What about a nearly new B2320?

   / What about a nearly new B2320? #1  

eosinophil

New member
Joined
May 7, 2012
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19
Location
iowa city, ia
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Hi everyone! As some of you folks know, I'm looking for a first tractor and have narrowed it down to probably a "B" series, in part based on all the help from the fine members of this forum. I live in Iowa and need occasional loader work, but mainly need to mow the hay field edges, ditch, slopes around the pond.

I was strongly encouraged to contact Barlow to see what they had and Brady let me know he has a B2320 with just 25 hours on it, with a loader, that he can get me for under 10K. The downside is it's gear drive. Now, I know lots of people don't like gear drive, but I wonder if I might be okay with it: I only drive stick shift cars. Hate automatics. And I used to live in Philadelphia and commute through the city every day in my stick shift car. Sat in stop and go traffic on I-95 every day when I lived in connecticut and never once wanted an automatic. So while I know some people find the gear shift a pain, i bet I wouldn't really care.

What do you all think?
thanks in advance!
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #2  
Just for homeowner use you will be fine. Hydro is faster for most tasks but not that much faster. I drive a manual transmission truck also but prefer hydro on tractors.
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #3  
i with you on the gear tranny i hate autos and hydro tractors
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #4  
It depends on how much loader work you will be doing. I have 6 vehicles and all are manual transmission, I really hate automatics in cars. That said, for a loader tractor I really, really, like either Hydrostatic or Hydraulic Shuttle shift. My bigger field tractors all have standard gear transmissions.

Bottom line, if you are only going to do a little loader work here and there (move some firewood or mulch, maybe some light grading or loading now and then) the gear drive will probably be fine. If you have big loader projects planned like moving tons of gravel, excavating, loading manure, etc, you are really going to wear out your knee, clutch, and patience with a gear drive tractor.
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #5  
That is a very compact tractor, only 45.1 inches wide at the rear tires. Not something I would want to do any loader work with but if it fits you the price seems about right.
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks everyone for your input so far. I think it is probably a good first tractor, especially for me since I'm mainly worried about mowing the rougher bits and keeping myself out of the pond. I am a bit tired of cutting it too close and having to drag my riding mower out of the mud with my F250 every week! Since I've never had one before I won't "miss" the hydro, I hope. And since I really do prefer a shift drive I imagine it's probably a better choice for me to compromise at the type of transmission than say at the age or condition. If i end up doing - or wanting to do - a bunch more loader work then I predict now, I recognize I will want to move up. But it seems to me this is probably a pretty good choice to start with. What it comes down to is that I really don't want to drop a ton of money for a bigger tractor with all the best options when I'm really not sure yet how much I'll really need it - or how much time I'll really be willing to spend using it versus hiring someone to do things. I'm waiting to see what the real $ details will be from the dealer- thanks again everyone for the great advice thus far!!
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #7  
I just purchased a B2320 with a gear shift and I love it. We just had a major snow storm and I have hundreds of feet of curved driveway and I had a ball removing the snow with the FEL. I had spent about three hours on a BX24 HST and found it pretty convenient, but I am still glad I got the gear model. That is a good price, too. Best wishes!
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #8  
Pretty much what everyone else said, I own and operate HST and geared like others and while I much prefer an HST for my needs which require a lot of loader work and back and forth dirt work, for your needs a geared unit should be fine. The Bxx20 Series has quarter inching 3PH, so you may need to adjust it to work properly and might need to get some check chains to keep your cutter from drifting down or do like many of us and just bump it up once in a while.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/212121-quarter-inching.html
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-buying-pricing/180412-eat-my-words-about-1-a.html
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #9  
For me the jury is still out. The price sounds good. HST maybe better for lots of forward and reverse but you have to constantly be on the go pedal or engaging cruise control. To drive a 4x4 tractor into a load of gravel and fill the bucket, nothing beats a gear drive. With HST I notice that to efficiently load the bucket, Low range is required, but to travel any distance to dump, you want to select Mid range. With Gear, you go into the gravel in 1st or second, shift to reverse, then shift to your desired forward gear to travel to the dumping area. With HST you shift into low range, then apply more pedal as the tractor loads while picking up dirt, then traction breaks and you get excessive wheel spin because of the speed range accessible in the range. Convienience is in having one hand on the wheel and the other on the loader controls while your heal applies reverse direction (Kubota). HST range selection can be finicky as the label says don't force the shifter, so I find myself playing with brakes and clutch to get it to shift. Then you have to select Mid range again to travel. I find it easier to back out of a tight spot with a gear tractor and when in reverse you use only one foot (right heal for engaging the locker). With HST you have to use the right heal on the go pedal and the left heal on the Diff Locker while trying to twist your body around to look behind you. One could go on and on eh.
 
   / What about a nearly new B2320? #10  
I tore my meniscus throwing cut branches around some years back (aka - twisted knee). Those tears are pretty common and do not heal quickly, if at all, without surgery. I went for 5 years before I got the surgery last January and the knee stills hurts but slowly getting better. If I did not have HST, I could not have used the tractor all that time. HST requires very little leg/knee movement. So there's that...
 
 
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