Well, lets start here...
What all do you plan to use your tractor for?
I can see his point exactly. There is a reason I went as large as the R3039. Mostly for loader capacity for moving firewood. I have a decent tractor (ironically a SSCUT - Bolens Iseki diesel) that works good for mowing.
One might argue you would be better off (or maybe I should say happier?) in the end with a nice zero turn for handling mowing duty, and a larger tractor for 'work'.
I guess it really all depends on what your intentions are with the tractor.
I have stated this several times in other threads. You may not have read them, but I am fairly certain the guy I was replying to has. Hes just being argumentative for no reason. There Is nothing that the GC1710 can't do that I will be asking of it. I didn't spend over a year and a half now talking to dealers not to know the capabilities of these tractors. My whole purpose in wanting something slightly larger is to gain a bit of ground clearance. That and adding a lil more power all around is not bad thing. That said, I don't NEED more to do what I will be doing.
There will be some one off deals. For instance, clearing two acres of brush land. Brush the size of my thumb around. The Massy dealer said the Brush Hog would have NO problems tackling this size brush. From there , its a matter of clean up. I am fully aware that a larger tractor would be more efficient. But this is not about getting it done in a weekend. I will be living there probably until I retire, so I've got time. Every dealer I have talked to has told me the same thing, that a SCUT can handle this.
Another one off deal is digging some stumps out. The largest one that has to go is 12" in diameter. This is a dead Pine Tree. In fact, all the tree stumps that need to go are pine, and all are successively smaller. I have again been told by every dealer that with a bit of tenacity, any of the the SCUT's I have looked at will be able to do the job.
I have a short footer that needs to be dug for an addition, and a footer to dig for an out building. Again, a lil tenacity, nothing that the SCUT can't do.
Then there is the long term property maintenance. Blowing snow, mowing the lawn, tilling the garden.
The guy I was responding to I am certain I have seen in other threads where I have said this all b4. He's just being a pain. I am more then willing to take advice when it makes sense. But the notion that these SCUT's are some how only marginally better then a Garden tractor is stupid. Going with something Like the J series from LS would only add that much more to the ease of doing what I want to do. And somehow that gets blown up into you need a 40 HP tractor. That's just stupid. The biggest problem with LS remains the potential Service Issues. I have said nothing that was outrageously out of line. People like Gman got nothing but argument for arguments sake. They add nothing. I don't expect or even care that people agree with my take on things. They don't have to. It would be a WHOLE lot more productive to state in an adult manner why you disagree. Maybe we won't change each others minds. But the real benefit is that others can get both sides of the story and make decisions for themselves. What happens here is so many people want to Flame. And whats their biggest rebuttal to that statement? "Nuh Uh,,, you falming". I say, you are trolling. They say "Nuh Huh, you trolling". It's stupid. Id be happy, as I did with you, to debate thoughts and Ideas point for point. At the end, maybe we disagree. Why is that not a reasonable outcome? There are, no matter what people like Gman have to say about it, valid points in my arguments. Points that others searching for information on the J series would want to consider. Gman might even have some valid counter points of his own to share. But hes to busy being the Kung Fu Flame master to post them. It's not about agreeing or disagreeing with people like him. It's all about the "War". Just because you have a view on something, does not make it the ONLY proper view.