Buying Advice I've narrowed my tractor choice down to a 1023e or 1026r

[Cargun]

I've been looking for a new mower with a front end loader and 3 point hitch to use around my house in eastern OK. It's a 3 acre lot, dead flat except for some ditches along the road that are still easily mowed a couple months a year when they're dry enough to support a tractor. If they're wet, I let the grass grow. 250' gravel driveway, and 25'x25' gravel parking pad (will get paved eventually). Only 4 trees to mow around currently, but will be planting 2 more this fall. There's another small grove 8 trees that I mow around the whole thing as there's no grass beneath the trees. House currently has no landscaping to speak of, but will be fixing that by putting in flower beds and planting. No plans for a garden in the near future. There are 6+ old tree stumps, all about 8" in diameter littering the property. All but 1 I've knocked down enough to where I mow right over the top of them but still want to dig them up eventually.

Right now I'm mowing with a LX266 with 42" deck and it takes me right around 1.5 hours. I have the hydro pedal pinned (5.5 mph I believe) over 50% of the time. I have yet to purchase any attachements/carts for the LX266 as I determined the first time I mowed with it that it was too small/slow for the job. I also own a TC55DA that is stored in another state waiting for me to purchase a plot of land (no room to store it at the house currently). Not knowing where the land is going to be at (5 minutes away or an hour away?), its hard to say how available the larger tractor will be. And with it currently weighing right at 8000 lbs with loaded R4's... I think it'll leave a mark on the yard.

I've looked at the Massey GC2400 and Kubota BX2360, but eliminated them due to dealer support (very poor local dealer, next closest is over an hour away), and not liking the hydro pedal position on Kubota and non-folding ROPs on both (the few trees I do have will require folding ROPS to mow under).

So my plan is to swap the LX266 for either a 1023e or 1026r with the following:
FEL with quick attach bucket
60D deck with mechanical lift
Turf tires
Mulch kit (always been a fan of mulching)

Biggest decision is between 1023 and 1026. The dealer quoted me "about $1200 difference" between the two. I don't see the need for the cruise control, extra lighting, tilt steering, black consoles, rubber mat, etc. The nicer seat is NICE, but with mowing being about 1 hour with the 60" deck, I don't think I'll ever spend enough time in the seat to justify it. So my question is:
I can see a use for a box blade for grading the driveway and leveling a couple areas of the lawn. How big of an advantage is position control on the 1026 going to be? I've only ever used tractors with position control so the 1023 will be uncharted territory. I imagine the box blade on a 1023e is similar to trying to grade a 250' driveway with the loader... which is difficult to get a nice level finish, or does the box blade help level things out better than a loader bucket on float?
Will the 1023e have enough HP to mulch with the 60" belly mower? I noticed that although the 1023e has good engine HP, the PTO horsepower is very low compared to the GC2400 and BX2360.

I'm going with mechanical lift because I don't envision much use for the 3 point other than using a box blade once a year and using a gooseneck and receiver hitch attachment to move empty trailers around the yard (diesel pickup leaves ruts). So the fact the 3 point will go up and down with the mower deck when I mow is a non-issue. With the hydraulic lift, swapping hoses between mower and loader would be a pain as 90% of the tractors use is mowing and 9% is loader. I don't want to be swapping hoses when I decide to jump on the tractor to move an engine, transmission, axle, level out a small patch of driveway, unload stuff from the pickup bed, whatever small things I decide to do since I have a tractor around. So to go hydraulic I would HAVE to add the 3rd SCV at $600 in addition to the lift at $179, and I dont see the value there for me.

For the loader, I'm wondering if I should save the $350 and go D120 with QA bucket rather than H120. I want the QA bucket so I can pull the bucket off when mowing, change between bucket, pallet forks, and probably a root bucket for stumps and maybe planting trees if it can get deep enough. So I plan on always leaving the loader frame attached and just hooking the bucket on when I need it. Frees up a lot of storage space in the garage as well. (only 12' deep so I can't park inside the detached H120 with bucket on it so tractor and loader would have to be side by side if detached). So even with H120 I'll be leaving the loader arms on and just removing the bucket.

Thoughts?

 

[PioneerMan]

I can't speak to your exact situation, but I recommend investing in your tractor now. It is usually more expensive to add things later. So while each decision you outlined is a valuable one, if possible do everything you are on the fence about, even the comfort related ones. I mow four acres with a x540, and would say tilt steering and better seat are worthwhile by themselves...

 

[art]

I would never recommend a non quick disconnect loader. Service work with the loader arms attached can be so difficult that is why they started making them quick attach about 30 years ago to help cut shop labor bills. It's your choice as well as money but I thought that tractor newbies come here for advice so I thought I'd enlighten you as to why loaders went to being quick disconnect. I do totally agree with quick disconnect on the bucket as well!

