attachment 238058

I totally forgot about Kei Trucks! That's a smart idea. I'm not too familiar with the way Maine vehicle registration works, so I would have to look into that more. Back in NC it's pretty easy if it's 1995 or older (OBD 1).

On line specs indicate 24x8 fronts, 24x10 rears; your dealer probably ordered them with the wider tires. My concern here is not so much with grassy areas but woods trails where it eventually ends up being just dirt. Since most of our soils contain a fair amount of clay these trails can get muddy in a hurry.

I'll have to research this a little deeper apparently. I've seen on forums guys are running 26" tall tires. Ideally I'd like to keep the overall narrow width for easier navigation, but yeah, that will destroy the soil. I guess I've got a lot more reading to do. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jaoneill]

Get one of these,sell for $6000 canadien and can be driven on the street.I can haul 1/3 cord spruce.I was on a trip with 15 4 wheelers and 7 side bu sides and had no trouble keeping up and going through mud and bush with them.
It was a rainy day i was dry listening to my cd's.I run ATV tiresn it for the bush and it also came with ATV tracks which bolt right on.
I bought mine with ATV tires,street tires and the tracks for $4000 candaien.View attachment 238056 View attachment 238057 View attachment 238058

There was a shop here locally that sold those a while back (used), plain stock units small tires etc, some with dump beds, not street legal here in ny due to lack of emission crap, steering wheels were on the right, but only $2000-$2,500....

 

[jaoneill]

I totally forgot about Kei Trucks! That's a smart idea. I'm not too familiar with the way Maine vehicle registration works, so I would have to look into that more. Back in NC it's pretty easy if it's 1995 or older (OBD 1).



I'll have to research this a little deeper apparently. I've seen on forums guys are running 26" tall tires. Ideally I'd like to keep the overall narrow width for easier navigation, but yeah, that will destroy the soil. I guess I've got a lot more reading to do. Thanks for the heads up.

Tall helps but combined with width makes all the difference. Look at the tires on the gator as compared to the ones on a pic of the Pioneer. (PS - fronts are 22.5x10, rears are 25.5x13)

 

[Snagdaddy]

Whatever your health challenge is, there are natural food based solutions to restore your health. Here are some links to get you started.

https://www.naturalnews.com

http://brightsideben.com/

This is a video site with health information and some of the news sites deplatformed from youtube
https://www.brighteon.com/

 

[Snagdaddy]

I bought pallet forks off ebay years ago and really like them. They attach to any tractor bucket. They are great for moving brush piles and lifting logs for cutting and transport. Just type "pallet forks" into ebay and pick from a long list most are around 100 dollars.

 

[SpaceBus]

Whatever your health challenge is, there are natural food based solutions to restore your health. Here are some links to get you started.

https://www.naturalnews.com

http://brightsideben.com/

This is a video site with health information and some of the news sites deplatformed from youtube
https://www.brighteon.com/

I do strongly agree with what you are saying, but Western medicine absolutely saved my life. For the last several years my wife and I have been cleaning up our diet and getting our bodies right, but there's only so much you can do. I was, and still am being, studied by the National Institute of Health, and they still couldn't fix me. Something has altered my body's chemistry to tag my blood platelets for destruction.

 

[Montanalocal]

Whatever your health challenge is, there are natural food based solutions to restore your health. Here are some links to get you started.

https://www.naturalnews.com

http://brightsideben.com/

This is a video site with health information and some of the news sites deplatformed from youtube
https://www.brighteon.com/

The best health information is at Life Extension Foundation.

https://www.lifeextension.com

 

[Mike.O]

GF's father owns an excavation company. When I was shopping, said stay away from Kioti. Pumps and hydraulics are of much less quality than others.... Kubota is what I wound up going with. Kubota and Deere are the king of the compact tractor world. Mahindra is great also. You get what ya pay for.

These tractors don't really need to go to a shop. If you can do the fluid/filter service and some basics, the concern of having to take it in to a shop once in a ten year span is insignificant. It's only 2 hours, not even more than a half a day job. To sacrifice a few 4 hour round trips vs. 20 years of happy tractoring is well worth it. IMO, that is a very poor reason for settling on a brand because the dealer is close. Bought mine new from over 1000 miles away.

A tractor is one of the best tools you can have. The things you can do are endless.

