Best Tractor?

[AndyMA]

I agree, pretty much all tractors are good. Personally I think you need something like a TC29 or equilavent size. I think the subcompacts will seem ok for the first few days and then you will quickly realize their limitations. I had a JD 750 for a while (just larger than a subcompact) It wasn't long before I traded it for a Ford 1710 (and that's when I only had 3 acres)

Andy

 

[mr_shovel]

I went to 3 Kubota dealers and they were hard to talk to. They couldn't answer many questions and one used the excuse: "I don't usually sell the little tractors". They basically handed me a price sheet and sent me on my way. Tractor looked nice though!

I also went to the Mahindra dealer. He spent an hour with me, presenting, answering questions, test driving etc. He had a few 2015HST w/ FEL left for $12,700. (good value?).

Also, looked at some 2320 w/ loader for $14500. NH TC30 for $16,000ish. I have not considered any of these units yet so I suppose I have to investigate some.

Its seems just as my mind was made up, I find my self with more options than before.

 

[Glowplug]

That's a shame about the Kubota dealers you had experience with. I guess everyone is an individual and different. My Kubota dealer is almost too good to me. When I first started looking at tractors I had a simple quick question. I didn't expect him to take more than a few seconds to answer it. He proceeded to take me into his office, go through all the books, options, prices, etc. for the tractor I was looking at. Showed me a similar model in the warehouse. So, after an hour and a half I finally said, "I really gotta go now!" Another time I was just browsing (drooling) on the lot. He was closing another big deal so I didn't even want him to see me, let alone bother and distract him. He approached me and handed me the keys of a brand new Kubota M8540 (85hp Ag tractor with FEL) and said "Go ahead, drive her around as much as you want. I'll be inside." That was when I really became totally hooked.

I guess the bottom line is that you should feel as comfortable with your dealer as with your tractor.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

You have literally dozens of choices so it is very easy to become overwhelmed.

Look at your specific conditions and look at the characteristics of the tractor to determine what is suitable for YOUR needs. Rank YOUR needs by their importance and factor in YOUR conditions.

I made a recommendation earlier, now let me try to give you my rationale for making it. You said your needs were mowing 1 acre, grooming 300' of drive, clearing upstate NY snowfalls, and doing some other misc tasks that were not particularly heavy. You said you had some very soft land in parts of your property.

Based on just that small amount of informaiton I figured that you needed a roughly 30hp light tractor with turf tires. They will give minimal impact on your soft ground and they won't tear up your lawn. The higher HP will give you a lot of future options for care of your property and let you run larger implements because 8 acres is a fair size property and can be very time consuming if you are limited to a very small tractor. The 30hp tractor allows for a 6' finish mower and a 5' medium duty rough cutter. It allows for 5' worth of a tiller and a 6' snow blower. A 60" bucket on a front loader is pretty normal.

Now when you consider the weight, the B7800 or B3030 are only slightly heavier than my little New Holland TC24D but offer more power, in a small size, without increasing the impact to the turf. On the weight scale, a New Holland is a fairly heavy tractor, the antiquated TC30 or the modern TC29/32/33/34 series machines are going to have more impact to the ground. The Mahindras are even heavier than the NH and the little 20hp Mahindra you considered is about the weight of my TC24 but offers far less horsepower to the PTO to run your mower deck, and offers less than the sub-compact tractors that you started looking at with the Case and the Massey.

By the way, the New Holland line and the Case line are both the same tractors. Case doesn't off the Super Steer option on the larger machine sizes, and doesn't offer the antiquated/economy TC30.

DISCLAIMER, I currently own/operate a Kubota B2910 (which is the older version of the B3030) and a New Holland TC24D. Both a excellent, but each has its own characteristics. Honestly given what you wrote, I would not recommend the New Holland or Case tractors over the Kubotas and I think they are nicer tractors than Kubotas. It is certainly possible that your needs are far more complex than what you first outlined; if so it is possible that myself (and others here) might change our recommendations.

 

[MikePA]

For mowing only 1 acre that has some marshy spots, I suggest getting a riding lawn mower/lawn tractor for mowing and a tractor for the other tasks you mentioned.

I thought I could replace my 16 hp Wheel Horse garden tractor with a 42 inch rear discharge mower with a New Holland TC25D with a 60 inch mid mount mower. I, too, have some marshy spots. The TC25D was way too heavy at 4 or 5 times the weight of the Wheel Horse. So, I sold the mid mount mower for the TC25D and began using the Wheel Horse again.

