Hi Everyone. New member looking for advice

[nrbocke]

Hi Everyone- First sorry this is such a long post; I hope someone has time to read through it? have been reading the forum a lot looking at various posts on compact tractors. Everyone seems really willing to share their knowledge. I have done most of my research on the 2000 and 3000 series John Deere tractors and had pretty much made up my mind that if I bought one tomorrow I would get a 3320. I came up with this looking on the internet, talking to guys at work, and the sales guy at the state fair.

Here's the trouble though...I don't know the first thing about tractors, I think it may be overkill, and I was hoping someone could tell me if I am going about this all wrong.

I just completed a house on 5.3 acres. The house sits on a very high hill so we have great views, but also some steep grading. I don't know how steep exactly but for example I was using a little 10hp Craftsman today to mow weeds and there was a lot I couldn't do because I was scared it would tip. There were some I couldn't because the mower just wouldn't go up the hill. I would say at least an 1 acre or 2 was disturbed during the building process and has gone to weeds. The rest is brome grass. I have a 36' by 24' concrete and about 200' ft crushes concrete driveway to remove snow from. There is a family watermelon patch (actually pretty big) in the back that I probably would need to disk or something if I keep it up.

Like I was saying 3320. I would get the loader for snow removal and landscaping, and a brush hog for mowing the pasture ground. In the finished yard I would use the old Craftsman until it gave out and then get a Cub Cadet rider or something. Then I would get farm and other attachments as needed. But I got to thinking is the 3320 overkill and would it be too much for someone that has had nothing to ever do with a tractor? I'll probably end up hiring a lot of the landscaping out because I am never happy with my own work most the time. Once the pasture gets back to brome someone would probably come in a bail it for free hay. That could be awhile though and I like being able to keep the weeds knocked down when I want and not have to wait on someone.

I started thinking maybe a X500 or X700 John Deere with a snow blower attachment would be the answer. I know 2 guys with places about my size and both just use these size of machines. The guys with the bigger tractors are all on 20 acres plus. Thinking that there would be a huge price difference between the yard tractors and the compact tractors I could have more money to hire work done. Any money I save would go to putting in the finished yard. Also it would be more of what I am use to and wouldn't have to worry about buying a small rider for the yard latter on. But the 10 minutes I looked on JD website tonight showed me that the X700 series isn't much of a cost savings; a X500 looks a little more appealing. I haven't researched these at all and couldn稚 find anything on the website showing which yard tractors are made for which size of property/needs.

So SORRY FOR THE LONG thread but wanted to put out as much info as I could. To sum it up...what do you guys think for a guy with 5 acres, steep grade, primarily mowing and snow removal. Secondary use would be in the garden, odd jobs, and new yard projects (for what I am spending I would at least have to try and tackle a few myself )

Thanks a lot,
Nick

 

[Don87]

Some on here may get upset with me, and some won't.

But do not buy a subcompact(which is all you need at most), with an aluminum transaxle.........you are just asking for problems.

JD 3320 is too large for your needs IMHO

JD 500, 700 series has aluminum transaxle.............I will never recommend it .......unless you are doing grass mowing only.

If you are going to use a rear pto...............get a machine with a cast iron rear end.

 

[creekbend]

Try checking the website TractorData.com You will be able to research many various makes and models. Good luck and Happy Tractoring.:tractor::tractor:

 

[jenkinsph]

If you contract out the landscape work and just need to do lawn and property maintenance then you don't need a tractor. I would recommend a Deere x748 or x749 which is what I use for mowing on steep grades. I would pass on the loader or fel as we call it on TBN. If you have lots of trees or other areas requiring tight turning the x749 works great for this.

For handling the snow I would get a 5' rearblade to pull the snow away from the buildings and edges and provide counterweight. I would get a front mount snow blower and/or front blade depending on the amount of snow in your locale (no location listed). If your driveway is steep I would also recommend chains for increased traction.

