Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Addicted to My New (old) Tractor and What implements do we need

I bought me a tractor. It is a Ford Industrial with loader, shredder, and box blade. I have been missing something in life and now I have found it. I now can't wait to get up in the morning and crash into trees and repair roads and washout. I have cleared so much more brush out around the pond it is unbelievable. I wake up early thinking about what I'm gonna attack next. Tractor! Where have you been all my life.

i love tractors but my dad doesnt like when i take them out and gettem stuck lol. we built are pond with our tractor and backhoe

Heybud,

What took you so long? You will be amazed at the many uses you find for that loader, especially. Indispensible around ponds. Congrats!

BOO HOO I want one too I have a yanmar 226d 4x4 but no loader, I keep thinking I need to put a loader on the front but then I worry that I will use it for something its not rated for and break it. Maybe I need to try and find a skid steer on the cheap. I would love to get a backhoe, kinda hard to justify the price unless I plan to make money with them. I will say I do love my tractor, just last night, I was running the brush hog around the pond gathering ticks for my scratching pleasure.

I was showing my tractor off for the wife and burried it to the axle with the shredder on it. Took about 3 or 4 hours to dig it out and I didn't even get mad. Next ran into a tree trying to knock one down and broke a hydraulic line on one of the loader cylinders. Had to have it repaired. Man this is a hoot. Guys you need to start this at 21 or 31 not 61 years of age like me.

heybud
LOL I got a 10 yr. head start on you. Last sat. Kubota delievered a M6040, Armstrong HD 7' boxblade and a Woods 840 shreader. Put 7 hrs. on it yesterday. Took off into a field of 8' sunflowers and yes, it was a "hoot". ATI builds a 4in1 bucket that is really a "HOOT"! Unreal what an amature can do. My wife with minimal instruction saturday took off mowing and was gone for 2 hrs. The AC and Satellite radio (her choices) I also enjoyed yesterday!

heybud,If you chain a post across your back tires and hit the posi lever it will pick the tractor up out of the hole and save you the digging.BEWARE,this is very dangerous as you get excited and forget the post back there,tearing off fenders,seat,steering wheel,driver well you get the picture.
Tom G

heybud, My hubby just got a tractor with a frontend loader on it, he says its a Massy Ferguson Industrial 45 or 50 horse. Now I am scared to see what trouble he can get into. I'm sure it will happen.

I was wondering what implements people have and some uses for them. I have a box blade, bushhog and front end loader. What implements would be useful and some things you use them for (maybe normal use and somethings people don't think of using them for)

Heybud, I bought a 6' tiller from tractor supply and have turned ugly looking areas around my farm house into nice smooth patches of ground.

IMPLEMENTS - EXTRA USES

Haybine - wildlife control (snakes, rabbits, groundhogs, deer, and skunks SO FAR)

Square Baler - upper body workout

Round Baler - backside vibration

Hay rake - vocal accompaniment

Bush hog - emergency aerator

Post Hole Auger - water dowsing

Hay Tedder - Klingon Batttlecruiser simulation.

Cool Stuff. I have already used my box blade, which has a trailer ball welded on it, to tow my tandem axle 10 foot trailer. I'm guessing you no longer need a membership to a work out gym Theo?

I got a WR Long grapple for mine. Not only is it amazing what I can knock over with the tractor but now I can pick it up and move it afterwards.

Here is my hubbys new prize.

What? Nobody else keeps Diet Dew on the fender?

In addition to things already mentioned I have a spreader that can hold about 1000 pounds and fling stuff 30 to 40 feet. I use it to broadcast seed, fertilizer, and spread lime into the pond. Also have a post hole digger that I've not only used for installing posts but have a 12 inch auger for planting medium sized trees. Never tried drilling through the ice for fishing. Probably my two most useful implements are the bush hog and tiller. Just trimmed the brush from around my pond with the bush hog. I use the tiller to smooth and level out anything that needs it as well as I occasionally use it at a very shallow setting to lightly plow my path around the pond to keep rough stuff from growing. No wait, the spreader makes 3 most useful implements. No wait, I also have a pocket gopher killing machine cause we have lots of those pests. Wait again, how about the tank sprayer that I use to kill weeds in my food plots? Then there's the 2 ton hydraulic dump trailer that I use about every day to haul everything and anything. I never knew I had it so good. The best investment I ever made was a tractor with a category 1 - 3 point hitch. You can buy a tool for everything that fits right on.

