Looking Help - Sub Compact field narrowed to 4

[aesanders]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( All Kubota BX tractors are full cat 1 and will fit any cat 1 implement. The problems arise due to the short stature of the tractor that limits lift height.

The 2006 BX's are better, but the use of Sub-Cut implements by manufactures such as the Woods Estate series and King Kutter BX series is a good idea. )</font>

The ground clearance issue of the bx is why they are referred as "limited category 1". This is the same with the other subcuts with small tires.

 

[thatguy]

By central VA, what are you refering to.... Some consider that to be the Richmond area, while the Lynchburg/Roanoke area is also described that way..

if you are in the Lynchburg/Roanoke vicinity - My father has purchased a JD 790 and a JD lawn mower from the JD dealer in Buchanan, VA (Blue Ridge something or another, they are between roanoke and lexington, right off I-81) and got great pricing both times.. There are several dealers in in roanoke/salem and two dealers in the Lynchburg vicinity - but none could beat the price the buchanan dealer gave dad.

If you are talking more toward Richmond, James River equipment is a HUGE JD dealer all the way between Roanoke and Richmond.. Not sure how competitive they are since they pretty much have a lock on a large area..

good luck

brian (in lynchburg - soon moving to bedford)

 

[briwalkr01]

Thanks for all of the different perspectives. This exactly what I was looking for from the group.

I am in Louisa County about half way between Richmond and Charlottesville. This affords me a lot of dealer choices (at least 4 from each manufacturer).

This information is going to be helpfull this weekend. I am picking a direction and hitting the three dealer in that area. I will take some test drives, look at the ground clearance on my ATV and use that as a benchmark (I do hit some stumps and roots with the universal bracket for the dump bucket), I will check the position of the FEL controls in relation to a long day of work. I will also look a their parts inventory, and service departments.

I have included the next size up in the tractors in my search. JD 2520, NH TC line, and Kubota B line. I will revisit them and price differences. Thanks again for the insights.

I don't think I can afford a tractor larger than my neighbor. He is on 35 acres and tends to over kill everything. You know the type that buys a pallet jack to do what regular hand truck would handle without a problem.

The wife says she doesn't care about the color. She just doesn't want to continue having to pull that rope to dump the bucket on the ATV. (That's what got her support on this whole purchase)

Thanks again for all the input. I check back in with results of the weekend.

 

[frank_f15]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM! SORRY i am a bit late to this thread but i was gone on vac. From what you meed to d and as another poster mentioned i think you might be very well advised to look into the CUT size tractors, mostly for the ground clearence.

 

[73jeep]

Consider the Massey Ferguson 1523. I am the brand new owner of one. It is a "CUT"; but its overall lenght is 102", which is the same lenght as the "subCUT" JD 2305. It is very close to that "subCUT" size, but has the extra ground clearance. You can see my pictures now in the photo galleries. And if you're interested in JD, their coming out with the 2320 in May-ish of this year. I drove myself crazy this past year trying to make a tractor decision...So good luck!

 

[briwalkr01]

Thanks all for your helpful input. I picked up the NH TZ25DA and it was delivered this weekend. It is great! I got to drive it for about 2.5 minutes before my wife hopped on and started clearing debris the rest of the day. That job has never been so easy. It is like I didn't do a thing.

I picked the TZ over the TC due to budget constraints. I measured my existing ground clearance and the TZ had more than the ATV with the Swisher Universal Mount that I had been using. I had pretty much leveled the paths etc so the ATV would clear, so the tractor should be fine.

The FEL works great. The wife created a pretty big pile of downed branches, poison ivy and other vines in no time. Now I have to figure out what I am going to do with the pile - too dry these days to burn. The wife may have to load it into the dump trailer for a trip to the dump.

I have a Woods box/blade and auger coming for this weekend. I wonder if I will get to use them /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif ???????

 

[daTeacha]

Congratulations on the decision. Your work for the tractor will multiply beyond your imagination. You'll find all kinds of things to use it for.

A word of caution -- DON'T burn poison ivy vines. The burning does not destroy the uroshoil that is the cause of the problems. You can get poison ivy all over your body walking through the smoke, plus in your breathing passages, mouth, eyes, and lungs. Just let it dry out and rot away.

Enjoy your tractor, and don't spend too much on attachments for a couple of months at least. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SWB]

Amen to the caution of burning the poison ivy vines. DON'T DO IT!!

 

[briwalkr01]

OK - Dump trailer it is then. Thanks for the warnings!