Buying Advice Need some advise on JD2305 is it for me?

[JDGREEN1]

I am looking to get a JD2305 with R-4 tires a 200cx loader, 53” bucket, ballast box, hood guard, 62” mmm and a LX4 rotary cutter.

My question is will it handle what I want to do with it?

Mow 2 acres of lawn all flat no slopes, move dirt piles for motto x bikes, scoop and move horse manure, plow snow with the bucket, mow 9 acres with LX4 rotary cutter of flat somewhat smooth grassy / golden rod fields no brush once a year maybe twice.

How is $14,300 for the price on the package?

I was going to trade my 1998 JD262 gear shift 6 speed with a 48” mower and 42” blade in. They are going to give me $1,625 off the $14,300?

Or should I go with the 2320 same setup but a 5’ Rotary mower for $2,500 more?
Thanks

 

[archerynut]

I would seriously think about the 2320 primarily for the use of the rotary cutter. The 3PH lift capacity is a lot more on the 2320 (1150 vs. 680) and I would think that extra foot with the rotary cutter would really add up on that kiind of acreage.

The hydraulics on the 2320 are also a little bit faster.


I think you can also get the Onramp mower for the 2320 and that would be alot easier to install/uninstall than the conventional mower if you are going to take off the MMM to mow the fields.

 

[kennyd]

I just replied to your other post...Double posting is not allowed here on TBN

 

[JCB]

I agree with archerynut. I have a 2210 with somewhat similar conditions to yours and the real limitation I think you'll have with the 2305 is the 3 pt lift HEIGHT. I really wish I had another foot of lift for the rotary cutter, and I'm betting that the position control would be nice too.

It always tends to get said here on TBN, but I think in this case you'll truly appreciate the bigger model.

Joe

 

[megotatractor]

I have a 2210 and a 2305 would do all of what you want I'm sure. BUT, 9 acres is a large piece of land for such a little tractor, not good in the rough.

 

[FortClatsop]

I'm mowing about 5 acres of rough pasture with a 5' RFM. I'm happy with the results. I went with the RFM for speed and the 5' width behind the 2305. I wasn't keen on using a 4' hog fewer times a year. I reason that I may mow more often but at a faster speed. In fact the roughness of the ride is the most limiting factor. I wasn't aware that you could put a 5' hog behind either the 2305 or 2320 because of the HP of the PTO. More recently my dealer said that the 2520 with only 2.5 HP more really wasn't up to the 5' hog either. That could be based on local grass conditions though.

I'm happy with what I do with my 2305. If I was in the 9-11 acre range I would think a much larger tractor would yield better results. I would think a lot more PTO HP would translate into more more cutting width and more speed. I'm not sure that the 2320 or 2520 is a good match for that acreage either.

 

[JDGREEN1]

I am looking to get a JD2305 with R-4 tires a 200cx loader, 53” bucket, ballast box, hood guard, 62” mmm and a LX4 rotary cutter.

My question is will it handle what I want to do with it?

Mow 2 acres of lawn all flat no slopes, move dirt piles for motto x bikes, scoop and move horse manure, plow snow with the bucket, mow 9 acres with LX4 rotary cutter of flat somewhat smooth grassy / golden rod fields no brush once a year maybe twice.

How is $14,300 for the price on the package?

I was going to trade my 1998 JD262 gear shift 6 speed with a 48” mower and 42” blade in. They are going to give me $1,625 off the $14,300?

Or should I go with the 2320 same setup but a 5’ Rotary mower for $2,500 more?
Thanks

Thanks to all for the replies and info on TBN. Here’s my story.

After talking with my dealer on the 2320 and a LX5 rotary cutter. He said the LX5 cutter was too big for 2320. The 2320 can only handle a LX4 cutter safely. Not just trying to sell me a larger tractor he said you would need a 2520 to handle the LX5 safely. So the 2520 was out of my price range. I want to take advantage of the 0% for 36 months. Now I am back to the 2320 or the 2305.

As far as the 2320 goes the differences / advantages over the 2305 are a true category 1-3pt hitch with position control, 1150 lbs. vs. 681 lbs. lift capacity, larger hydraulic pump, larger frame and tires, 4.8” more ground clearance, folding ROPS and cruise control.

As far as the similarity between the 2320 & 2305 they both take the same loader / bucket, same HP motor, same HP PTO, same size mid mount mower, same size rotary cutter.

Whichever tractor I chose it’s use will be mowing the lawn 80%, loader work 10% and rotary cutting 10%.

So after doing some thinking (my head hurts) I decided to go with the 2305. I purchased a JD2305 with R-4 tires a 200cx loader, 53” bucket, ballast box, hood guard, 62” mmm and a LX4 rotary cutter.

I could not justify spending $2,500 more for the same package on the 2320. For what I want to do with the tractor. I hope after getting to use the tractor for a while I won’t second guess myself and say I should have got something bigger. I’m sure we all do that at some point. But money does not grow on my trees.

So far I have 10 hours on the machine. I have loaded and moved 8 small pickup truck loads of horse manure. Cleaned out the barnyard with the loader. Mowed some of the field with the rotary cutter just to try it out. Plowed and moved snow from our resent storm Monday 4/16/07 (pictures attached). I have not been able to mow with the mmm yet. So far I am impressed with the tractor.


So what I decided to do with the 9 acres to cut with a LX4 rotary cutter. The acreage is now down to 6 acres. Two more acres will be made into horse pasture and 1 acre will be made for motor-x bikes. So mowing the remaining 6 acres of somewhat smooth grassy / golden rod once or twice a year should not be to bad. I will mow a couple hours at a time.

Thanks again for all the replies and info on TBN

 

[prentp]

Nice tractor and I am sure you'll be happy with it. I just went through the same process and I chose the 2320. The one other advantage that pushed me to the 2320 was the 62D drive over deck which wasn't available on the 2305.