Suggestions as to what is needed

[Anonymous Poster]

I just moved into my first country place and I need to decide somewhat soon as to what equipment is going to do the mowing job.

I've been to a JD and Kubota dealer and got similar recommendations although different pricing. I have about 5 acres of straight fairly flat turf mowing and about another 4 acres of slight to occasionally moderately sloped pasture which needs brush hogging. An FEL would be useful in the long run on other projects, although not critical immediately (Buy weights instead for now?)

The JD recommended set up was the 790 4wd, 70QA loader, 613 cutter GM 1072 6' finish mower and their 15 bu. cart, for about $17k. The Kubota price for similar was about 3k more.

Your thoughts and suggestions appreciated.

 

[RobS]

A couple of things Arthur...

I have a 790 w/ 70 loader and love it. It's part of Deere's "advantage" series which means economy line. It has gear transmission only which is fine with me but a lot of folks these days want Hydrostat. Also, the 613 cutter may be a bit much for the 790. I've got the 513 (5 ft versus 6 ft width). The five footer is well suited for the 790 though the X13 series cutters are extremely light duty. Hit a couple of rocks in your pasture and the sides of the cutter will look like rumpled aluminum foil. I don't have a finish mower so I cannot comment on that. My 790 brochure lists the 261 or 272 rear finish mowers as compatible.

You didn't mention which Kubota model you were looking at. Give us that info and I'm sure more people will chime in with opinions /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks Rob.

The Kubota is the L-2600DT, and after some further discussion, the price is now pretty similar to the 790.

There was a mistake in the cutter model # - it should be 513, which is (as you suggested) the 5' wide model.

Just to make things more interesting, I looked into the TC30, and that also works out to be pretty close in features and price as well.

Not sure what to think, seems like each brand has a cult following and argues seemingly convincingly that their tractor maker is better i.e. Ford vs. Chevy /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Arthur


Arthur

 

[Woodbeef]

Be sure and check out the Korean offerings also. They make very good tractors over there that can compete head to head with the majors. Mahindra,Century/Branson,Kioti,Long are all good choices. Agco also sells Iseki CUTs at their Agco,and Massey Dealers. Cat sells the Agco Challenger line too.

 

[soarkrebel]

Arthur33 i see your from arkansas. have you talked to timberline truck and tractor in hot springs? i bought mine from there and old paul will do you right.
if you are interested in the kubota i would think about stepping up to the L3000dt. more hp and two stage clutch. that way when your mowing your cutter doesnt disengage every time you use the clutch.

depending on where you are you might want to give timberline a call.

 

[chrisjbell]

You're right about the "Ford vs. Chevy" analogy. All of the major brands are good tractors. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you need.

Make sure you get a good dealer - even a great tractor can become a headache if your dealer doesn't support it well. I'd also suggest that if you are thinking about an FEL that you get it up front. I highly recommend it - I think those things are indespensable. Use mine for all kinds of stuff.

4WD is also a good thing to have, especially in a rainy area. When you have slopes and wet ground you'll appreciate it. I keep mine engaged most of the time, even when dry, because it provides better control (the front tires pull, which helps when maneuvering - with my 2WD little tractor I can turn the wheel and they often get driven straight instead of turning).

My "big" tractor is a Kubota, my lawn tractor is JD. Love them both. One of my neighbors has a New Holland, which is really nice, but he's got a clutch transmission - when he mows he can't move around as well as he could with HST (or whatever they want to call it). There are plenty of folks that have had good luck with the "grey market" tractors (i.e., not the "big three"), but I don't recommend those, myself.

And as has been said, you should get plenty of opinions on this board /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Welcome to TBN. This is a great place to discuss stuff like this, and there are lots of fantastic people on the board...Chris

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Kioti,Long are all good choices. Agco also sells )</font>

I especially like the Long tractors patterned after the Fords x000 series. The 'vintage' look, with a new tractor.

Soundguy

 

[froggy]

You might want to check out Fiser Tractor before you buy, they have some good deals and they are in Arkansas.

http://www.fiser.com/tractor/agri/index.shtml

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks everyone for your good suggestions.
Soarkrebel - I'm in Eureka Springs. Great call on the PTO stopping on the L-2600DT when the clutch is depressed. I did like the 3000 better, but oh my, those controls between the legs /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

On Froggy's suggestion, I tried Fiser and they were pretty helpful and had a pretty good price on the 7800 (?) which has hydrostatic. I am interested in looking into that more.

I still have yet to try the NH30, and also I'd like to try the Massey 1233 (which is lower $ than every other brand). I think I'm leaning away from the JD 7090 due to the shifter location issue.

The dealers seem to feel pretty free about knocking the competition - not sure how useful that is in the long run for them - but it definitely makes it more interesting.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm in Eureka Springs )</font>

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( 5 acres of straight fairly flat turf mowing and about another 4 acres of slight to occasionally moderately sloped pasture )</font>

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gifI haven't been to Eureka Springs since 1975 and know it must have grown, but I sure didn't know there was a flat spot that big around there. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif If memory serves me right, I think the first time I was there in 1960, they claimed to be the only town in the country without a big enough flat spot for a baseball diamond. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif