Buying used advice and use expectations and classes of tractors

[TSO]

Mgraham ... Do you have a specific budget, both cash price or monthly, that you'd like to meet?

If money isn't a consideration, I'm sure we could all sell you on why our favorite brand is better than everyone else's. But if you give us a specific dollar amount, it allows us to place some of our personal bias aside and we can work together to get you the best and most-appropriate tractor for your application and budget.

 

[Kodiak45]

Budget is roughly 20k, but I might spend around 25k for the right machine.

 

[George2615]

I see a lot of machines on CL in my area that are in your price range. Most are year 2000 or newer. Horsepower ranges from mid 40's to 100. Most are 4wd. All colors seem to be available. Way too many to choose from.
You may want to check with your local dealers to see what's available. Local CL may be an option for previously owned tractors, just make sure they have a good service records but a dealer may be the better choice. Might even want to call a few of the dealers that are members here. In fact, if they read your post they may PM you to try and help you find something that meets your needs.

 

[Kodiak45]

how often does anyone unattach their loader assembly and then reattach. That seems like a nice feature, but is it as easy as it looks and are there any negatives to having this feature.

 

[GManBart]

how often does anyone unattach their loader assembly and then reattach. That seems like a nice feature, but is it as easy as it looks and are there any negatives to having this feature.

I tend to think that very few people ever take the FEL off their CUT. Some folks say they do when mowing to keep their footprint smaller, and to minimize damage to the grass, but I think that's a clear minority. It seems like more folks with SCUTs talk about taking off the FEL...not sure why, but it seems that way going off comments posted here (which may just be a coincidence). Generally speaking, they really are pretty easy to remove...although very level ground helps a great deal.

I don't know about negatives....maybe slightly higher cost, and a marginal difference in strength....but nothing worth worrying about.

 

[TomSeller]

I tend to think that very few people ever take the FEL off their CUT. Some folks say they do when mowing to keep their footprint smaller, and to minimize damage to the grass, but I think that's a clear minority. .

I just take whatever is on the SSQA off these days. That gets me most of the extra maneuvering room I need.

 

[paulfun9]

how often does anyone unattach their loader assembly and then reattach. That seems like a nice feature, but is it as easy as it looks and are there any negatives to having this feature.

For many of us its a very rare thing to take off the loader. Yes they are very easy to remove and reinstall. Like Gman said the only downside I see is a little more in cost and maybe a slight difference in strength. If you think that you might ever want a front mount attachment like a snow blower or a frame mounted plow/dozer type blade having the ability to remove the loader quickly will be well worth the cost of admission.

 

[newbury]

how often does anyone unattach their loader assembly and then reattach. That seems like a nice feature, but is it as easy as it looks and are there any negatives to having this feature.

I tend to think that very few people ever take the FEL off their CUT. Some folks say they do when mowing to keep their footprint smaller, and to minimize damage to the grass, but I think that's a clear minority. It seems like more folks with SCUTs talk about taking off the FEL...not sure why, but it seems that way going off comments posted here (which may just be a coincidence). Generally speaking, they really are pretty easy to remove...although very level ground helps a great deal.

I don't know about negatives....maybe slightly higher cost, and a marginal difference in strength....but nothing worth worrying about.

I've never done it on either tractor. But I have not graduated to a SSQA and grapple yet, and even then I wouldn't be swapping out the loader assembly.

A loader assembly on a CUT or or larger tractor is big and heavy to move around. On my M4700 w/ FEL it is about 1100 pounds or so. I read of more people swapping their FEL out for forks or a grapple up front than to minimize lawn damage. I'm finally getting in the market for a grapple and SSQA. The "slightly higher cost" translates to about 30% of the cost of my M4700 to put an SSQA and grapple on, not cheap in my book.

The loader on my B7610 is a lot lighter, but I don't mow with it or have other front end attachments.

 

[The Suburban Farmer]

I've had the full FEL assembly off of my tractor a total of 1 time -- and that was the day after I bought it just to make sure I knew how to do it. I DO take my bucket off a fair bit though -- to use a different front-mounted implement, or sometimes just to have better visibility when I'm mowing. But at the end of the day, Deere's "Quik-Park Loader Mounting System" really isn't a benefit for me.. it just came with the tractor.

 

[TSO]

The only time I take mine off is when I'm doing prolonged brush-hogging, and I know ahead of time that the terrain is dry and without major debris. I will say, it does make quite a difference in comfort.

Actually, I also take it off when doing maintenance, makes it easier to get to the engine, grease points, etc.

It's very easy on my Massey, and I assume similarly easy on other brands as well.