25HP HST tractors and low range speed.

[Olympus]

You can spend $10k on a new commercial grade mower or even a little less if you buy used. And $14K on a CUT with a loader. That's $24k. If you want a backhoe, that's $29K, not $34k. And you can also buy the backhoe attachment separately at a later time.

 

[Gary Fowler]

No one has mentioned getting a dedicated TLB like the Kubota B26 for your backhoe work. What I would recommend is looking at maybe a used B26 TLB ( I got mine for $20,500 with 60 hours on the clock) then spent about $7000 more on a commercial grade zero turn. My Ferris IS700Z will easily handle any hill you have there going up, down or sideways and top speed is 9.9 MPH which is way faster than your CUT will travel and much smoother ride also. I think Simplicity is the same mower if you have either one of those close by. My IS700 is the smallest of the commercial grade machines that Ferris makes with a 52" or 60" deck. Other brands like the ExMark, Bad Boy etc are pretty nice machines also but no other zero turn or even tractor style have a shock and spring suspension system like the Ferris mowers do that really smooths the ride out.

 

[Rock Crawler]

You live in Arkansas... Have you ever seen a mountain? The last time I drove I-10 through there it was still as flat a lake! The local zero turn dealer says that he wouldn't do the 32 degree bank with a zero turn....if it's at all possible. His suggestion is that I buy a ZT and a weed eater.... say what!!!??? unch: I'm already making that hill climb my b__ch with the GT... I'm not about to start weed eating that stupid bank!

I guess I can just go back to a garden tractor and get a bare naked MF GC1705 with no bucket and get the 60" drive over deck for it for around $10,000. But that takes ALL of the fun out of getting a new toy :thumbdown: :hissyfit:

 

[Rock Crawler]

Gary,

This is the view looking from the front porch over to the neighbor across my yard that is "Beaver County Pa. flat". I have banks at the far end up at the road that are the steep stuff. You guys with flatter land don't know how lucky you are. Drive a 4x4 truck or Jeep into my yard within a couple days of a rain and you'll be hiring a wrecker to winch you back up out of the trees. Ask me how I know :duh:

 

[Olympus]

Got a neighbor that mows a pond bank that is steeper than that with his new Hustler Super Z zero turn without any problem at all.

You really want to find out, ask a few zero turn dealers to demo one of their units. Then try the machine on your slope firsthand. Then you'll see. My old Grasshopper and my new Ferris are mountain goats. They just stick.

Before I bought my Ferris, I demoed every brand there was locally and most dealers delivered the demo unit and picked it up when I was done. All for free.

 

[Rock Crawler]

My dealer, Town and Country out in Rochester Pa (8 miles away) was just telling me on Saturday that he does not allow demo of equipment. Your welcome to drive in circles around his front lot/yard, or buy it and take it home and try it out.

Would you think dealers from 45-60 min away would demo a zero turn this far? I'm around 45 minutes from Butler Pa where there are 4-5 tractor dealers in a short distance that all sale zero turn units.

 

[Olympus]

Doesn't hurt to ask. Explain that you have some slopes and you want to test how the mower does on your slope. Driving around their lot doesn't tell you anything. If they want to sell mowers, they'll let you demo. Especially as we get toward the end of mowing season now. They'll want to move their remaining units before the end of season. Now tell a dealer you're interested in buying a tractor AND a mower and I'm betting they bend over backwards for you!

Especially if you've got a Deere dealership. I've never heard of a Deere dealer not doing demos. Grasshopper too for that matter.

 

[Brotherdan]

There is a mounting kit for adding the backhoe to the MF 1736/1742 and there is an image of it on the MF website.

If you talk to the dealer in Evans City, he may have a way to get this ordered as a TLB. The only advantage is you get the tractor unit plumbed for the backhoe at the factory. You may just wish to order the power beyond portion and get an aftermarket backhoe that sets in the 3 point hitch.

 

[Brotherdan]

For what it's worth, for my little SCUT, I grossly underestimated my backhoe use. I did this by underestimating the jobs the missus could find for me to do with it. I have an extremely small lot and the reason I have my gs1715tlb is the front mounted snow blower and gross vehicle weight.

I have a JD z225 ztr 18.5hp mower. I happen to like it, but every time I call the dealer when I need a part, I have to listen to him whine like a butt-hurt sissy over how it was bought at a home center and it's garbage, etc. ( It gave me the idea that JD sells crap and won't stand behind it, and is a big part of why I own a MF).

When the z225 dies, I will get one of those tow-behind gas mowers that can be pulled by the SCUT. My neighbors pull theirs with their four-wheeler and have no problem at all with them. I have seen some for around $700.

 

[jdom84]

I read through this thread quickly but skimmed over much of it so sorry if I missed something...

It sounds like you are a lot like me and that you want 1 machine to do all you'll ever need one to. having to maintain multiple machines gets old and costly. In my search for a small capable tractor, I had a list much like yours and ended up getting the LS xj2025 mainly because of the price and the capabilities. For the most part I have been mostly happy with it except for the HST seems a bit weak to me...

The HST, I would have loved to have the 3 speed hydro but didn't have the budget for the kubota.... or possibly even the gear tractor over the 2 speed HST. Having come from a gear tractor, there is no feeling like the power to the ground feeling you get with clutch and gears. but everything has its place in this world and at times I HATED my gear tractor and in the end, the HST has been better for my properties. However looking at your pictures, I would probably get the gear tractor for all that mowing.

Second thing BH & MMM, Again, at first I wanted a tractor that could do both, but the Kubota being out of my price range, I made the decision to just get the BH. I mow what I can with a 3 point finish mower and the rest I just get with a lawn mower. Your price for the LS with BH/MMM @ 23k seems extremely high. I got my xj2025 with the BH for around $17.5k cash deal. My dealer told me the MMM would have been around $1800 more if i wanted it. I am still contemplating buying the MMM because its not daily that Ii use the BH and changing out the bracket wouldn't be that much work.

Honestly though. You should just get what you feel comfortable getting and can afford. Buying something on someones advice has never been my way of doing things, although it can often help listening to what others have to say to avoid costly mistakes...