New to tractors, could use some help!

   / New to tractors, could use some help! #1  

blurry

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
43
Location
Auburn, ny
Tractor
DK40SEH
I just purchased a new home with two lots totaling 3 acres, all grass with trees here and there, quite a bit of landscaping. I'm looking for a tractor to maintain the property. I'm new to tractors, any help is greatly appreciated!

What I would like to do:
* mow main areas (will use smaller ride-on for around the house, septic system, trees) - thinking three point finishing mower
* landscaping (fill, mulch, stones) - I will rent a backhoe if needed
* grate the driveway - 370 ft (gravel)
* snow removal (rear mounted snow blower)
* possibly anther 600 feet of shared private drive to get to the maintained road
* post hole digger for putting in posts to see where the driveway is (decorative)
* loading and unloading from the trailer (materials, landscaping rock etc)
* leaf removal (shouldn't be too much)

Thinking...
* used tractor
* service available nearby (Deere, Kubota, Mahindra)
* hydrostatic
* thinking 23-18 HP - does that sound right?
* bucket which is removable for installing forks
* rear mounted snow blower
* rear mounted finishing mower

questions -
* for 2000+ tractors I'm having a hard time keeping track of the model numbers, especially JD, is there a good guide out there?
* how can I tell if the front loader bucket is removable to put forks on?
* some of the tractors I'm looking at have "limited" cat 1 three points on the back - how do I find out what the "limitation" is? I would like to run a post hole digger and am concerned about lift height. This area freezes, would like to be 36" down.
* some tractors like the JD 2305 I'm reading there is a weight issue with the front loader on - what models are good with the front loader?
* any particular advantages to Deere, Kubota, Mahindra?
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #2  
I think you are in the right range for 3 acres. The exception may be the up to 900' of driveway while living in the lake effect snow belt.

rubadub likes his X728 for snow, you may get more than he does.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/270845-x728-blowing-snow-today.html

The Kubota BX series, JD 7xx or JD 10xx are in that size range. People do love their BX's.

Going with a sub-compact, if it will do the job for you, pays off in several ways: smaller indoor storage space needed, smaller and lighter everything, less expensive maintenance, attachments are less expensive.
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #3  
I have a 3510 Mahindra with a FEL (front end loader) and some equipment. The FEL is a multi purpose implement and
will see more use than any other thing you can get! There are many 3pt implements that do only one thing and may that serve multiple uses. Cost varies as much as the purpose of each.
Find the closest dealers and start the process. You have a lot of good questions and will get a lot of brand specific answers. Be wary of a sales pitch that 'bashes the competition', all brands have issues and limitations. There is not a perfect machine and equipment for all apllications. As you spend time with dealers, you will become more knowlegeable.
Also, asking specific questions on TBN will get you a lot of opinions and personal knowledge. The people on here have a huge amount of experience with all sorts of machunes and equipment.

Good Luck!! :thumbsup:
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #4  
Depending on exactly where you are in the Syracuse area, there are also Kioti, and LS dealers within half an hour. For homeowner type use, I don't see any benefit to paying the extra $ for green, original orange, etc. Further, until you get into the larger tractors, most of them are made by someone else anyway (except Kubota). My LS was $21,500, and to get any of the big names would have been roughly another $10k, and I simply didn't see that difference in quality.

The other big thing is picking a dealer you want to work with....you don't want it to be a hassle, and it can make a big difference in the overall experience.

I'd take a look at how big of a finish mower, and rear snow blower you want to run to figure the minimum PTO power. For example, if you're under 20hp at the PTO, you probably don't want to go over a 48" mower. From the sounds of it, any FEL should work for what you're planning.

Get lots of seat time in different models...you'll be surprised at the differences you'll notice!
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #5  
I honestly don't know of a small tractor that will do all you ask. I am not aware of any in that size range with quick detach bucket. Bxpanded makes detachable bucket forks for the BX. I can't say about the post hole digger as I've never used on on a small tractor. For your needs, like dave 1949 , I would be looking at a SCUT or small CUT like the Kubota B Series or equivalent like the 2520 or so in John Deere or other brand. We own a John Deere 2305 and a couple of BX's, but prefer the JD1026R over the 2305.

While either size will do, I would probably be looking at a SCUT. We use our for everything around our house including mowing unloading a small trailer, moving dirt, rock, grading the driveway etc.

Read this for info on Limited Cat I:http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/20740-limited-cat-1-cat-1-a.html

Everyone has an opinion on which is best MMM or RFM, I use both and for most things around the house use a MMM which allows us to mow everything and not have a separate lawn mower. We mow over our septic lines and consulted with the installers on this, some are uncomfortable in doing so.

I have found there is no such thing as a one tractor does it all well and whatever you get will be better in some areas with a compromise in others. Which areas you deem most important will guide you to a SCUT or small CUT.

Wish I could be of more help, maybe someone else will come along who can add to your knowledge base.
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #6  
I live in Jamesville NY, just moved into our new home on 3.2 acres of land on NOV 1st 2012. I started my tractor adventure over a year and a half ago now. Approx 1.5 years ago, we were about to finalize on another home. That;s when we started our search for an appropriate tractor. In time, we decided on a Massey GC2410. Unfortunately at the last moment, the deal on the house fell through.

