How Do I Know What Size Tractor to Get? Use this Device!

[@MOzarkMike]

It’s easier and sometimes safer to make a big tractor do little work than to make a little tractor do big work.

[@davebarnessr.5805]

Yea, I always heard buy the biggest tractor you can afford . My salesman was trying to sell me a Kubota BX tractor which is a great machine but comes in at about 24 HP with 4 foot implements. But I decided on a L-4701 which is 47 HP and 6 foot implements and I have never regretted going Big for my needs. My salesman shook his head at my choice to maintain my 5 acres, but I’m happy and it will do any dang thing I want it to do with plenty of muscle to spare besides a bigger tractor just plain made me happier lol

[@genewilliams7497]

She actually needs 2ea tractors! 125 hp 16x16 powershift and a 35 hp hydrostatic Both with cabs and loaders. The 125hp is needed if you don’t want it take forever mowing pastures and haying. always buy more HP than you think you need. I just cut 60 acres with a 10’ cutter for a neighbor that had let a pasture get away from them. It was 5’ tall thick fescue with weeds. Really glad I have the 125hp machine to easily handle this type of cutting.

[@timberray9572]

When I bought my tractor almost a decade ago I was set on getting a 40hp, just out of curiosity I asked the salesman how much more it was to step up to a 50hp and it was so minimal that I decided on that one right then and there. Don't be afraid of asking a lot of questions, be weary of the salesman who won't take the time to make sure you get what you need because everyone's needs are different.

[@fakeyfakefake4210]

I did the same thing. I was going to buy a new holland boomer 40 till I asked the salesmen how much is the boomer 45. Well not much of a difference in my eyes so I purchase the 45. I have never once regretted buying it.

[@blacksheep6888]

I did the same I was going to buy a 50 hp Kabota but the price of a 55 hp John Deere was only about 4 grand more so I chose the 55 hp Deere

[@roostercogburn3771]

@@blacksheep6888 I wanted a JD, but I got a lot better deal on a Kubota 52 horse. I think now-a-days, JDs are $1,000 a HP. So far so good, no regrets with the Kubota. Wish you well with your JD!

[@rp1645]

Thank you so much for this very important information on cut/Bale. I myself I have a (19000 pound) Dynahoe-190. She has a CASE-580, could she not TRADE equipment usage to close by Farm. The sucky thing is she will NOT be able to mount any Rear (PTO) to that Case-580. For my Garden I just dig ditches across it for dumping my lawn clippings/small branches/extra Dirt, that I have from digging in the yard. I then turn my garden soil over completely. Just like a big strip mine. The reach/depth my Dynahoe works at makes it easy. Why such a big Backhoe for me( it's also a Restoration project- she has over 8000 hours on the meter) Your TAPE measures simple easy to figure work LOADS to power needs. Your videos are so helpful.

[@mymustangs]

If you are starting a new farm try a skid steer or excavator first to clear and build the infrastructure of the farm. Then sell it and get your tractor.

[@johnos4892]

Thanks Mike.

[@a.saintango1311]

Get as many HP as you can afford. No one ever said “I’m angry I got too big of a tractor” but damn sure the other way around.

[@mkc0005]

HP isn't the only consideration though. I thought I was getting a great 38HP tractor that was better than anything of less HP. Come to find out my 3 Series E tractor doesn't have the same lifting capacity of a 2 Series "R" tractor. Had I known that I probably would have bought the 2 Series and saved some money and had a better tractor. I bought mine solely based on the listed HP without knowing anything else about them because I was told to get the higher HP by someone else that didn't know anything about tractors.

[@mkc0005]

And after rereading that it sounds like I'm saying "you don't know anything about tractors" and that's not what I meant. I meant that I, and the person who advised me, thought that engine HP was the only consideration. I didn't know what to ask or even what I needed and the salesman just said "yep, that's 38HP and the biggest in an E series." After studying some now that I've spent the money I know I shouldn't have bought an E series to begin with.

[@Windsor1492]

I know a lot of people who bought too big tractor.

[@LongBinh70]

Last year I was in a position to upgrade my 30-hp JD that was 16 years old. After research and checking inventories (none!) I settled on a Yanmar 45-hp, mostly because my local trusted dealer sold Yanmar, although he had zero inventory. The only one I found was at a dealer 400 miles away. When I called the salesperson said they had just sold the 45, but they had a 59-hp. I rolled my eyes and thought "Here we go." Turns out the 59-hp was a special deal, and was actually thousands cheaper than the 45! It pays to ask. BTW, my 59 is identical to Wranglerstar's if you're interested. Nice tractor.

[@johnmedlin5894]

Wow, that was a great video Mike, you're very knowledgeable. it's always good to see when a salesperson is asking the right questions to help that customer to get what they truly need.