 

[Gator6x4]

I would recommend the 1026r. You seem to have quite a few task in mind to use the unit for. Position control on the 3 point is a must if you intend to use with a box blade or scrape blade to maintain the driveway, or snow removal. There will be times you want the loader off the tractor. Having that capability will reduce the tums intake. Moving goose neck trailers may be a reach. I have never liked to attach a tractor or other motorized unit to something that weights more that what I am moving it with. I have always looked at that like using a pickup truck to pull a boxcar. Another thing to consider since you appear to have some ambitious loader jobs planned or anticapated is a ballast box and rear wheel weights.

 

[arlen4720]

I think that a 3 point without position control, is not a 3 point at all. I have an x748SE, and I don't like anything about using the 3 point. Go with the 1026R. I would pay 1200 for the 3 point alone

 

[s219]

I'd recommend the 1026R myself -- the 1023E is a real stripped down model. The seat alone is worth it if you ask me -- the 1023E seat is lousy, worse than what's on my Deere riding mower.

As far as the 3-pt hitch, I do see the benefit of position control for certain things, but not for maintaining driveways with a box blade. I have done a lot of box blade work on my new 600' driveway in the last couple months, and the vast majority of the work is done with the 3-pt hitch in "float", using adjustments of the top link to vary the angle of attack of the rear cutting blades. I can only think of a few times when I had to set the height above the surface, and for that it was done by eye, looking at the blade to get the right height for the unique situations I was in. Position control really didn't factor in. That's more beneficial in cases where you want to set the same repeatable height every time and can gauge the requirement relative to the numbers on the lever (for instance, a rear mower).

 

[Cargun]

I can't speak to your exact situation, but I recommend investing in your tractor now. It is usually more expensive to add things later.

Definitely, I'm looking at 0% for 72m, so I'm trying to think of all my needs for the next 6 years when I'm buying.

I would never recommend a non quick disconnect loader. Service work with the loader arms attached can be so difficult that is why they started making them quick attach about 30 years ago to help cut shop labor bills.

I've looked at the operators manual for the D120 and it doesn't look difficult to remove at all. Install the 2 loader stands, pull 4 pins, done. Reinstalling means you have to jiggle the loader into alignment, which may be a little difficult, but really no different than what we go through to hook up 3 point implements. I can see the benefit of the H120 if I was putting the loader on everytime I wanted to use it and then taking it off when I finished, but for a once a year or less removal the D120 seems fine. The main difference between it and my 270TL on the TC55 seems to be 4 pins vs 2 pins. But I can't speak to how easy the 270 TL comes off because in over 5 years I've never had it off.

you appear to have some ambitious loader jobs planned or anticapated is a ballast box and rear wheel weights. I have never liked to attach a tractor or other motorized unit to something that weights more that what I am moving it with

I'm definitely getting loaded rear tires, still undeided on wheel weights. Probably going to use the box blade as rear counterweight, or buy a ballast box if I go with a blade in place of the box blade for driveway duty. I don't see the trailers as as problem, one is a 4000 lbs bumper pull with <600 lbs tongue weight, and the gooseneck is 4000 lbs empty with ~1200 lbs tongue weight. I found specs that listed the 3point lift capacity at the balls of over 1200 and lift capacity 24" behind the balls at over 600. Tractor will be close to 2000 lbs with loader and loaded tires and me sitting on it so it seems perfectly reasonable to me. I tow 16000 lbs trailers hundered of miles with a 7000 lbs truck without issues.

Good to hear that 3 point without position control can be used to successfully to smooth the driveway. I've always had trouble backdragging with a loader though if I'm trying to smooth an area more than 10 ft long, so that's why I kind of worried about box blade (or standard blade) without position control.

Resale wise I wonder how the H120 and Position Control help the 1026r because it seems like most people refuse to live without those 2 features. So the extra $1600 may be money well invested.

 

[TripleR]

Just my opinion for what it's worth. My choice would be the 1026R for the reasons mentioned by others. Yes, you can get along without the position control, we have a BX2200, John Deere 2305 and BX2660 and I have gotten the job done with them, but it is much easier with position control and I will not buy another tractor without it. Now if I need leveling, grading, maintenance done, I just grab one of our bigger tractors and let the SCUTs sit. I'm not trading them off, too expensive, but I sure don't like them.

In my opinion, the 1026R is well worth the extra money.

Thanks to the 1026R, Kubota is being forced to improve the BX lineup next year; about time.

 

[art]

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

Thanks to the 1026R, Kubota is being forced to improve the BX lineup next year; about time.

Ten years ago jd was forced to enter the newly created sub-compact market from Kubota's insight into potential customer demands for that product. Took them just over two years to enter the new market!

 

[TripleR]

Ten years ago jd was forced to enter the newly created sub-compact market from Kubota's insight into potential customer demands for that product. Took them just over two years to enter the new market!

That competition is sure making it great for all of us all no matter what color we like.