1995droptopz 0 #1 Posted November 9, 2010 Hi I am new to this forum and looking for some advice before I make a purchase. I am looking for a garden tractor to use for mowing about 3 acres, pulling a tiller, occasional gravel driveway grading, and so forth. I have a plow on my truck for snow removal, so that is not an issue. Ideally I would love to have a loader attachment for my tractor since I know I would use it a lot. I have been looking at the Wheel Horse line since they seem like a soild well built tractor, as well as other tractors from Ingersoll/Case and John Deere. There is a very nice looking 416-8 for sale near me for $975 and a 520-H for about $1300, no attachments besides the mower deck on either one. Will either of these be able to do what I want? Can I get a loader for either? Any advice would be great. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 15,937 #2 Posted November 9, 2010 :thumbs: steering and front spindles on the 520 are better plus hydraulic lift for attachments I prefer the manual trans on the 416 with the loader. Never had it on the hydro tractor but I doubt I would like it. Either one of those tractors can handle any attachment. Here's a pic of my 416-8 at work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hodge 6 #3 Posted November 9, 2010 Your decision depends a lot on whether you are/want to be a Wheel Horse fan, or just want to do the job. In my opinion, a new, more modern tractor would be in order for what you want, if you just want to do the work. A compact tractor, or a Steiner, etc. Something that won't need as much maintenance (because of age), and will come with attachments, without having to hunt and drive. If you like the Horses, and are/want to be a fan and collector, then a 416 and up would do you fine. Bu, chances are that what you find will need some maintance to do what you want. And, you will need to hunt and drive, more than likely, to find different attachments. Just my opinion. I love my horses, but if I wanted to do long term, heavy duty work, then I would probably get something more suited, so I didn't wear out my horses. Each day, they get a little more scarce. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dandan111 31 #4 Posted November 10, 2010 I think if you want a front end loader you may be better off waiting until you see a tractor that has one on it for sale . Mower decks and tillers you see alot but the loaders I see for sale are almost always on a tractor. If you dont get a WH I would get a JD. (weekend freedom machines) has alot of JD stuff for sale. -Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IthacaJeff 151 #5 Posted November 10, 2010 Hi, see the comments above. But also consider this. . . If you are mowing that much and tilling and grading, how much are you really going to be using the loader? As easy as the attach-a-matic system is, I have a dedicated mowing tractor (416-8) and a dirt-moving tractor (310-8 with plow and moldboard plow, and soon to be with tiller). I was using a friend's 23 hp diesel Kubota with a loader, and even it seems a bit small for some of my needs. Any idea that a garden tractor with a loader would handle heavy use left me. Perhaps a johnny bucket type thing would work for some stuff, then rent my neighbor and his loader. Oh. . .Welcome! Jeff in Enfield Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buckeye 2 #6 Posted November 10, 2010 you have to consider how easy it is to move from one attachment to another, to my knowledge, no other tractor has done this besides the wheel horse. you can go from mowing the yard, to grading the driveway in 5 minutes with no tools involved. try that with a johndeer. and the durability of a wheel horse is second to none. maybe i'm just dedicated.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankB 16 #7 Posted November 10, 2010 IMO if you plan to use the loader a lot, you might consider a compact utility tractor. They're designed from the ground up for that kind of attachment. My son has a Cub Cadet CUT (manufactured bu MTD) on which he put a 5' front end loader. It has a 3 cylinder diesel, 4wd and I think power steering. It's an entirely different class of machine - and priced accordingly. Mowing, tilling and grading would be easily handled by either Wheel Horse you mention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forest Road 594 #8 Posted November 10, 2010 I just got into the horses this past spring. primarily for road maintenance at the family vacation home. I have a 312-8 and a 520-H snow plow, mid mount grader, and snow blower. I went WH primarily because the attachments work on machines built between 1973 and 2008? 30+ years of attachments, parts, and guys like the great people here to point the way. I think John Deere and Cub cadet changed things up a dozen times over the same span. I don't cut any grass so I'll leave that to those who do. As far as a loader goes have you ever used a loader of any kind? Do you really need to own one? Or could you rent one for a few days a year? I rent one or small hoe once every couple of years I'd love to own but its not in the cards. Also you'll get a feel for how big or small a loader you need. A friend of mine has a 23 hp Kubota loader/hoe. Its cute. But I personally would want something larger. The 35 hp unit would be ideal for my needs, and the John Deere 110 worked well for me. Best of luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoctorHfuhruhurr 132 #9 Posted November 10, 2010 What is your total budget to spend? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtmoyer 1 #10 Posted November 10, 2010 i had a 520 with a loader once. i took the loader off (that was the easy part), but when i went to put it back on.... i planned to never take it off again. now i have a d with a loader i never have to take off to mow or till. even though wheel horse made it easy to change between attachments, who wants to. most will just have more then one tractor. one for mowing and one for yard work. a hydro works best to mow if you have to mow around things and back up alot. for what i do i prefer a hydro for most things though. so to get back to the question at hand i think you would be fine with either a wheelhorse, jd, or a case . being a wheel horse owner i don't really see a con to owning one. sure i wish some had power steering and some of the things the new tractors have but i know mine will out last any of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wheelhorse656 20 #11 Posted November 10, 2010 i had a 520 with a loader once. i took the loader off (that was the easy part), but when i went to put it back on.... i planned to never take it off again. now i have a d with a loader i never have to take off to mow or till. even though wheel horse made it easy to change between attachments, who wants to. most will just have more then one tractor. one for mowing and one for yard work. a hydro works best to mow if you have to mow around things and back up alot. for what i do i prefer a hydro for most things though. so to get back to the question at hand i think you would be fine with either a wheelhorse, jd, or a case . being a wheel horse owner i don't really see a con to owning one. sure i wish some had power steering and some of the things the new tractors have but i know mine will out last any of them. it seems to me wheel horses feel like they got power sterring. of course i have never used a loader on one but i say heck you can never go wrong with a wheel horse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