Fast Forward to Nov 1st 2012, and the search for a tractor recommenced. This time around, I had the opportunity to talk to even more people, and expand my search parameters into the CUT class. At the end of that search, we find ourselves right back in the same place, only with a year new GC1710.

You and I share many similarities, timing, location, acreage and list of needs. So I know well the numerous questions in your mind. I also know that there are questions that you likely have not even thought to ask yet, or knew you would eventually want to ask. In a way, I feel fortunate that the brakes were put on me. It allowed me time to think and ask much more detailed questions. Even though I ended up in the same place at the end, I feel that I understand the purchase we are making in much better detail. And it has given me a level of confidence in that purchase that was previously unknown to me.

In our area, you have in an easy drive, Kioty, Mahindra, Kubota x 2, John Deere, (Makes me throw up a bit in my mouth to actually say that name), Case, and my personal favorite, Massey Ferguson. I made the round to all of these dealers MANY times, asking questions, test driving, and stalking the lots on off hours so I could roll around on the ground and spend what amounted to hours looking at these tractors without salespeople and other customers clamoring all over. (Good one one one time I find to be very beneficial for myself).

Before I go on, it goes without saying that each person must weigh all the different aspects and come to their own conclusions. Tractors are a bit like snowmobiles. Nobody really makes a bad one anymore. They are simply different flavors. I think some have better reputations and support then others, and that weighed heavily in my decision.

Loads of Kubota lovers will recommend the Kubota line up, and they are a fine tractor to be certain. People that own them simply love them. I grew up in Potsdam NY, and that is pretty well Kubota country, so I am used to seeing them around everywhere and I have been privileged enough to operate many different models at one time or another in my life.

That said, I think, as you have not listed Massey among your list of options, that you are doing yourself a disservice not to look up Paul Mabie on kinderhook road, and see the GC tractors. For myself, nearly,,,, everything fell into place with the GC. Of the Tractors out there, the GC for myself puts together about as solid and overall package as you can find. What really won me over was ergonomics. The Massey Just felt natural to me. Everything is right where I intuitively would think. Now ergonomics certainly are subjective. But when I operated the GC, it just felt seamless from one operation to another. More so then on any of the other tractors I tried out. That is not to say that there were features on other tractors that I REALLY LIKED, and are missing on the GC. Frankly, Mahindra has one of the nicest reversible seats on the market. IMHO. The Massey seat is a bit clunky in operation. But, to my knowledge nobody makes a perfect tractor. All I can say is that for me, Massey had overall the most going for it. Paul Mabie gave me phone numbers of some people that have these tractors, whom I called and had nice conversations with. People using them to do exactly what I want to do. And the reviews have been stellar. I am confident that the Massey will do everything I want it to do, and that it will have a long life with me and the wife. A huge consideration was actually just mowing the lawn. Sure there are loads of other things the tractor will be employed for, but approximately once a week, we will be simply mowing the lawn. This tractor is the "Right" size for our 3 acres. I am told with the R4 tires on it, that it is amazingly gentle on the lawn. I had recently just looked into a Kubota B2620 and a B2920. And one of the problems I found was that the steering geometry was such that turning more then say 60% caused the front end to rip into the lawn. The reason I started looking at the CUT sized tractors was because I have been repeatedly told that you always want more tractor then you have. And the B was not a very big step up in price. But it was a bit too big to mow certain areas of my lawn. It did cut up the lawn some, and in the end, it was just a bit too big over all. Don't get me wrong, if I needed a CUT, the Bota would have taken the prize in that size range.

You mentioned a quick connect for the loader. Massey does not come with one of these as an option. However, Everything attachments sells an after market quick attach set up for your FEL, and it comes with a plate to weld to the bucket. I considered this. But you need to remember that the FEL is only good for like 600 lbs. The hydraulics can probably actually pick more, but the limiting factor is the tractor itself. I personally did not see enough usefulness in the quick attach for such a small tractor to consider it further. However, it is always a good feeling knowing that it is still an option in the future.
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #7  
i send Triple Rs advice a b series a big tractor a 3200 or an l3200 there no way id look at a bx sub compack
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #8  
i send Triple Rs advice a b series a big tractor a 3200 or an l3200 there no way id look at a bx sub compack

Triple said he would look closely at scut's, and I have to agree.
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #9  
Look at LS tractor. Us owners will promise you that you will never regret the move.

Good luck.
Mike
 
   / New to tractors, could use some help! #10  
We had 2-1/4 acres here for 23 years and just added another 1-1/3. Last summer we went from a B7500 to an L3200. The B7500 did a decent job but was often a couple horses or pounds too small. Both have loaders that are very easy to remove and unless I'm using the loader it's not on the tractor. The L3200 has a 6 foot rear finish mower which is a foot wider than the B7500 had. It mows at a rate of an acre in a tad over 1/2 hour.

Our main driveway is now paved and approx. 100 yards long. There's another unpaved driveway that wraps around to a shed and LP gas tank that's probably close to 150 feet. We don't usually get a lot of snow but when we do I use the FEL and a rear blade. Never had an occasion to use a post hole digger.
 
 
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