On a side note, I'm also 27. From our common interest in wood stoves, tractors and land, it's cool to see other younger people into that stuff.

 

[Bad LP]

GF's father owns an excavation company. When I was shopping, said stay away from Kioti. Pumps and hydraulics are of much less quality than others.... Kubota is what I wound up going with. Kubota and Deere are the king of the compact tractor world. Mahindra is great also. You get what ya pay for.

These tractors don't really need to go to a shop. If you can do the fluid/filter service and some basics, the concern of having to take it in to a shop once in a ten year span is insignificant. It's only 2 hours, not even more than a half a day job. To sacrifice a few 4 hour round trips vs. 20 years of happy tractoring is well worth it. IMO, that is a very poor reason for settling on a brand because the dealer is close. Bought mine new from over 1000 miles away.

A tractor is one of the best tools you can have. The things you can do are endless.

On a side note, I'm also 27. From our common interest in wood stoves, tractors and land, it's cool to see other younger people into that stuff.

A lot of the newer stuff is computer controlled and very difficult to work on without the software. Not saying it can't be done it's just difficult.

 

[SpaceBus]

GF's father owns an excavation company. When I was shopping, said stay away from Kioti. Pumps and hydraulics are of much less quality than others.... Kubota is what I wound up going with. Kubota and Deere are the king of the compact tractor world. Mahindra is great also. You get what ya pay for.

These tractors don't really need to go to a shop. If you can do the fluid/filter service and some basics, the concern of having to take it in to a shop once in a ten year span is insignificant. It's only 2 hours, not even more than a half a day job. To sacrifice a few 4 hour round trips vs. 20 years of happy tractoring is well worth it. IMO, that is a very poor reason for settling on a brand because the dealer is close. Bought mine new from over 1000 miles away.

A tractor is one of the best tools you can have. The things you can do are endless.

On a side note, I'm also 27. From our common interest in wood stoves, tractors and land, it's cool to see other younger people into that stuff.

Kubota and Kioti are my short list, but leaning towards the Kioti. I'm sure the Kubota is superior, but I'm disabled and I'll be relying on this tractor. Having a dealer within ten minutes is a huge bonus. If I lived nearer to a Kubota dealer, it would be a different story. After having to drive over two hours to the emergency room to avoid dying, I have a new appreciation for drive times.

 

[SpaceBus]

A lot of the newer stuff is computer controlled and very difficult to work on without the software. Not saying it can't be done it's just difficult.

This is why I won't do a Deere. They have locked the owner out of just about everything now.

 

[jaoneill]

Kubota and Kioti are my short list, but leaning towards the Kioti. I'm sure the Kubota is superior, but I'm disabled and I'll be relying on this tractor. Having a dealer within ten minutes is a huge bonus. If I lived nearer to a Kubota dealer, it would be a different story. After having to drive over two hours to the emergency room to avoid dying, I have a new appreciation for drive times.

I hadn't heard about Kioti having hydraulic issues but we have a Mahindra with just under two thousand hours on the clock that is on its third hydraulic pump and spun a rod bearing last year. Partial rebuild set us back almost $5k in parts; we rebuilt a Ford with eight thousand hours on it the year before and the complete parts kit was $2K.

 

[SpaceBus]

If I could do the work myself, then I wouldn't be so partial to the Kioti tractors. Originally my plan was to retire out of the Army after 20 years and open my own repair shop, but that's not happening now. My main hobby was racing and working on cars, now it's going to be driving a tractor around my property. It could be much worse!

 

[TreePointer]

My main hobby was racing and working on cars....

If you worked on cars, you should have most of the tools and a lot of the knowledge that you need for a tractor. I will add that frequently using tractor implements (and ground engaging implements in particular) means learning how to weld or knowing a welder that has time for your repairs. Welders have been in short supply since the natural gas boom occurred in our region over a decade ago, so I learned to do my own welding. Just a heads up on a possible need down the road.

 

[SpaceBus]

If you worked on cars, you should have most of the tools and a lot of the knowledge that you need for a tractor. I will add that frequently using tractor implements (and ground engaging implements in particular) means learning how to weld or knowing a welder that has time for your repairs. Welders have been in short supply since the natural gas boom occurred in our region over a decade ago, so I learned to do my own welding. Just a heads up on a possible need down the road.