[@blacksheep6888]

I bought as big as I could afford without getting a loan so I bought a brand new 2022 John Deere 5055e, I bought a loader with it and a 6 foot heavy duty slasher, it works well.

[@kevinf3642]

Also, tall dense grass takes more horse power. Had a 55 (engine) hp tractor that would get bogged down with a 7 foot cutter when the grass was very tall and dense. But my 70hp tractor handled the same cutter and grass just fine.

[@bigtime37ja]

I cannot THANK YOU ENOUGH for the sound unbiased advice you provide. Always look forward to your videos sir.

[@raylauraberg260]

Outstanding guidance on what size tractor one needs.

[@donbrutcher4501]

A consideration nobody seems to consider is who and where will service and repairs be performed. Will the owner be transporting the tractor over the road on a trailer? The weight of the tractor determines the minimum trailer capacity. The trailer capacity determines the truck towing capacity. The truck capacity determines the drivers' license rating! Very easy to get one of those wrong and be setting yourself up for a nasty fine.

[@matthewstiles3963]

Yes you have a very good point. I went to buy a 50 hp tractor that would have been sufficient for what I was doing at the time and for a few thousand more I could get a 70 hp tractor which I knew was overkill at the time but didn't see a disadvantage until I needed to go back to the dealership and didn't have enough trailer and dealer used a tow service to deliver bigger models.long story short tow shop wanted $350 each way to haul it because it took a bigger rollback being over #8000. I already had enough truck now have enough trailer $8000 later but you are correct it's a balancing act getting a trailer big enough without going into a CDL with combined weights. Expecially if you plan on adding grapples and or heavy cutters to the mix which throw you overweight on the trailer. Alot of ways to get some hefty fines if DOT gets involved.

[@grampabadger]

Every tractor owner wants a scraper blade. Find a blade you like and get a tractor big and powerful enough to handle it. I had a 7 foot blade on my Case and ended up completely twisting the pivot box apart when I snagged some ice in a ditch I was clearing. I moved up to a heavier 8 foot blade and have had no problems with it. My Case produces only about 90 horsepower, but good tires and low gearing amplify that power incredibly.

[@71160000]

I have 70 acres and own a 30hp four wheel drive tractor. It does well with five foot implements like brushhogs and 6' grader blades but a four foot set of discs is around the max for it. The loader will lift a quarter yard of dirt and haul it with ease. It will drag some pretty big trees around. I also have a 580 L for digging and pushing over trees when I need an area cleared. It's a bit big though for moving around tight areas so the smaller tractor works well in tight quarters. If I ever have to replace the tractor I'll likely go up to a slightly larger tractor but for most work around the farm the 30hp does the job and uses a small amount of diesel over a day. Put the loader on the ground and with a brush hog behind you, you can clear an impressive trail through the woods with ease.

[@landon7283]

Went through this same issue. I have 22 acres of wide open flat ground. Needed to do lots of ground engaging work as well as PTO implements. Most dealers wanted to put me in a L4701. I have many years of experience on older tractors. But newer tractors are much different. I knew after looking at a l4701 that was way too small. Narrowed it down to a MX6000 but ended up finding a very low hr well maintained M6060 cab used. Glad I bought it. Has all the power and weight I could need. I work it but it never is strained. Plus the gear transmission is better for me and the hydro shuttle is fantastic. Glad I went 1 size larger than I intended. Very few dealers know how to size a tractor to your actual needs. Mike has great advice as well as Messick's. Learned a lot about these newer machines and what best fits.

[@joejohnson7517]

I said this before that I really wish I would have found your channel and read your book before I made my tractor purchase. Purchased a really undersized tractor for what I need.

[@lcee6592]

Fantastic advice with a lot to consider. This is how all equipment dealerships should treat perspective buyers!

[@dcct1905]

I personally think HP ratings have changed and older tractors in good working order will out perform the newer ones. Another criteria worth mentioning is weight. In many instances give me weight over HP. I disagree most of the time when someone gives a required HP to run a piece of equipment, use a different gear and in most instances you’ll get the job done.

[@dwayneloftice2326]

Already a subscriber and will always be one. I learn something new from you, Mike, with every new video.

[@kingsqueak2221]

Great video and your advice over many of your videos helped guide me on my choice to go with a full utility tractor, a Massey 2607h purely for the grunt of the loader arms to have as much lift and push capacity as I could afford or fit. I've got a very small property for the tractor, but I've not once regretted the choice as I've moved pallets weighing near a ton many times with it. For my use, my skid steer rated grapple and my forklift forks are used all the time and I would never be able to do what I do with one of the sub compacts I initially was looking at. Understanding all of this without any prior experience with the equipment is very hard to do and your videos saved me a lot of hassle, money and time.

