Don't know what I don't know

I recently moved from St. Louis, MO to mid-state Minnesota. I purchased an abandoned 9 acre farm site that has not been occupied sine 1937. 4 acres are clear and will need mowing and the rest is a thick hedge where I will place my next home. I currently own a JD 425 Lawn tractor with a 5� deck and 2-stage snowblower which everyone agrees, too small, I�ll be mowing for days so I�ll retain it for around the house.

I�ve purchased a professional manly-man 28� blade chainsaw to sever a limb or two, I will be clearing the 10-15� diameter trees to make ready the area for the house. So, I need a tractor with some pulling power so I can skid those trees out to a centralized area, some 2 acres away. Next, the locals tell me I�ll need something above 70hp to drive a brush hog for the mowing so it doesn�t bind, their example a Ford 9....too small. Also I�ll be purchasing a 6� wide 3Point snowblower to tackle the normal 5 to 6� snow drifts that everyone tells me are coming, not to mention the minus 30 to 35 degrees. Fun-fun.....

I am focused in the $5,000.00 range for the tractor. I�ve already seen 3Point Snowblowers and brush hogs in the local in the $500-800 range so that is ok but as for the tractor, any factual suggestions would be helpful. Key points - reliability, parts availability, 3Point hitch, power based on what I have written, suggested model numbers (please be specific, I�m slow on the uptake) and lastly within budget = $5,000.00. THANKS

There are some excellent articles on checking out a used tractor on this site. Also, check out your local dealerships and find out who can supply parts for what brands of old tractors BEFORE you buy. A good source of parts and a knowledgeable local mechanic are much more important that whether your machine is painted red, white, green or whatever.

For that very reason I would not suggest a DB,as there are probably only 3 in the whole state of MN!

I have lived in Western WISC. and for the last 8 years have an 18HP Cub Cadet with a 2-stage 48" blower and I have NEVER had problems clearing out my yard and driveway. Granted, we have had some pretty wimpy winters lately.

5-6" drifts that you have to move would seem to me to be why snow fence was invented! :-)

Concerning brands of tractor, each have merit, after all, look at all the old tractors still doing daily chores. It's hard to say which one is best, but if I had it to do over, I would not buy JD. That green and yellow paint is very expensive and each part it covers is worth about 4 times what I think it should be worth...

As for dragging your trees, that works, I did it for about a year, then I bought a grapple bucket for my frontend loader. Let me tell you, a grapple is pure heaven. Drop the tree cut it to 10-15 foot lengths then you never touch it with your hands again.

When dragging, be careful. Learn your tractors capabilities and limits. There are many ways to kill yourself on a tractor. If pulling too much weigh, like stumps and such, a tractor can lose it grip and spin on the back axel. If using the front end loader, the higher the load, the more unstable the tractor becomes. Don't fear them, but respect them.

Dug