red4now
Silver Member
Good Day all!
Just a quick note to summarize - hopefully for the benefits of others - why I eneded up with the GC2300. Before I go on though, wanted to acknowledge the contributors on this forum and others who also helped in the decision making process. Lots of info and food for thought. Thank you!
Originally had a JD322 which did the trick quite nicely for many years except when we had a really big snow. This was the area I needed do something about (driveway slightly more than a half mile long) Grass cutting was fine even with the amount I had to do but something slightly bigger and 4x4, etc would be nice. But which one to choose from. In the interim, I inherited a brother-in-law who just happened to be in the landscape business part time and had just purchased a yes you guessed it GC2300. Never had looked at them before since my focus had been green and a little blue with some orange thrown in sometimes. I had time so I sat back and watched and took it for a spin when it was sitting around here and checked it out. Started doing some research and looking around here. In the meantime he has put close to 600 hours on it in just over a year. My JD322 had 700 hours on it and I had it for over 10 years..hmmmm. He has a FEL, MMM, heavy duty tiller, third party heavy duty BH (backhoe?) (I am getting the lingo down pat anyway) and various blades / scrapers. He takes care of his equipment but they are his tools and so the 2300 looks a little rough around the edges already but he has not had one problem with it. Purrs like a kitten and works like a champion. He is not easy on his stuff and expects it to do what he thinks it should. So if he can use it like this, what I need it for should be a breeze. OK, but how are the dealers around here. Had two to choose from, one down the road actually but ended up with the one further away. Felt better with him, went out of his way to answer questions, worked the numbers better (the AGCO financing didn't hurt either) and talked to me about what I could do with the JD. His comment was that he would sell it for me and I could give him what I wanted to if anything. Had it sold in a couple of weeks at the price I gave him..bonus.
So what do I think so far. Just took delivery before the holidays and just before the big dump of snow - perfect timing! The FMSB (front mounted snow blower) is made by the same people that had made the third party one on the JD I had. Felt pretty confident that if it did at least as good of a job I would be happy and it did not disappoint. Even my dad was impressed (retired farmer)!! Didn't get chains this time and so far I have not needed them. Rigged up some suitcase weights on the back and it works like a charm. So far so good! Later on we will see about the grass cutting situation with the MMM. Likely will get a FEL at some point but I know someone that has one (plus a bunch of other stuff) if I need to do something along that line - at least that is what my better half has told me anyway... ;-)
What would I change? That exhaust out the front is kind of annoying as was pointed out by some other folks. Looks right at the FMSB chute and keeps it toasty (good thing it is black already). Need to do something there. Can't think of anything else at the moment. Block heater might be handy but haven;t needed it so far. Kept inside unheated shed and starts really well. I do keep a battery maintainer on it so that likely helps.
I better stop here. Sorry about getting long winded - it was supposed to be a quick summary. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
In conclusion:
- good unit and holds up really well (my bro-in-law is happy with his - you should see him backhoe!)
- FMSB does a really good job
- pick the dealer you are going to be happy with (if price would have been the same I would still have gone with this one)
I hope this helps others in their decision making process. Any questions, let me know!
Have a good day folks!
Henry...
Just a quick note to summarize - hopefully for the benefits of others - why I eneded up with the GC2300. Before I go on though, wanted to acknowledge the contributors on this forum and others who also helped in the decision making process. Lots of info and food for thought. Thank you!
Originally had a JD322 which did the trick quite nicely for many years except when we had a really big snow. This was the area I needed do something about (driveway slightly more than a half mile long) Grass cutting was fine even with the amount I had to do but something slightly bigger and 4x4, etc would be nice. But which one to choose from. In the interim, I inherited a brother-in-law who just happened to be in the landscape business part time and had just purchased a yes you guessed it GC2300. Never had looked at them before since my focus had been green and a little blue with some orange thrown in sometimes. I had time so I sat back and watched and took it for a spin when it was sitting around here and checked it out. Started doing some research and looking around here. In the meantime he has put close to 600 hours on it in just over a year. My JD322 had 700 hours on it and I had it for over 10 years..hmmmm. He has a FEL, MMM, heavy duty tiller, third party heavy duty BH (backhoe?) (I am getting the lingo down pat anyway) and various blades / scrapers. He takes care of his equipment but they are his tools and so the 2300 looks a little rough around the edges already but he has not had one problem with it. Purrs like a kitten and works like a champion. He is not easy on his stuff and expects it to do what he thinks it should. So if he can use it like this, what I need it for should be a breeze. OK, but how are the dealers around here. Had two to choose from, one down the road actually but ended up with the one further away. Felt better with him, went out of his way to answer questions, worked the numbers better (the AGCO financing didn't hurt either) and talked to me about what I could do with the JD. His comment was that he would sell it for me and I could give him what I wanted to if anything. Had it sold in a couple of weeks at the price I gave him..bonus.
So what do I think so far. Just took delivery before the holidays and just before the big dump of snow - perfect timing! The FMSB (front mounted snow blower) is made by the same people that had made the third party one on the JD I had. Felt pretty confident that if it did at least as good of a job I would be happy and it did not disappoint. Even my dad was impressed (retired farmer)!! Didn't get chains this time and so far I have not needed them. Rigged up some suitcase weights on the back and it works like a charm. So far so good! Later on we will see about the grass cutting situation with the MMM. Likely will get a FEL at some point but I know someone that has one (plus a bunch of other stuff) if I need to do something along that line - at least that is what my better half has told me anyway... ;-)
What would I change? That exhaust out the front is kind of annoying as was pointed out by some other folks. Looks right at the FMSB chute and keeps it toasty (good thing it is black already). Need to do something there. Can't think of anything else at the moment. Block heater might be handy but haven;t needed it so far. Kept inside unheated shed and starts really well. I do keep a battery maintainer on it so that likely helps.
I better stop here. Sorry about getting long winded - it was supposed to be a quick summary. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
In conclusion:
- good unit and holds up really well (my bro-in-law is happy with his - you should see him backhoe!)
- FMSB does a really good job
- pick the dealer you are going to be happy with (if price would have been the same I would still have gone with this one)
I hope this helps others in their decision making process. Any questions, let me know!
Have a good day folks!
Henry...
