Getting my first tractor

Buying a 110 acre track so I'm looking at getting a tractor. Only needing it for plowing, mowing and clearing brush. Recommendations? Looking at spending less than 12k. Nothing fancy. What to look for when buying? Thanks

Send Navasot (member here) a PM, he will fix you up.

I think Navasot would be your best bet. I have a 34 hp Kubota that works great for me but I don't do alot of dirt work other that food plots. If you're planning on plowing, planting, etc the entire 110 acres, I'd go with something that can pull at least 6' equipment, the bigger the better if you have the $$. Mine only pulls 5' equipment (my disc is 7' but I can't bury it due to the rocks on my place)

How much acreage are you plowing and with what type/size/weight equipment? That will determine your HP needs.
"The Drawbar horsepower needed to pull an implement is given by the weight of the implement ,including the average pounds of force applied per disc in the soil, (F) and the speed that the implement is pulled through the soil (S). The equation to find the necessary horsepower to pull an implement is FS/375."

I would definitely recommend a front end loader.

Very open ended question.

What type & size 'plow'?
The weight & HP requirements for ground engaging equipment is very different, small lightweight tandem disc, heavy tandem disc, chisel, subsoiler, moldboard or tandem offset.
3 point or draw bar?

No matter how many horsepower you have it aint worth diddly without the weight to put it to the ground & use it.

How many acre do you intend to plow? how frequently?

What size mower? brush or finish type?
How many acres? how often?

Do you want an FEL? what weight lifting & height requirements?

2wd or FWA/4wd?

Diesel or gas?

What brand has the nearest or most convenient dealer to get to.

What to look for,
sheet metal / body condition can tell you a lot, service records if any.
clean fluids at the right level no milky or burnt smelling.
no leaks, no blue or white smoke from exhaust, no excessive blow by.
clutch engagement not near top or bottom, hydraulics function smoothly, make sure the PTO works.
cracked or worn rear tires not fun or inexpensive to replace, rusty rear wheels can indicate use of Calcium chloride as ballast when you can see it on the outside it wont be long before you have to replace the wheels.
lift arm check chains or telescopic bars & top link in place.
Check all the wiring you can get to, splices, missing insulation, cracked or hardened insulation on wires, rodent damage.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things.

12k isn't a lot to work with for a good used tractor, if you're not confident checking it out yourself get someone to assist. You can easily end up with someone else's problems.

My Kubota is 40 hp, and I wish it was 50 sometimes. Still, 40 hp has been enough to pull a 6 ft shredder in heavy grass. Whatever you buy, you want a front bucket, and detachable is highly recommended. Also I recommend rear hydraulic hookups to power things like a wood splitter. Get the 4wd option. And last, but not least, if you are going to be shredding really rough ground, it'll do a job on your lower back, so pay up for an air-soft seat. I had to add the seat to my Kubota, but life is better now. I don't know if Kubota offers that type seat on the L Series. I know that it is an option on some New Holland tractors. If, however, you decide to tuff it out and go with the std seat and then realize your mistake, pm me and I'll tell you where I got my air-soft seat (for about $1000, and you install it).

I will probably only be plowing under 15 acres..

Like I said, it's my first tractor so most of what you're talking about I have no idea. I intent to plow less than 15 acres. It's fairly rocky terrain. I will need to mow about 30-40 acres at some point. 4wd and diesel would be nice, but not a must.

Get one with a front end loader. You won't believe how much you'll use it.

Agree, give Navasot a shout on here and see what he has in used inventory. He will shoot you straight. Might want to bump your budget a bit. Nothing worse than having a tractor that *almost* does what you need it to.

My recommendation, based on what I use ours for on our property and at the lease:
-At least a ~38HP diesel (that will run a 6' shredder and pull a 5' disc)
-Front end loader a must
-Quick-attach forks and chain mounts nice to have on the loader
-4WD a real good idea (because of the front end loader)

Rustler covered what to look for in used.

To mow 30 - 40 acres a 25 - 40 hp tractor with 4' to 6' shredder will do fine.

