Newbie at Square 1

[SpruceHill]

Hello all. I have been reading all the posts here for some time and have learned a ton. Just signed up as my tractor search process is about to begin. My wife and I have purchased 13.5 acres on which we are about to begin construction of our new home. Aprox. 5-6 acres are cleared and I would like to mow. Around the house will be a flat/slightly slopping area of about 3 acres, then the property begins to slope down more steeply... still navigable by tractor, not a "cliff" or anything. We have a 1200ft driveway with a ditch on one side (it's contoured so it can be mowed). Also have a seasonal stream that is wet in winter and spring, but dries up in summer... no rocks, all grass, just some "ups and downs" that I want to keep mowed. Eventually I may clear more property, so more to mow in the future. Their is a reputable John Deere dealer within two miles of my property, plan to buy from them... a Kubota dealer is within 25 minutes of me but mixed reviews. Any suggestions on which JD compact tractor model to look into? I really like the 2305. We will be using the machine for mowing and plowing (or snow blowing?) our driveway in winter. Perhaps use it to assist with planting new lawn once construction is complete. I like the 3320 with enclosed cab... our property is literally on top of a ridge, so it gets VERY windy and COLD in the winter... sure would be nice to have a heated cab! I'm not sure my wallet can take the increased cost of the cab though. Should I consider a mid-mount mower or a pull behind... the land has been reclaimed from brush, so it's not smooth like a lawn in all areas. Are these two machine overkill for my needs? Looking to buy one machine and keep it for the long term.

Sorry about the long post, trying to provide as much background as possible. Thanks for any advise!!

 

[robison]

My own experience with similar sized residential property in New England suggests that you may be better served by two tractors - a garden unit like a GT or GX series to mow the lawn and do work around the house (seeding, fertilizer, leaf pickup)

I have a GT235 for that purpose.

And then look at a bigger tractor with a cab to remove snow, build walls, cut brush, drag trees and whatever other heavier work you may do.

I have a 4510 for that, with a Curtis cab, 460 loader and other attchaments.

The 4510 can put a lawn in - place fill, grade it, till land, etc. but you need a smaller lighter machine to take care of a lawn.

 

[JDFANATIC]

SpruceHill,

Welcome to the forum and your new purchase. Robison raised some good points -- although I don't know that I would be wanting to mow 5-6 acres with a L&GT unless it was a higher-end one with a large deck. That might be a budget breaker. The 2305 you mention, would do what you say, and there are cabs available for it if that is important -- and it will clear snow like there is no tommorow /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif. But with the total acreage you mention, I might be looking at some slightly larger tractors: 4110 (if you can still find one, or wait until the spring for the 2320 -- it's replacement); 4115, or it's current replacement -- the 2520. The 3x20 series are really nice, and the cab's are fabulous. The only thing to consider with them, is now you are into a 2900 lb. tractor, and the impact of that on your landscape. You will also find that as you go up the line, not just the tractor increases in price, but the attachments, hitches, upstops, etc.

While it is a shame to go too small on the tractor and either have to live with your mistake or pay for the upgrade, it is just a bad to oversize. Think about what you will be doing most of the time . . . it might just be mowing. Then, maybe you might even consider hiring out the major heavy work -- or renting a machine for that -- and then when all is said and done, be left with the perfect machine for what you will be doing the most of.

Test driving some of these tractors on your property can also tell you a lot.

Happy hunting! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BloomingtonMike]

Your place sounds a lot like mine. I only have 6.05 acres total. I went with a 3320 open air as my wife said 6K for the cab buys a LOT of new carharts and hand heaters. IL gets cold as well and really there are no wind breaks at my place. I find that so far the snow removal has been fine even with the open air (and my new carharts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ). I would recommend this tractor. I also bought the 72" 7-iron deck mid mount mower. It is fantastic! It is also pricey and you can buy a RFM for less but this MMM is awesome. I can mow all day on my 3320 no problem. I have R4 industrial tires and they are fine on my lawn no problem - even at 2900lbs. This one tractor will do it all for you and give you a back hoe option in the future.

I recommend getting the 3rd valve (you will get it if you buy the 7-iron anyway), and the 300CX loader lines for that third valve - order thos when you buy the tractor (so I guess get the 300CX loader as well).

I would not buy smaller with the work ahead of you - espically if you want a one solution machine.

 

[crazylare1]

Welcome to the forum! I agreed with Mike, I purchased a new 3320 a few months ago, and it sure is a fantastic tractor. When I first started looking at tractors I wanted one the size of the 2305 (small & manuverable) to use for building and maintaining trails on my 35 acres of woods, swamps, and open areas, light landscaping work, and limited backhoe work. I went to all the different colors of tractor dealers not wanting to pay the extra money for JD green (I really didn't like JD very much), spend way too many hours on e-bay looking and not knowing what I was looking at size wise (they all look big in those small pic's), then going to the dealers to put a little reality to the pic's. After months of looking I purchased the one brand of tractor that I didn't think that I would ever buy....JD. Its' funny about being human, you go to a car dealer to purchase a chevy Caviler and leave with a loaded Impala /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif well after starting out looking at scut's I ended up with the 3320, at first I was thinking that it was way bigger than what I needed, after using it for almost everything that I could think of, it got smaller, I've built a new trail through the woods and swamp, made two new jumps on the moto track, plowed snow a whole bunch, loaded an old garden tractor into my buddies truck, stuffed a minivan engine into the back of parts van, and so many other things that now I am so happy that I purchased the 3320 you can't imagine. It manuvers in the woods fantastic, (even with the back blade and loader on), to get to the trees for fire wood, I now no longer need to use the old garden tractors with lawn wagons on the back to get to the wood /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. So I guess that imho what you need to do is figure out what you're going to do with the tractor, then go to the dealership, try out several of them there at the dealership, find the likes and dislikes of each (and the options for future attachments) , then when you get it narrowed down to a couple of them and are ready to make a purchase ask the sales person if they would be willing to let you use them for a little demo to make the final choice. It's really tough to make the decission when it comes to buying a tractor, they cost a bunch of money and it would really be no fun to have buyers remorse. Good luck and keep us posted! and again welcome to this forum!
Larry

 

[Buckie2]

Hi. I am trading in a 2210 for a 3720. My property is very similar to yours, as are my essential needs for mowing, clearing, hauling, raking, grading, etc. the 2210 is a wonderful tractor, but I found, quickly, that I need more power, capacity, "push and pull", and flexibility for the heavier work I do. It was a big step up in price.....but well worth it. Just make sure you think through your long term uses, and also make certain that you get completely comfortable with ALL the safety issues around owning and operating these tractors. congratulations, on any choice you make!

 

[SpruceHill]

Thanks for all the great feedback... I appreciate the advice and experience! I am looking to make this a long term ownership. I would like to purchase a tractor that is probably a little more than I need right now, because I'm sure I'll come up with uses that I haven't even thought of yet once our house is complete and we're living on the property full-time. I can compare it to the personal experience I have had in boat buying -- we started small to save some cash, and have payed the price (pun intended) of "trading-up" to get a boat that had the features that we want/need... now were looking to upsize again. I'd rather spend more at the beginning to get a tractor that I can grow into... the JD3320 is looking real nice!

 

[kljunior]

be sure to check out the 2520 before you decide. Somewhere in between the two that you are considering.