Subcompact TLB Comparisons

[RayCo]

Here is another "what tractor should I get" post.

Here's my situation:

I have decided to get a tractor with a loader and a backhoe. I'm looking to get, basically, the smallest tractor that I can that isn't a piece of junk. My needs:

I do not need to do any mowing. I have an ordinary lawn tractor for that. For 3PT type of stuff, I have an old Wheel Horse D-180. So, 99% of the usage of my new tractor would involve the BH and FEL (so I hope). If I need to go beyond the abilities of a small LTB, I can beg father-in-law a few thousand yards down the road to lend me his "real" backhoe.

Pending projects:
Dig trenches for water lines and electric lines.
Dig a bigger and better firepit.
Dig up about 25 roots from 75' tulip poplars.
Transport groceries from the car to the house in FEL just for the heck of it.

The tractors that I'm currently comparing:

Kubota BX23
Massey GC2310
Cub Cadet 6284D
Kioti LB914, CK20, or CK20HST

Based on the experiences that y'all have had, are there any other tractors that I should be considering, or any of these that I should eliminate right away?

I'm in south eastern Pennsylvania, should that matter for pricing.

Thank you!!!

Ray

 

[nasdaqsam]

I can only speak for two of the ones you have listed.

I have the BX23 and like it very much. My friend has the Massey and likes the tractor but the dealer does little for him so he wished he would have bought the Kubota. (No fault of the tractor). I would check out the JD also, I've had several and they all worked great. In this line of tractors there really isn't a dog or a not to buy one. They will all be capable performers.

All I can say is try them out and make sure you get a good dealer that will back their product and take good care of you.

I can not say enough about the dealer I chose. They go way over and above on everything for me.

Good Luck

 

[jim_wilson]

If you are looking to pretty much dedicate the tractor towards being a TLB then you might want to also consider the JD 2210 (now 2305) with a Woods Groundbreaker X backhoe. The reason I say this is because the 2210/2305 are the only subcut tractor(s) that have a quick attach on the FEL bucket.
This is something I really wish I had on my BX23 because I could swap on forks, a rock bucket, boom pole, etc.

I have also heard that the GC2310 and JD SubCUTs may have slightly higher capabilities than the Kubota BX but to my knowledge there has never been a head to head comparison.
I currently have about 315 hours on my BX23 and it has served me well so far. I have pretty much used mine for the same things you want one for - a lot of excavation, digging up roots and stumps, moving rocks, random excavation projects, etc. There has been a few times when I wished that the tractor had more capacity so looking at the CK20 or say the Kubota B7610 or New Holland, John Deere, Cub Cadet etc. equivalents might be worth your time.

 

[KentT]

Since you have access to both a larger backhoe and a tractor with 3-PT, have you considered a Power Trac? They have inexpensive trenchers and minihoes that'll do most (if not all) of what you describe, and in some cases considerably faster. Plus, as an articulated machine like a payloader, they'll outperform any of the ones you have listed as a loader...

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="red"> The tractors that I'm currently comparing:

Kubota BX23
Massey GC2310
Cub Cadet 6284D
Kioti LB914, CK20, or CK20HST
</font>

Neither the Cub nor the Kiotis are Sub-Compacts, those are small frame compacts and will be larger, taller, heavier and offer stronger lift capacities than either the little Kubota or the little Massey. All 4 will do the tasks you ask. And as KentT wrote, so will a Power Trac.

 

[RayCo]

Thank you all. I have some more investigating to do now.

No one mentioned the Terramite. I wonder if that was on purpose.

Thanks,

Ray

 

[KentT]

As far as I know, all Terramites are 2WD... that's why they don't often come to mind. But, what do I know? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="blue">( Thank you all. I have some more investigating to do now.

No one mentioned the Terramite. I wonder if that was on purpose.

Thanks,

Ray )</font>


I generally don't mention brands that are not asked about. There are many more choices than you have listed but unless you tell us what dealers is in your area, or how far you are willing to travel or a whole bunch of other facts, then it is often hard to give realistic answers. I for one am often offended by the posts that say something like "you didn't mention BRAND X, I just got one, you should buy my brand, its cheaper and better . . . " Heck, how does that person know if you even have a dealer in your area? But more specifically, in your first, you actually wrote that you are considering 4 specific brands. As all 4 brands will do what you want, I didn't see the need to add more brands. There are many other posters with more experience than I who will not inject other brands that are not asked about. So perhaps that is why nobody mentioned Terrimite?

