3320 for 2.5 acres way overkill or what?

[JCB]

Contrary to most I vote Yes, it's probably too much.

One problem you'll run into is storage. Those bigger tractors and attachments take up a lot more room. I've got a 2210 that I usually manage to park inside, between vehicles and trailers, in places that I could never fit a larger frame tractor.

That larger frame will take up a lot more room!

The 2305 does have some limitations: 3 pt hitch lift height, hydraulic flow rate, position control. etc. A more serious limitation in my opinion is loader lift height, but unless any of these are serious deal breakers, I wouldn't be willing to dedicate the space to a larger frame tractor.

Just something to really consider, that I hope is taken as good advice.

Joe

 

[gordon21]

I have 2.5 acres myself and a 790 with 24 PTO HP. You are getting about the same size tractor physically as mine. You are getting the right size. I am so glad I didn't get a smaller one and now I sometimes wish I had bought the 990 instead.

Unless you are in a rare situation, your tractor will be used elsewhere also somewhere in time. Your neighbor down the road, a relatives lot, etc. Once you try to go do work on a 4-8 acre lot, you will be so glad you don't have one of the 2300 or 2500 series. Chippers and log splitters love the extra HP or GPM hydraulic flow.

Besides, the monthly payment difference between what you really want and what you might settle for will only be $30 a month or less. If you buy too small, every month you will kick yourself thinking an extra $27.10 is what I should be spending.

 

[orlo]

I have 2.5 acres myself and a 790 with 24 PTO HP. You are getting about the same size tractor physically as mine. You are getting the right size. I am so glad I didn't get a smaller one and now I sometimes wish I had bought the 990 instead.

Unless you are in a rare situation, your tractor will be used elsewhere also somewhere in time. Your neighbor down the road, a relatives lot, etc. Once you try to go do work on a 4-8 acre lot, you will be so glad you don't have one of the 2300 or 2500 series. Chippers and log splitters love the extra HP or GPM hydraulic flow.

Besides, the monthly payment difference between what you really want and what you might settle for will only be $30 a month or less. If you buy too small, every month you will kick yourself thinking an extra $27.10 is what I should be spending.

Gordon:

I agree that you should get as much as you can afford however the 3320 is about 1000lbs heavier than your 790. The 790 is closer to the 2520 (Albiet with larger tires, frame, etc.) than to the 3320. Before I bought my 3320 I had ordered a 790 that they let me switch before it was shipped to a 3320.

But when I got my 3320 open I should have got a 35/3720 cab. Less than 1 year later I traded it in for a 3720cab. Would have been much, much cheaper to get the cab in the first place.

 

[Shawk]

I also subscribe to the theory of buying as much tractor as a person can justify. I've even recommended picking a tractor out, then buying the next size unit up. That may be a bit overkill... BUT, you'll rarely find anyone with regrets of buying a bit big but often will hear moans from some buying to small. NOW... having said that... I'm one of those guys that decided to step down from my 2520 back to a 2305. Here are a few of my reasons....

-only have 1.5a... additional land I thought I would be buying never hit the market

-more importantly... I didn't have to take the big $$$$ hit from selling my 2520 (I actually made a couple bucks or I wouldn't have sold it).

-as Castinblast stated..... my 2305 is also plenty of tractor 90% of the time (or more like 99% of the time for me). A garden tractor would fill my needs and I would bet it would for many other here too. However, the extra size, speed and power could be seen as necessary (ok... that's just a sales pitch... but it's surely more fun and occasionally could be seen as a necessity).

I would also like to know what your 2.5 acres consists of? If there is more land in your future... how soon? What kind of land?

All the best!
S....

 

[Killer_B]

A 3320 would be overkill by any objective measure. You could easily get by with much less tractor. So could I. But I like tractors and their attachments. I find them enjoyable on so many levels. The sounds, the smells, the steel and rubber. The connection to my youth and a dearly departed farmer grand dad. So I buy the one I like the most, and make believe it's the right tool for the job.

I suggest you do the same. And don't forget the cool brush guard option.

KB

 

[hodoms]

2.5 acres is old clear converted farmland with a few decent size 15 years trees but 95% grass and a few 5 to 10 others trees. I have a two two-car garages and a very large shed and a house nothing specials. My situation is a want to buy some land in the very near future probably next 3 to 5 years but will jump on a deal tomorrow. I want to do a lot I cant do with the 2210 like possibly bush hogging on the side part-time like on weekends (full time job of tax auditor) and maybe some for hire roto-tilling and other small tractor jobs if possible. I would also like something that I can load up and help other family member with various projects that come up like driveways rock projects or any other jobs as required. I plan to have a small rental house bulldozed and I thinking about adding some pallet forks and loading the stuff left after the dozer break the stuff up some. I might hire the loading out but I getting quotes range from 1800 to 6000 to load the junk left. Do any of you think the 3320 with pallet forks will do a good and FAIRLY timely job for loading the stuff that left? Right now, I don稚 volunteer or even attempt anything which could help friends or family because my 2210 is too small and I dare not advertised or even pretend to want to do small tractor jobs because I don稚 see the 2210 as being a tractor capable of anything but the most minor of jobs. I usually can get by on my on property because I just make do; if it takes more bites at the apple I usually do it. I had a small dirt project of spreading dirt dug up from an addition I had put on my home last year and it took all day to move, spread, level and seed a too small area I been wishing for something a little larger. Actually the 2520 would be almost perfect but dang, the 3320 is $3500 more and is a lot more tractor for the money. I almost feel cheated out of my money to buy the 2520, which is at least $2500 too much based on the size of the machine in comparison to other similar size tractors. So I feel stuck between a tractor (3320) which may be too large or a tractor (2520) about right in terms of size but wayyy too expensive for what you get for the money.