To plow 15 acres is a completely different story, depends on your soil conditions.
To me plow means getting as deep as it takes to break the hard pan.
In heavy and or compacted soil or previously unbroken ground it can take a big heavy tractor with a big heavy chisel to break the hard pan.
May be best to hire somebody to initially break the ground in the areas you want plowed.

After the ground is broken then a 35 - 40 hp with 4' to 6' tandem disc will break up clods & finish the soil if you run over it enough times.
If you just want to scratch around & disturb the surface say the top 2" - 6" the same tractor & disc will work if you run over it enough times.

The heavier the tractor the more traction you'll have, the more traction the more work you can get done without digging holes spinning tires wearing them out & cutting them up.
A light 75 hp tractor won't do the work of a heavy 40hp.

Rocky is very hard on ground engaging implements expect lots of bent & broken stuff and to pick up a bunch of rocks.

FEL = front end loader, it would benefit you to no end to know what lift capacity & height you'll need / want.
The universal skid steer quick attach type bucket mount will come in very handy for easy change of loader attachments, rock/skeleton bucket, pallet forks / bale spear, grapple etc...

Tractors are like gun safes, always buy a bigger one than you think you need.

As far as brands go, we all have our favorites no different than pickups.
I wouldn't pay a single pennies difference for any particular color paint.

Probably a good idea to talk with Navasot and or txhunter2559 from 4 bros.
Both have good used tractors from time to time.

I know what I'd be looking for & buy for 110 acres, but it may be overkill for your needs & would be more than the 12k budget.
For me it is difficult to recommend any particular tractor if you don't know what you'll need.
Because there are heavy 40hp with high lift capacity and light 75 hp with less lift capacity.

I have similar projects, and find my 50 hp tractor is about right for my needs. Large enough to pull a 6' shredder, 6' box blade and larger disc harrow. Definitely get loader - amazing how often you will find it useful.

$12k will get you an older tractor, but be warned, tractors hold their value and good, used tractors go fast, and typically bring relatively high $.

I have a neighbor who used to do similar projects on an 8N. Can be done, but lots of time and pretty rough sledding when compared to modern tractors.

Good advise above. Only thing I would add is you can always rent something first or pay someone to do the initial plowing, mowing, etc. with a much bigger / better set up. Then it makes it a ton easier to go back with a smaller tractor as long as you keep up the maintenance on the shredding / plowing.

Also, we bought a Case. Been a pain in my opinion! The more bells and whistles the more things that break just like an expensive Truck. If we were to do it over again I think we would have gone without a cab, different brand (John Deere or Kubota). We hired someone to mow for us when our 95 HP tractor was broken. The guy had a 6' shredder and I think a 35 HP. He could go in and out of stuff and turn around much quicker then ours with a 10' shredder. His was a lighter duty set up but we already did all the heavy lifting with ours and I don't think the guy did the follow up mowing any slower then us.

Go to the forums at TractorByNet, lots of good info there on smaller size tractors.

Doubt you can find one for $12k but for sure you will like the M series Kubota tractors.
I had good service out of 45-65 hp Fords back some 10-20 years ago and you might find one of them in 2wd that would get the job done.
A 2wd 3930 (or bigger) Ford with water in the rears will pull. Well balanced,tough, and they don't run hot. You might find one with a lot of use left in it in your price range.
There are many good ones out there but those two have worked good for me.

you should check to make sure the wheels on any used
tractor you are interested in buying aren't rusted out
from a previous owner filling them with water. several
used tractors i've bought had this problem. it usually
doesn't show up until time to have a flat repaired, then
the tire shop can't guarantee a new tube in the rusted
out wheel. the one i have now has a front rusted through
from being filled with water by the previous owner.

tubed tires and water don't mix at all we only do it with tubeless and always only the back tires

Your described needs almost dictate two tractors. It's easy to operate a 6' shredder and FEL on a 30-40 horse tractor but plowing is a whole nother issue.

I would hire out the plowing and get myself a good FEL / Shredder on a 4wd diesel. If you're gonna leave the tractor on your land, secure it very well, inside. Inside storage will really help keep the tractor young.

jmo- i wouldn't put any water in a tire/wheel at all. there's too many of the correct
weights to be had on craigslist and in the scrapyards used for little of nothing, and
a weight won't rust out a wheel like filling it with water does. i have a shredder i picked
up sometime back that uses 14" wheels and they're severely rusted from being filled with
water at some point. it's better (to me) to fix something right rather than rig it and
have a headache on down the line.

In real life though the tractor would be well and gone before the water actually ate through the rim.. Factory Wheel waits on smaller tractors like 75hp and under have been about done away with due to warranty and safety concerns.. to me its a better option but it needs to be done on tubless tires for sure. jmo

Navosot is the expert, but to add - calcium chloride was added to tires for many decades because of its weight, and yes, it will definitely corrode the rims over time. With water, beet juice, windshield washer fluid, while they might cause rust, I'll be long gone before it is a concern. On mine, I've added 50 gallons of water and 2 gallons of anti-freeze to mine for about 450 lbs of additional weight per rear tire or 900 lbs total. It makes a pretty significant difference in the traction and stability of the tractor, and well worth any long-term concern of rust. Will also add, from what I've seen, wheel wights tend to run about $1 per pound, so would have been cost prohibitive for me to go with weights instead of fluid ballast.

not trying to denigrate anyone here,
merely trying to inform the o.p. of
pitfalls i've encountered of late.
rusted out wheels and bad hydraulics.
at one time i'd encountered a lot of poorly
repaired electrical and radiators, but
that was mostly gasoline tractors

I have two tractors at this time, a 1971 and 1999 model. Both have water and antifreeze in the rears which was put in when they were bought new in 1971 and 1999. Both have tubes which means the only time water gets to the rim is when the tube is punctured. It has happened a few times over the years but very infrequently. Running water in tubed rears has been common practice for as long as I have been around and I never heard of any troubles.

lots of things stated to consider. Some very valuable inputs so far!!!

I dabble in used tractors at various heavy equipment sales (mostly Kubota) when I have a friend or client looking for something in particular. Based off what the OP has stated, you are not likely to find one of the newer style tractors in 4 wheel drive, FEL with enough HP to suit what you described for under $12k unless you have a lot of time on your hands to use a smaller tractor to tackle the majority of the stuff you want to do at a much slower pace. I have a friend that I found a 28hp 4x4 with FEL with a few implements (4' shredder, 4' disk, box blade, seeder, etc.) for around $10k. He does pretty much everything you described but it just takes him a very long time to get it done.

I also agree with what others have stated about not each brand tractor with similar rated HP will do the equivalent amount of work. I had a 30hp New Holland 4x4 w/FEL that didn't even come close to comparing to my 25hp Kubota, the NH was much lighter and just seemed to work itself to death trying to keep up with the 25hp running the same equipment. I only had it about 3-4 months before selling it and moving to a ~60hp Kubota that meets 95% of my needs.

with all that said ... you can likely find an older L series Kubota in the 26-36hp range 4x4 with FEL in your price range, but you will still need to add whatever implements needed like a shredder, disk, etc. And again, don't be in a hurry trying to complete tasks. But if you increase your budget a bit, like up to $15-16k, you can get into an older L series 36-59 HP or MX series around 50 hp that will drastically decrease the amount of time it takes to accomplish the same task with the smaller versions... again, you would need to add whatever implements to that.

here are a couple I found in your original price range with a quick search around Austin;

L2500 25hp 4x4 FEL & Shredder $10900

L3010HST 30hp, 4x4, FEL $11995

M4030SU, 51 hp, 2 wheel drive, FEL, $10995

L2850, 34hp, 4x4 FEL $7950

Navsot might have something in stock or know of one somewhere else.

Gotcha, and was also not discounting your experience, just sharing my .02 - all good.

I will also add to the OP, when I was first searching for a tractor I looked at a lot of older, but very capable machines. One of the things that concerned me with older tractors, especially being somewhat new to them, was the lack of ROPS on most that I found. Rollover protection is standard on all newer tractors and is something like 99% successful in eliminating being trapped under a tractor if flipped. This was pretty important to me, and although I haven't rolled mine, I have gotten myself in a couple of situations where I felt the pucker factor rising. In reality, I was probably a long way from rolling, but when you are on an incline, it can feel pretty sketchy fast.

