New member here...been lurking for a month or so.
Like many here I am new to the compact tractor market. Would appreciate the collective wisdom of the group(I have scoured them a bit for data on the tractors I am considering - much appreciated!)
Need: We recently purchased a 2.5 acre property with a house in the PNW. Everywhere except the house and driveway is trees and typical NW undergrowth and bushes. It is reasonably level but does have a grade...nothing drastic. Driveway is dirt/gravel. We intend to convert over half of it to sparsely wooded pasture (not fully cleared) for our two horses (currently boarded off-property). So will install a fence and eventually a 30x40 garage/barn building. We have been using chainsaws, weed-whackers with saw blade attachments, a wood chipper, and human muscle to clear and have probably done 1/3 of an acre in about a month of weekends/days off. Probably 30 trees, lots of bushes, and have stacked 3 or so cords of wood. So we determined we probably need a TLB (but no mower - I have little grass, but will have lots of stumps) to get this done with more efficiency and less human effort.
Shopping locally, the JD dealer, KB dealer, and LS dealers all have good reps and we're fine to shop with. They are all within 25 miles. Only real distinction is the JD dealer doesn't do service locally but will pick up and deliver to another affiliated dealer in another town for service.
We started shopping at the low end for both need and price considerations. We compared the JD 1023E, KB BX23S, and LS 1025. After examining them all, we decided the BX23S was best for us when all were configured the same for what options we wanted (thumb, 3rd function, SSQA). Price out the door (including 9% taxes) is ~$23.5K. more expensive than the JD and LS but with better options (LS can't even do SSQA or 3rd function).
So, why am I here? Seems a lot of advice on these forums is "go bigger than you think you need". Given the limited bucket capacity of the 23S (it's one main weakness IMO) and my desire to use a grapple to pull a lot of the underbrush, we opened our aperture to the next size tractors. The two we looked at were the KB B2601 and the LS XJ2025H, both with the same options. Honestly, ifcost wasn't a factor, I'd get the 2601. Kubota clearly makes a top line product (F250 King Ranch, metaphorically). LS makes a fine tractor, but it is definitely XL trim (to continue the truck metaphor). But, as it turns out, with the the current LS incentives, I can get the LS 2025H for ~$24K - almost the same price as the BX. The 2601 is priced at ~$29.5K. these are out the door prices with a 9% sales tax in this state.
So I have two things I need to resolve to make a decision.
1. Is the B2601 objectively worth $6K more than the 2025H in the long term?
2. Is KB rep and quality worth getting the smaller, less capable BX23S over the larger, more capable LS 2025H at the same price point?
One initial thought I've had is that for *maintaining* the property after I get the pasture established, the BX is probabbly the right size for this property, but for *converting* the property, the LS 2025H is probably the better choice.
Any and all advice appreciated.
Like many here I am new to the compact tractor market. Would appreciate the collective wisdom of the group(I have scoured them a bit for data on the tractors I am considering - much appreciated!)
Need: We recently purchased a 2.5 acre property with a house in the PNW. Everywhere except the house and driveway is trees and typical NW undergrowth and bushes. It is reasonably level but does have a grade...nothing drastic. Driveway is dirt/gravel. We intend to convert over half of it to sparsely wooded pasture (not fully cleared) for our two horses (currently boarded off-property). So will install a fence and eventually a 30x40 garage/barn building. We have been using chainsaws, weed-whackers with saw blade attachments, a wood chipper, and human muscle to clear and have probably done 1/3 of an acre in about a month of weekends/days off. Probably 30 trees, lots of bushes, and have stacked 3 or so cords of wood. So we determined we probably need a TLB (but no mower - I have little grass, but will have lots of stumps) to get this done with more efficiency and less human effort.
Shopping locally, the JD dealer, KB dealer, and LS dealers all have good reps and we're fine to shop with. They are all within 25 miles. Only real distinction is the JD dealer doesn't do service locally but will pick up and deliver to another affiliated dealer in another town for service.
We started shopping at the low end for both need and price considerations. We compared the JD 1023E, KB BX23S, and LS 1025. After examining them all, we decided the BX23S was best for us when all were configured the same for what options we wanted (thumb, 3rd function, SSQA). Price out the door (including 9% taxes) is ~$23.5K. more expensive than the JD and LS but with better options (LS can't even do SSQA or 3rd function).
So, why am I here? Seems a lot of advice on these forums is "go bigger than you think you need". Given the limited bucket capacity of the 23S (it's one main weakness IMO) and my desire to use a grapple to pull a lot of the underbrush, we opened our aperture to the next size tractors. The two we looked at were the KB B2601 and the LS XJ2025H, both with the same options. Honestly, ifcost wasn't a factor, I'd get the 2601. Kubota clearly makes a top line product (F250 King Ranch, metaphorically). LS makes a fine tractor, but it is definitely XL trim (to continue the truck metaphor). But, as it turns out, with the the current LS incentives, I can get the LS 2025H for ~$24K - almost the same price as the BX. The 2601 is priced at ~$29.5K. these are out the door prices with a 9% sales tax in this state.
So I have two things I need to resolve to make a decision.
1. Is the B2601 objectively worth $6K more than the 2025H in the long term?
2. Is KB rep and quality worth getting the smaller, less capable BX23S over the larger, more capable LS 2025H at the same price point?
One initial thought I've had is that for *maintaining* the property after I get the pasture established, the BX is probabbly the right size for this property, but for *converting* the property, the LS 2025H is probably the better choice.
Any and all advice appreciated.
