woodsnhills
New member
First post here but I've been lurking for a while soaking up tons of great information. Yes, this is another "Help me decide what to buy" type thread because even after reading numerous similar threads, it appears we are all in unique situations. Here's a breakdown of my situation. Looking to buy anytime between now and a year from now.
Land:
Jobs for Tractor:
Here are a few photos showing samples of what I'm up against:
Side yard showing typical slope of hill. Due to the layout I end up doing a lot of "sidehill" mowing. According to the build-in iPhone angle finder, some hills that I need to mow are up to 25* (talk about pucker factor on my current rig!)
Some stumps should be easier to remove since the tree fell over taking part of the root ball with it. LOTS of other stumps in various states of decay to remove.
Front driveway to maintain. Gets rutted out after large downpours. Side and back gravel drives require far less maintenance since they're relatively flat.
Example of an existing "retaining" wall of dry stack stones that needs to be redone. Additional retaining walls could be built throughout the property in the future.
Current Equipment:
The B6000 handles most of the mowing OK when it's working, but the tractor is old, lacks ROPS, is narrow (~39" wide at rear wheels), and requires constant maintenance. The wife and I agree that the BIGGEST reason to upgrade tractors would be for the ROPS, but I'd also LOVE to have HST, power steering, the ability to quickly start or start at all in cold weather, better stability, and to be able to mow 3 times in a row without having to make any repairs!
Here's what I've been looking at, but please feel free to steer me in a different direction!:
And finally, my buying options:
We have local JD and Kubota dealerships. Both seem to be pretty good and I love both products but need to get more seat time in them. There's also a Mahindra place that just opened up, but it's an equipment rental yard with a few red tractors on the lot for sale. Doesn't look like a real "dealership" and I'm very wary of it being "here today, gone tomorrow." I'm about 45 minutes south of Lexington KY, but am not sure if I want to stay local - if I ever had to get work done, both local dealerships are on my way to work, otherwise I'd have to take a day off. Every brand's SCUT that I've internet researched looks nice but I just don't know if it's worth considering if the closet dealership is >1 hr away ??
I could keep going but this is getting way too long. I can elaborate on anything if it will help you help me!
Land:
- 4 Acres
- Hilly
- Wooded - light to heavy
- Uneven Terrain - dips from decayed stumps, exposed roots, etc
Jobs for Tractor:
- Mowing - up to 3 acres, obstacles, hills (mowing up, down, and along side), mulching leaves in fall
- Bulk Material Moving - currently using dump cart
- Maintaining Driveway - grading, correcting drainage, etc
- Clearing and Grading Yard - filling in holes left by stumps, future terracing projects, etc
- Helping to Remove Stumps
- Helping with Firewood Processing - skidding logs, moving splits etc
- Future Retaining Wall Footings
- Trenching - extending garden water line, future supply/septic repairs?
- Planting or Digging Up Trees/Shrubs
- Digging Drywell(s)
Here are a few photos showing samples of what I'm up against:
Side yard showing typical slope of hill. Due to the layout I end up doing a lot of "sidehill" mowing. According to the build-in iPhone angle finder, some hills that I need to mow are up to 25* (talk about pucker factor on my current rig!)
Some stumps should be easier to remove since the tree fell over taking part of the root ball with it. LOTS of other stumps in various states of decay to remove.
Front driveway to maintain. Gets rutted out after large downpours. Side and back gravel drives require far less maintenance since they're relatively flat.
Example of an existing "retaining" wall of dry stack stones that needs to be redone. Additional retaining walls could be built throughout the property in the future.
Current Equipment:
- Kubota B6000E (2wd)
- 42" Belly Mower
- Dump Cart
- Shovels, Axes, Post Hole Diggers, and lots of Exercise!
The B6000 handles most of the mowing OK when it's working, but the tractor is old, lacks ROPS, is narrow (~39" wide at rear wheels), and requires constant maintenance. The wife and I agree that the BIGGEST reason to upgrade tractors would be for the ROPS, but I'd also LOVE to have HST, power steering, the ability to quickly start or start at all in cold weather, better stability, and to be able to mow 3 times in a row without having to make any repairs!
Here's what I've been looking at, but please feel free to steer me in a different direction!:
- SCUT - thinking with all the trees and obstacles, anything larger will be too large and a GT would not stand up to the terrain
- Mid Mount Mower - better stability and manueverability
- FEL
- BH - I would LOVE to have one, but I seriously doubt it will fit in budget
- Tooth bar for FEL - which one? RR, PB, other...???
- Box Blade -OR- Scraper Blade -OR- Ratchet Rake ????
And finally, my buying options:
We have local JD and Kubota dealerships. Both seem to be pretty good and I love both products but need to get more seat time in them. There's also a Mahindra place that just opened up, but it's an equipment rental yard with a few red tractors on the lot for sale. Doesn't look like a real "dealership" and I'm very wary of it being "here today, gone tomorrow." I'm about 45 minutes south of Lexington KY, but am not sure if I want to stay local - if I ever had to get work done, both local dealerships are on my way to work, otherwise I'd have to take a day off. Every brand's SCUT that I've internet researched looks nice but I just don't know if it's worth considering if the closet dealership is >1 hr away ??
I could keep going but this is getting way too long. I can elaborate on anything if it will help you help me!