Buying Advice 260 BH or upgrade?

   / 260 BH or upgrade? #1  

Foxtrot08

Silver Member
Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
165
Location
North East Ohio
Tractor
John Deere 2305
Currently have a 2305 with a 60in deck, ballast box and a Land Pride RB0560 and having a great debate.

I have access to a lot of equipment from my parents farm, such as a mini excavator, backhoe, larger tractors, etc.

My huge debate right now, is I can get a used 260 backhoe for my 2305, for about $4000. Or, I could trade my 2305 in on a newer 2320 and get a drive on/drive off deck for about the same amount, maybe a bit more.

Is the bigger tractor worth it, specifically with the drive on/off deck? Or is the Backhoe worth not taking 2-3 hours to go get a mini-excavator?

I have about an acre myself, but I live in a community of 264 acres that members take care of, and I'm one of 3 with access to heavy equipment.

Thoughts?
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade? #2  
Welcome to TBN, Foxtrot. 264 acres is alot of responsibility... even when shared between 3 different people!

Now, spend $4K on a backhoe or buy a larger tractor with drive over mower deck?!? Does a mower deck work like a backhoe or is it a bigger tractor that makes the mower deck work that way...

OK, no more smart @***! :D

You're not very clear about what you're doing with your current tractor that isn't working out - or why that requires either a backhoe or a bigger tractor? Maybe you could fill us in.

Heck, with that much ground... maybe you should raise your sights even a bit higher than a 2320?

All of us here at TBN would like to offer you some things to consider (maybe I have) that might help you make a reasonable decision.

You gotta give us a little better "jumping off" point, though!

AKfish
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade? #3  
Foxtrot,

I have to go along with what AKfish said.

What are you really doing to need a backhoe, or a drive on mower. The power difference between those models is minimal so the 2320 is not going to out power it much.

What are your plans for your acre and the 264? Either of those tractors are severely underpowered for reworking/maintaining 264 acres. If there's just an occasional project for the 264 and you need maintaining the 1 acre more, than I think you could go with the 1026r.

I wouldn't see as much use for a BH, though, because you have a mini excavator available and you'd be very disappointed in the BH for the 2305.
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Yeah, sorry I was a little vague... was tired last night when I wrote the post.

The majority of what I would be doing is landscaping my own 1 acre / occasional project around the property, and mowing. My neighbor has a zero turn and he keeps the majority of the grass mowed. I do some mowing to help him catch up after rain and do the brush hogging around the shooting range, trails, etc.

What I would need the BH for, would be ditching around all the property and small projects around my house. (Just did a lot of remodeling and ripped everything out.)

I was thinking the same thing, since I have 2 excavators at my use and a fullsize backhoe - do I really need the 260BH? I can either trailer the 301.5 or the ZTS50 (little heavy on my F250), but it's only 3 miles from my parents farm. Or, I can just drive the JD 310 down.

As for other property stuff, when we had to pull trees out and do some clearing for a new section of land for houses going up for sale, I just drove the TN60 down with the tiller on the back and the box scraper chained in the bucket. So I'm not too concerned about having a huge tractor. 95% of the uses would be around my house, or mowing. The drive on/drive off would be nice for when I swap to the brush hog, or backblade. And the higher ground clearance of a 2320/2520 would be ideal - I'm very disappointed in the 2305 3pt hitch.

I'm just not sure if I'll find more uses for the backhoe, once I get my landscaping done. Or if I should just take the mini-excavator when I need it. As well, I agree with you martain, I think I'll be very disappointed by it - especially verse an excavator. I've run excavators on pretty much every project at the farm, or when we do stuff at the office so I'm used to them. And a tiny backhoe may leave me asking "why did I spend 4k on this?" Especially vs. the speed and mobility of a excavator.

None of the farm equipment is used everyday... my father just has a thing with toys. So it's not like I'm taking it from a job site or an area it makes money. Everything sits in the barn for the majority of it's life, besides the TN60 when we go feed round bales out and the 806 when we're baling hay. Even the 2420 is 4 years old, got it with a 160 hours on it - 'fair special' (it pulled carts of people around at the local fair.) And now has a grand total of a shocking, 207 hours.

I put more hours on my 2305 in under 6 months, ha.

I'm starting to think the 2520 would probably be a better investment then the 260BH.
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade? #5  
I think you may be better served with a 1026r. Yes, it is a smaller size, but they are really nice. With only an acre, it would be the perfect size, and when you need something larger, it looks like you have plenty of choices. I think you should go look at a 1026r WITH a backhoe, probably be pretty close to a 2520 w/o one. You can get the drive over deck on the 1026 as well.

Either way you go, I wouldn't think the BH for the 2305 would be your best option.
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade? #6  
I agree with Martian on the 1026 with only the chores on your 1 acre. If that's all you're gonna do.

However, if you have any obligations to provide additional help with the other residents and the 264 acres.. your instincts to get the 2520 with a larger drive over deck is probably on the money!

AKfish
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade? #7  
Hi All,

As a former 2305/260 owner, I was thinking anyone with access to a mini ex would be nuts (please excuse the accusation) to even consider a 260 hoe. The only exception I could come up with was someone who wanted one for speedy access for light jobs.

It sounds like this is just what Foxtrot is looking for so I'd have to support his purchase of one for $4000. For that price, you can't loose. If you get it and decide it was a mistake, there will always be people looking for one and you can sell it easily.

It's a great hoe for its size. You can get into areas with it that can't be gotten at with much else. Just don't plan on doing any significant stumping with it. There isn't a lot of power and certainly not a lot of speed.

Be sure your machine has the Power Beyond kit installed. It's about $200 and you can do it yourself in a couple of hours. Other than that, be sure the backhoe comes with the 2305 sub frame. Last, be sure you get/have the rotating seat with the deal too. They are pricey to buy.
 

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   / 260 BH or upgrade?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks all for the advice.

The majority of my BH work around my property is done, I did it this past year. I put all new down spouts in, new floor drains, fixed a foundation wall, build a new garage and put some french drains in around the yard. All with the 301.5.

All I have left is to pull out 4-5 big stumps (4 pines and 1 ash) and crush the old concrete septic tank (we have sewer here, private since its all around a lake). I also want to put a french drain around my new garage, since I'm getting some water into it.

So for the moment, I'm going to hold off on doing anything. I think my 2305 will be just fine for my purposes, and borrowing the mini for when I need it.

I do plan on building my own house, or buying one with some property in 3-5 years. When I do that, I will have between 20-40 acres of property. The 1026 is a pretty amazing tractor, and I do want one... I just can't see buying one right now, due to the little difference between my 2305 and it. I'm thinking I may look at a 2520/2720 or a 3 series down the road. Possibly with a 270 backhoe when they come out.
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade? #9  
I have a 2520 with a BH and if I had access to a real mini excavator I would sell this BH.
In a heartbeat.

It is great for what it is, but a mini-excavator it is not.
Switching seats gets old.
Taking it on and off would, too.
In fact, I don't take mine off.
I'll even push snow with it on.
It makes great ballast. :)
 
   / 260 BH or upgrade?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Wanted to update a little bit...

I'm going to trade up to a JD 1026r later on this year probably. Need to get some money saved up first. There's a lot of features I want on it, for the size yard I have, I think the 2520 will be over kill. But the 1026r shouldn't be too much of a price difference (4-5 grand max) between my trade in and the cost of it out the door.

The floating 3pt hitch, position control, drive on/drive off deck are all features I really want.

It's also assembled in the US, which is rather important to me.
 
 
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