2320/2520 Performance Comparison

[ChrisB]

Hi Greg,
I hope you do. Good luck with it. Remember though, when Momma asks, your not quite sure but it is entirely possible that you will need a BIGGER machine someday!

 

[JJKJ]

Well I went back to the drawing board on my tractor purchase. I got nervous and did a lot more reading and re-reading posts on both the 2320 and 2520. I'm concerned about the ability of both machines to use high gear for mowing or other tasks that would seem too slow in low. After talking it over with the boss we decided I should research the possibility of moving up to a 3320. I called the dealer on Mon and asked him to hold my 2520 order and price a 3320 for me.

I looked hard at the numbers and just couldn't justify the additional cost of moving up to the 3000 series. However, I did look at the 2720 more in depth. I know what many say--step up the 3000 series if you're going to spend the money on a 2720. There's only a $1900 difference in base price between a 2720 and a 3320, but it's the options and attachments that make it a bigger price difference. Once you add the $1000 ehydro, $400 mid-PTO, more expensive FEL and MMM the price difference is more like $5000. I know with the 3320 you get a lot more tractor, more capable FEL, and better MMM, but I just can't justify the additional cost. With the 2720 my attachment prices are the same as the 2520 so the only upcharge is the cost of the tractor itself. The 2720 would give me additional insurance that I can use both hydro gear ranges if I desire.

I'm pretty sure at this point I'm going with a 2720. This should alleviate my fears of having a tractor not capable of using both gear ranges. I don't know that I plan to mow in high, but I'd like to be able to if I want to.

The dealer will let me know tomorrow when he can get a 2720.

John

 

[glc24]

Hey John
You know what they say,when in doubt go bigger Seriously, going bigger probably won't
disappoint.IMHO, mowing in low gear is quite fast enough,unless you're on a golf course.
I think max mph in low is around 8 mph....? Maybe not,but whatever it is,it's sufficient.
I thought about the same thing as you with size ,only in my decision it was going a bit bigger than what I really "needed",versus what I "wanted"
Good luck with your decision.

Greg

 

[jcmseven]

I agree, the 2000 series moves along pretty well in A range. It is plenty fast enough for mowing in most cases. The 3320 might not help too much in this case. I had a 4310, the predecessor to the 3320 and it had almost the same HP and torque, with the ehydro. I live in a very steep mountainous area of our state. Our county has the highest mean elevation and most 6000' hills east of the MS (I happen to live on one of these). My 4310 would not go up my driveway but in A range, which is about 6 mph tops. There were many hills, even paved I had to drop my tractor into A range to keep from bogging. Loadmatch helped but did not totally eliminate the issue. I was not powering a PTO-driven implement at that time either, so that would have undoubtedly worsened the issue. In short, none of these machines will offer you that much difference in forward speed when powering a PTO implement. I did use B range most of the time, but rarely topped it out. I think a 2720 is a nice machine, but before you fully commit to that course of action, maybe take another drive of both and take a look at the axles, features, etc. I do not know if you are going cash up front, or going with the JD 0% plan, but the 0% plan pricing might be a good option.

John M

 

[jcmseven]

The biggest thing the dual pumps does is improve cycle times and does not "rob" the implement to power the steering. I have had both types, and honestly have never been able to tell any "robbing" of one to power the other. I would say, though, that the single pump loader operation is slower, which is in part due to lower hydraulic flow. Interestingly, despite being fairly close in spec, the 2320 powers a 200cx loader much more quickly than a 2305. The 2520+ are rockets on loader operation, so as I mentioned before, if one does a lot of back and forth loader work, the dual pump, higher flow set up is the way to go. After I got most of the home improvements done, I no longer had a need for the fast loader, as I do not use mine too much, so the additional dollars did not make much sense to me as these machines have essentially the same ground engagement capability.

