small utility tractors | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

I have a Massy Ferguson 1533 with loaded R4 tires and a loader. For attachments I have a 3pt rake, blade, finish mower, bush hog and snow blower. The loader has the quick attach, so in addition to the bucket I have forks and a hydraulic grapple. I bought it as a write off for my firewood business. However I just sold off most of the commercial equipment, but am keeping the Massey.

My driveway is just short of a half mile and is very steep in places. It requires maintenance a couple times a year to keep it nice and smooth. The finish mower is 66” and makes short work of the lawn. I bush hog the lower field and some of the trials around the house as well twice a year. I have a truck with a plow for the long driveway but, I use the snow blower attachment for cleaning up around the house and wood shed.

I used the Grapple to feed logs into the firewood processor, but it has nearly limitless uses around a homestead. Pretty much anything you want to grab, pull rip or destroy that weighs less than 1200 lbs it can handle. I bought pallet racking from a warehouse that went out of business. I am in the process of installing it in my shop to help organize things and make better use of space. The forks make short work of lifting implements, large boxes or anything else up the top shelf of the racking.

I bought the tractor new several years ago, but that was not my original intent. I had been hunting for a newer used one and hadn’t quite found what I was looking for. I made friends with the manager at the Massey dealership, mostly from stopping by and annoying him with hundreds of questions. Finally Massey was offering 0% for 60 months and my friend made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Naturally after a year and a half of searching and not finding the right used one, almost the moment after I bought the new one a virtual limitless supply of great used ones showed up on the market.

If you own any amount of land they can make life easy and save a lot of time. If you think you need one, do your homework and shop around for a good buy. If you do buy a used one, know what to look for. Proper maintenance is crucial and it can be difficult to identify impending costly repairs. That’s not to say that an older unit can’t be found in excellent condition for short money especially in this economy.