Anyone bought a 2320 and wished they went 2520?

[2305JD]

Hello again folks,

Obviously, I'm still trying to decide on which one to trade the 2305 for. I did my stint on looking at Kubota's but am going to stay Green for sure. Now it's just down to 2320 or 2520.

I have a dealer with both and has a great deal for me on the 2320 as it is his last 2007 and the 2520 is a 2008. There is $3,400 difference to go up to the 2520 which is alot of money now but if I end up going through this again I'm sure it is cheaper to do it now.

My needs are mowing lawn and FEL work. The 2305 has been great but there is a bush that backs on to our property and everytime I go in there I'm on pins and needles watching for twigs and hydro fan shavings. Also, the 2320 seems to be more stable for FEL work.

I dont want to make the mistake of buying the 2520 and it being too big either. (If there is such a thing as having a tractor too big).

Anyway, I'm sorry for all the posts on this but it is alot of cash and I just dont want to make a mistake again.

Any comments on 2320 vs. 2520 would be greatly appreciated. I want to get this deal done in the next few days and be ready for spring thats got to be around the corner.

Thanks again...

 

[ChuckinNH]

Don't apologize for all the posts, and time it is taking. This is a lot of money for something that is important to us. I have been taking way too much time on the same decision, but was partly waiting for the new Kubota B series to come out. I still haven't found one to drive, but am a little disappointed that they didn't change more things.

So, back to the green tractors. The 2320, and 2520 are both really nice tractors, and I may end up with one soon myself..... though I will drive a new orange one first. The two tractors you are considering have very close capabilities, but different personalities, and I think it's important to match that personality with your own. If you are going to get impatient waiting for the bucket to dump on the 2320 then the 2520 is faster. If you demand the most torque in a tractor that size, the 2520 has more of that. In my mind, that is where the advantages pretty much end. The hydraulics on the 2520 are noticably faster, and I have run them in a gravel pile side by side. The greater speed makes the 2520 feel stronger. Still, the loader bucket takes almost twice as long to dump as an orange one, and is only 2 seconds slower than it's sibling.

I see the 2320 as having several nice things, though I wouldn't call them advantages over the 2520. It has a more intergrated, and simpler control for mower deck height if mowing is important. The three point hitch doesn't have any interferrence problems with chains, or tire rubbing, though folks have found ways around that issue. I like having the check chains on the inside of thee lift arms for easier adjustment too. Both models are a bit bigger (width) than the front mounted attachments, but the 2320 is less so.

I personally don't see the added money for the 2520. Since Kubota fixed the seats on their larger B series, I guess I would choose one of them (B7800, B2630, B3030) over the Deere 2520 since they can be fitted with much stronger backhoes, have excellent 3 point hitch setups, and greater lift capacities on both ends. I would miss the drive over deck if I wanted a mmm, but would move past that. On paper, the capacities, abilities, lift heights, etc. for the 2320, and 2520 are the same. The 2520 is heavier, slightly bigger, has more torque, larger tires, and faster hydraulics, and you have to decide how important those things are to you.

OK, now you have done it! I may have to head to a JD dealer today.......

 

[2305JD]

Chuck,

Wow thanks for the advice. could you be a bit more specific on your test at the gravel pile. How much faster would you say the 2520 is vs. 2320 in loader work?

I did look at the specs and based on the gpm the 2520 is 1.47 times faster that then 2320 and 1.72 faster than my current 2305. the 2320 is 1.17 times faster than the 2305.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to test the 2 side by side. I've driven both around the lot but either time the loader was not on so didn't get to test.

thanks...

 

[2Malamutes]

How much faster would you say the 2520 is vs. 2320 in loader work?

Specs from JD on 200CX:

2320 Cycle Times:

Loader raise, seconds 4.73
Loader lower, seconds 2.88
Bucket dump, seconds 4.73
Bucket rollback, seconds 2.88

2520 Cycle Times:

Loader raise, seconds 3.19
Loader lower, seconds 1.95
Bucket dump, seconds 3.19
Bucket rollback, seconds 1.95

I went with the 2320 as I couldn't justify the big price difference for the occasional loader work I'll be doing. I think the 2320 is the better mowing machine, and as I'll be mowing more than loading, that became a negative for the 2520. To be honest if I was looking predominantly at loader specs I'd be in the 3 series JD as the orange just don't appeal to me either. So in the end I decided the 2320 was the more versatile tractor for me and the 2520 was simply the better loader tractor but nothing else that was a pro on its side, and for me I don't think slowing down a little with heavy equipment is a bad thing

 

[Birdmayon]

I really don't have any advice for you, but can share my reasoning behind going with the 2520 over the 2320. I had a JD 332 garden tractor with a 44 loader prior to this, which, is a slow loader. After messing with that for a year, I started to get pretty fed up with the cycle times and decided that I wanted speedy hydraulics. That was a key point for me. Second is the power. I don't remember the exact number, but I believe the 2520 has like 20% greater torque. That's a significant bump up. My new property is very hilly and I wanted to be able to haul implements, logs, trailers, whatever up the hills with less effort. The price difference for me was easy to swallow, I plan to have this tractor for a long time and realized that always questioning if I should've bumped up to the 2520 was not worth the few grand in savings up front.

