what kinda tractor?

TWG

New User
So I just bought 40acres of hunting land. It is lowland bordering a small river. Lotsa brush - scrub and swampy stuff. I"ve never owned a tractor but figure I need to brush hog some access trails during the dry season.

What kinda tractor should I be looking for? I got a line on a MF TO35 but wonder if a 2WD tractor will get stuck too easily. Would a compact diesel like a JD 770 be a better bet?
 
Any of the 30 hp 4 wd compacts with a front loader and box blade would be a better choice. The JD or the Kubotas.
 
(quoted from post at 19:37:11 07/06/11) So I just bought 40acres of hunting land. It is lowland bordering a small river. Lotsa brush - scrub and swampy stuff. I"ve never owned a tractor but figure I need to brush hog some access trails during the dry season.

What kinda tractor should I be looking for? I got a line on a MF TO35 but wonder if a 2WD tractor will get stuck too easily. Would a compact diesel like a JD 770 be a better bet?

2 things really count in that question. How big is your pocket book and what you want. While something like a TO35 will do what you want they are old and without going throught them can be a problem. Yes they can get stuck but so can a CUT with MFW assist. In fact you will get stuck in far worse places with the 4 wheel drive most of the time because you think you can get in there! Used with a dash of common sense the MFWs are great. Some of your older tractors don't have power steering but the newr CUTs do. That makes using a loader uch nicer.

Rick
 
I used a WD45 Allis for years, My son bought a 4320 JD with hydro and Cab. Just use the WD for odd jobs now. The Air and Heat have ruined me! The Massey will work, just might need a bit of tinkering. If you aren't mechanical think diesel. Vic
 
That is about like asking some one what type of car you should buy. There are a good many that would fit your bill. Many things come into play on this. How much you will really use it and how often. Then figure do you plan to do food plots or any thing else. My self I could tell you one of so many that I will not say which one but I have around 30 tractors and no one does it all and none are 4 wheel drive and 99% of the time I do not get stuck
 
If you're that worried about getting stuck with a 2 wheel drive, a 4 wheel drive(FWA) will just get stuck worse. A 4 wheel drive does have more traction but if it's low and swampy, they will get stuck just as easy and in a worse way.
 
Those kinds of conditions can be a challenge to work in. If you had that TO-35, properly ballasted, tire chains etc., still likely to bog down, same with a FWA tractor, unless there is something hard underneath, if its deep soft material, a tractor with narrow, (two rib ag front tires), those fronts will slice open the soil and make a path for the rears to just sink right in. Mind you, if there is something solid under it, it may be negotiable, but will make all kinds of ruts and a mess, once you do that, you will trap more water. Often times in wet areas you may get a couple of passes before the water pumps up and you can't get traction. To a certain point a Low Ground Pressure, track-type tractor will work, depends on weight and track gauge/track pad width. You would need one with a 3 pt hitch/PTO or just a PTO so at least you could use a pull behind rotary, latter may lack the ability to lift up over things too big to cut or small obstructions the tractor will go over, but you don't want the mower to hit.

If there is something solid underneath, the FWA tractor may get enough traction, but could make deep ruts limiting what you can do. I have to negotiate wet areas with similar tractor to the TO-35, mine has a front end loader, loaded tires and usually significant weight on the back. Most times I can get through, solid underneath sometimes I use to loader to push back out, but there have been 2 instances since I have owned it, that I got 2 close to the 20 acre pond, surrounding soil gets soft and deep, depending on water level, rain, weather etc. In those cases, it just sunk right in, narrow front tires open it up like a pizza cutter, and the rears follow, especially if you have the pto engaged while mowing, this tractor does not have independent PTO or a 2 stage clutch, the inertia will push you further even if you may have been able to stop soon enough, both times that extra push was the finishing touch on being stuck. Next smart thing to do is stop and get towed, you can really bury one if you keep fooling with it. The other thing in soft ground, FWA tractor or not, is slopes or uneven terrain, anytime you get a tractor with one rear tire lower than the other, traction changes drastically and easily stuck. My vote would be something with low ground pressure like a track type, if you cannot get in there when things dry, some years things don't, have to be an opportunist when conditions are right. Getting stuck equipment out of remote places is never any fun, I think the soil conditions/weather would be more of a deciding factor than anything else as to what would be best to do the work.
 
The MF TO-35 is a great option. If it has Power steering that is another plus. Look to the serial number tag. You"ll want to see the letter "M" in the third position. This means it has a two stage clutch and live PTO power. That"ll be a must for bush hogging.

The TO-35 is arguably one of the bset tractors ever made, and a version of it is still being made today.

Jeff
 

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