Comparison Purchased a Massey fergusson gc1720

[gtmtnbkr14]

I have been lurking on this forum for a while trying to make a decision on what SCUT TLB to buy- Deere 1025, Kubota bx25, mahindra or Massey, and really enjoyed reading everyone's views and experiences. I finally decided to share my experience with the forum too. Please bear with me as this will be a longer post (I'm still really really happy with my purchase!)

I don't own a farm or a huge lot. My house sits on just over 1/2acre. My wife and I do a lot of organic vegetable gardening and the loader and backhoe help significantly with planting and compost management. We also own 8 rental properties that require land work every year and sporadic snow plowing when the plow man's truck breaks down. I needed a small TLB with a lot of power to get into tite areas (all properties we work with are residential lots with tenant cars around and tite areas between trees, etc) and that I could transport on my 6x12 landscaping trailer to get to rentals and help family members and friends with the occasional project.

In June 2016 after breaking my back doing work for the last time, I bit the bullit and bought a new Massey GC1720TLB. I looked at Deere, kubota, and mahindra also. Mahindra looked awful at each dealer I looked at- rusty fading paint, not comfortable for me. Kubota was ok and I wanted to like them- my son loves the color orange and wanted me to buy the Kubota immediately- lol (and I would have too, had i not fallen in love with Massey). But I didn't like the drive pedal. I've driven Kubota before so I was familiar with it, but after operating the side by side Massey pedals, I couldn't go back. Deere was nice, but over priced for the color and had too many plastic parts. Some features seem like after thoughts, like the work lights on a 1025r- not really functional with loader on, but it had nice floor mats and was comfortable It was my second choice (I liked the hip mounted loader control too).

I went with Massey for a few reasons:

1. Backhoe: The hydraulic cylinders for the backhoe were larger on the Massey and it could dig deeper than the other choices. Ergonomics: I really like having the grab handle behind the joysticks rather than in front so I can rest my wrists on it as I work (helps when operating backhoe for a long time to fight fatigue). The Massey backhoe is also a much cleaner looking unit, even down to the locking pins and their storage locations. Deere had hoses exposed on the backhoe facing side- kubota was not much better. Grease zirks and hydraulic fittings: nicely placed on Massey. I also like that the fittings are protected on the stabilizer legs and placed under the cylinders. Had a bad experience operating a kubota B26 where a rock fell over a dirt pile while digging and broke off a fitting for the stabilizer cylinder that was mounted on top of the cylinder facing work area. Had nice removable digging teeth and nice mounting point for thumb (factory or aftermarket).

2. Loader had highest lift capacity of the lot and I felt like it was attractively built- hoses placed in a nice protected area, loaded lever placed in a comfortable spot- looked like it was designed with thought as part of the machine rather than an add on to a tractor. I like that it had 2 large cylinders to dump bucket. Loader Operated at low RPM's, which is nice when working in residential areas near other homes)

3. Tractor felt very comfortable to sit on, controls were ergonomically placed (and I really like the over sized throttle lever), had highest HP rating (25hp), 5 year warranty, Engine compartment was easy to access with metal hood opening up toward the front (like a ride on mower). I like that it was built by iseki, one of the largest Japanese tractor manufacturers with great reputation. In my opinion the hydraulic flow and operation was the smoothest with Massey. I really liked the side by side hydro pedals and the size of the pedal pads on Massey vs others. Only issue is it would be nice to have a telescoping steering wheel.

4. Price- of all the companies the best option (ended up being the least expensive). I was able to buy my machine out of state for $17750 OUt the door. In state wanted about $21k OTD for Massey, about $19/$20k for Kubota, about $20k for Deere, and I didn't bother pricing mahindra.

I have had this machine now for about 9 months and put almost 60 hours on it. I used it during the summer and fall to pull 4' diameter boulders out of the ground to clear ground for planting beds, dug up countless stumps of varying sizes, dug trenches for underground electric and drain lines, cleared land (toppling small trees with loader and general lot clearing work), used like a crane to lift up trailers for axle work, remove logs from land and load on trailer and then unload (with backhoe and thumb like log loader). I have been using it all winter to plow snow with a 5' bxpanded loader mounted plow and the loader to move snow piles.

I bought "kens grad hooks" bucket mounted shackles, a bro-tek thumb, and as mentioned earlier, a bxpanded snow plow. Also bought and installed an Agco MF engine block heater which is so helpful when starting this machine in sub 30 degree weather (glow plugs work, but takes longer and exhaust smokes until it gets warmed up. I was able to install this in about 20 min.

This machine is unstoppable! I just finished plowing 8 driveways and 2 small parking lots after NY's recent snow dumping of 30" in my area and this machine was dancing circles around all the F250/350's that were getting stuck all over town trying to plow over 2' of snow. I was able to get into tite areas a truck couldn't get to and finish the jobs without any trouble. I love this thing! My wife, who didn't understand why we (of all people) had to buy a backhoe, finally came around and sees the value in it. The kids love it too (although one of them keeps asking if we can paint it orange)

Any of the options out there will work vs using your good old 2 hands and back to work with, but in my experience the Massey is amazing!

