[Farmall] OT: Compact tractor needs

[soffiler at myeastern.com]

From: "Mark" <mark at ironacres.com>

----- Original Message Follows -----
> Sure. I live on 21 acres at the end of a dead end road.
> About 12 of that is  woods, the rest pasture and yard.
> Common tasks are all over the board.

>  Anything from mowing
> pasture...

Bushhog.  Could be 3-pt mounted or with an older machine it
could be drag-behind (has its own wheels and just needs PTO
and drawbar on the tractor).  On many older tractors with
non-live PTO, an overrunning coupler is mandatory to keep
the bushhog's inertia from continuing to power the tractor
when you push in the clutch and want to stop.


>... moving snow,

Depends on how much.  If you measure it in feet, then a
snowblower is suggested.  3-pt mounted, they consume lots of
HP and require a very slow (or ideally hydrostatic) reverse
gear.

Most people who move snow measured in inches get along fine
with a 3-pt rear blade.  You can run either forward or
reverse, depending on personal preference.  Forward requires
you to drive thru unplowed snow and as you pull the snow
forward it may tend to pile up under the rear of the
tractor.  But it's more comfortable.  Reverse works more
like a "real" snowplow in that you are pushing the virgin
snow rather than driving thru it first, but it is literally
a pain in the neck. 

I've seen lots of older farm tractors jury-rigged with
pickup truck type snowplows out front.  That's an option if
you are a real serious tinkerer.


>... to light excavation,

Depends what you mean by this.  Like, digging footings for
outbuildings and the like?  Digging out stumps?  Digging
cellar holes?  I would say that all of the above require a
backhoe.  There is very little I'd label "excavation" that
can be accomplished with a loader.  A loader can dig
downward, to some degree, but they are really intended for
moving piles of material at ground level.

Most compact utility tractors will accept a small backhoe
attachment.  I have a fair amount of seat-time operating two
different machines, one a JD755 and the other an
identical-sized but more powerful JD955.  These are older
models from the late 1980's and early 1990's, incidentally. 
A brand-new backhoe attachment will run in the $6K
neighborhood.  I've not looked into used ones but assume
they exist, and also assume they're going to be pretty
clapped-out.

>... to 
> collecting maple sap in the woods, getting fire wood, etc.

Simple.  You need a heavy cart or wagon of some sort, but
almost any tractor will drag it.  I have an old Dearborn
manure spreader for this purpose, whose gear is long-gone,
and wood has been replaced multiple times.  They are built
very stout.

I'd say you are joining a club populated by thousands and
thousands of like-minded folk.  We realize we need a tractor
and like the idea of the older iron.  But as we really get
into the details of the tasks that need to be accomplished
we quickly (if we're pragmatic) or eventually (if we're
stubborn) realize that the modern equipment evolved in
technology for these exact reasons.

You might find this link useful:

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/kb13/TF_home.htm

Good luck!  I'd say "keep us posted" but this isn't much of
a Farmall topic unless you end up with one of the 240's or
340's that Mike Sloane mentioned.  If you are leaning toward
the Fords, we can move the discussion over to that board.

Steve O.