Buying advice for small land-owner in New Hampshire

[Bullwinkle123]

I don't have any pavement to compare tire action on. I went with the R4's to spare the grass, but the tractor stays off the grass as much as possible. I have a lot of sharp sticks (one inch saplings from brush hog cuts) that would love to gouge unprepared tires. So far the R4's are good for me. I also do things in the hilly forest, but that's a whole other world of ways to get myself in trouble. I'm mentally prepared to just add chains when I get desperate enough. Ag tires weren't an option, and I couldn't find any real user testimony on R14's.

 

[Carl_NH]

I have R4's as that's all they put on the B21, and where I am on the coast its all rock/ledge and woods so tough on sidewalls. I do use chains on the front - makes a huge difference in traction and control - this is what I have been using for 3 seasons - inexpensive and easy to install. I figure to get 5-6 years out of them so at less than $20 I can buy a few pairs. Amazon.com: ALEKO Chain One Pair of Passenger Car Snow Chain 12mm, Size 7: Automotive As far as Turfs, yes I hear most everyone on TBN they are better in snow as they have more surface area a wider footprint and more traction.

For woods/rock work R4's are the best, and if you are concerned about sidewalls and sticks/stones then go with the R4s. For moving your trailer around - go to HD or Lowes (or ask your dealer) to weld on a receiver hitch on the top of the bucket that you can put in a normal trailer ball, or a hook too.

For brush hauling I use the combo loader with forks and BH Thumb - The loader holds a lot and thumb can grab a fair amount too - that way you dont need to unload the trailer.

 

[airbiscuit]

What he said.

 

[nhbubba]

Broke it already! 4.9 hours in and one of the loader connectors sprung a leak. Lost quite a bit of fluid in the woods. Parked it as the dealer wants me to come get a new connector and replace it myself. 2 hour round trip I don't have time for right now.

Machine was great until that. I got more done in 3-4 hours on the machine than I have in over a year now. Even the wife was impressed. Tons of power and I am glad it isn't any bigger. Great hydrostatic drive and the loader is a beast. Forks are my MVP attachment so far. But the bucket is easy to operate. I think the level indicator is a huge help. Farted around with the backhoe. That's going to take some practice.

 

[Thomas]

"I got more done in 3-4 hours on the machine than I have in over a year now."
Your muscles and bones will thanking you in years to come.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

"I got more done in 3-4 hours on the machine than I have in over a year now."
Your muscles and bones will thanking you in years to come.

Yeah, my tractor is unlikely to fully pay for itself on a dollar basis, i.e. stuff that I can now do on my time that I used to pay for. Though it will save me a lot of money, to be sure. What the tractor does that makes it worth the additional money is the stuff I was finding it difficult or dangerous to do. Now I can clean up fallen trees with my grapple in minutes, compared to spending my weekend making many more cuts with the chain saw, hauling off all the little pieces in a garden cart, and stuff I generally just don't have the energy to do any more. I had trees lying over my field/yard that I just didn't have the oomph to remove. Now all cleaned up with the tractor. It's also much less painful than back surgery.

 

[nhbubba]

Bought : new Kioti CX2510, KL2510 loader, KB2465 backhoe, mechanical thumb, 36" quick-attach pallet forks, loaded tires, ratchet rake.

I forgot to look at the meter but I should have well over 10 hours on it now. Time for some initial thougths?!

I like it!

My first project is to finish cleaning up some of my land after felling several good sized eastern white pines. Goal was to open up the woods, clear the soft-wood, scrape the ground of litter and set up some natural outdoor play-space for the kids. I have already used all of the implements I bought.

Some random thoughts.