Hope this review helps others in 2017 and beyond!

Happy digging!

 

[edgarrian]

Sounds like you made a good choice. I too have a massey 1705 and have used it extensively. I have 100hrs on it and have not had it for a year however its birthday is rapidly approaching (May). I was turned off by kubotas tractor due to the one cylinder that operates the bucket. My dad has a kubota and its been a great machine for him when he put out yards and other side jobs. I test drove a small LS and not that i didn't like it but I felt the dealer just wasn't there to give info or ask many questions that i may have. I never considered a deere. So all in all I'm happy with my Massey. I used it to backfill my house and to shave knobs down with the box blade. There was a few times where the roots that i left from removing trees stopped me in my tracks. I never broke a tine on the box blade and was surprised. I use it manly for splitting wood and mowing. But have used it to finish my driveway, some small stump removal, moving shrubs and the sorts of living on 8acre wooded area. We are starting a garden this year and i have already broken ground on it. My wife was kind of against it being that we won't use it much but I tell you what that tiller does an amazing job. Anyway glad to hear your experiences are good. I sometimes wish i could get enough snow to remove but then again I'm glad we don't

 

[coldsteelva]

Fantastic write-up. I too have a GC1720, but since we had a minimal winter and I still let the 30-year old Mitsu MT180D absorb the abuse of mowing, I only have 35 or so hours on the engine (only 3 with the rear PTO). The majority of the hours are like you: digging and pulling stumps, rocks (boulders), brambles, etc. I swear the previous owner of my land PLANTED rocks.

I have a set of Ken's Bolt-On Hooks, which are fantastic for lifting with the loader without risking damage to the hydraulics behind the bucket. I still need a thumb, but am torn between the MF one and the Bro-Tek one. I also picked up a set of pallet forks, which allow easy movement of both palletized and awkward/long goods without stuffing them in the bucket.

 

[onionfmr]

I've had three Massey tractors in the last 17 years. Each progressively larger as we refined our concept for the property (1240, 1643, 1754). Probably put 1,500 to 1,600 hours on them in total over the years. Have been very satisfied with them overall and am surprised at what can be accomplished with them. Sounds like you did well on your purchase and I would expect as time goes on you will be very satisfied with your GC1720.

 

[AxleHub]

I love happy endings and it seems the Massey GC products are producing their share. Lol

 

[plowhog]

Congratulations. My GC1710 is great ...

 

[AxleHub]

Plowhog. . a little of topic. . but I just noticed you have 2 locations (NV and CA). Does your gc1710 commute too. . . Or just you?

 

[plowhog]

It commutes, as needed. It's in CA now, soon to be home in NV. I live in NV, and it bush hogs and maintains a couple of acres and irrigation water ditches. Didn't need it much in NV during the winter, so it did some chores in CA instead.

I just took delivery on a MF 1758 for the CA property. Bush hogging 12-15 acres instead of two. And a lot more. Not ready for pictures yet-- it rained and everything got messy counting a little play, I mean work, time with the new machine. Pix soon.

btw, I completed the oil change for 50 hr service on the 1710, but found the diagrams for hydro fluid change very confusing. The owners manual, and the factory service manual ($100) each have terrible diagrams about where the drain is, with no reference about front, back, left, or right. Just a goofy line art illustration. I'm pretty sure I know which drain bolt is appropriate for the hydro fluid, but wanted to be 100% correct, leaving no chance for error before I backed it out. Surprisingly, the first instruction for changing hydro fluid says lower the 3pt hitch all the way down. BBWWWAAAAAAAAA, my backhoe is on the tractor. I chased for a long time if you need to remove the backhoe to do this service, finally just looking it over and ... duh .... figuring that everything is accessible. Don't know why instruction #1 is to lower the 3 pt hitch.

 

[AxleHub]

I assume they want it lowered because you don't want any pressure on the 3pt when you take the fluid out. With weight on the back from a weight box etc. , with fluid being drained the 3pt. Could drop very quickly.

And the easy thing to miss is the screen that needs to be taken out and cleaned.

Pretty fair size changes in tractors and both shiny red

What size/type of trailer do you use to haul the GC?

 

[plowhog]

I recently bought a Big Tex 20 foot equipment trailer with mega-ramps on the rear. (I'm pumping up the economy ....) It's a 14k capacity trailer, which was derated to 10k pounds so I didn't need a CDL in California. I don't plan to tow over 10k pounds, but I wanted the beefier frame and bigger brakes. I'm very pleased with the trailer. Much better than my previous equipment.

Makes sense on the 3pt. Didn't consider some dipstick might be laying under his 3pt loaded ballast box while draining the fluid that holds it up, LOL.