Buying Advice Another need advice on which tractor

[dr3131]

We are just finishing up with a new house(1 month) on 10 acres. It is flat farm land lined with trees. They are starting on the 1.5 acre pond this week. I have been reading for some time and have decided to buy a kubota. I just can't decide what to buy.
What I see myself doing
1. maintaining a new yard
2. I will have 4 acres that I let go wild
3. Pond maintenance
4. 300' driveway in northern ohio
5. Landscaping
Would the 3130 be to heavy to drive over my leach field and for mowing as it is mainly sandy soil.
It is between the 7500,7800,3130hst
Attachments
R4
Fl
RFM
I am a city boy who never owned any sort of tractor.
any advice on which tractor and what implements you could recommend would be appreciated

 

[frankie14001]

i have the 3130 and use a rear mount finish mower i love it my yard is pretty wide open so its not alot of turning around trees and tight stuff like that as far as the weight is i mow over my leach field with no problem mine is about 2 feet down im sure your gonna get all sorts of reply on this so goodluck with the outcome

 

[DanR67]

dr3131 -

Speaking from personal preference and choice - I think you also "skipped over" another worthwhile 'Bota model - the B7610. It offers a more powerful engine (24 vs 21hp) and more powerful loader than the B7500 - but shares it's smaller footprint.

I have roughly the same amount of land as you (11 acres) - but mine is mostly wooded - and I plan on keeping it that way. That being said - I knew I'd need some muscle to pull the occassional tree stump or move a decent sized rock...

But my "main use" is to replace my aging lawn tractor - so "smaller" size and maneuverability (= generally shorter wheelbase) were my main limitations (plus the wife had to feel semi-comfortable using it). Also didn't want too much soil compaction from a larger tractor.

While I originally planned on getting a B7500 - when I started doing financing calculations, I realized I could afford the extra $30 / month - so I went with the bigger FEL capacitied B7610.

Just to give you an idea of some of the features / specifications I compared - I have attached a table that I made up to compare the various models / manufacturers that I was considering before deciding on the B7610. Maybe it'll give you some ideas on how to compare the features / capabilites that are important to you?

Just one more thing: if I understand you correctly - you have 10 acres - "4 of which you will let go wild" - so that means mowing @ 6 acres, correct?

This might mean it's worth going for the B7800 or L3130 simply because they offer larger mid-mount mowers (72") - whereas you can only go with a 60" max on a B7500 / B7610. Looking on the Kubota website - looks like the same max. sizes for the rear finish mowers too.

If you're going to be plowing your driveway - then the heavier L3130 is likely the way to go - unless you snowblow - in which case traction is less of a factor - then you could go smaller too.

Decisions, decisions.... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Best of luck,

Dan