Tractor Sizing John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage

   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #1  

ZBoogie

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Sep 22, 2012
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lexington, virginia
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I am new to the world of tractors and have a delemma of purchsing a JD 1026R or going for the bigger 2520. I live in Virginia and have six cleared acres. Ten trees on the property. I have a 50 foot incline at maybe a 10% slope along with a couple of gullys with a bit steeper slope. I have the property bush hogged twice a year - so it can be a bit thick/unkept at times with 1 to 2" diameter stalks. I will fine cut three or four acres and rough cut the other two acres. I will either use the MMM or a rear end rotary. I will use a FEL for snow, moving mulch/soil and maybe some gravel for the driveway. I will have a small garden and at some point - may plant and take down a few trees. Any suggestions on which way to go will be appreciated. I've heard many say the 1026R mows better and is an awesome tractor and others say go bigger because it can do more. I'm getting ready to retire and really do not plan to do too much landscaping or heavy work - but you never know.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #2  
I'd go with the 2520. Don't buy too small and regret it. But, I don't think either are ideal for finish mowing. The X700 series is the best for finish mowing and snow. However, if I were you I'd set up the 2520 for bush hogging and look for a good used 425/445/455 to do the finish mowing, especially on slopes. This way you get the best mower (even if older), and a real tractor for real tractor work. I like the 2520 pretty good, but there are better tractors in that class for way less money (NH, Kubota, Kioti, Bobcat, LS). Have you look at the 3038E?
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #3  
:welcome: to the forum.
I would go with a 2520 or larger tractor. Have you looked at any other brands? A Kubota B3200 would make you a nice tractor. A 3000 series Deere is starting to get a little heavy. A Kubota L series may work cause you can take the FEL off. With the 3000 series JD and the L Kubota you would have to go with a rear finish mower, there is not mid pto available.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I have not looked at Kubota or others, but plan on it. Deere is nearby and what I'm familiar with right now. What I really want is one machine that does a nice mow and has a little beef to move things about. Hard to find and as many have said, a good lawnmower and a tractor is the best solution. I just do not have the space for two at the moment.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #5  
That is alot of mowing on a regular basis the x748,1026R and 2520 are all reasonable choices. The x748 would be my choice for mowing for sure. The 2520 would be my choice of the three for tractor work with a fel. The 1026R is a compromise between a good mower and a good tractor, doesn't have the manueverability of the mower and doesn't have the ground clearance of the tractor. The 1026R shines as being an 8 in1 tool though and has alot of attachments with more coming as Deere pushes this new model forward. Deere is making changes in the 2013 line up of the 700 series L&G tractors and will be offering the drive over decks in a 9 ga. metal similar to the current 7 iron decks.

I suspect any of these will do everything you mention, I would consider which is going to work the best for 90% of what you will be doing which is mowing. All three are available with a fel, 3PH, and are similar in power. Ground clearance is another factor, the 2520 would be better if you have rougher terrain to deal with.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #6  
I have not looked at Kubota or others, but plan on it. Deere is nearby and what I'm familiar with right now. What I really want is one machine that does a nice mow and has a little beef to move things about. Hard to find and as many have said, a good lawnmower and a tractor is the best solution. I just do not have the space for two at the moment.

I have a Kubota BX that I use to mow with and I have a L4240 for larger tasks and snow removal. I have a few implements for the BX and I am amazed at what is capable of doing, which I imagine all SCUT's would be the same. I mow close to 2 acres with the BX. You can get up to a 72" on the Kubota B3200 which would be nice for that much mowing if you don't have a bunch of uneven terrain. It is nice to have one machine that does everything. How long is your driveway? Are you goin to use the tractor for snow removal and maintain the driveway? When you say you want something that has a little beef to move thing around, what do you mean?
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage
  • Thread Starter
#7  
The driveway will be 50 to 65'. The beef I refer to is for soil for the garden, gravel if we do not pave the driveway and snow removal. my terrain is uneven. I have a 50' 10% slope and a few hills and a couple of low areas.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #8  
The driveway will be 50 to 65'. The beef I refer to is for soil for the garden, gravel if we do not pave the driveway and snow removal. my terrain is uneven. I have a 50' 10% slope and a few hills and a couple of low areas.

A SCUT would be capable of moving snow and maintaining your drive way. A SCUT is also capable of plowing or tilling your garden. Then unevenness I was referring to was will the deck scalp if is 60" or 72" wide. A lager tractor may be more stable for mowing, you may want to see if the dealer has some steep ground to try tractors on. If you go with a larger tractor you will be capable of pulling a 5ft rotary cutter versus a 4ft on a SCUT. A 2000 series sized tractor is capable of lifting more with the FEL than a 1 series. Both would be good for landscaping but the 2000 series FEL capacity will shine there. I could see either tractor doing a good job for you but I think you should consider the larger because in your first post you said "you never know." There will be sometimes you will having the larger tractor.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #9  
ZBoogie,
I have been looking the same as you. I really wanted a JD, I went and looked at the 1026r I really liked it but was afraid it was a bit small. I then looked at the 2000 series which were nice. I figured I better check out Kubota as a lot of my friends have them and say that you get more for your money. So I went to Kubota they gave me a better price for a loader and tractor B3200hsd, which is 32 hp and is a much bigger more capable tractor than the 2000 series JD. So take a look around and definitely drive them. I drove both JD and Kubota and as much as I loved the Green, I am choosing the Orange. Good luck shopping Oh I should add that Kubota has 0 for 60 and JD is only 0 for 48.
 
   / John Deere 1026R or 2520 for acreage #10  
Like you, I started off looking at the 1026r. Seemed like a really nice tractor but I wanted something a little bigger. It came down to the 2520 and the 3320. I read everything I could about both tractors and still couldn't decide. I then found a dealer that had both tractors in his yard available to test drive. Within 5 minutes of driving, I was sold on the 3320.... My buddy tried to get me into a Kubota... After those orange tractors sit out in the sun awhile, they fade and turn pink :)

Here is mine....



image-1069031046.jpg
 
 
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