Needing to buy a tractor for my place, mostly for brush hogging, some road fixing, general maintenance, etc. I've never owned a larger tractor before, somebody give me some advice on what to look for and what to avoid. Something small enough to fit on my 16ft trailer would be nice but hopefully strong enough to pull a truck outta the mud one day if/when necessary. Thoughts?

Kubota L3901 4X4 with a loader is what I have and I really like the size.

Tractors are like buying a boat.
Example: you settled for a 16 footer and now wish you had an 18 footer.

I had a kubota L3400 wasn't quite big enough so I upgraded to a kubota MX5200 best day for me owning a tractor.

Must haves:
Diesel
Loader
4 wheel drive
50 hp+

How big is your property and how many acres of cutting is needed? Throwing out sizes is irrelevant without knowing the acreage,

Look into Mahindra tractors. Tough as nails. Moved up from a 35 hp to a 59 hp years ago and it just keeps on tickin'. My 2 cents worth.

Mahindra 6110 4x4 Cab/air 59hp is as small as I would ever go

If you’re gonna get FEL, get 4wd. 2006 38hp Kubota here, I’m not a fan of the emissions stuff on newer tractors. Does all I need to do (cut, spray, disk, spread and moving a little dirt from time to time). Fits on my 16’ perfectly.

At least 50 hp and it needs to be green. My

Exactly

The trailer thing will be a challenge if it’s dual 3500…you will need to stay in the 35-40hp compact range… this will most definitely get done what your wanting it’s just going to feel the job a lot sooner and take more bites than a larger utility 40hp.

For what your describing a grapple with a third function will be a need. Don’t get hung up on brand more than the closest well rounded dealer near you… if you got multiple then yes start comparing but if your looking at a brand that’s more than 45 minutes away from you then it can lead to challenges if you have warranty or mainly if you don’t do your own work…. Which is completely fine it’s the norm nowadays that’s why I always have this bit of advice

Got a 40 hp Mahindra 4x4 with a loader been happy with it so far. It will do what you ask but is very snug on a 16 footer with any kind of implements and probably exceeds the weight a little too. It takes a while to cut 20 acres with a 6 foot shredder.

You mention 16 ft trailer, so I am assuming half ton truck, and like Navasot mentioned, 7klb gross, so you have about 5000lbs to work with, 4500-4800lbs is safer.

That puts you (barely) into a Kubota Grand L, or a JD 4 series, Mahindra 2500 series, Kioti DK series or something similar on the top end (being 3200-3700lb tractors, and 700-900lbs for loaders). You wont get into even small utility tractors with the limits there. So 30-40hp, and definitely a compact size - though these arent your little JD 1 series or Kubota BX series machines. good work machines, and lots of great tractors around in the compact sizes. Barring something strange, buy weight and size (wheel base) and then HP for the needed tools. Most brush cutters for 30hp tractors will cut 2-3" stuff, and you will mostly be at 5ft wide. 35-40hp gets you up to the 6ft stuff, though just straight mowing you can go a little bigger in good conditions.

Again, echoing Novasot, a grapple, a bucket, and some forks, a brush hog, a box blade, and a few other items specific to your needs and you can do a bunch of work.

Personally, I have big JD and Kubota dealer near me, I didnt want to deal with the turbo on the JD, and I found a great pre tier 4 emission tractor with a Kubota grand L, and it works great for my needs. I only have about 25 acres, and only mow about 5 of them semi-regularly, and have a lot of trees, so while I would like a wider mower for some stuff, the 5ft size, about my width, is really ideal for my situation. My FIL has settled on a pre emission L3400, and has a smaller BX as well, and its a very capable machine too.

If I needed to buy new, had a budget, and just needed to get work done, I would have a hard time skipping a Kubota L2501, get that little lower HP, and avoid the regen or other various methods of newer emission meeting systems. But thats just me and wanting to simplify machines

Kubota & Mahindra are the two I'd look at closely for a midsized machine like you are describing. If it is to fit on a 16' lowboy I suspect you are looking at 50hp or less.
These are both good machines IMHO and will get the job done for you.

