Buying Advice If you could do it all over again....

[Scotty370]

You are not going to pull stumps with a SCUT. Been there tried that! Stumps are one tuff beast!!!!!!!!!! Hire that task out, and buy a tractor that fits your other needs...My 2/100 of a dollar.........~Scotty

 

[Grandad4]

The average stump size is around 14". I have 6 to remove now and have in my front yard about 20 more I'm considering cutting down. The trees are all Oak and I live on a hill with about a 10 to 20 degree slope. To make things worse, I live in Missouri where they Clay is pretty prevalent.

I do have more time than money and not too worried if it takes a weekend digging out one stump.

Getting the right size of equipment will mean more to being a happy owner and getting your work done than what brand you buy. Others have advised that a little more tractor probably will make your life a whole lot easier, and I agree.

Within the Kubota models, for example, moving up to one of the B series from a BX subcompact puts you into a larger, more capable backhoe more suited to stump removal, while still giving you a reasonably sized machine for your 5 acres.

As for brand, there are many good tractors to choose from. I like the Kubota equipment, which has served me well for a long time, but my life wouldn't be ruined if I had another brand.

 

[Smithrr]

I appreciate all the comments so far...all the info is useful. Thanks to the comments I'm a bit skeptical as to whether the SCUT will suffice.

Here's what I had in mind and what I was looking at but now have doubts about them doing everything I want to do.

1) Cub Cadet SC2450
2) Massey-Furgeson GC2610
3) Kubota BX25
4) John Deere JD2320
5) Kioti CK20SHST

That was the top 5 I was looking at, but I went and looked at the SC2450 on the way home and just really have my doubts about it. So at least it's moving down the list.

So now my question is, if the SCUT is pretty much just a tractor to maintain the land and not to get it in shape, will the CUT suffice? Will that size be able to dig out the stumps? Realizing of course that renting a stump grinder would still be a better option.

Thanks for the education. Being new to the world of tractors, I need your opinions because every sales person has the best tractor in the world.

 

[jenkinsph]

If you want a small tractor I would go with a Deere 2520 or similar sized major brand. I would hire out the stump removal unless you really want a backhoe to play with.

If you have lots of work to do to get the place in shape it will take a while with tractor of this size. To work over 1 acre including clearing and stump removal along with grading tilling and planting a lawn may take three weeks with larger 50 to 60 hp equipment. It can be a shock how much debris you can get from one acre that is about half open land. Five acres can provide intermittent work for years to come. The devil is in the details.

 

[brewdog]

in my opinion, you need to be looking at 35 hp and 2500 lbs of base machine if you are going to tackle 14" dia oak tumps. you should hire it done and do the cleAn up work with the scud. i saw that movie and bought the Tshirt.

 

[tsteahr]

I appreciate all the comments so far...all the info is useful. Thanks to the comments I'm a bit skeptical as to whether the SCUT will suffice.

Here's what I had in mind and what I was looking at but now have doubts about them doing everything I want to do.

1) Cub Cadet SC2450
2) Massey-Furgeson GC2610
3) Kubota BX25
4) John Deere JD2320
5) Kioti CK20SHST

That was the top 5 I was looking at, but I went and looked at the SC2450 on the way home and just really have my doubts about it. So at least it's moving down the list.

So now my question is, if the SCUT is pretty much just a tractor to maintain the land and not to get it in shape, will the CUT suffice? Will that size be able to dig out the stumps? Realizing of course that renting a stump grinder would still be a better option.

Thanks for the education. Being new to the world of tractors, I need your opinions because every sales person has the best tractor in the world.

I can't say I fully agree with this. I have dug a number of stumps with my GC2410. It's not a fast process but it can be done (and without beating up the machine). You will spend lots more time repositioning the machine than you would with a excavator, but with some patience you will get the stumps out. I have not needed to cut the roots with an ax or saw. I have been able to split large roots using the tooth of the bucket. The bucket teeth on the GC are smaller than a BX tooth, but they are a little sharper and I keep nibbling away at the thick roots until I have them split up enough that I can finally rip them free.

Having said that I had a project where I wanted to get rid of 6-8 stumps right away. I rented a good sized stump grinder and got through it in a day. That was enough stump work (and on a tight schedule) to justify renting.

