Best Tractor?

[mr_shovel]

Best tractor for me that is.

I just purchased a place with 8 acres and I am looking for something to maintain the property. I small tractor seemed like a good option to me so I started looking at SCUTs. So far I got like the MF GC2300 and CASE DX25E. Both dealers were very nice and helpful (I was pleasantly surprised when it was nothing like a car dealership). Also, the price was also equal. I am also small and can fit on either just fine.

Does one of these units have any significant advantages over the other that would make it stand out as an obvious choice?

Usage:
Mowing 1 acre
Snow removal: 350’ drive
Build-maintain some trails
Light landscaping, garden, maybe some fencing.

SCUT will be enough?
Better solutions for my needs?

I live in an area that gets quite a bit of snow so I hope to get something soon. I hate to be out there with my shovel when we get out first 12”

Thank you all.

 

[scott_vt]

Best tractor for me that is.

I just purchased a place with 8 acres and I am looking for

Usage:
Mowing 1 acre
Snow removal: 350’ drive
Build-maintain some trails
Light landscaping, garden, maybe some fencing.

SCUT will be enough?
Better solutions for my needs?

I live in an area that gets quite a bit of snow so I hope to get something soon. I hate to be out there with my shovel when we get out first 12”

Thank you all.

Mornin Mr Shovel,
First welcome to TBN. You will find plenty of info on this site and some very helpful people !!!

You ahve listed two nice machines, the only thing that I question is if you ever want to do more than what you originally listed ! 8 acres is a pretty fair amount of land to maintain, and if you ever needed to rough mow or skid larger logs, I question whether those tractors will be large enough ?

Im sure that other members will post there advice and concerns on here also. Good Luck with whatever you decide !

 

[Thomas]

Morning.
If you get a chance check out B7800 from Kubota.

Yup the clock just a ticking for your first real good snow dumping.

Have safe and pleasant holiday.

 

[mr_shovel]

Thanks Scotty,

I am afraid to mess up the lawn with bigger. Also, much of the lot is really wet amd marshy so I am not sure I can do too much with it.

However I do anticipate some driveway maintanance, washouts and repairs. It is 350' of gravel and a good amount of water runs under (sometimes over) it when it rains.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

First, I don't think there is much difference between the 2 tractors you are looking at in functional terms. To me the Case DX25e offers a slight advantage but that would just be personal choice.

That said, I think most people here will suggest that for 8 acres you might want to seriously consider upsizing your tractor. A B7800 or B3030 with a mid-mount mower and turf tires is a light tractor that would not really impact your wet areas any more than the GC or DXe tractors with turf tires. It would give you the advantage of a 72" mid-mount mower deck so the mowing would be a little quicker, but 1 acre is not much to mow so the time savings would be minimal. The larger tractor size will help with other chores on the remaining 7 acres of your property and I don't think you'd regret it. The key is that the Kubota B7800 and B3030 are 'ultra light' tractors so they are ideal for what you are looking at with the soft ground issues you have.

 

[daTeacha]

Hello Mr. Shovel and welcome to the boards.

There will be a lot of advice and knowledge here for you to take advantage of. You may also note that some of us are a bit opinionated about what brand is most suited for a particular purpose, and usually that brand coincides with what the poster owns -- strange, eh?

So take all advice with that grain of salt, but temper it with the knowledge that none of us would steer you to a bad tractor and we all just love to buy tractors when spending someone else's money.

It's really hard to find a bad new tractor -- the market is sufficiently competitive that almost any brand name and some of the not so well known brands are very good machines. Your choice boils down to what you like and what you feel will be best for your situation. Most of us here tend toward the Tim the Toolman line of thought -- MORE POWER! That's fine as long as the physical size of the machine is something that you can use.

I use a Case DX29 with HST on my 6.5 acres of wooded hilly ground. I upgraded from a Kubota B7100 (16 engine hp, about 1350 lb) because I needed more stability and loader capacity. I wish I had gotten the 33 hp engine every once in a while, but the tractor does whatever I need to do except lift some seriously large rocks. Even then, it lifts the rears despite having 900 lb on the the 3 point and 130 lb on each rear wheel.

With your wet ground, the posters suggesting Kubota over the Massey or Case are giving good advice. Kubotas tend to be light for the power they deliver, while something like a Mahindra will tend to be heavy. The Kubotas that correspond to the sizes you are looking at are the BX series, but I, too tend to think you will prefer something a little bigger and with a little more ground clearance. Once you own the thing, especially with a loader on it, you will find more and more to do with it. You will probably be happier with your purchase if you get something you think is one size too big right now. Inside a year you will think it's just right.

