sway me some more here

[Tjc50]

Been doing alot more lurking lately, for my decision on which tractor to purchase. I thought I was set on an x500 series. I recently got some seat time on my friends bx2370. I have to say its turning radius was much better than I thought it would be. I originally thought I would be un happy mowing with a subcut on a weekly basis but that thing changed my opinion. Now I have been thinking about the amount of gravel work and dirt work I have to do in the future. I also know that a fel would come in handy as far as moving my firewood. I am still young enough that moving, grading, spreading gravel and dirt is fine with me but a sub cut would be sweet! But I was wondering if anyone who has an x500 could tell me is there a high quality box scraper/driveway scraper/grader attachment that is stout enough to rip through a gravel drive to re surface. My drive way is 300 ft long wrapping around a 1/2 acre pond and opens to a 6 car parking area infront of a 4 car garage. I am only maintaining 2 acres. But I have alot of gravel work coming up in a couple years as well as adding soil to create slope away from my foundation. I have your typical beds to maintain and about 15 evergreens I am re locating. I am having a hard time with this because I know that I can do all of this from a trailer and an x500 but I do not know if an x is capable of ripping up a gravel drive as I described. Any opinion welcome thansk again. Sorry for my structure and random thought process.

 

[Gittyup]

An X700 series would be capable of the pulling work, but not much use as a loader. Also, 4WD would be a must in a lightweight machine for ground engagement. If you need a loader, might consider looking at a lot of different subcuts: JD, Kubota, Kioti, LS, Mahindra, MF, etc. All of them are pretty nice. The one I like the best is the Mahindra Max. The JD's have the best attachment engineering. The best mower, though, is the X739. My uncle has an X500. He hasn't been too happy with it. I think mostly due to traction on his hilly property.

 

[Gary Fowler]

To me the X series of JD are just glorified lawn mowers, not really a SCUT, even the 10xx series is pretty light duty for pulling box blade in gravel driveway which is pretty demanding work for a tractor.

If you want to pull things, lift and carry something bigger that a sack of potting soil in a FEL then at least get a small CUT. Anything in the supped up lawnmower versions is going to be a disappointment when it comes to traction and FEL work.

 

[rjwerth]

From what you are describing, you need a SCUT minimum. X series are just mowers for the most part. The x7xx will do some of what you want, but for the price, you might as well just dive into a real SCUT.

 

[OregonCraig]

...If you want to pull things, lift and carry something bigger that a sack of potting soil in a FEL then at least get a small CUT. Anything in the supped up lawnmower versions is going to be a disappointment when it comes to traction and FEL work.

I agree with Gary on this, much to my chagrin. I wanted my 1026 to be the only machine I needed to mow and also do the usual tractor work. It was a compromise, and never the best tool for the job. If you have the ability to get two machines, a dedicated mower and small CUT is a better setup.

This is dependent on your specific situation, of course. In my case, a very hilly property with a 2500' gravel driveway to maintain. The X7xx series is more stable mowing on hills/slopes than a 1026, and a CUT will outwork a SCUT.