Hi, all. I discovered this forum by accident today, and I suspect that I will probably be spending a lot of time here, looking and learning.
I have been looking into buying my first tractor for about a month, and I find myself getting more and more confused.
Here's my situation - I have a small ranch in west Texas, and I am planning on putting some acreage - somewhere between 5 and 20 acres - into cultivation. Initially, I am probably going to just plant wheat for cattle, but may evolve into planting row crops. I want a front end loader for moving feed when necessary, as well as that all important task of loading corn sacks into deer feeders.
I had pretty well decided on a Kubota L3400, but stopped at the John Deere dealer in Lubbock last week to look at a 3038E. It didn't impress me, but the 3520 next to it sure did. The 3520 looks to be a higher end tractor than the L3400, but I'm not too sure it's $4K nicer. It's at the extreme outer limit of my price range. Also, the local John Deere dealer appears to cater more to the cotton farmers and their big rigs, as opposed to the Kubota dealer, who caters more to the compact market.
Given the work that I have planned, I would appreciate any advice as to whether these 2 tractors are appropriate and any comparisons between the two. I would rather get something a little too big than something that's a little too small. In that same vein, the Kubota dealer had two L series tractors taken from its rental fleet, one a 43-hp and the other a 46hp, both in 4WD. They are out of warranty, and I am a little leery of buying a rental tractor, but the price seemed pretty good, about 11K and 14K, respectively - cerrtainly cheaper than either the L3400 or the 3520.
Any thoughts would be most appreciated, including other brands I might have overlooked. Right now I feel that I am suffering from Paralysis by Analysis.
:thanku:
I have been looking into buying my first tractor for about a month, and I find myself getting more and more confused.
Here's my situation - I have a small ranch in west Texas, and I am planning on putting some acreage - somewhere between 5 and 20 acres - into cultivation. Initially, I am probably going to just plant wheat for cattle, but may evolve into planting row crops. I want a front end loader for moving feed when necessary, as well as that all important task of loading corn sacks into deer feeders.
I had pretty well decided on a Kubota L3400, but stopped at the John Deere dealer in Lubbock last week to look at a 3038E. It didn't impress me, but the 3520 next to it sure did. The 3520 looks to be a higher end tractor than the L3400, but I'm not too sure it's $4K nicer. It's at the extreme outer limit of my price range. Also, the local John Deere dealer appears to cater more to the cotton farmers and their big rigs, as opposed to the Kubota dealer, who caters more to the compact market.
Given the work that I have planned, I would appreciate any advice as to whether these 2 tractors are appropriate and any comparisons between the two. I would rather get something a little too big than something that's a little too small. In that same vein, the Kubota dealer had two L series tractors taken from its rental fleet, one a 43-hp and the other a 46hp, both in 4WD. They are out of warranty, and I am a little leery of buying a rental tractor, but the price seemed pretty good, about 11K and 14K, respectively - cerrtainly cheaper than either the L3400 or the 3520.
Any thoughts would be most appreciated, including other brands I might have overlooked. Right now I feel that I am suffering from Paralysis by Analysis.
:thanku:
