Buying Advice B3200 for a church

[chrisargo]

I am an associate pastor at a church in Mc Calla, Alabama. Twenty years ago our church purchased 45 acres on which to construct our new campus. About 4 years ago, we completed the first phase on our new property. The first phase included clearing about 15 acres and constructing a sanctuary. The remaining 30 acres are heavily wooded and the topography is rolling and would not be developed for 15 to 20 years.

1. • The cleared area leaves about 10 to 12 acres that are not landscaped, paved or built upon.
   • Approximately 4 to 5 acres are fairly flat and we would like to mow on a weekly basis with a finish mower.
   • The remaining 5 to 7 acres needs to be rough cut on a monthly basis (bushhog).
   • We also have a huge pile of topsoil and many bare areas that need topsoil spread.
   • I feel we could also make use of backhoe at times. We have drainage areas to create/maintain as we pave other areas
   • We also have a retention pond and the area around needs work/maintenance as well.

I spoke to a local dealer and they recommended the Kubota B3200 largely for the mowing/bushhog and material handling. I realize that when we clear the land many years from now a larger tractor will be needed to maintain the land, but by then we should be able to afford more.

I have been considering this purchase for over a year now. The individual who has been bushhogging for us is a member who lives adjacent to the property and has done so for free for the last six years. However, he is moving up in age and has less and less time to maintain the property. Therefore, we are ready to explore this avenue.

I have been browsing the tractorbynet.com forum and saw so many recommendations from users I thought I would ask for some direct feedback from the experienced individuals.

By the way local dealer is quoting at $20k for tractor, FEL, 60" MMM, 5' bushhog. How's the price?

 

[TroyR57]

Hey, that sounds like a good deal. I might even want to know who your dealer is.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Hey, that sounds like a good deal. I might even want to know who your dealer is.

If you think that's a good price, you need to contact Barlows and tell them it's for a Ministry as the OP.

 

[Johndeere3720]

That sounds like a good deal.:thumbsup: Have you looked at any other brands though?

 

[davatk]

That sounds like a good deal.:thumbsup: Have you looked at any other brands though?

That is a pretty good deal, although Barlows may be able to beat it by a bit, but no more than a grand I'd say, if that.

 

[leonz]

I am an associate pastor at a church in Mc Calla, Alabama. Twenty years ago our church purchased 45 acres on which to construct our new campus. About 4 years ago, we completed the first phase on our new property. The first phase included clearing about 15 acres and constructing a sanctuary. The remaining 30 acres are heavily wooded and the topography is rolling and would not be developed for 15 to 20 years.

1. • The cleared area leaves about 10 to 12 acres that are not landscaped, paved or built upon.
   • Approximately 4 to 5 acres are fairly flat and we would like to mow on a weekly basis with a finish mower.
   • The remaining 5 to 7 acres needs to be rough cut on a monthly basis (bushhog).
   • We also have a huge pile of topsoil and many bare areas that need topsoil spread.
   • I feel we could also make use of backhoe at times. We have drainage areas to create/maintain as we pave other areas
   • We also have a retention pond and the area around needs work/maintenance as well.

I spoke to a local dealer and they recommended the Kubota B3200 largely for the mowing/bushhog and material handling. I realize that when we clear the land many years from now a larger tractor will be needed to maintain the land, but by then we should be able to afford more.

I have been considering this purchase for over a year now. The individual who has been bushhogging for us is a member who lives adjacent to the property and has done so for free for the last six years. However, he is moving up in age and has less and less time to maintain the property. Therefore, we are ready to explore this avenue.

I have been browsing the tractorbynet.com forum and saw so many recommendations from users I thought I would ask for some direct feedback from the experienced individuals.

By the way local dealer is quoting at $20k for tractor, FEL, 60" MMM, 5' bushhog. How's the price?

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A lot of issues and possibilities.

