Our homestead is only 24 acres and everything is very compact and close to each other. For starters we needed something that could lift at least a 1200lbs bale and this does it easily. Our decision! We ended up selecting a New Holland L221 skid steer with 3000 hours for the first piece of equipment on our homestead. It won’t be the most convenient but it can get the job done. If you are really tight on cash it is relatively easy to get a really old tractor with a loader and take care of the tasks around the farm. Skid steer attachments tend to cost a bit more than tractors. To get a newer tractor with a front loader you will probably have a slightly higher initial cost but you will save money on attachments. Newer skid steers and tractors are both rather expensive. It can be rather hard to access some of the parts when working on a skid steer because of how compact it is. Tractors are easier and sometimes cheaper to maintain. A tractor tends to need more headspace for the same lift capacity. In our case we had small sheds we wanted to pull into for cleaning. A skid steer can handle it if you are careful but it can be rather scary.ĭo you height issues? Low sheds to clean or branches to duck under. If you have a lot of traveling to do on steep hills you will probably want a tractor. This is especially true if the tractor is front wheel assist or 4x4.Ī skid steer will tear up a nice lawn worse than a tractor unless it happens to be a tracked one or you are very careful on your turns.Ī tractor is less tippy than a skid steer. Still the larger wheels on the tractor are very helpful in this situation. Still with some careful work with it’s bucket it can frequently get it out faster. Not optimal for lots of hauling but works fine for around a small homestead.ĭo you need to work in muddy or marshy areas? A skid steer will get stuck more often than the tractor will.
Skid steers have trailer hookups on the front but you either need to drive the trailer backwards or the skid steer backwards the whole time. If you need to haul a trailer a lot and can’t use one of your other vehicles than you probably want a tractor. It just may end up costing a bit more than the skid steer for something with the same lift capacity and age. However, you can get a tractor with a loader. Loading & unloading equipment or supplies a lot?Ī skid steer comes with a loader by default. However if you just need the equipment to prepare the ground and you can harvest by hand then a skid steer can work too. If yes you will definitely want a tractor. Will you be harvesting crops with the equipment? We needed to maneuver around trees and clean inside tight sheds so the skid steer had an advantage here. Skid steer works best but if you have patience you can often get by with a tractor. Here is what we considered and what helped us make the final decision. Everyone seemed to have an opinion or recommendation. Skidsteer or Tractor with a loader? Our homestead was growing fast and we really needed a piece of equipment to help around the place.
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