Before committing to mowing with a SCUT or CUT, ask to try it on your property during your 'rainy' season.

 

[AndyMA]

He approached me and handed me the keys of a brand new Kubota M8540 (85hp Ag tractor with FEL) and said "Go ahead, drive her around as much as you want. I'll be inside." That was when I really became totally hooked.
.

Sure makes you think about all those that complaign that their new tractor has a few hours on it. I keep wondering how anybody gets to demo a tractor unless the dealer keeps both a new (no hours one) and a used (few hours one) on the lot. Also makes you wonder about the cost of providing demo units to people who buy their tractors over the internet from one of the NC dealers. You just can't have it both ways.

Andy

 

[Agro-oti]

While you're at it you might want to check out the CK series from Kioti. Lots of tractor for the $$$.

 

[AndyM]

I would look at a lightweight compact, rather than subcompact.

I mow 3.5 acres, and take care of snow removal on a 250 foot long driveway with my New Holland TC18.

Because my grass can get a little squishy after it rains, I wanted something that would not leave much of a footprint on my lawn, so I chose a tractor that was only 1400 pounds. I went with a CUT, rather than a SCUT, because I still wanted something large enough for various other projects I've taken on around the property.

Once you've decided on the size, look over all the brands. There are several good ones out there and there are some good comparisons in some of the threads here at TBN. Good luck and report back!

 

[bill177]

I went through this same decision last summer. I have a woods that needed trails, cleaning out, etc. The mowed lawn is about 1.5 acres and we have a garden.

In the end I bought the GC2300 with loaded AG tires and a FEL on it and a 4' tiller. Mowing will continue to be done with a lawn tractor. The AG tires are needed when working in the woods - the turf tires would have loaded right up and just become clay covered slicks.

We are quite wet here also and can easily tear up the lawn. The last several weeks the tractor has become a hanger queen. But soon the ground will freeze and I can get back to work in the woods. Either that or take the floats off the plane and put them on the tractor.

The tiller did wonders with the garden. I did more work in a couple of hours than I could have in a week with a "get dragged around by" tiller. I brought nearly 100 bucket loads of nature's compost from the woods to the garden and tilled it in. Reshaped the garden to eliminate a drainage problem. If the garden does well next season - I'll double the size of it.

My parking area and driveway is paved - one of the best things I could have ever done. The drive is about 200' (quite steep) and the parking area is 60 x 30. I use a plow on my Tahoe for that and a 28" walk behind blower for trim. If we get hit hard and the snow banks get too big, than I'll put the FEL to work.

The FEL is very handy for hauling "things" to and from the barn and for general yard work. Carries the tools, supplies, and refuse. Saves many back aches!!!!

Sure, I could have gotten a giant of a tractor if I had wanted it. But, I got what I felt would do the jobs I have for it, what would easily store/park in the garage, and be fun to operate. A whole lot of the latter!

Orange, green, blue, or red are generally the choices. I went red due to a quickly formed dislike for the two local JD dealers, percieved design problems with the Kubota sCUTs, and the best blue dealer was 70 miles away.

Price wise, they were in the same general ball park - however, the MF did come in about 10% below the other two when I got down to check writing time. This will vary from one locale to another.

My final purchasing decision was based on the dealer. His application knowledge, desire to gain a new customer (not just a sale), and general follow-up.

I notice you are in central NY - near Verona Beach? The first time I became aware of small tractors was passing this place: New-Used-Tractors-Forage Harvesters-Farm Equipment-CASE IH-New Holland-White's Farm Supply-NEW YORK - although I didn't buy from them (too far from home) I did learn a lot. There is also a really good NH dealer in Richfield Springs (sells Kubota in Oneonta). He was just too far from me - I am near Albany.

 

[jbrumberg]

mr_shovel:

I know that we are not making this any easier for you, but you are getting "solid" information from an experienced readership. I have a NH TC29DA with weighted R-1's. It is too heavy to mow my wet "lawn" and the R-1's will chew up the lawn. My primary tasks are material moving (including snow), driveway maintenance, brush hogging the lower field (my avatar), hauling logs which is why I went with the R-1's. I have a White 1650LT riding lawn tractor for mowing the lawn. My tractor easily handles 5' PTO driven attachments. Hang in there! FYI- Jay