Help for Newbe Looking For New Tractor

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi All,
New to this forum, I just registered. I have spend some time reading thru alot of these forums. I am in the market for a Compact/Sub-compact tractor, it must have 4WD, Hydrostatic trans, MMM, and FEL.
Any recommendations? I am located in Rising Sun MD, so I am close to PA and DE also. I have looked at the NH-TC18, JD-X575, JD-2110, CC-72XX, BX-2200, and I read about BX1500. Any sugguestions and reccomendations would be greatly appreciated. I have also noticed that the price quotes I have recieved from my local dealers are considerably higher than those I have seen listed in these forums. Are prices a geographical thing? Obviously I am looking for the best value for the $$.. I plan on using this tractor for the next 20 years.
Thanks
Fran

 

[crown]

SubVet,
You'll need to give us some more details, how much property do you have and need to care for what type of chores will you be doing?

 

[BigDave]

Fran,

My dealer has locations in Gaithersburg (Kubota & NH) & Frederick (Kubota only) Maryland, which are probably a hundred miles from you, but they will give you a quote via e-mail. A hundred miles might be too far to save a $1000 when you will depend on the dealer for service. Again, getting a quote from an in-state dealer might give you a good idea where you stand. Find a dealer that has a solid local reputation and one that you feel comfortable establishing a long term relationship with, since the cheapest dealer may cost you a lot more in time and aggrevation when it is time for service and warranty repairs.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.frederickequipment.com/>http://www.frederickequipment.com/</A>

P.S. I served aboard the Oklahoma City as part of the pre-commissioning unit. I separated a couple weeks before commissioning, so I only spent a whopping 10 days at sea./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Don't laugh too hard, if I interpreted you name wrong. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

SubVet: If you are serious about wanting something you can be using over the coming decades, respectfully suggest you go with something a bit bigger-at least 1.5 liter (90-100 cubic inches minimum). Also, suggest you ask yourself, could I get parts, today, for a tractor sold by this company if it were 20-25 years old? Also, suggest you skip the hydro trans-get a worst case rebuild price (sit down when you ask!!!). Keep it simple. Finally, if you really are buying for several decades of use, forget price. If one tractor is $5,000 more than a "cheapo" (the difference between the costliest to the cheapest will be far less than that) that's only a couple hundred bucks a year. You could spend that looking for parts if you end up with an orphan. If the above makes sense to you, where does that leave you? Something like a NH TC30, JD 970 or possibly the equivalent Kubota (perhaps their smallest L series). Pricing? Get several prices from different dealers and use your lowest price to negotiate down the dealer you want to do business with. Again, SubVet, these suggestions are worthwhile only if you are serious about keeping what you buy over several decades. Take care and good luck. JEH

 

[Woodbeef]

If you are dead set on a hydro then at this moment your options for different brands are limited. I think though in the near future,every brand will offer one.

Do not sell the Koreans short in this tractor class. The offerings from Mahindra,Century/Branson,Kioti,and Long are just as good as the majors,and often less $$$.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi,

<font color=blue>Also, suggest you skip the hydro trans-get a worst case rebuild price (sit down when you ask!!!). Keep it simple.</font color=blue>

Be aware there apparently is a long standing debate on this point. Personally, I like simple too! But I like my hydro trans better than simple!

From what I have heard...I don't have the experience myself...there are a lot of old hydrostatic transmissions out there that are still going strong without problems. I would probably steer away from a brand that just started offering their first HSTs though. I mean I would likely stay away from the new HST, not the brand itself...

grimreaper's advice sounds pretty sound to me. Size of tractor depends on your needs which we can only guess at this point until you provide more details on intended use...

Happy tractoring!

 

[Spencer]

BigDave,
I was out your way a few months ago. I could never forget a town named Gaithersburg. I installed some equipment in a Taco Bell in Damascus and another one in Rockville.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks for all the feedback.
Here is a little background. I just retired from over 20 yrs of Submarine Service and moved down and bought a lot here next to my Parents. I brought with me a old Simplicity 4211H lawn tractor (36"deck and front blade) about 20 yrs old and still running strong with HST. I will be maintaining 2 lots for a total of about 2.5 acer with about 3/4 acer wooded area on approx a 20-30 degree slope. I plan on cleaning up and maintaining the wooded area. I hope to clear the brush & everything except trees and replace with grass. I have completed about 60% with just my small 4211H which is really beating it up pretty badly. I think all the sub/compact tractors I mentioned and looked at, are over-kill for my needs, but I could be mistaken. I figure If I buy more than I need, then it should last longer. please continue the feedback.
Thanks again

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Fran
I just purchased a sub-compact a few weeks ago and in many ways my conditions are similar to yours. I live in western PA on property that is mostly 15-20 degree slope, with a few areas that are 30+ degrees (1 acre mostly lawn). I maintained the property with a 1957 Power King (tilling and heavy hauling) and a 1988 Wheel Horse that I used mostly for mowing and light hauling. I wanted to consolidate to one tractor that was capable of performing all of my tasks and that would have enough power, traction and stability to negotiate my hills.

I started by looking at high-end two wheel drive tractors like Simplicity Legacy and the John Deere X series. Then I joined this forum and asked for advice. Within a few days I was looking at Kubota and John Deere 4WD. I ended up buying a Kubota BX2200 that I believe is a perfect fit for my requirements. It has a FEL, 60 inch MMM, grill guard and 3PH drawbar (total cost $11,976 plus tax). I also liked the JD 2210 but it was over $1000 more and the dealer is more than 20 miles away from my home. The Kubota dealer is about two miles away. In the past two weeks I have added a TSC carry all ($79) and a First Choice tiller from Carver (less than $900). I haven’t used it much (less than 3 hours) but so far, it performs well on these hills. No problem on the hills, even when they are snow covered. The attached picture is my son using the FEL and hauling firewood.

I am very grateful to this forum. Without the advice I received here, I would have bought the wrong tractor.

John

 

[Anonymous Poster]

My son hauling firewood with the BX2200. He fills the Carry all and the bucket and it has no problem negotiating the hills.

John