Tractor Buyer's Guide

Tractor attachments

While the tractor itself provides the power to get your job done, the attachments are what actually do the work. As one dealer told us, a tractor without attachments is basically a slow ride to the mailbox. Buying the right attachments for the job you need to do is an essential part of a tractor purchase.

The most common type of application is moving materials around, and for that job, a front-end loader is a great choice. A simple scoop on two arms, a loader can be used for carrying dirt, rocks, mulch, or other loose materials; for leveling and landscaping work; and for carrying heavy items. Unlike most attachments, this popular tool connects to the front of the tractor, instead of the back, meaning it can be left on while using the back end for other attachments.

Some popular attachments:

• Box blades are used to scrape or push earth, for grading, leveling, or bulldozing applications.
• Mowers come in many types: rough cut and brush mowers for cutting through heavy growth and finish mowers for more detailed work.
• In agricultural use, tillers, plows, and disk harrows are excellent tools for preparing fields.
• If snow is an issue in your location, front-end plows and blowers turn your tractor into a snow-removal machine.

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• Backhoes provide serious digging power – but at a high cost: they're among the most expensive attachments you can buy. Not all tractors can support backhoes, either.
• Other attachments include landscape rakes, spreaders, forks, grapples, and hay bailers.

Connecting attachments to your tractor
Most attachments connect using a three-point hitch at the back of the tractor. This lets them use the power take-off unit (PTO) as a power source. Almost all tractors use a standard 540 RPM PTO and three-point hitch, which means attachments are generally interchangeable between different tractors. Verify that the horsepower rating of your PTO is enough to run the attachments you plan on using.

1000 and 2000 RPM PTOs are also available, but unless you need a specialized attachment that only works at those speeds, they're not important. Some tractors have a PTO located in the middle of the tractor, beneath the operator. This can be helpful for precise mowing, but it's not very common.

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