 

[Millalien]

I have the same situation - 5 ac. and on the fence b/t a 2520 and 3320, (although the fence I think I should be on is b/t a 2320 and 3320.)

The question for me is whether I'd rather have the extra size and HP available at all times, or whether when a bigger job comes up than the 2X20 can handle I delight in running down the rental yard. I've read almost every 2520 thread and I'm pretty convinced that given enough time that tractor can do almost everything a 3320 can do with a few exceptions:

The fact is that the 2520 is lighter, less HP, less FEL capacity -- there will be stumps, roads & loads that the 3320 can do that the 2520 cannot. Sometimes a lighter machine can overcome that hurdle with time; sometimes not. I have time constraints, so spending three weekends on something the 3320 can do in one matters to me.

We had a Case 470 on lease when we started to build-out our raw land and it was great. At first. Once the big stuff was done, though, it was kind of a pain. Too big and bulky, way too much HP almost everything we did.

After the lease ran out I rented a Kubota (mid 20 HP as I recall) as needed and it was kind of a relief. More manoeverable, but there was clearly things it wouldn't do that that Case had sliced through, but no big deal. We used it for some light land clearing and landscaping and didn't try to do the things the loader/backhoe is designed for (digging really big holes).

Finally, I now rent a Deere 670 more often than I should and really really like it. There's not much the Kubota can do that the 670 can't given a little more time and forethought. For most maintenance type activities - gravel driveway maintenance, snow plowing, moving piles of material around, and light landforming it's just a terrific tractor. Easy to use, move and store. But the gear drive is a really back-breaker - no shuttle shift.

When I resolved to buy a new tractor I figured I just get 670-like 16-20 HP machine with HST and call it a day. I wandered b/t 2320 and 2520, avoiding Kubota b/c of the draft control and the comfort level.

BUT then ....

I started thinking. We're re-entering a build-out phase. We'll be cutting in new roads; taking down and moving timber; and doing some heavier landforming (cut & fill, grading, ponding). I was fooling around in the snow in the 670 and thinking about all that and realizing that it probably wouldn't be able to do much of that.

The 2520 is more tractor than the 670 to be sure, but as others have pointed out - how much more?

I went down to the dealer and looked at a 3320 and a 2520 side-by-side. Drove both. If all that I wanted to do was replace the 670 I rent, the 2X20 would win hands-down. But beyond that, the additional weight and FEL capacity of the 3320 really does make a difference. There's not much the 2520 can do that the 3320 can't, but the reverse is not true. The higher center of gravity & larger turning radius are definitely limiting, but for my intended uses it's probably not a good trade-off. The 3320 is bigger, but not that much bigger and in the long run it will do everything I can imagine wanting it do without having to contemplate runs to the rental yard for bigger machines. Note also that I do zero mowing -- I have a push mower for the tiny patch of grass we have. If I had to mow a lawn (not a field), I'd opt for the 2X20.

The last challenge is to get a decent price. I've been looking for a 12X12 3320 everybody has only hydro's; and the best discount I've gotten is 10% off MSRP. No too compelling.

 

[Millalien]

I kind of on the same fence with 5 ac. Been looking over 2X20s, which would be more than adequate to replace the older Deere 670 I've been using for maintenace type operations -- plowing, light road grading, material movement, landscaping, but I started thinking. We're re-entering a build-out phase. We'll be cutting in new roads; taking down and moving timber; and doing some heavier landforming (cut & fill, grading, ponding). I was fooling around in the snow in the 670 last week and thinking about all that and realizing that it probably wouldn't be able to do much of that. So, I went down to the dealer and looked at a 3320 and a 2520 side-by-side. Drove both. If all that I wanted to do was replace the 670 that I rent, the 2X20 would win hands-down. But beyond that, the additional weight and FEL capacity of the 3320 really does make a difference. There's not much the 2520 can do that the 3320 can't, but the reverse is not true. The higher center of gravity & larger turning radius are definitely limiting, but for my intended uses it's probably not a good trade-off. The 3320 is bigger, but not that much bigger and in the long run it will do everything I can imagine wanting it do without having to contemplate runs to the rental yard for bigger machines. Note also that I do zero mowing -- I have a push mower for the tiny patch of grass we have.


The last challenge is to get a decent price. I've been looking for a 12X12 3320 everybody has only hydro's; and the best discount I've gotten is 10% off MSRP. No too compelling.

 

[NoMo]

I want to do a lot I cant do with the 2210 like possibly bush hogging on the side part-time like on weekends (full time job of tax auditor) and maybe some for hire roto-tilling and other small tractor jobs if possible.

I usually can get by on my on property because I just make do; if it takes more bites at the apple I usually do it. I had a small dirt project of spreading dirt dug up from an addition I had put on my home last year and it took all day to move, spread, level and seed a too small area I been wishing for something a little larger.

So, you want a "big" tractor so you can spend more time on it doing side jobs. And you don't like your current tractor because you have to spend so much time on it?

I'm sure you've read the many, many threads here at TBN on using your tractor in a business. The insurance, fees and liabilities aside, when will you know how big of a tractor is 'big enough'? Why not get a 4 or 5000 series and do some bigger jobs?

Sorry, I think you are looking for reasons to justify buying such a grossly over-sized tractor for your place. The problem is that you don't need any justification from us... just buy what you want!

 

[ccsial]

If it is too big for some jobs just get another smaller tractor for those jobs.