Decide
The list before the machine.
- 1. The job list picks the tractor Why the machine is the last thing you choose, with the order-of-work card filled in.
- 2. Write your eight jobs The full worksheet, and how to spot two jobs that fight each other.
From Sam Trudou's videosThe Acreage Tractor Decision Book
The job list picks the tractor.
Write your eight jobs first. Horsepower, loader, tires, transmission, and dealer distance fall out of that list.
30-day refund. If the book does not earn its keep before you sign anything, reply and we refund it.
PDF. Instant download.
- A first compact or sub-compact diesel on 1 to 10 acres. Not a lawn-tractor guide.
- Horse work, snow, brush, a long driveway, a loader: a check you cannot easily unwind.
- Brand-neutral. The book does not pick a brand; your filled job list does.
What the wrong tractor costs.
Figures from dated sheets cited in the book. Not an estimate of what you will save: what the sheet says the mistake costs.
| The gap between the "starting at" ad and the same model with the loader on it: $23,610 starting at one dealer, $31,599 with the 120R loader and quick coupler at another. AKRS and Horizon Ag & Turf listings, accessed 2026-09-12 | $7,989 |
| The heat-only cab, where the open station with a two-post folding ROPS is in the base price. John Deere, Tractors 1000-4000 CUTs commercial price page, code 028NLV, dated 4 November 2022, accessed 2026-09-12 | $7,851 |
| The same 2026 model on two lots: $28,206 at one dealer, $29,315 at the other. The listings do not say why. Crystal Tractor and Jeff Schmitt Lawn & Motorsports listings, accessed 2026-09-12 | $1,109 |
Model-year figures move. Verify at the dealer and on the plate. The price-page figures are a commercial list dated 4 November 2022, not your quote. When a source turns out wrong, the correction goes on the corrections page.
30-day refund. If the book does not earn its keep before you sign anything, reply and we refund it.
What's inside
Real pages from the book. Tap one to read it full size.
- The eight-job worksheet. A table you fill at home. Jobs, how often, how much ground, turf or mud or slope, implement you think you need, must-have this year or not.
- Sizing from the jobs. Sub-compact vs compact. When the small machine the lot leads with is too small for the work you wrote down.
- The loader chapter. Why the loader is not optional on this kind of acreage, and the quick-attach confusion that shows up on the lot.
- Tires: R1, R3, R4. Which tread matches the ground you circled. Mud, turf, gravel.
- Hydro vs gear. What you actually feel when the loader is working, not what the sticker says.
- Implements you will use vs implements that rust. First implements that match the top three jobs. The rest can wait.
- Used compact red flags. Hours plate, loader-pin wear, wet brakes. Walk-away lines next to the photos.
- The dealer test. Parts counter, a demo on your jobs (not theirs), who answers Saturday. One visit.
16 chapters, ten worksheets, one walk-away page. 168 pages, sixteen chapters in six parts, ten printable worksheets in Appendix A, and a one-page "Walk away if" sheet built for the lot.
See all 16 chapters and the ten worksheets
Spec the machine
Eight rows off the spec sheet, chapter by chapter.
- 3. Size: subcompact vs compact The eight rows to copy off any spec sheet, and when the answer is two machines.
- 4. The loader is not optional Quick-attach, pins, capacity, and why the manufacturer calls ballast a requirement.
- 5. Tires: R1 vs R3 vs R4 Tally your jobs, then read the sidewall. One real sheet where turf tires are a credit, not an upcharge.
- 6. Hydro vs gear, PTO, and 4WD What you actually feel with a loader, and how to find the word "independent" on the sheet.
- 7. Cab vs canopy vs folding ROPS By climate and by your shed door, with a real dated price gap between the three.
- 8. Implements you will use vs implements that rust The year-one list, hitch category, and mid-mount deck against a rotary cutter.
The money after the sticker
What is not on the window sticker.
- 9. What you spend after the tractor The line items that are not on the window sticker.
Your ground
The same acres, different machines.
- 10. Horse property, woodlot, snow The same five acres, three different machines.
- 11. One bigger tractor vs a small tractor plus a zero-turn Whether mowing belongs on the tractor at all.
Buying it
New, used, or grey-market.
- 12. New vs used. Red flags and the six photos What to demand from a seller before you drive, and what makes you leave.
- 13. Grey-market and no-name imports A parts question, not a brand argument. When the bargain is fine.
The dealer and the sheet
Reading the numbers without the salesman.
- 14. What a 2026 price sheet actually says MSRP, dealer advertised, "starting at," and package, taken apart line by line.
- 15. The dealer test Five questions that expose a bad dealer in one visit, and distance as a ten-year cost.
- 16. Walk-around: how to read a spec sheet without the salesman One real sheet with three different horsepower numbers on it, and what each one means.
The ten worksheets
- A1. Order of work
- A2. Eight-job list
- A3. Sizing
- A4. Loader and ballast
- A5. Tires and transmission
- A6. Implements, year one
- A7. After-the-tractor quote
- A8. Six photos and used card
- A9. Dealer-visit card
- A10. Walk-around match
What you get for $24.95.
The Acreage Tractor Decision Book
168-page PDF, 16 chapters, every figure with its sheet and date, or labelled as an assumption.
Ten printable worksheets
Appendix A, one per topic, blank and ready to fill.
The "Walk away if" sheet
One page, built to carry onto the lot.
Public errata for this edition
Posted at AcreageTractorBook.com/errata when a figure changes.
30-day refund. If the book does not earn its keep before you sign anything, reply and we refund it.
Secure checkout by Stripe. The payment page shows Readstall, our imprint.
FAQ
Is this a real book or only a file?
The thing you buy here is the PDF. Instant. The pages shown on this site, cover and inside, are pages of the book itself. There is no paperback, only the PDF. The PDF is the copy you can use this afternoon.
Which brand does this tell me to buy?
None. The method is the job list. Brand is a later choice, after horsepower, loader, tires, transmission, and dealer distance are on paper. We do not sell tractors and we do not take dealer money.
Why not just ask the dealer?
Ask the dealer. Take this list with you. A dealer who will demo the jobs you wrote, show the parts counter, and say who is there on Saturday is a dealer you can live with. A dealer who starts with a package and never looks at the list is why the book has walk-away lines.
Who is this from? Are you a dealer?
A checklist with cited specs. Every horsepower, price, and capacity figure in it carries its source and date, and a wrong number goes on the public errata page. The host on the videos is a presenter. We are not a dealer, and there is no shop-teacher or retired-mechanic story behind it.
What if the PDF is not what this page describes?
Email us. If the file is not the book described here, we refund the purchase.
The PDF opens on the next page. We may write when there is a correction or a new book; every email has a one-click way to stop.