Make no mistake, the BH on a SCUT can do quite a lot of digging. In relation to a mini-ex, the difference between the BH on a SCUT and a 30hp CUT is minimal. Yes, the next size up BH is a little more capable, but there is not that much difference. Look at the specs. Few more inches of reach, a little more breakout force. More is always nice but the differecnce between the BH on a B and a BX is not night and day. There is absolutely no comparison between the digging capability of even a small mini-ex and a CUT BH. As others have said if you want the stumps out quick rent a large stump grinder or a excavator.

That said I agree with others that going up in size is generally a good thing. Except when the bigger machine won't fit in tight spaces the little SCUT will. That's the situation I'm in. I'd love a larger machine (Tim the Tool Man) but the reality is I'd get less done with a bigger machine because I have lots of tight areas.

Based on your earlier statement that you have time to get the stumps out I believe a SCUT could work for you. Lower cost is a advantage of a SCUT. You can get a SCUT TLB for nearly the same cost as a upper B series with just a loader. It is nice to have the little BH. You will find projects for it that you did not even think of prior to having it. Having it on hand means you will use it for lots of little projects that will only take a few minutes, but are far to small to justify renting a machine. Without the BH these little tasks would end up never getting done.

Personally, if I were to move up from a SCUT I would want to have a three range tranny and position control on the 3PH. Low (snail) range is useful for pulling something heavy out of a hole (like a stump) and position control is almost essential for precision box blade work. This would put me into a Bxx30, a JD 3000 series, a MF 1500 series, etc.

So my 2 cents is don't sell the SCUTs short. But if you have the room and money for a bigger machine then by all means go for it. If you are going up then make it worth while and get a three range tranny and 3ph position control. From a cost and efficiency perspective I agree with brewdog. Rent equipment or hire out the stumps then use a scut to do all your landscaping projects.

 

[TripleR]

Don't sell a good SCUT short, just don't ask too much of it. We pay someone to come out and grind stumps as it is a lot easier and cheaper than buying equipment sized to do that well and still fit on our property.

We own primarily Kubotas, but really like the features of the new John Deere 1026R with my only concern being first year production and production delays.

We do have tractors from 23 to 85 HP, but we have a few hundred acres. If I was dealing with 5 or so, my choice would be/is a SCUT in our case a BX2660 and John Deere 2305.

The Kubota B Series and John Deere 2000 Series will work too, I just like the SCUTs for maneuverability and stability. YMMV

 

[fredhargis]

I would read a lot more of the info here. I wasn't aware of some (many) things about tractors and later learned. I would (personally) hold out for a "position control" 3 PH, instead of the thing I now have. I may have also reconsidered the foot pedal arrangements on the various brands. It was only luck, but I got a floating mower deck (which I now know I wanted) instead of "ground contact". There are so many things that a newbie like me doesn't know that I don't believe you can read too much here to learn it. I did get the size about right (my only focus as I was reading), but I would have given the other brands much more consideration had I been better educated.

 

[BethesdaEC]

I would read a lot more of the info here. I wasn't aware of some (many) things about tractors and later learned. I would (personally) hold out for a "position control" 3 PH, instead of the thing I now have. I may have also reconsidered the foot pedal arrangements on the various brands. It was only luck, but I got a floating mower deck (which I now know I wanted) instead of "ground contact". There are so many things that a newbie like me doesn't know that I don't believe you can read too much here to learn it. I did get the size about right (my only focus as I was reading), but I would have given the other brands much more consideration had I been better educated.

I picked up on the position control issue while shopping and did a lot of research on it before purchasing. I am really glad that I did get position control, I can only imagine the pain of a quarter inching value with a BB or the leak down while using it.

 

[YesDeere]

Fred is right. Explore all options. I started out with a 790 and I quickly realized it wasn't enough for some things I wanted to do. Plus I thought no big deal shifting. That was until i drove a hydro. Mowing and loader work is so much better with the hydro. There are only a couple things I wish I had now. Like a belly mower instead of the rear finish mower. Not that big a deal. Also maybe just a couple more hp for going through really high grass. Again not a big deal just slow down a bit. I cannot complain though because I got an excellent deal on it. (bought it from my father) so I'll shut up now.