Now based on your most recent post what other brands are in your area? Also, while you want a TLB, do you want a small one that won't tear up too much while it digs (sub-compact), or do you want as much capacity as you can get in a modest size (compact) and then you'll use it to put things back together after they are torn up? And since you have 2 sub-compacts and 2 compacts as your choices, and as the Terrimite is not a sub-compact, then is small size actually an issue?

 

[RayCo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue">
I generally don't mention brands that are not asked about. There are many more choices than you have listed but unless you tell us what dealers is in your area, or how far you are willing to travel or a whole bunch of other facts, then it is often hard to give realistic answers.</font>)</font>

Makes sense to me. I wasn't complaining about noone mentioning terramite, and I hope it didn't come off that way.

Aside from the brands that I listed, I don't really know of (m)any others. I briefly looked at Case tractors, but it seems that by the time you get to a tractor that offers a backhoe attachment, it's way bigger and more expensive than what I'm looking for. There are a bunch of JD dealers in my area, but I'm really not a fan of John Deere. (I will have to consider them though, because I didn't realize any tractors had the quick attach thing that Jim mentioned.)

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue">Now based on your most recent post what other brands are in your area? Also, while you want a TLB, do you want a small one that won't tear up too much while it digs (sub-compact), or do you want as much capacity as you can get in a modest size</font>)</font>

I didn't realize that two of the models I listed were compacts as opposed to compacts. Right now, I'm searching mainly by looking at brands I've heard of, and looking at their smallest tractor that supports a BH. The size of the tractor is important. Someone keeps trying to sell me a Ford 3400 TLB for a very good price, but while it'd be a good deal and a capable machine, it is much more important for me to get something that I can tuck away in the garage and that is turnkey.

Thanks

 

[Bob_Skurka]

In the SUB-Compact size tractors, you have the following choices:

Case DX"e" series
New Holland TZ series
Cub Caded 5000 series
All 3 of the above are (last time I checked) not available with a factory backhoe, but all 3 can be fitted with small aftermarket hoes. The Case and the New Holland machines are identical mechanically, they are both made by Case-New Holland Corp.

Simplicity Legacy
Massey GC
Kubota BX
I believe all 3 of the above are available with a factory backhoe option.

JD, I believe now has come out with a factory backhoe option, but I'm not positive of that.

All of the above share some characteristics. They offer only modest ground clearance, typically about 7" to 8". They are all basically low profile, low center of gravity machines. For the most part, they have plenty of horsepower, typically in the 23hp range, although you probably won't use much of it since you are running PTO powered equipment. All of them a fairly light weight. All of these tractors will easily fit through a garage door, even a low door.

You also picked the Kioti CK20 and the 6000 series Cubs. Both of those are physically larger and typically heavier (for example the CK20 weighs rougly 3400 pounds with a BH and FEL installed). These two tractors will have roughly 10" to 12" of ground clearance and their FEL and BH capacities will be greater than the Sub Compacts. They would compare in SIZE with the JD4115, the Case DX23, the New Holland TC23 and other similar tractors. The CK20 actually would also be heavier than all of these tractors too. You wrote <font color="red"> I briefly looked at Case tractors, but it seems that by the time you get to a tractor that offers a backhoe attachment, it's way bigger and more expensive than what I'm looking for. . . it is much more important for me to get something that I can tuck away in the garage . </font> In all likelyhood you were looking at the Case DX23 or DX26, those are the same physical size as the CK20 or the Cub 6000 series machines. The Kioti will likely be priced lower than other machines of this size range and will be competitive in price with the Sub-CUTS. But if size and weight of the small frame Case DX models are a concern, then any of these tractors will be too big and too heavy. Depending on the height of your garage door (assume a standard 7' height), the tire choice on the tractor and the height of the ROPS, some of these machines may scrape the trim board as you pull them into the garage.