Tractor

• Side-by-side hydrostat controls are fine. I kind of got uptight about favoring this setup over the rocker pedal when shopping. I'm not sure that was warranted. I have hit the wrong lever several times now. I do like the relatively more open foot space though
• Tilt steering is dumb. I will probably never adjust the wheel. Maybe my wife will use the tractor and adjust. Not worth paying for
• The Kioti seat is great. I love the little bit of suspension it has. Got it dialed in to my weight and I think my back appreciated it
• Arm rests are dumb. Mine will probably always be up and out of the way
• The drink holder is about 1/4" too small in diameter. My water jug keeps falling out! Ran over it with the tractor several times
• 4WD + turf tires are fine for my use. I may keep these even though the dealer has agreed to swap for R4's when they get those tires back in stock
• Machine is plenty strong. Pushes and grades just fine. I haven't used the PTO or 3-point yet
• Power steering is the bomb!
• Hydrostatic drive is smooth and easy to use
• Machine started to overheat at one point when scraping and doing cleanup of the area I cleared. I shut the machine down immediately, popped the hood and let it cool. The radiator screen had some debris in it and the vents on the hood did too. But not enough where I would have thought airflow would be a problem. After about 30 min I fired it up and went back to work. Temp remained mid-range the rest of the day doing the same work and all seemed fine after that
• I really dislike that the machine must be in neutral range to start
• I left the backhoe on as ballast. Having it on is annoying. It has quite a swing and clanks around a lot when doing loader work. I see a ballast box in my future

Loader

• Loader quick-attach is fantastic. Glad I did not settle for an older machine that lacked this feature
• The loader joystick is a bit notchy. I kept dropping the bucket harder than intended. I hope the joystick breaks in a bit and I learn better finesse with the controls
• After about 4 hours of use one of the loader quick-connects sprung a leak. Dealer handed me a replacement and I R&R'ed it myself. In the meantime I had managed to loose almost a gallon of hydro fluid. It goes quick!
• For some reason I am already much more proficient with the dirt bucket on this machine than any rental I've had. I think the bucket level indicator helps a lot for a home-gamer like myself

Backhoe : I only played with the backhoe a bit. I pulled a stump in the woods for practice as I didn't want to tear up my finished lawn yet. I need some practice with it as I lack backhoe coordination. Most of my experience was with a Teramite TLB rental. I felt the Kioti backhoe is not quite as powerful and the Teramite was easier to operate for some reason. Kioti controls are silky smooth, much smoother than the loader joystick. Easy to modulate already. I simply lack experience with it. The mechanical thumb is frickin' awesome!

Implements:
I have not attached/detached the backhoe or loader yet. Honestly ease of loader attach/detach seems like a non-issue as I will probably never remove the loader.
Dirt bucket seems solid and is functional. Dealer installed a chain hook and I've already used it once. Excellent add-on.
Ratchet-rake is just as useful as everyone said it would be. I am delighted at how well it works. I had considered a landscape rake. This is cheaper and seems effective enough for me for now.
The forks are my current MVP of my implement stable. Just awesome! 36" tines are perfect for my needs.

I am more than half way done with my first project already after just a day and a half at it. I figure I have maybe 1-2 more full days of work that will likely get spread out over several weeks/months to come.
This fall I also hope to spend some time trying to pull some stumps in my finished lawn.

 

[rademamj1]

Kudos to you for providing such detailed and extensive feedback on your 1st tractor experience. Many first time tractor buyers will gain useful knowledge from your posts.

I have R4 tires on my tractor, but seriously considering going to R3 turf tires for the front. Just so tired of the damage these can do to lawns. Now I see why Ag tires constitute only 4% of sales for 40hp tractors and under.

 

[nhbubba]

For me it is snow. I would like to use the tractor to clear my paved driveway. Most I know who do this with tractors with R4's run chains. I'm wondering if I could side-step the need for chains in the winter with turfs. Everyone says turfs are king for snow use.
At this point I think I may eventually buy some chains for it and use the chains in the woods when needed in the spring. The inverse of what I expected.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the resale angle? Some say resale of a machine with turf tires is poor and that R4's are king. Maybe that is regional?

 

[BrkMstr]

Not sure if I agree with the resale statement - see very few lawn care companies w/out turfs - in my travels I see many homeowners with turfs on their sub-compacts / compacts, to me re-sale would not be an issue - as to the other question, I have R4's on mine, no chains - no issues at all in the winter, so it all depends on how / where you use it - if I change it will be to the R14's as long as the six or eight ply are available - the only problem I've had with turfs was with loader use, heavy loads could easily run them off the rim.....