If you buy a B3200, I would buy a flail mower for the tractor not a finish mower as a flail mower with hammer knives and grass knives will work wonders for you and you will be able to mow when its the grass is wet for the following reasons;


1. a flail mower does not throw objects making missles out of them.
a. It mows down very heavy brush using hammer knives/grass knives with less effort and aid in quickly composting the brush.

b. the bush hog has all the same issues as a finish mower and less cutting edge length.

2. a flail mower is easier to maintain and does not require cleaning like a belly mount or rear mount finish mower unless you want to use a hose to wash under the hood-the grass is not thrown and packed into the deck like a finish mower is due to the blade design as it cuts and lifts the grass over the rotor and throws it down to the ground.




3. a flaill mower grass knife slices grass. a rotary tears the grass blades.

4. a flail mower has a rear roller which is the full width of the mower deck avoiding scalping.
a. the flail mower hood is up out of the way and will not twist due to its heavier construction.
b. the flail mower belts are easy to change and inspect.
c. the belly mount finish mower will collect grass and be harder to clean the grass out from under the guards covering the belts.



5. a flail mower has more cutting edge length in total than a finish mower no matter the width.

6. a flail mower has the ability to overseed and dethatch lawns and create a good seed bed with the overseeding/dethatching blades.

7. a flail mower has more cutting edge inches per foot and operates at a lower RPM speed than a finish mower.
a. the grass cut by a flail mower will compost faster and if you have taller grass you can either cut it slowly or cut it at a faster speed
and go over it second time to mulch it with less effort as a finish mower will simply pick the cuttings up and throw them and require more
time to try to mulch it which usually does not work.



8. a flail mowers knife blades are designed to fold back when a hidden object is struck and does not cause damage other than a nick in the cutting edge.
a. flail mower knives are less expensive than a finish mower blade.
b. the rotor on the flail mower is balanced and the blades simply work.
c. the finish mower blades need to be balanced and sharpened and are useless if damaged and bent.

9. a flail mower can interchange knives quickly with few tools- I dont need tools with mine anyway with compression spring hangers.
a. the knives are easy to sharpen with a wet grinder or a hand held flail mower grinder- the wet edge is better-I use a Wen wet well knife grinder-beautiful piece of machinery.

10. a flail mower knife can be flipped to use the other edge of the knife blade.

11. if you upgrade to a new tractor with more power you can avoid having to buy a new mower and keep the same mower.

12. we are on our second flail mower and have had it for 30 years with only main bearing replacements and the occasional V belt.

leonz

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

That is a pretty good deal, although Barlows may be able to beat it by a bit, but no more than a grand I'd say, if that.

It's for a Church. Kubota has a pretty sizable discount for Ministries. Sizable.

 

[General Lee]

I think that is a good price.

 

[2manyrocks]

Where are you going to store a tractor?

Who is going to operate it?

Who is going to maintain it?

What's your liability if there is an accident?

 

[chrisargo]

Seems the general consensus is that this could be a pretty good deal. I'll keep working with the dealer to make certain we get what we need at the best possible price.

I'll also check with Barlow as I've heard great things about them.

I've considered other brands but the price seems to be pretty close to this quote on comparable machines and it seems the b3200 has a slight edge in several categories.

I appreciate the comments on the flail mower as well and will check out the threads here before making my final decision.

The dealer we are dealing with has a huge service team/shop and a great reputation for service. Additionally, when we need service/maintenance, if we can be somewhat flexible with the timing such as when their truck is in our area, they will pick up and drop off for free for churches.

As for storage, we have a secure area onsite as well as the member who has been doing the work has 16 acres adjacent and we could use his barn if necessary.

The tractor will be run by our full-time custodian. He has limited experience with tractors but I have a couple of well-seasoned veterans who will provide all the training necessary. Therefore, liability is covered under workman's comp and our commercial property insurance.

I greatly appreciate the input thus far and would love to hear any other thoughts you might have.