Fashion Industry Forum

All,

I think I've pretty much figured out what size of tractor I need, but just to let the experts speak up and confirm what I've come up with, here it is:

We own an 8-acre property in central MS, about 2/3 is wooded, mix of pine, oak and sweetgum. The rest is where the house sits on and lawn. Luckily we have a 2000sqft metal workshop where all kinds of equipment can be housed.

Last year we had a significant drought, which weakened the pines and the pine beetles killed a lot of them. We're not getting younger, so some mechanical help in cleaning up the woods would be appreciated. And I think a compact tractor with some well-selected attachments could do that.

So what we're looking to do, in order of importance:

• chip branches/treetops (20hp 8" hitch-mounted chipper, something like a Woodmaxx 8800)
• get logs/branches out of the woods and to the wood storage (hydraulic grapple with 3rd function)
• dig and maintain a few draining trenches (backhoe would be ideal but probably over the top, maybe a pallet fork frame with a stump bucket?)
• spread fertilizer/lime/seeds on lawn (I currently use a tow-behind spreader on the ATV, but it's not ideal, so a PTO-driven hitch-mounted spreader is probably what I need)
• no mowing, I got a zero-turn for that

So given these parameters, I came to the conclusion that a 2032R would be what I need. A 1series doesn't have enough PTO power for the chipper, and I suppose the grapple will work better with a larger frame as well. That said, I read a lot about grapples, and from what I hear the mechanical ones put too much stress on the hinge pins, leading to damage on the loader.
The 2038R would fit the bill, too, but they're more costly, of course, and I'm not sure I'd need the additional power. The chipper I've looked at needs 20hp, and the 2032R has 25hp.
But I think I'd go with the QuickHitch in any case.

I'd probably go with a lightly used tractor, something in the range of a 2020-2021 2032R with <300h on it can be had for about 2/3 of the price of a new one. Does anyone think I can go wrong there?
The idea is to purchase one (tractor+loader with no deck) online (lots available nationwide, just not down here), have it delivered to my local dealer, who would then order the grapple and install the 3rd function hydraulics.

Anything I missed?

Thanks!