I got one from a guy liquidating due to a divorce. Had 111 hours and 3-4 years old. Came with a 20' 14,000# trailer.

I've put 250 hours on it in 3 years and it's been fantastic other than chewing through AC belts. Have to keep the tensioner tight.

Used can be a risk but there are also great deals out there if you're patient.

oh no said:

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Thank yall. How about hydrostatic transmission? Worth it?

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Hydrostat is the easiest to operate, by far and since you have a lot of woods/trees, it will be significantly more user friendly when shredding trails than a geared or shuttle shift.

The drawback is that hydrostat's have the lowest PTO hp output in the same size versus geared (highest) and shuttle shift. I have a Kubota L3800 HST that I do a lot of the same type of work you are talking about doing with, and the PTO shaft output is 33hp. A geared tractor would be about 35hp. Doesn't sound like a lot of difference, but it can be depending on what you are doing.

I didn't know squat about tractors when I bought my first one, and only know marginally more now, but i"ll share my 2 cents:

1. Get at least one HP class bigger than you really think you'll need in the same frame size. I went from a 24hp to a 38hp and there are more times than I care to admit that I wish I had 50hp. And get a Tier 3 engine if you can - no DEF nonsense, simpler and more reliable.
2. Used is fine, I bought mine used with about 400 hours on it. Haven't had a problem, but I also maintain it and try my best to not overwork it. Look at the dealers in your area and go with whatever major brand has a good service and parts department - you'll need them no matter what. Orange, green, etc. doesn't matter a whole lot IMO in terms of quality if it's a weekender use. I like the orange ones, but I also have a really good dealer just down the road for Kubota that is convenient and has damn near anything I need in stock.
3. Tires. They are a bigger deal than you think. Mine started with R1 ag tires, but I swapped them with another guy for R4 industrial tires. Ag are better at traction, but the R4 give me better stability due to their wider footprint. R14 is kind of a hybrid tire that is getting to be very popular that gives the best of both worlds, so look into those if you can.
4. Get a quick attach for your front end loader. Absolute must IMO.
5. Forklift attachment, box blade and shredder should be your first purchases. Auger next if you end up doing fence work. Grapple would be handy as well (I assume, I haven't bought one yet - most of the time forks work good enough) All can be had used for good prices off of marketplace if you keep your eye open and are prepared to jump on a deal when it pops up.
6. Third function so you can run hydraulics to your front end are great, but you need to make sure any attachment can run off of whatever you flow rate is. A lot of them require pretty significant flow that a mid size tractor won't be able to produce.

Also - get 4wd, it is absolutey worth having it over not having it.