Complete newb looking for advice :)

802 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Dromedary, Jan 2, 2012

Dromedary

Discussion Starter · Jan 2, 2012

Hello everyone. I have pretty much grown up entirely in the city, have only ever been interested in computers and video games, and couldn't grow anything to save my life. I do have the ability to do almost anything with my hands and what I put my mind to, however.

Now, I've realized that my heart is in growing a garden, living in the country, etc. Quite a stretch for me if I'm honest, my friends and family will be completely dumbfounded by it.

At any rate, I'm currently looking to buy a home in a rural area with about an acre of land or more if it's affordable. When I do, I'm going to be doing some construction, lots of yard work, and be planting some fruit trees and a garden.

Now, I wouldn't necessarily call myself lazy, but I do know that I'm going to want a garden tractor or something similar (I'm still an idiot, forgive me if I'm using the wrong terms here) to do as much back-breaking work for me as I can get it to. I also don't want to pay more for my tractor than I paid for my car lol.

So, I'm in no hurry because I don't even have land yet (looking about mid-april time frame), but I'm looking now to find out what I need in the way of a tractor. I'm hoping to get something to mow the grass of course, till/plow etc for the garden, and was hoping for the option of a front end loader and backhoe implements for when I need to dig a footer (more than likely will be building a detached garage).

Any advice I could get I would truly appreciate because I literally do not know anything at this point. Hoping to meet some people along the way, and learn anything I can.

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littletractorguy

· #2 · Jan 2, 2012

Welcome Dromedary! I too came to tractors late in life!

. I'm mostly a lawn tractor and vintage garden tractor kinda guy, but one of the quick bits of advice I can give you from what I've learned on this site is that you're PROBABLY looking at a small compact utility tractor (aka a SCUT). This is because there aren't many back-hoes made for tractors as small as garden tractors... It usually goes in this order from smaller/ cheaper to larger/more expensive: lawn tractor; garden tractor; SCUT; Compact Utility Tractor;Farm Tractor. Front end loaders are FAIRLY common for garden tractors, but are not as capable as those made for the bigger machines.

HTH, and good luck!

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coupster

· #3 · Jan 2, 2012

:MTF_wel2: ,we are glad to have you here.:thThumbsU

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Brad

· #4 · Jan 2, 2012

Hello, Dromedary, and welcome. You'd be surprised how many guys join the forum that are in the same circumstances as you. They want to get started, but really don't know how or where. You'll get plenty of info and advice around here, not only with the machine, but with the shop/garage, garden, lawncare, etc. So, maybe pay a visit to the various forums on MTF to get a feel for what tasks you really want to do vs. what you can job out. Maybe you won't even need that backhoe once you delve into building a garage.

Good luck, and enjoy the forum!

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Dromedary

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 2, 2012

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm definitely not set in what I want to do yet, so if it's the sensible thing to do I can probably skip out on the backhoe. There's always the options of hiring someone or renting the equipment, if it's not something I need to do regularly.

I did forget to mention I have some building experience as I worked with my father land surveying for many years. It's surprising how much you learn about construction, permits, etc when you're a land surveyor.

I suppose I'll start by exploring some other forums and see what people have to say there.

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