2305 vs 7610

[c5er]

OK heres the situation; we have had the 7610+MMM+FEL for 5 years - been a great machine w/o issues, although i never felt it mowed all that great. We are currently on 5 acres wit 800ft driveway. I have in the past used the truck and plow for winter plowing. The changing situation is we are building a new house on a lake lot which is 1/3 acre but has alot of steep slope to it, and too tight to try to plow with a full size truck.

So my needs are to probably snowblow as i fear not a whole lot of room to stack snow. some minor mowing, probably light landscape work for next few years. I use the walk behind snowblower on part of the driveway, during construction, last year and it was an execise in falling on my but on the hills.

So the question is keep the kubota an throw an blower on it, or buy a smaller tractor. The kubota is paid; but he blower is really pricy, and the tractor is bigger then needed, and i have the buyer of the new house offer 11.5K on it (240hrs on the tractor). I was contemplating a 2305 as its got smaller wheels , lower cg and slightly more compact, plus i think it may mow better. All the quotes i am getting for a blower for kubota are 3.8-4K so that makes the tractor value 11.5+4=15.5 which is less the 1K away from a new 2305. Another thought is since the mowing is so little to just buy a 2305 w/o a deck making it cheaper the keeping the kubota and pickup a cheapy mower for the little bit of grass.

the other 4wd garden tractors out there are actual more expensive then the compact tractors.

Any thoughts on keeping the orange vs converting to green (the bx line is plus at least 1500 more then the 2305?

 

[jenkinsph]

If I understand you correctly, you are selling off the 5 acre parcel and moving to a 1/3 acre lake lot. If this is the case I would sell the Kubota if the price is fair (don't know). Then consider a much smaller 100 series mower with a snowblower attachment. In the future you could use a small portion of the difference to pay for tractor landscape work. You should be able to buy a 48" mower with blower and have $6000 in change for landscaping your new yard.



Steve

 

[LBrown59]

OK heres the situation; we have had the 7610+MMM+FEL for 5 years - been a great machine w/o issues, although i never felt it mowed all that great. We are currently on 5 acres wit 800ft driveway. I have in the past used the truck and plow for winter plowing. The changing situation is we are building a new house on a lake lot which is 1/3 acre but has alot of steep slope to it, and too tight to try to plow with a full size truck.

So my needs are to probably snowblow as i fear not a whole lot of room to stack snow. some minor mowing, probably light landscape work for next few years. I use the walk behind snowblower on part of the driveway, during construction, last year and it was an execise in falling on my but on the hills.

So the question is keep the kubota an throw an blower on it, or buy a smaller tractor. The kubota is paid; but he blower is really pricy, and the tractor is bigger then needed, and i have the buyer of the new house offer 11.5K on it (240hrs on the tractor). I was contemplating a 2305 as its got smaller wheels , lower cg and slightly more compact, plus i think it may mow better. All the quotes i am getting for a blower for kubota are 3.8-4K so that makes the tractor value 11.5+4=15.5 which is less the 1K away from a new 2305. Another thought is since the mowing is so little to just buy a 2305 w/o a deck making it cheaper the keeping the kubota and pickup a cheapy mower for the little bit of grass.

the other 4wd garden tractors out there are actual more expensive then the compact tractors.

Any thoughts on keeping the orange vs converting to green (the bx line is plus at least 1500 more then the 2305?

Why didn't you consider the Kubota BX series along with the JD 2305?

 

[c5er]

I did consider the bx but it was between 1500-2000 more the the 2305. i could step it down to th 18hp bx but its still 1000 more the the 2305. Last time i made this decision the kubotas were better priced. I have absolutely no complaints on service from my kubota. frankly it paid for itself when i used it to do the bulk of the final grading on my current house. The lake lot is a little tricker, not sure i want to tackle the final grade on it.

My opinion on going with a small tractor like a 100 series, is i dont think it will handle the snowy hills that well. frankly i have worries the there wrangler and the Ram 4x4 vehicles will safely make it up and down the driveway.

I really did consider selling the tractor outright and using the cash to pay for all the landscaping. but I think of the PITA of on going yard maintenace and having to lug things up and down the hill in a wheel barrow. I can see taking a 1 hour job of applying mulch with the loader and turning into a full weekend. or the fact that i might want to add more sand to the beach area. But we are talking 10% of the time activities.

I guess after landscaping my current house over the course of 4 years and having the loader on more often then off, i have a hard time of seeing it another way.

 

[jenkinsph]

Well you could keep the Kubota and try a blade or get cleated shoes for the existing blower operation. Seriously with 1/3 of an acre and assume the house is part of this I would find buying a new tractor hard to justify.

Now if you just want a new tractor and you are operating on a steep grade why not consider the 2720 with more features and power to pull the grades.


Steve

 

[LBrown59]

When I got my BX23 for 15500 I couldn't touch a JD 2210 for anywhere near that.



I also bought both of these back in 2007 for 15600 .
Again JD wasn't even in the running.
*************
Some how I just can't beleive a JD 2305 for 1500 to 2000 less than these prices.

I did consider the bx but it was between 1500-2000 more the the 2305. i could step it down to th 18hp bx but its still 1000 more the the 2305. Last time i made this decision the kubotas were better priced. I have absolutely no complaints on service from my kubota. frankly it paid for itself when i used it to do the bulk of the final grading on my current house. The lake lot is a little tricker, not sure i want to tackle the final grade on it.

My opinion on going with a small tractor like a 100 series, is i dont think it will handle the snowy hills that well. frankly i have worries the there wrangler and the Ram 4x4 vehicles will safely make it up and down the driveway.

I really did consider selling the tractor outright and using the cash to pay for all the landscaping. but I think of the PITA of on going yard maintenace and having to lug things up and down the hill in a wheel barrow. I can see taking a 1 hour job of applying mulch with the loader and turning into a full weekend. or the fact that i might want to add more sand to the beach area. But we are talking 10% of the time activities.

I guess after landscaping my current house over the course of 4 years and having the loader on more often then off, i have a hard time of seeing it another way.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I think you would be happier with the 3205 on that small lot. Don't just assume that it will be more stable than your B7610. With a good set of chains on turf tires, you will be able to deal with winter. I agree that something like the Simplicity Legacy XL, or JD X7XX series would work, but I have found most of the 4wd units more expensive than the sub cuts too. I am a bit surprised that the JD is less expensive than the Kubota's, but I guess that is a regional, and competition thing. If using a front mounted blower, I like the twin pedals on the JD, but if using a rear mounted one, I like using the two pedal setup on the BX better. I can sit sideways, and easily use that rear pedal. Make sure you try both. The JD does have a larger, and quieter engine, and I like that.

 

[c5er]

When I bought the 7610, JD was much more expensive, tides have changed since then.

With the lot size, part of me thinks the tractor is way overkill. If the lot was flat, it wouldnt even be an issue, i'd buy a 2 wd tractor and SB and pocket a whole lot of cash.

 

[LBrown59]

I guess after landscaping my current house over the course of 4 years and having the loader on more often then off, i have a hard time of seeing it another way.

I think I woulda stayed on the 5 acres.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

When I got my BX23 for 15500 I couldn't touch a JD 2210 for anywhere near that.

Some how I just can't beleive a JD 2305 for 1500 to 2000 less than these prices.

So are you implying that c5er is lying?