B2320 or B7510 (Duel purpose usage - Aviation & property)

[bluesky]

Hello from Sydney, Australia.

I was hoping you may be able to steer me in the right direction.. I am in a fortunate position that I operate a helicopter company... For the last few years I've been using a MTD ride on mower (no cutting deck) to pull the aircraft out of the hangar... Anyway it finally died this week which sort of coincides with the purchase of a 25 acre property that my wife & I have just acquired...

The property which is half cleared is on a slight slope and is in need of some heavy duty slashing, so here is my plan...

Buy a B2320 or the model before, the B7510 for pulling the aircraft out of the hangar and then on the 2 occasions a month that we'll drive the 2.5hrs to the property, put the tractor on a flat bed trailer and tow it to the property so it can be worked. (at the moment, there is no dwelling on the land... I'll be putting in a livable shed (14mts x 14mts) sometime in the next 6 months, so the Kubota will come in handy for this I guess - However it's main purpose on the property will be for slashing etc).

My main question is, will the cheaper B7510 do the trick or do you suggest the B2320 (hoping the model numbers are the same in the US as in Australia?)... Initially I won't need a bucket but would like the option later (I understand that the newer model is easier to get the bucket on and off and I won't need a load control valve?). I'll also be attaching a hitch to the front plate of the tractor for towing the aircraft so the bucket can't be on at the same time. I also need to go very slow and have good control over the tractor when pushing/pulling the aircraft. (Is the B2320 better for this?)

Costs as follows.

B2320 - A$16600 or US$12000!

4ft slasher - AU$1530 or US$1100

Front End Loader - AU$4900 or US$3500

And the earlier model.

B7510 - A$15000 or US$10800

(is it worth saving the US$1200 or is the B2320 that much better for my work and property purposes?).

Many thanks in advance.
Mark

(this is a link to the slasher I want to purchase. Howard Slashers Nugget )

 

[Gittyup]

I think you want to go with a bigger tractor. 25 Acres is a lot of land. You want a good sized slasher. I would suggest one with a rear gauge wheel too. Main thing is don't buy too small and regret it later.

 

[bluesky]

I think you want to go with a bigger, heavier tractor. Then consider a grapple attachment for the slash. Don't buy too small and regret it later.

You mean for the pushing/pulling of the aircraft or the slashing?... The MTD was only 14HP and worked okay and my neighbor was the one who suggested at least a 20hp unit for the property - He has a 20hp Kubota.

 

[jake98]

You mean for the pushing/pulling of the aircraft or the slashing?... The MTD was only 14HP and worked okay and my neighbor was the one who suggested at least a 20hp unit for the property - He has a 20hp Kubota.

I'd think you would want a tractor with hydro drive for moving aircraft smoothly. Something big enough to mow 25 acres might be a little large for that purpose tho.

Thanks for posting the link to the slasher, lots of us sleep with one eye open, when we hear a slasher is out there.. Welcome to TBN

Jake

 

[Gittyup]

You mean for the pushing/pulling of the aircraft or the slashing?... The MTD was only 14HP and worked okay and my neighbor was the one who suggested at least a 20hp unit for the property - He has a 20hp Kubota.

For the slashing. You can get by with a smaller tractor. It really depends on how much of that 25 acres you are working and how much you enjoy seat time. Perhaps a compromise would be a small frame, higher hp model. Say in the 35 hp range. This would let you run a 6' bush hog (slasher). One problem with bigger is that it might require more trailer and truck to haul. Keep this in mind too. Maybe just get a cheap used garden tractor to pull the aircraft and leave the real tractor at the big property all the time.

 

[flusher]

Hello from Sydney, Australia.

I was hoping you may be able to steer me in the right direction.. I am in a fortunate position that I operate a helicopter company... For the last few years I've been using a MTD ride on mower (no cutting deck) to pull the aircraft out of the hangar... Anyway it finally died this week which sort of coincides with the purchase of a 25 acre property that my wife & I have just acquired...

The property which is half cleared is on a slight slope and is in need of some heavy duty slashing, so here is my plan...

Buy a B2320 or the model before, the B7510 for pulling the aircraft out of the hangar and then on the 2 occasions a month that we'll drive the 2.5hrs to the property, put the tractor on a flat bed trailer and tow it to the property so it can be worked. (at the moment, there is no dwelling on the land... I'll be putting in a livable shed (14mts x 14mts) sometime in the next 6 months, so the Kubota will come in handy for this I guess - However it's main purpose on the property will be for slashing etc).

My main question is, will the cheaper B7510 do the trick or do you suggest the B2320 (hoping the model numbers are the same in the US as in Australia?)... Initially I won't need a bucket but would like the option later (I understand that the newer model is easier to get the bucket on and off and I won't need a load control valve?). I'll also be attaching a hitch to the front plate of the tractor for towing the aircraft so the bucket can't be on at the same time. I also need to go very slow and have good control over the tractor when pushing/pulling the aircraft. (Is the B2320 better for this?)

Costs as follows.

B2320 - A$16600 or US$12000!

4ft slasher - AU$1530 or US$1100

Front End Loader - AU$4900 or US$3500

And the earlier model.

B7510 - A$15000 or US$10800

(is it worth saving the US$1200 or is the B2320 that much better for my work and property purposes?).

Many thanks in advance.
Mark

(this is a link to the slasher I want to purchase. Howard Slashers Nugget )

My first tractor was a 2005 B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto). With the hydrostatic transmission (HST) you'd have no control problem when towing/maneuvering planes at your airfield.

And it's a light weigh tractor (1350 lb or so) which makes hauling on a single axle 5x10 ft flatbed trailor no problem.

From your info I would suppose the 7510 you're looking at has a gear tranny. I don't think you'd have any problem moving planes around in this case either.

Mowing is another problem altogether. My 7510 could handle a 4-ft wide brush hog (aka slasher) OK, but it would take me up to 11 hours to mow 7-8 acres of 3-4 ft tall weeds. With 25 acres of mowing, plan to log a lot of seat time if you go with that 7510. Moving up to that B2320 may allow you to run a 5-ft hog, but that still means a lot of seat time.

 

[jonsstihl]

helicopter business right, I work at the Pratt&Whitney service centre up in canada. hope you are sending business up here

as for the tractor, i have a b7800 and it works great. i would definitely go for the hydrostatic transmission and the loader is very useful I would get it now, the loader really isn't very hard to take off. and the dealer might make you a better deal if you buy the two together

 

[TEAM_ORANGE]

We use two Kubota L3400's (Hydrostatic Trans & 4x4) to tow everything from small single engine Cessna's all the way to Gulfstream IV's. The L3400 is small and agile enough to handle your aircraft towing needs, plus it's powerful enough to perform heavy shredding work. When not in use on the tarmac, we use both of them to maintain the grounds of the airport.

 

[bluesky]

Thanks for you all your great feedback...

Of the 25 acres only around half is cleared... So I'm pretty sure that the 2320 can do the job...

Rgds,
Mark

Ps - Jonsstihl, We operate a B206 BIII with an Allison 250, so the business goes to RR.

 

[art]

Two range transmissions are all right to a degree but after having operated both quite a bit I'd only buy a three range! It's like having an extra 3 horsepower at that size!