Is Kubota B7500 the workhorse for 11 acres?

[PondKeeper]

Patrick

I recall you mentioning you have 11 acres but how much of the total acres will you be working and at what tasks. I have 10 acres and I have a B7500 but not all of my property is workable, ie: 2.5 acres are ponds, 2 acres wooded... I think sometimes the property size is seccondary to the tasks you will be needing the tractor to tend.

My 7500 certainly can fulfill mosts cores but certainly not as fast as a 7800. For example, there is a big difference between the 48" FEL on a 7500 and a 60" on the 7800. I have driven my 1400' driveway with a loads of stone up and down and back...and wished it had a larger FEL. The same could be said for a larger mower.

Another consideration is the evaulation between projects, are they maintance chores or are they new construction? The new construction type projects tend to need more power and size, maintance ones usually are more time intensive than power demanding. Larger projects aren't as numerous and sometimes renting a larger machine is better. I know the experience with my 7500 would make me much more proficient with a larger machine if I rented one now and it would not stress my 7500.

IMO, set aside the propery size and look at the jobs and then size the tractor into the budget. Just my $.02.

Mike

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Oops, I was thinking of the 7800. Your choice of the 7500 is similar to my NH TC24D in size, but with slighly less power, and to be honest, I think that is too small if you plan on doing a lot of clearing and other hard duties.

Don't get me wrong, my TC24D is a great tractor, but when the going gets tough I pull out a bigger tractor. You can get what you want done with that class of compact tractor, but I think you might want to go up a size, now that I realize what you are looking at.

Now

 

[chim]

Mike, you make an excellent point. I own a bit over 2 acres, and have a 300' driveway. That said, I finish mow about 7-1/2 acres, rotary mow mebbe an acre about twice a year, and clear about 1/4 mile of driveway when it snows. It can go the other way as well. Not too hard to imagine a 50 acre plot with a half acre cleared for a house and garage.

Anyway, before the B7500 came along, my Ford 1210 did the job except for the rotary mowing. The Kubota is more machine, and I can't figure out how I ever survived without the FEL in the pre-Kubota days. My B7500 is about a year and a half old now, and has 260-some hours on it. The size is ideal for me. It is at the upper size limit of what I'd want for finish mowing (percentage-wise the majority of the hours are spent mowing) and it is still able to handle the FEL, rotary mower, boom pole and other tool/tasks efficiently....................chim

 

[GregJ]

Patrick,
I don't mow or bushhog with my B7500, and I don't have a rear blade, but I can comment on the workhorse aspect of a B7500. I have pushed mine to the limit and then some and it has gotten the job done for me. There are times when I'd like more power and there are times when I am very glad I have the smaller footprint. No matter what tractor you get, there will always be compromises, so you just have to size it to fit your primary use and your budget. The B7500 is very well suited for maintaining wooded trails because of it's size. A toothbar is not only cheap, but I would consider it mandatory for this work.
When I was shopping, I really enjoyed looking at pictures to see what these tractors could really do. I need to see it to believe it. This last weekend I was moving some rocks to landscape with and I had one rock that the loader would just lift a few inches off the ground and another load that it had no problem with. I'll attach these pics so you can see what a B7500 can and can't do. Hope this helps. The pic attached to this is 3 rocks that it had no problem lifting.

Greg

 

[GregJ]

Here is the one big rock that the loader could only get a few inches off the ground.

Greg

 

[Egon]

Greg:
My little old B7100 was handling rocks like this.

Egon

 

[Bellville]

Hey Patrick, I too have eleven acres and am also shopping. Based on your discussion here you might want to look at the B2710, I looked at (drove) one last saturday and it seemed like it might be sized about right.

The tractor had HST and until I drove it I did not think I needed it, thanks to all the good advice here I decieded I should drive one for myself and see. I have to admit that based on the ease of use and the number of family members who would like to get some seat time it probably will be the most user friendly.

I also looked at a 3130, but that is another story all together.

My budget is now being re vamped as I re evaluate my needs

Good luck on your search

-Jack

 

[johnsonauto]

Have you looked at other brands? Mahindra, kioti,century etc.
You could probably get into a little bigger tractor for around the same money. Mahindra has 2 new models recently released the 2015 and 2615 hydros, in the same size class as the b7500 and b7800 range. They also have the 2310 and 2810 in a little larger class. Mahindra has great finance rates going now 0% for 3yr, 2.99% for 4 or 5 yr, 4.99 for 6 yr. I think with 11 acres a 20hp tractor would do what you want to do but would take a little longer than with a little bigger tractor. Hydros are nice and so are gear transmissions with a shuttle. You loose a little less hp to the pto with a gear over the hydro. Hydro is easier for anyone to drive who cant drive standard well. My suggestion is try driving both before you buy and pick which you feel most comfortable with.
Wish you luck with your purchase.
www.NewEnglandTractor.com

 

[nhman]

Patrick,

I made the mistake of a b7500 and then upgraded a year later. Speaking from experience, I'd go with the b7800 or 2910. I have 11 acres and mow about 9 of it. The 7500 would do it, but it took too long. I upgraded to pull a 72" rfm which cuts down on my mowing time, which is what I used the tractor for 90% of the time.

Get the loader, and hst. I find the hst is key for faster mowing aroung trees and such. Also, I've had better luck maintaining my quarter mile gravel road with the 2910.

Cost is an issue. I can say that when I decided to upgrade, i had no problem selling by b7500 and broke even on it, and may have made 100 bucks, but the tractor only had 90 hours on it and was in perfect condition.

nhman

 

[PatrickVA]

I run horses on my fields. So far, I need to mow about once a month, tops. Is the issue with the B7500 just time for you or is it the lack of power and wear and tear on the machine? Thanks!