[@oilyragsgarage7200]

Hi Mike I remember what you said in a previous video. Buy the biggest tractor you can afford. Honestly it's not bad advice really.

[@jvin248]

Sizing the cutter on the "2inch" trees currently in the field is using a permanent solution for a single inconvenient problem. Hire a local guy with the huge tractor and boat-sized mower to chew up all the big stuff (or use a small hand-ax to remove the big items). Then keep the field mowed so no tree can ever get up to two inches again using a right-sized tractor. A big tractor is going to consume big fuel gallons even when doing something small later. A big tractor is harder to maneuver around the barnyard, harder to hook and unhook from equipment, and all the attachments are going to be huge and expensive. My grandfather ran a couple dozen cow dairy operation with a 25hp Ford N-series tractor that replaced his team or horses. I'm running a crops farm, including plowing, with 35hp tractors from the 1950s.

[@brianhillis3701]

I ordered a tractor today. I had been torn between a smaller tractor that would have been okay. I watched a video where the smaller tractor failed at a job that I expect to do. They switched to a bigger tractor the did it easily. The weight of the tractor and power to the wheels was the deciding factor.

[@rp1645]

Brian YES when I had to cut Grass around a big water storage tank. The small Sears riding mower that the water company had. Well though that a SMALL Kabota rider would do. Boy was I WRONG. I would mow all day, felt like once I was done less than a week later fighting the grass again. The big improvement was the Diesel Kabota Engine. No big down on power, the problem was still mowed all day. Wish so badly I had done some thinking on size. And would NEVER and I mean Never get a mower mount mid underside. I wish so badly for a tow behind looking back.

[@bigal25938]

Get one bigger than what you think you need. I bought a 33hp. Wish I had at least a 49.

[@zeke1eod]

Awesome advice, you being from the retail side of tractors know how important it is for customers to be forthcoming with what they will be doing with the tractor, I always tell people 5hp per ft then add 10hp that's your pto minimum. Thanks for taking time to share knowledge

[@kevinbaker6168]

It just depends on your acreage and intended uses. For work on a horse or cattle farm a lot of your use will be exactly what Tractor Mike told you, my only input is if you are going to be using your tractor to help clean out the barn you may need to get a second smaller tractor to easily get into and out of your barn. If you can, go towards a tractor on the largest frame that you can for it's rated horsepower. The weight will give you better stability and traction.

[@richardalesi2798]

Very informative! Thank you for always breaking information down for those of us who are new to the tractor world. I truly enjoy your content.

[@inthedarkwoods2022]

Mike you make good videos

[@davidthomas1732]

We say 10hp for each ft on a cutter.

[@wolfpreist]

I've got 22 acers that went untended for 20 some odd years and have been slowly taming it back. My Father had a 30 HP Mahindra, and there is brush that it can't even push over much less brush hog. I got a 45 hp newholland used, it goes through that same stuff and goes "oh. Was there stuff there?"

[@matthewsims359]

Good info there Mike. Thanks for sharing

[@patrickcorbett8361]

Good " Food for thought " Thanks Mike pc

[@davidbalvin8112]

Great video. Great advice, Mike. Equivalent horsepower and weight will do the same jobs, but if you have to ride around doing field work all day the large wheels on a full frame farm tractor will give a much better ride and comfort level.

[@thehobbytimefarm4049]

We have a John Deere 4066R 66hp tractor , I run a 7' disc mower and a Round baler with it and no power issues

[@SGD3000]

Great video Mike. Do you have a blank side-by-side tractor spec comparison chart with potential implement uses? This will give new tractor buyers an idea of things they should be considering before buying a tractor. I think it would help educate the buyer so they're not soley relying on the sales person. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@Bob-vb8lc]

More great advice Mike. I always enjoy your channel

[@dancoe3400]

FYI Maschio makes and sells a 4x4 round baler that only needs 40 pto hp. Maschio also makes round balers for John Deere who paints it green and sells it under their name.

[@dougdavis4439]

Really good information. Enjoy your content and appreciate you sharing your experiences and time.

[@earlyriser8998]

i have wondered about this...I have a 60 HP now and am surprised at what it can't do :-)

[@markericksonsr3130]

Great information thank you.

[@brianmaynard4836]

Great video and information as usual.

[@upstategearheads]

On the other side of the tape measure thing, my garage door is only 80" tall. That was one of the selling points of my Kioti CK2610 is that it's 78" tall and still fits in the garage. Weight also is a big factor. Weight is great for most things, but I finish mow my lawn with mine and with the weight of the tractor plus the tires filled with ballast, if the lawn is damp it will leave slight ruts in the yard. There's a lot that goes into sizing a tractor besides just "get the biggest you can afford"

[@zpoedog]

Thanks Mike. As a retired 40 year equipment operator, you give good advice.