You'll have a decision about tires -- turfs will give the most flotation and be easiest on your lawn while R1 (Agricultural tread) will be hardest on the grass but give the best traction in soft soil. In between are the R4s, which look like industrial tires. They are a compromise in every sense of the word. For a lot of people, that is just the ticket and they make the tractor look good as an additional benefit.

Enjoy your shopping and don't be in a hurry. You can hire the driveway cleared for a lot less than you can buy a tractor. A few hudred spent over a winter for someone to plow it is better than buying a tractor in a hurry for $15K or more and wishing you had bought a different one later.

Keep us posted as you work your way through this. We enjoy helping out!

 

[rback33]

I will second.. or third or fourth... whatever a lot of what you are hearing. I think I would move up a series on the Kubota, with turf tires and a set of chains. I don't have personal experience, but I read somewhere on here that they really liked the turf/chain combo for snow. I could be wrong there though. Since you list mowing as a priority and live on a swampy lot, I'd get turf tires on a lighter CUT rather than a SCUT.

 

[jimmy1]

Welcome Mr Shovel:

I can't speak with a lot of experience as my SCUT will only be arriving this week or next. I have 3 acres and will be using an ACGOST22A, FEL, 60mmm the counter part to the MF GS2300. I aslso do a 350 ft driveway for the 60" rear snowblower and about 1.5 acres to mow. I think this is a good fit for me.
But if you have 8 acres I would have to give a lot of creedence to the advice here on the CUT. For one thing once you get your property and start doing things around it there will inevitably be more things that you will want to do. For example you may want to start chipping branches or add a generator, these will like a bit more HP. As someone mentioned skid out a log, then more weight and loader capacity would be nice.

Just some of my thoughts.

Jim

 

[flusher]

Best tractor for me that is.

I just purchased a place with 8 acres and I am looking for something to maintain the property. I small tractor seemed like a good option to me so I started looking at SCUTs. So far I got like the MF GC2300 and CASE DX25E. Both dealers were very nice and helpful (I was pleasantly surprised when it was nothing like a car dealership). Also, the price was also equal. I am also small and can fit on either just fine.

Does one of these units have any significant advantages over the other that would make it stand out as an obvious choice?

Usage:
Mowing 1 acre
Snow removal: 350’ drive
Build-maintain some trails
Light landscaping, garden, maybe some fencing.

SCUT will be enough?
Better solutions for my needs?

I live in an area that gets quite a bit of snow so I hope to get something soon. I hate to be out there with my shovel when we get out first 12”

Thank you all.

Before you buy you should consider something in the 25-30hp range WITH a front end loader (FEL).

I have 10 acres of flat grazing land that I take care of with a new 21-hp Kubota B7510HST that has the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket). Cost me $12,600 plus tax in May05 (invoice said $10,000 for the tractor and $2600 for the FEL). Never regretted spending the extra $s for the FEL. I have a 4-ft King Kutter rotary mower (brush hog) to mow the weeds. The 7510 handles it easily.

My Bota has 4WD and a hydrostatic transmission which are great when using the FEL for digging and scooping. Strongly recommend that you look into these features.

At 21-hp the 7510HST is underpowered for serious tillage, although I run a 4-ft wide Yanmar RS-1200 rototiller with no problem ($300 used). Comes in handy for landscaping and garden prep.

I'm going to put about 7 acres into hay production using a 1966 Massey Ferguson MF135 diesel (45 engine hp) that I picked up locally last July.

 

[jbrumberg]

mr_shovel:

Welcome to TBN ! I see a lot of good advise in the threads so far, and it appears that you have given some thought as to what size tractor you think you will need for your stated intended uses. There will always be some trade-offs as it relates to tractor size , use, and tire selection. It does appear that you will need a lightweight tractor with turf tires due to your wet lawn mowing requirements. Tire traction may be a problem for snow removal and your other intended uses without chains. Ground engaging attachments work best with a heavier tractor. Make sure that the tractor you ultimately purchase can handle a PHD and auger width you anticipate needing. Test drive as many tractors possible and visit the local dealerships in your area. Dealer "feel" is just as important as tractor "feel". Good luck on your search! Jay
P.S. There are no "best tractors".