 

[flyngti]

I went with the 2320 as I couldn't justify the big price difference for the occasional loader work I'll be doing.

I too went with the 2320 because I could not justify the price difference to step up to the 2520. The 2520 is a great machine. As I recall when I was shopping, it was about a $3500 gap as well. I don't mow -- I mainly use the tractor to maintain our road with the BB, pull the drag around to smooth out our riding track and use the FEL for manure management and moving dirt and gravel around. I'm not particularly concerned about having faster hydraulics as the 2320 is plenty fast for what I'm doing. Really, unless you were moving a huge amount of gravel around ALL THE TIME, you probably won't notice or care that it takes 1.5 seconds longer to dump each bucket.

Yes, the 2520 has higher hydraulic flow
Yes, the 2520 has lower dump cycle times
Yes, the 2520 has greater lifting capacity
Yes, the 2520 has greater pulling capacity
Yes, the 2520 has greater ground clearance

...and on and on...

The real question is, what's this worth to you? I'll have to admit that there have been times when I've wanted more power to pull out a stump or lift a pallet of junk. However, 99.5% of the time, I think the 2320 was the perfect choice for my needs. If I had to make the decision again, I would still have gone 2320 over the 2520. I'm sure that other people may have made a different decision because everyone's needs are different.

Also keep in mind that the $3500 you save is half-way to getting the backhoe

 

[ScottK]

I have the 2320 and I do a lot of loader work. Having the hydraulics a bit slow makes it easy to precisely dump/spread stuff slowly over any area. Since I have both a hill and woods, the 2320 was preferable due to lower center of gravity and narrower width. There is still plenty of ground clearance (my neighbor with a 2305 is quite envious). The 4' box blade covers the tracks and the 53" bucket can be dropped when it's really tight. I have gone back to the dealer looking at 2520 again, but man, the wider tires make it hard to work with the 3ph on it and I would not want to make it wider as others have done, althoght that is one way to make it more stable (since it's taller). Note that more power in the 2350 does not give you more lifting capacity as someone alluded to. The specs are the same on both. If only they had made the loader have more lifting - I might have considered the 2520 more. Yep - someday I may go to the 3000 series, but not with my current property.

 

[unreconstructed]

I can't remember how long it has been, this year I think, but there was a very extensive discussion on the 2320/2520 issue on TBN. You may have already read it. I believe there was a poster who had owned all three machines --2305/2520/2320 but can't really remember his response. You may want to search for the thread.

I saw the two machines, 2305 and 2320, side by side and picked the 2320 no questions asked, mainly for the full cat 1 hitch. there was a 2520 on the lot, but really never looked at it that hard as the extra money was not worth the extra hydraulics etc to me. I already had a 5203 so didn't see the need in beefing up to the 2520. Having to find ways around problems with a new tractor as is the case with the 2520 as discussed in other posts would have been a real irritant to me.

As conflicted as you are with your purchase, it seems to me you are going to have to try both to know for sure. Finding the thread I mentioned above might really help you out.

If the money is not a problem for you and you go with the 2520 and since the problems have already been defined and solutions given on TBN regarding the 2520, I suspect you would be perfectly happy with the 2520. I can't see how it would be too much tractor over a 2320 and you would have noticeable much power according to some TBN posters I have read. As far as the speed of the loader, I don't know the difference since I have not operated the 2520. Have not lost patience with my 2320. I enjoy the little fellow.

 

[unreconstructed]

Whoops. Forget this is 2008. That thread should have been in 07 sometime.

 

[bandit67]

I don't see going from a subcompact 23hp to a slightly larger 'compact' 23hp. For the extra money it's going to cost, I'd want to go a bit bigger and more powerful. I think the 2520 is a good size machine.

Now, suppose the new 30.5 hp 2720 (which is supposed to be the exact same size as the 2520) is only $500 more than the 2520? Then forget the 2320 or 2520 and go for the 2720! Did that muddy the water for you a little bit more?