2520 vs 3000 Series

[JDGREEN4ME]

I would love to have a 3320 cab model but the 2520 would do everything I need to do (loader work, mow, plow snow). We will also need to do some rear blade and box work to help landscape around the house we will be building. Just wondering if the larger model (at least a 3120 no cab) might be a better option?

 

[Hard]

A larger tractor is almost always a better option

 

[ducati996]

I would love to have a 3320 cab model but the 2520 would do everything I need to do (loader work, mow, plow snow). We will also need to do some rear blade and box work to help landscape around the house we will be building. Just wondering if the larger model (at least a 3120 no cab) might be a better option?

I like the 3120 honestly....its a big difference between the two and overall not a lot of $$ differences....probably too big for finish mowing but maybe not, but its got power in its hydrolics....

 

[hemiguy]

I considered a 3X20 series before I bought my 2520 (late summer '06), but in my case weight of the 3X20+300CX+BH would be too much to haul with my 1/2ton Dodge & 7000GW trailer. If you need to do a lot of heavy dirt work, but don't need to haul it, the extra HP and extra weight (1000lb for the 3X20 tractor alone) would be a plus. Might be a bit of overkill to finish mow a couple acres though. Also, I believe cab tractors tend to be a little top heavy. I remember a thead a while ago from a guy mowing his hilly lot with a cab tractor (maybe a Kubota) and he was feeling very insecure.

So far I've spread crushed stone and topsoil, loadered snow, and dug up 1 decent sized stump (with the BH) and am happy with the 2520. I guess your choice depends on how much work you have to do vs. how fast you want it done and how much you want to spend.

 

[RollTideRam]

I wanted at least the 3120 myself, but could not afford it, a gator and to keep my x475. I have a few mowing jobs besides my own 3 acres and to me the 3120 was going to be to heavy. I would have been better off to wait on the gator, but I enjoy it with my wife and 2yr old. JC

 

[d_todd_phelps]

Why would a 3x20 not be hauled on a 7000 pound GVW trailer?

3x20 tractor - 2900 pounds
447 hoe - 1077 pounds with 9" bucket (448 hoe is 1557 pounds with 12" bucket)
300cx loader - 671 pounds
61" HD bucket - 246 pounds
61 edge - 51 pounds
hood guard, bigger hoe buckets, etc - 200 pounds

Total with weight 5145 pounds with 447 hoe, and 5625 pounds with 448 hoe.

I'm planning to get the above configuration with the 447 hoe. My trailer is 7000 pounds GVW (trailer is 1100 pounds), giving a load capacity of 5900 pounds. Wife says I can buy the trailer as soon as I lose 15 pounds, and the 15 pounds stays off for a week.

 

[whodat90]

7K trailer weighs at least a thousand pounds, mine is closer to 1500, and it's fairly lightweight. That weight has to come out of the weight capacity, so even with the little hoe it'd be near it's max weight capacity, and that's not including filled tires or clumps of mud.
whodat

 

[hemiguy]

Yup, add wheel weights and/or loaded tires to that 3x20 TLB and you're 5500-6000lbs. 1100 seems light for a 7000GVW trailer. My trailer is a pretty rugged twin axle and dealer told me weighs around 2000lb. I added wood sides on it thats probably another 200lbs. I 'd probably haul anything that fits on it if not going very far, but my 2520TLB + extra "stuff" that I usually have in my Dodge 1500 (w/3:55 gears) is about all it wants to do a couple times a week. Thats really a lot of weight for a 1/2 ton truck and its hilly here in upstate NY. Next truck will probably be a 3/4 ton (Santa, I want a Cummins).

That wasn't the only deciding factor for me though. The2520 is just what suits me and what I need to do best.

 

[d_todd_phelps]

I was planning on not loading the tires. The trailer says 1100 pounds. Maybe this doesn't include the boards or the tires (dual axle). I'll need to research this further. I could see the boards and tires weighing in at around 500 pounds.

 

[lcisled]

How much area (acres) are you trying to manage? I think that would make a difference. I have a 4400 and a Kioti CK20, so I am on both sides of where a 2520 would fall. I can tell you that I use the CK20 more than I use the 4400. It is faster and easier to manuever. I bought most of my implements for the 4400 (60" tiller, snowblower, etc.) and I find myself using them on the CK. Sometimes HP is a little lacking on the CK, and a 2520 would fix that. If I had to get rid of them both and go to one, it would be a 2520, not a 3X20. By the way, I have 10 acre acreage and small lawn seeding business. So, they both do get used.