For mowing the lawns I would get the widest deck that will fit between your trees and obstructions. If you wind up with an x748 you have the option of the 60" 7 iron deck, which would be a good choice if it fits your environment. Unless you really need it I would skip the brush hog and use the mid mount mower in the fully raised position for the field mowing. My reasoning is that the mid mount mower is easier to handle on the slopes and will maintain this area easily enough if kept under control.

My experience with the x749 is that it does a good job with most lawn maintenance jobs besides mowing. I have several rear implements including a pto chipper, boxblade, rearblade, pinestraw rake, landscape rake and numerous aerator seeder/fertilizer tools. I used a 48" tiller this week with no problems and seemed to work well. Plan on getting my own 48" tiller for next spring. I am a landscape contractor and use the x749 to handle the close quarters work where the larger equipment doesn't fit. This year it has reduced the prior handwork to a minimum.

The advantage to a 700 series Deere is it is built low and wide which is ideal for your sloped ground. I think this makes it a better choice for your purposes. I live in a mountain ski town with lots of properties to maintain and some of them are steep, the x749 really helps with this.

 

[TripleR]

As much as I love tractors and hate to say this, you probably don't "need" a tractor. Now if you "want" one, go for it, but I would choose something from the 2000 Series or its equivalent in one of the other brands.

For the needed tractor stuff, hire someone or rent a tractor and save some money.

Now like I said, whole different story if you want one and want to do your own projects; have at it.

I would probably go with jenkinsph on this one.

 

[dmay]

Well what a scope you are considering. From an existing 10hp Craftsman to the range of X500, X700, 2000 and 3000 series tractors. Curious you skipped over the new 1023E/1026R one series which is actually the middle ground of your range and what I would recommend for you.

For mowing steep grades a mid mount mower (MMM) is best. On a one series you would have a lower ground clearance and lower center of gravity then the larger 2000/3000 series.

For snow removal get a front mount snowblower, rear tire chains and the rear ballast box.

This meets your primary needs. After this you need to decide what task you want to perform yourself and what attachment is best for the task. Then compare the cost of the attachment, the number of times you might need to repeat the task, to the cost of hiring out and getting someone to do this for you.

 

[nrbocke]

Thanks everyone! I live in Nebraska and get about 3ft of snow on average. Being up on a hill I will end up with much larger drifts than that in front of the garage. I do have a job where I can't skip work if we get a lot of snow. So I need something that will do a great job removing the snow we do get.
I did start out thinking 2000 series. Then the guys at work (all with a lot more land then me) talked me into the 3000 series. This was mostly because of the limitations of the 2000 series loader, thought I would be safer with a larger tractor, higher resale, and larger implements. I was surprised there wasn't much differance in price so thought 3000 was the way to go.

I attatched a picture of the back of the house and the front. I don't know helps to see what I am looking at. These are older pictures.

 

[TripleR]

Very nice property. There are a lot of people on here who move snow with a SCUT and snow blower.

We own a John Deere 2305, Kubota BX2660, GL5030 and M8540 as well as a few others. For quite some time, I used the BX on one of our farms bringing a bigger tractor up only two or three time a year and we live on 300+ acres. Used properly, one is no "safer" than the other.

The guy down the road has a 3000 John Deere, BIG ZTR, push mower, hydraulic dump trailer and flat bed trailer and he has a little over an acre.

There are "wants" and "needs"; sometimes the are the same and sometime not.

 

[jenkinsph]

After looking at the pics I would go with the x748 with a 7 iron 60" deck and a front mount 54" snow blower.

With some landscaping work and a little smoothing with a landplane grader you could mow at a good speed. Certainly no need for a bush hog on this property. Once this place is landscaped there wouldn't be much need for a larger tractor. I would skip the larger compacts such as the 2000 and 3000 unless you want a tractor to play with.

 

[nrbocke]

The X748 looks very nice. I noticed you can get a FEL for it even and a lot of the same attatchments the compact tractors have.

A tractor to play with does kind of sound good...but in my case it would probably be a tractor to crash into the side of the garage and to worry that it isn't being used enough to justify the cost. Or be scared to use because it cost so much.