Well, I don't really have many tools, because the military had a great service called the Skill Shop. All I had to do was show up with my parts and pay $8/hr and the shop provided a lift and tools, first come first serve of course. I do plan on building up my own set of tools, but my disability keeps me from doing too much hard labor. I do miss slinging wrenches in my off time though.

 

[Kiotick4010]

I traded in my John Deere skid steer for a Kioti CK 4010 SE with a hydrostatic transmission. It's a 40 hp tractor with a cab and front mounted snowblower and a box blade on the rear. Also has a loader for use in the summer.

It’s only a year old, with a little under 100 hours, but I am pleased with it so far. No real issues, and the dealer has been great, and is five minutes from the house.

I considered the Deere and Kubota, but the Deere was a smaller, less capable tractor, at a higher price, and the Kubota dealer was 120 miles away and out of business (temporarily) became of a divorce.

For a small tractor, the hat is best if you are considering a snowblower or for loader work. It’s also great in confined areas and around the yard.

I would buy another Kioti tractor in a heartbeat.

Just remember that a compact tractor isn’t a piece of construction equipment. In retrospect, I wish I had kept my skid steer for heavy dirt work and fork work.

I also have a sxs, a Kawasaki Teryx 800, that we use around the house and for trail riding. The dump bed is useful, but the differential doesn’t have a turf mode, so it tears up the yard.

I will probably go with the Polaris Ranger when the time comes.

Honda side by sides don’t seem to be popular around here, for some reason.

 

[SpaceBus]

I traded in my John Deere skid steer for a Kioti CK 4010 SE with a hydrostatic transmission. It's a 40 hp tractor with a cab and front mounted snowblower and a box blade on the rear. Also has a loader for use in the summer.

It’s only a year old, with a little under 100 hours, but I am pleased with it so far. No real issues, and the dealer has been great, and is five minutes from the house.

I considered the Deere and Kubota, but the Deere was a smaller, less capable tractor, at a higher price, and the Kubota dealer was 120 miles away and out of business (temporarily) became of a divorce.

For a small tractor, the hat is best if you are considering a snowblower or for loader work. It’s also great in confined areas and around the yard.

I would buy another Kioti tractor in a heartbeat.

Just remember that a compact tractor isn’t a piece of construction equipment. In retrospect, I wish I had kept my skid steer for heavy dirt work and fork work.

I also have a sxs, a Kawasaki Teryx 800, that we use around the house and for trail riding. The dump bed is useful, but the differential doesn’t have a turf mode, so it tears up the yard.

I will probably go with the Polaris Ranger when the time comes.

Honda side by sides don’t seem to be popular around here, for some reason.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Kioti isn't exactly a household name, so it is hard to find info about them and reviews. I have no issues buying non US made equipment, if it's good. The Kioti tractors seem well liked from the few owners I've found. The local dealer can't seem to keep any on his lot! I might end up having to order one. I am going back and forth with the cab. I will be using this tractor for clearing snow, but we also have a ton of trees, many with low branches, and I wouldn't mind saving some money on such an expensive purchase. It also won't be used like construction equipment. I'll be using it to clear garden beds and digging post holes when it's warm, nothing serious.

 

[jaoneill]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Kioti isn't exactly a household name, so it is hard to find info about them and reviews. I have no issues buying non US made equipment, if it's good. The Kioti tractors seem well liked from the few owners I've found. The local dealer can't seem to keep any on his lot! I might end up having to order one. I am going back and forth with the cab. I will be using this tractor for clearing snow, but we also have a ton of trees, many with low branches, and I wouldn't mind saving some money on such an expensive purchase. It also won't be used like construction equipment. I'll be using it to clear garden beds and digging post holes when it's warm, nothing serious.

We are in a very similar climate to yours and I have to say that if you plan to use a tractor here in the north in the winter, especially for snow removal (especially w/a blower), a heated cab is damn near a necessity. I cleared our mile of driveway on an open tractor through the seventies and early eighties and it was brutal. In '83 we bought a cab tractor and it has made a nearly impossible task merely a routine chore. Our's is an 80hp rig that is 10' to the top of the cab and requires a bit more branch pruning along the woods roads but that is not an issue for me when compared to sitting on an open tractor in lake effect snow at twenty below zero for hours at a time. For the most part, I try not to do my wood gathering in winter and mostly use one of our smaller, open platform tractors in the woods, but on occasion will use the big tractor to skid logs or haul the big dump wagon without issue.