Half ton towing is around 11K with a base V8 and 13K with an upgraded V8 or the small diesel in the GMC line up so 7K would be under-equipped or an older truck. That could be a limiting factor.

Don't let your lack of trailer make you get a toy tractor. 50 HP would be a minimum.

I've got 70 acres and run a 130 HP Ag tractor and a 95 HP Track Skid steer.

Not much help, but I sure loved my little three-cylinder diesel Mahindra with brush hog and box scraper and used it to manage three of the five acres that were sort of level.

If we’re randomly guessing without knowing how big your place is I’d never personally go with anything under 50 hp and if it requires 15 acres or more cutting I’d not go any smaller than 75. Trying to do much with less than 50 is a hard task to ask, as far as brands I prefer Kubota or JD but it really depends on the closest dealer with a good service department. The resale value is a lot better on name brand equipment so if your into looking down the road protecting your money I’d research the resale value of equipment prior to pulling the trigger.
Whatever you decide on make sure and get a quick coupler and a set of third remotes installed up front so you can run attachments like a set of grapples up front. You’ll find that being able to use a set of grapples and pallet forks up front is a game changer for land owners.

When you get to 50; that trailer will never do. I actually doubt it will do for anything +25. Dealer is most important, unless you’re a diesel mechanic. Bigger is better. You can go up to 75hp; before you need Def added to fuel. And you need a vehicle that can pull a 75, half tons usually get squashed. If you can stand it, get a cab. You’ll never look back. Get a name brand for resale. Kubota, JD, Massey, Case

I have a 40 Hp Kubota L4400DT (4WD), 6’ shredder, box blade, front bucket. It does all I need it to do, though I do wish I had a grapple, which would come in real handy. The tractor is pre DEF, so all it needs is diesel. There have been a few times when I wished I had 50 HP, but the extra HP isn’t really necessary for my use, though it would speed up the shredding. Just be sure that whatever you get, be sure it has an air-ride or Air-soft seat. I had to add one to my tractor.

Also worth mention is that if you go with a hydrostatic transmission, that’ll suck away at least 5 HP, and the smaller the tractor, the more important that HP is. And, you want rear hydraulics on your tractor.

My neighbor shopped long and hard for a tractor and finally bought a Kioti of about 35 HP. All the attachments, rear hydraulics, soft seat, and the grapple. He went with the hydrostatic transmission and seems quite happy.

I have 2 Kubota tractors. The HST is worth every penny for using the loader and shredding. My gear tractor is just for box blade road work so it's fine for that.

I`ve had a Kubota L3901 / 4x4 / HST for 7 years with no problems. Pull it with my 16' trailer easily with a shredder attached. If you go with a JD with a FEL, all of the attachments (quick attach) for it have to be JD attachment's. All other attachments with other tractors are interchangeable.

I've got a Mahindra 5145 and so far it has not had any issues at all with any task I have thrown at it. For a 45hp machine is it has all the lift capacity I would ever really need and it has the weight that nearly no other 45hp tractor has which was a huge factor for me. Will it fit on a 16' trailer??? It will but fits much better on a 18' or better yet a 20'

MX5200 including bucket and a 5' brush hog fit on my 16' trailer without issue.

Property is 150 acres but mostly used for hunting.

I know it's not the new fancy thing to have, but my old '52 Ford 8n tractor just keeps getting it done year after year, decade after decade. It and a 5' brushog fit nicely on a 16' trailer and tows well with a 1/2 ton pickup. The trailer costs more than the tractor does. It's about the simplest form of internal combustion engine ever made and can be pretty much completely rebuilt in the middle of a pasture with only a couple of special tools needed.

The funniest part of owning it is, any time there are more tractors than just mine around and something sketchy needs to be done, my little 28hp Ford is the one that does it while those new 40+hp tractors watch. Not that they can't, just that they don't want to risk hurting them. I've been on larger and newer tractors, they are nice and much more pleasant to operate, but I also see the cost of them and the repairs bills associated with them.