[@johnwesley8327]

Great video lots of good info.

[@madtater5948]

thanks for the good advice however you didn't talk about hydraulic power, when I shopped for a tractor I looked for a tractor with a high output of hydraulic fluid (gallons per minute) for me that dictates what kind of implements I can buy in the future that are compatible to my tractor.

[@michaelachord1164]

GPM hydraulic flow was also my main concern when buying a new one. Settled on a Kubota M7060. Fantastic machine.

[@JCWren]

Unfortunately, most implements don't clarify or don't make a distinction whether they're talking about PTO or engine horsepower. And the parasitic losses on a hydrostatic tractor are higher than on a geared tractor. The Kubota L4701HST is 47 engine HP, but only 37.8 PTO HP (in 4WD, they don't list 2WD PTO HP). Look at a Titan Implement UM72 Rototiller and for "Recommended tractor horsepower" it says 35 to 50HP. Is that engine HP? If so, we've got plenty of margin on the L4701. If it's PTO HP, there's 2HP to spare. It'd be nice if they were clearer on all this.

[@johnsadler8637]

I think the rating for a pto-driven implement is pto hp. Seems most relevant to me anyway.

[@matthewstiles3963]

That will be pto hp not engine HP the implement is saying it needs to operate.

[@John1911]

Very informative.

[@pontiacmaniac2]

60 PTO HP ,Massey 85, Pulls a 10ft cutter good, If I can get the mower over it, it'll cut it.

[@martybeaudry5747]

good stuff

[@bryantjones8039]

Hi Mike I really enjoy your video I find them very interesting and informative. I have a kubota L3301 4x4 with the gearshift. Today after I was discing, I heard air or pressure coming from the bottom of my gearshift around the rubber boot. They what looks like thick hydraulic fluid came out from around the rubber boot. I've never had this to happen before. It has only about 150 hours on it. Please advise.

[@davidmann2988]

A good rule of thumb, by as big a tractor as you can afford... or two

[@christophersiano969]

When the implement manufacturer says "needs XX hp", is that the Tractor's HP or the PTO's HP? My '68 Ford 5000 Gas machine is rated at 69hp (stop snickering), but the PTO is 60hp and the drawbar pull is rated at 51hp. When I bought a land plane, I made sure I was using the drawbar rating even though it mounts on the 3pt. When I bought the snow blower, I used the PTO rating. Is this the proper way? I'm not complaining, everything works just fine. Just curious if that's the proper way to look at the numbers. And yes, I purposely found a gasoline tractor as it made the most sense for my needs.

[@alanswanson1952]

Look for what you think you need and get a tractor with 20 more hp

[@raywhite1442]

Does she already have the mower

[@rodolfoparedes5904]

Tractor Mike I hope you can help me out with this one I did buy a new TC 30 compact tractor and it just stop runing I dont know much about it I instaled a new battery and I try it and it run and its runing the PTO light cams on then off the tractor continue runing some one toll me is the PTO switch the question I want to ask you were is the PTO switch locate. thank you very much

[@TractorMike]

Rodolfo, I'm not sure where that switch is on a TC30 but you can look up every part on the tractor at this link: www.mycnhistore.com/us/en/newhollandag. Enter your model number and find the page with the PTO controls on it and you'll find the location of that switch.

[@terrylee9231]

So, I bought a John Deere 4044 and I have two acres. You think that is overkill?

[@Trinity10iloveyall]

I have 100 acres and bought 299hp tractor that does 56mph 🙄 didn't take any advice from this video 😀

[@larryhearell9580]

You didn't talk about torque, that's what keeps everything turning under load.

[@sloppyjoe6243]

That is because tractors are not measured that way. In the AG world, all implements are measured by PTO hp or tractor hp. Generally tq on tractors is about 3 to 1 but there is no implement that is measured on tq. Tractors are not measured like cars, commercial trucks or motorcycles.

[@waynereiver3917]

Mike, I'm a little confused, I'm looking into buying a tractor. If I find a tractor that's 40 hp and my implements use 32pto hp, does that mean I have 8 hp to run everything on the tractor?

[@sepresley1]

you can make a big tractor small but you can;t make a small tractor big

[@blanchy]

You just look at your bank account

[@curtrn]

You sold a man a tractor without asking him what is he going to do with it ? That's about as basic as it gets. Something is wrong was very wrong with that sale.

[@ajlewis9454]

10hp for every 10 acres so she should be looking at 100hp tractors.