Heck, the ROPS on my tractor actually saved my life. Back during the big drought, I was using my tractor to drag a couple of dead trees out of a wooded area. Once I had everything hooked up, I was watching forward not backward. The stuff I was dragging hooked a standing dead oak of about 12 inch diameter and dropped it right on me. It hit the ROPS and snapped, with the main lower trunk bouncing to my left and the upper trunk catching the side of my head and then going left. It would, if not for the ROPS, have hit me where my left shoulder meets my neck. Would've killed me for sure. I think I was out for just a bit, and the stuff running down the face and neck was only sweat. Close...too close...

I've been near death quite a few times for one lifetime. All I can think is that God is saving me for something really spectacular. I hope it has something to do with scantily clad women, and lots of them. Stay tuned...

I drive my NAA regularly and it has no ROPS. You learn to be careful. If you're a rookie, you need seat belt and ROPS.

Great minds, my friend, think alike!

Our last filling station that fixed rear tractor tires as well as watered and antifreezed rear tires closed two years ago. First thing the others ask when you ask about fixing rear tractor tires is do they have water.

Have you actually ever had a flat on a rear that had water in it?

Many many times over 50 plus years of farming and most were 100 to 175 hp tractors. Tractor dealerships are the only ones still doing it here and hourly costs are out of sight.

Talking about big farm equipment and 6' stuff is apples and oranges. Fixing a flat on a 40-50 hp tractor is something I will tackle and get done by myself but would not think of trying to fix a 150 hp rear flat, with or without weights. And I am old enough to know how to cultivate cotton one row at a time on an A Farmall.
The original ? leads me to think a 150 hp farm tractor is not what he is looking for but he might be wise to look at something a little bigger than he thinks will get it done on the new spread.
Bargains in small units, especially 4wd, are hard to find because that is what everyone seems to be after. You see some great deals on mid range stuff and sometimes on 2wd small tractors.
Another one they pull on rookies is the tire trick.
I have seen local tractor jockeys sell a worn out piece of junk for twice what it is worth just because they put good rubber on a junker so try to match the rubber with the hours and a broke hour meter or 5000 or more hours is a big red flag unless you can verify how it was used and maintained. Unfortunately, unless you happen to find one an individual has taken care of, that hour meter is a big deal. PTO and injector pump issues can turn a bargain into a nightmare so find you a good tractor mechanic to inspect any unit a jockey tries to peddle you. Paying a couple hundred to get one inspected is money well spent if you are a rookie.
A first timer is likely to buy small and wish for bigger down the road. The little tractors are ok for playing on flat ground but the first time the seat of your britches tells your gut that the tractor you are riding is too narrow for what you are doing with it, you will know what I mean about those little tractors being play toys. Be safe and go wide. You will not regret it. Also don't get hung up on 4wd too much. A well balanced 2wd will serve 90 % of needs and less maintenance.

30-40 acres of shredding? That there says Cab tractor with loader, 10ft or bigger shredder, 60-80HP, and Green. I would stay away from the 3 point shredders. Just my opinion.

Cab is nice but expensive. We've been mowing 55-60 acres for 20 years with a NAA ando a JD 4720, both 6' shredders. 4720 has no cab but I've wanted one in the hot summertime. These are 34 and 56 hp tractors. The NAA is fully restored so it's up to the task.

If you are a weekend farmer / rancher and want a cab but have a tight budget, just get a roof and a protective screen behind you when shredding. Our Cab has had several broken windshields from flying debris (Shredding) which costs a lot to fix, several broken compressors and AC issues, due to lack of use. Upkeep of a cab has cost us way more than we ever expected.

And when the AC is broken, it is really hot in the summer while you are waiting to get it fixed. Just a thought that a CAB may be great for someone using it a lot that will keep everything in order, but for most weekend people I personally think it can be more of an expense.

well picked up my first tractor today. Its a 2012 Kubota MX 5100 HST with 150hrs. Thanks to Navasot for making the deal happen. Love the tractor.

Great pick! Now get to work😀

I think you'll be very happy. We have a very similar Kubota, about one size down. That HST makes it almost too easy.

Ya last Aug...

You'll enjoy it the tractor is in great shape.

Thank you for your time and business

..you will love the HST when doing smaller food plots!!!

great medium size choice!