Hello all,
First post here after lurking and searching for some time. I live in S. NH on 2 acres split evenly between woods and lawn. In looking at several brands online, I like what I read about Kubota.
A good friend has a 2013
B2320 that he has offered to sell to me. I have used it a few times and am fairly comfortable running it. I would use it mainly for mowing; my steepest grade is about 30% (I prefer to bag my clippings) but also for annual clean up, landscaping, moving materials like loam and mulch, and trail making/maintaining for my sons' ATVs. I would say 80/20 mowing to working. Here is the list and price:
Tractor with 165 hours
Turf tires (don't know if weighted)
FEL
60" MMM (Never used)
3PH 2 ball trailer mover
Ratchet Rake
Landscaping Rake 4 or 5 ft
Rear Blade (Grader I suppose) 4 or 5 ft
Price is $13,000 and I would not want to push it.
Questions:
1. Is this a fair, good, or great price? I would use all attachments.
2. Will this macine tear up my turf?
3. Will mowing on the hill be a problem?
4. Would I be better off with a BX series?
5. Is there a better alternative that I could consider?
Thank you in advance for the experience and advice.
A.
I had to do some studying before I could respond because a
B2320 appears to longer be a current product (2015 brochure catalog printed january 2015 does not list a
b2320 but does list a
b2301).
And there were both gear and hst versions and there was a narrow version of each and a more standard version of each. The link below is the latest spec sheet I could find on the
b2320 models.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...ggfMAE&usg=AFQjCNE4LDp_x0hq04EjKmhoef6nOtOGfg
So then I checked tractorhouse and found quite a few of them for sale. As an example a 2013
b2320 hsd with 161 hours including a fel and mmm and 2 years of extended warranty for 12,750 from a dealer.
The link below contains numetous backhoe and non-backhoe versions and there seem likeva great quantity of them for sale.
http://m.tractorhouse.com/Results?i...ame=KUBOTA&modelGroup=B2320&modelSearchType=4
So you don't say if your friend's is a gear drive or a hsd.
My concerns are not about price but rather the following:
1. You mention you've used it several times and you are "fairly comfortable with it". If the mmm has never been used . . . What did you use it for? And were you using it on slopes or woods or flat land ? My point is "fairly comfortable" after using it several times is not a ringing endorsement imo.
2. I'd sense by your description you've not tested other tractors like a BX or a Massey GC1715. I'd encourage you to do that.
3. You mentioned you'd prefer to pickup you're grass clippings . . . and because the fel on your neighbor's
b2320 has never been used . . I sense you have another way to cut your lawn which by your post appears to be a major purpose for a tractor. So whatever you are currently using for the lawn is ????
4. Have you ever used the
b2320 without the fel attached ? Have you ever used it that way on your slopes? How did it feel ?
Hete is an opinion . . not saying its a good opinion . . . its just mine.
A. I have slopes I cut on a nice lawn. These are not easy gentle slopes . . In true measured terms they are 15 and 20 degrees . . Some cutting is done sidehill and some is up and down. I have lots of garden areas in the primary 1.3 acre lot. Half our lawn is mostly flat and half is the slopes I discussed. The steepest part you can walk up . . But you're leaned into it lol. And tearing up sod is not an issue because we don't damage the lawn as we cut. Nor do we "baby it" to make it look healthy and well cut.
B. I long time planned to own a bx 2370 or
bx2670 until I discovered the newer Massey GC1700s. I drove each on flat and on slope. The Gc1715 has a "billy goat" feel on slope terrain even without any spacers etc.. Its 25 hp engine and fel allow me to safely lift hundreds of lbs more in the fel than I could with the bx . And the seat and floor arrangement give me more open space and a forward and reverse separate pedals which I like better that the treadle design.
C. But this "clippings" thing is yet another issue. I know of no other brand of scut . . that offers a true mulcher mmm deck. I'm not talking plugs and a mulching option for a deck . . I mean a deck with no chute . . No exhaust port. A deck built with stripping wheels in the deck and metal baffling is the deck. There are 6 blades . . Not 3. It cuts the grass and then turns it back to where it came from.
D. And from june 2015 till end of march 2016 I have 79 hours on the tractor with less than 30 of those hours being "cutting lawns". The other 50 hours is snow plowing and bucketing dirt and rock and moving skids loaded with landscape blocks and wood and . . . . In other words a work horse. The massey units comevwith 5 year warranties and prices lower or slughtly higher than your price (GC1705 or GC1715 with fel and mmm)
I'm not saying the friends
B2320 isn't a choice for you . . I'm suggesting you drive the
b2320 with fel off and on, and test a BX and drive a Massey GC1705 or GC1715 like mine. Do it with fel on and with fel off . . and preferably on slopes as well as flats. Facts are something you see . . but tractors are something you feel.
Regardless what unit you choose . . . "Fairly comfortable" is not enough imo.
And ground clearance as some will talk about is an issue with all tractors.
