Iowa Boy
Member
Okay, the search begins. Some of you saw my tread about losing weight, and there is a good chance, (okay, a chance anyway), that I will be buying a tractor next spring. One of the suggestions in that thread was that I should take my time and do some shopping, so when the time comes I know exactly what I want.
I bought my lot a couple of years ago, and for a while I was looking at a
B7100, thinking that size was about right. I started looking around last year, and kind of liked the Massey 1523/1528 for the features and the price.
Now I want to broaden my search. The first question I have for all of you is whether I should be looking at a sub-compact or a compact tractor. Let me describe my land. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac on a 5 acre pie shaped lot. The point of the pie, where the house sits, is about 3/4 acre of clear ground that I currently mow with a nearly new JD LT180 (60 hours). Then there are 2 acres of timber, on the side of a hill. At the bottom of the hill, there are 2.5 acres of open pasture with a creek in it.
The reason I want a tractor, more than just my rider, is so I can clear some trails through the woods, and skid some of the down trees to cut for firewood, and so I can work the pasture into a nice level play area for the kids. To do this work, I see myself needing a FEL, a box blade, a small rotary cutter, and eventually maybe a MMM to mow the pasture area. I do not need a BH for anything, at least not for enough to make me want to spend the extra money.
One of the first questions I want to answer is if I should keep the LT180 for mowing around the house and buy a compact tractor for working the woods and clearing the pasture, or if I should try to buy 1 unit to do it all.
If I buy one unit, I would be probably be looking at a JD2305, Kubota BX24, or a Massey GC2300. Then I could use it for everything. I don't think it would be optimized for working the woods and the pasture, but it would allow me to use the same unit for mowing my yard.
The other option is to keep the LT180 for mowing, and buy an additional tractor that is more suited to working in the woods. In that case I would be looking at something like a Kioti CK20/25, Massey 1523/1528, Kubota B7610, or JD2320/2520. I know at this time, there is quite a variation in the sizes that I mention, but at this point I have not narrowed my search more than that.
For dealers, there is an excellent JD/Kubota dealer very close by, although they seem a little more expensive than other dealers. There is a Massey dealer about 40 miles away that is willing to deliver a tractor for me to try for a few days. I like Kioti, but the closest Kioti dealer is 3 hours away. I plan on doing all my own maintenance, but for warranty work that could be a little too far away.
I'd like your suggestions. Do I go with 1 unit to do everything, or do I keep my rider and buy a little bigger tractor? Money is somewhat of an issue, but not enough that I want to sub optimize my equipment for the next 15 years.
Thanks for your help.
Joe
I bought my lot a couple of years ago, and for a while I was looking at a
B7100, thinking that size was about right. I started looking around last year, and kind of liked the Massey 1523/1528 for the features and the price.
Now I want to broaden my search. The first question I have for all of you is whether I should be looking at a sub-compact or a compact tractor. Let me describe my land. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac on a 5 acre pie shaped lot. The point of the pie, where the house sits, is about 3/4 acre of clear ground that I currently mow with a nearly new JD LT180 (60 hours). Then there are 2 acres of timber, on the side of a hill. At the bottom of the hill, there are 2.5 acres of open pasture with a creek in it.
The reason I want a tractor, more than just my rider, is so I can clear some trails through the woods, and skid some of the down trees to cut for firewood, and so I can work the pasture into a nice level play area for the kids. To do this work, I see myself needing a FEL, a box blade, a small rotary cutter, and eventually maybe a MMM to mow the pasture area. I do not need a BH for anything, at least not for enough to make me want to spend the extra money.
One of the first questions I want to answer is if I should keep the LT180 for mowing around the house and buy a compact tractor for working the woods and clearing the pasture, or if I should try to buy 1 unit to do it all.
If I buy one unit, I would be probably be looking at a JD2305, Kubota BX24, or a Massey GC2300. Then I could use it for everything. I don't think it would be optimized for working the woods and the pasture, but it would allow me to use the same unit for mowing my yard.
The other option is to keep the LT180 for mowing, and buy an additional tractor that is more suited to working in the woods. In that case I would be looking at something like a Kioti CK20/25, Massey 1523/1528, Kubota B7610, or JD2320/2520. I know at this time, there is quite a variation in the sizes that I mention, but at this point I have not narrowed my search more than that.
For dealers, there is an excellent JD/Kubota dealer very close by, although they seem a little more expensive than other dealers. There is a Massey dealer about 40 miles away that is willing to deliver a tractor for me to try for a few days. I like Kioti, but the closest Kioti dealer is 3 hours away. I plan on doing all my own maintenance, but for warranty work that could be a little too far away.
I'd like your suggestions. Do I go with 1 unit to do everything, or do I keep my rider and buy a little bigger tractor? Money is somewhat of an issue, but not enough that I want to sub optimize my equipment for the next 15 years.
Thanks for your help.
Joe
