Hay Tractor for Newbie (2024)

GregMechE said:

Hey everyone, total newbie here. I currently own a Kubota L2501 with loader. It has been my first tractor and decent, but I want to begin doing hay and need something bigger. I would like to get an older tractor so I can wrench on it as a hobby and can get more HP for the money. I am considering the Ford 5000 (Diesel w/out SOS). I'm planning to run a NH square baler and mower with it.
I have so many questions though...
Is the Ford 5000 a good choice?
What else is a solid tractor in this range that can do the job just as well?
What things am I missing in terms of helpful tech in a tractor for baling?
Can I readily get parts for any old tractor these days?
What special tools do I need to have in-hand if I'm going to be wrenching on an older tractor?
Thanks in advance folks!

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A square baler doesn't need a lot of HP to run it. I've run one with a Ford 841S and an IH 340 or my Oliver 77 or my A/C D-17. By the way you couldn't give me a Ford 5000 used one back when I was 18 and hated it

GregMechE said:

Hey everyone, total newbie here. I currently own a Kubota L2501 with loader. It has been my first tractor and decent, but I want to begin doing hay and need something bigger. I would like to get an older tractor so I can wrench on it as a hobby and can get more HP for the money. I am considering the Ford 5000 (Diesel w/out SOS). I'm planning to run a NH square baler and mower with it.
I have so many questions though...
Is the Ford 5000 a good choice?
What else is a solid tractor in this range that can do the job just as well?
What things am I missing in terms of helpful tech in a tractor for baling?
Can I readily get parts for any old tractor these days?
What special tools do I need to have in-hand if I'm going to be wrenching on an older tractor?
Thanks in advance folks!

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Greg… Welcome. I’d suggest that the best tractor option will vary considerably based on how many bales you intend to do each year, and how flat your ground is. Without knowing more at this point, my favorite all around square baling tractor is a JD 3020

Steve in IL said:

Greg… Welcome. I’d suggest that the best tractor option will vary considerably based on how many bales you intend to do each year, and how flat your ground is. Without knowing more at this point, my favorite all around square baling tractor is a JD 3020

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Thank you! I should have given a lot more details. My land is 12 acres, but I'll only be cutting 6. However, Im hoping to be able to do neighbors etc. which could be much more. My land is quite hilly and I live around all farms. I'd also like to have a loader and since I don't have another tractor, I will be mowing, raking, and baling with the same one. I may run a sickle mower to start, but would like to get a disc mower. I've got an old ground driven rake and want to run a NH273 baler or similar. Thanks for recommendation, I'll look at the 3020.

old said:

A square baler doesn't need a lot of HP to run it. I've run one with a Ford 841S and an IH 340 or my Oliver 77 or my A/C D-17. By the way you couldn't give me a Ford 5000 used one back when I was 18 and hated it

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So would I probably be covered with around 50 HP?

GregMechE said:

Thank you! I should have given a lot more details. My land is 12 acres, but I'll only be cutting 6. However, Im hoping to be able to do neighbors etc. which could be much more. My land is quite hilly and I live around all farms. I'd also like to have a loader and since I don't have another tractor, I will be mowing, raking, and baling with the same one. I may run a sickle mower to start, but would like to get a disc mower. I've got an old ground driven rake and want to run a NH273 baler or similar. Thanks for recommendation, I'll look at the 3020.

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That Kubota will pull a rake, I pulled one with my Honda 4 wheeler once when I didn’t have a second tractor available
Doesn’t take a lot of tractor to pull a baler, 3000 Ford will do it but it’s drum brakes are marginal, it doesn’t make a good loader tractor and I wouldn’t want a disc mower on it on a hill
Hillsides and disc mowers are a bad combination, they will easily turn a tractor on its side with the cutter bar raised off the ground
Ford 4000/4600 is a good choice but I wouldn’t want more than a 6 ft bar on the mower
5000 will handle a 7 ft bar ok, nothing wrong with a 5000 but I’d make sure it was a late model, nothing older than 69 and better if 73-75
6600 replaced the 5000 and is a good tractor, 5600 is same chassis but smaller engine with less hp
Since you have Kubota look for a M6800, good tractors

SkipperII said:

Despite Old's opinion. The Ford 5000 is a well built, reliable. economical tractor to operate. I think you will find more positives on it than negatives. I know of several that my old boss sold back in the late 60s early 70s that are still going strong. Parts are pretty readily available for them, also.

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I ran one back when I was 18 in the Rice fields in Mississippi and had many problems with it. One time as an example we got the hay wagon stuck and all the 5000 would do was spin its tires. We unhooked it and hook up the JD A and the A pulled the wagon in half. I was looking back at straw bales and kids jumping/falling off the wagon. That 5000 got pulled out a number of times by that JD A also