My dad recently bought a stumpgrinder for our tractor that hooks up to the PTO. It works pretty good and takes about 10 minutes for an average stump. It is alot faster than using the dozer to dig them up and it doesn't leave a big hole in the ground.

I can already see having just a couple of implements is not near enough. I love it " A Tractor, the gift that keeps on wanting"

I only have 2 acres, but my girl Cindy owns the adjacent 80 acres. Her property has about 1 acre of course lawn, 6 acres of pecan orchard (leased to neighbor), 14 acres of cotton/peanut field (leased out), and the balance is wooded. At this time the orchard is maintained by our neighbor who mows it as needed. There's 1 mile of dirt road that starts at the front of the property and ends in a loop in the woods.

Cindy has been thinking about buying a 60" zero-turn mower for the lawn, around the field, and to mow the orchard when Mr. H retires (he's 85). I've suggested that she pass on the mower and get the smallest, best quality tractor that can handle the needs of her property. Value/cost is a big factor to Cindy. The tractor should be just big enough to be able to work the 14 acre field if she should ever decide to plant it herself.

People seem to like Kabota around here, and 4WD is also recommended. Does anyone have any advice?

I'd recommend something around 32 hp.

GW,

If possible it would be great to have the zero-turn mower plus a tractor of about 40 hp. Small tractors of around 20 to 25 hp can be used for finish mowing, but they aren't as good as the zero-turn mower for a finished lawn look. Larger tractors can be very difficult to maneuver around trees, shrubs, etc. in a lawn situation.

Also, a 20 to 25 hp tractor would be undersized for the rest of the property, although better than no tractor. In my area, a good used 40 hp class tractor can be easily found for $5000 or less. I bought a MF 55 hp tractor 25 years ago for $5000 and that's about what it would sell for today and it runs just as good as it did 25 years ago. Whatever you decide, buy a diesel powered tractor.

Thanks, Meadowlark. I suppose Cindy might be willing to buy both tools, but it would have to be a long time in between purchases. One thing to consider is that she is willing to have a course lawn. She isn't even planting or sodding, just letting the Bahia from the orchard move in.

Maybe a smaller/cheaper 0-turn would be affordable enough. She had been looking at 60" Scags which are pretty pricey.

A tractor is like a pickup truck. Once you have one, you can't do without it. Your needs seem to expand with the capability of the tractor and implments. I never knew just how badly I needed a front end loader until I bought a new tractor with one. Of course, that ain't all bad.

And, like ML says, they really don't depreciate much.

GW If you want a mower that stays in the shop get a cheaper zero turn.If you want to get on it and mow get a Scag.Your too far from me so I hope Im not out of line with this but I own a lawnmower shop and see all the mowers out there,Ive owned them all and mow have a Scag Tiger Cub,48"cut and mow roughly 4 1/2 acres.It takes about 2 hrs cause I stop for a brewsky break.In 5yrs its NEVER broken down on me.IMHO its the only way to go.My wife had a cow when I bought it but she now understands the value of a good piece of equipment.When something gets used that much and never breaks it get cheaper all the time.Also there like a tractor,they dont depreciate much over time.Ive owned them all and you cant beat a Scag.Talk to the commercial mowers that have themand theyll tell you straight,they are the best.If you ddecide to buy a cub cadet because of price get 2 or3 so you can get youre grass cut
Tom G

When you all recommend a 32 - 40 horse tractor, do mean gross HP or PTO HP?

Also, does a new tractor lose value to the same degree that a car does the moment you buy it?