John M

 

[JJKJ]

Looking at the specs, 2520 tops out at 4.5mph in low and the 2720 tops out at 4.7mph. I don't know exactly how fast I usually mow--I'm guessing at my old place I used to mow around 3.5-4mph. I was only mowing about 3/4 acre there though and my new place will more than double that. I don't know that I'll want to mow faster than low's top speed, but considering the greater amount I have to mow now, I may want to mow faster than low has to offer. My yard seems pretty smooth but as some have said--it may be too rough trying to mow in high. I guess the point I'm really getting to is that I may not want to work my tractor in high, but would like to have the option if desired.

One situation I know I'll most likely want to work the tractor at more than 4.5mph is snow plowing. Unless it's a heavy snow, I'll want to be able to zip down my drive with the plow pretty quickly and back up. I don't doubt I'll be able to plow down the drive in high, but I don't want to worry about not being able to plow back up in high. My drive isn't real steep but it does have some slope and from what I've read, this is where I could find the 2320 and 2520 struggling in high.

The 3320 would give me a nice B range to do this work in, but I don't think I'm up for spending that much additional money. I did think about a Kubota but I'm just too much of a JD fan to do that. John I appreciate you posting your exprience with the 4310. While I don't think I'd be using my tractor under as demanding conditions as you did, I do agree that the 3320's power/weight ratio is not optimal especially when compared to the 2720.

If the 2720 will give me a little insurance that I'll be able to use high for some work when I occasionally desire to, then I think it will be the way to go.

John

 

[JJKJ]

I finished up my 2720 deal today. Same package I listed before that I put together on the 2520 but added an I-match. 2720 package ended up being $1900 more but included the I-match. If you subtract out the I-match and increased tax, it is about a $1500 price increase over the 2520.

Here's what I got:

2720 with R4's
Front light kit
Rear light kit
Block heater
Warning light brush guards

3-pt 2" receiver
I-match

62D deck
Independent lift

200CX Loader
Ballast box
61" bucket

54" Front blade
Quick-hitch
hyd angling
combo bracket for tooless changing of mower and quick-hitch

Total price ended up to be just a bit over 17% discount from JD's site, and I received a pretty decent trade value for my 2008 X500.

The 3320 package with rear hyd blade, FEL, and 72" mower would've been $5000 more than the 2720 package or about $7000 more than my original 2520 package.

The dealer is supposed to call on Mon to let me know when he'll be able to get the 2720 here. Now the hard part--waiting.

John

 

[Runner]

Good deal, JJ. Sounds like a real nice rig. Congrats.

I just finished doing a bunch of snow plowing with the 2520 and I did use high range for some of it. This was with a front blade and 800 lbs of ballast in the box on the rear. The extra rear weight did wonders for traction, particularly since my tires are not loaded.

High range worked well enough until I got to the real heavy stuff, then I switched to low.

 

[Gizmo2]

I finished up my 2720 deal today. Same package I listed before that I put together on the 2520 but added an I-match. 2720 package ended up being $1900 more but included the I-match. If you subtract out the I-match and increased tax, it is about a $1500 price increase over the 2520.

Here's what I got:

2720 with R4's
Front light kit
Rear light kit
Block heater
Warning light brush guards

3-pt 2" receiver
I-match

62D deck
Independent lift

200CX Loader
Ballast box
61" bucket

54" Front blade
Quick-hitch
hyd angling
combo bracket for tooless changing of mower and quick-hitch

Total price ended up to be just a bit over 17% discount from JD's site, and I received a pretty decent trade value for my 2008 X500.

The 3320 package with rear hyd blade, FEL, and 72" mower would've been $5000 more than the 2720 package or about $7000 more than my original 2520 package.

The dealer is supposed to call on Mon to let me know when he'll be able to get the 2720 here. Now the hard part--waiting.

John

WHAT! NO BH?
Wishing you luck. I am sure you'll be happy, never look back.

 

[glc24]

John,that is one heck of a good deal!

BTW,dealer finally received my tractor yesterday. Probably ready for delivery by mid week,I would guess. I don't want to take any vacation time this early in the year,so I'll ask that it be delivered Saturday. I waited 36 days,what's a few more


Greg