Bobcat 2540 vs NH Boomer 50 Cab

NinjaB · Apr 11, 2021

We were decided on the Bobcat 2540, but deliver has moved out from initial they told us 6weeks, to now just before placing the order they rechecked and are now 4 months out. So we have looked at some additional options.
2540 with FEL and cab priced at $30,000 delivery mid August. (37hp)
NH Boomer 50 with FEL and Cab $32,000, 2020 model sitting on the lot, dealer 45min from us.

We have 20 acres, maybe 5 acres woods, 10 acres pasture. 4 small 0.5-1 acre fenced pastures. 2/3 acre pond construction in progress. 1/4 mile gravel driveway. Land mainly flat with some slopes. All quite dry sandy ground. Tractor work will be basic land maintenance, pasture maintenance needs re-seeded badly, small livestock chores (goats donkeys). And we are planning on getting into hay, probably just to use ourselves, but about 3 acres on our property and possibly trailering our equipment and haying some free family owned land 45min away 5-15+ acres if we want more hay.

I know haying ourselves doesn't really make sense but we are tired of buying it off others and would like to have hay independence. We are considering a hay package from tractortoolsdirect which sells Ibex branded, with likely mini round baler as they are much cheaper than square balers.

Pros of the Bobcat are slightly smaller, bucket doesn't stick out as far, should be easier to maneuver in our small fields and barn. 5ft bucket instead of 6ft bucket. A little cheaper. Cab looks like it has less visual obstructions than the Boomer.

Pros of the Boomer, sitting on the lot, more horsepower. Weighs a few hundred pounds more. Dealer 30min closer than Bobcat.

Both come with 2 rear remotes, telescoping 3 point, cab, work lights, HST, skid steer quick attach. Specs listed for reference. We would like the tractor asap, but we will probably have it for 20 years so waiting is not that big of a deal in reality. When I started looking I thought we were going to be in the 25-35 hp range so I am surprised we are even considering the 50hp unit, but on paper it is not very much bigger than the 37hp Bobcat.

SPECS:

arcadelt · Apr 11, 2021

I was looking at similar machines when I was buying for our 25 acre lot here in Australia, but substitute a in a 42HP Kioti (who currently makes the Bobcat). Both were good candidates, but the NH is definately a larger machine. To put it in JD terms, the Bobcat/Kioti is 3 Series size, where as the NH is 4 Series size. That said, for the amount of land you have I doubt it will make much difference unless manoeuvrability is a critical concern anywhere (shed, woods, around home/garden, etc), although many will talk about extra weight being an advantage too.

3gunr · Apr 11, 2021

You need to compare the 4000 series bobcat to the boomer. A much closer model. Although the 5 series comes with a cab only .

rngrrymd · Apr 12, 2021

NinjaB said:
We were decided on the Bobcat 2540, but deliver has moved out from initial they told us 6weeks, to now just before placing the order they rechecked and are now 4 months out. So we have looked at some additional options.
2540 with FEL and cab priced at $30,000 delivery mid August. (37hp)
NH Boomer 50 with FEL and Cab $32,000, 2020 model sitting on the lot, dealer 45min from us.

We have 20 acres, maybe 5 acres woods, 10 acres pasture. 4 small 0.5-1 acre fenced pastures. 2/3 acre pond construction in progress. 1/4 mile gravel driveway. Land mainly flat with some slopes. All quite dry sandy ground. Tractor work will be basic land maintenance, pasture maintenance needs re-seeded badly, small livestock chores (goats donkeys). And we are planning on getting into hay, probably just to use ourselves, but about 3 acres on our property and possibly trailering our equipment and haying some free family owned land 45min away 5-15+ acres if we want more hay.

I know haying ourselves doesn't really make sense but we are tired of buying it off others and would like to have hay independence. We are considering a hay package from tractortoolsdirect which sells Ibex branded, with likely mini round baler as they are much cheaper than square balers.

Pros of the Bobcat are slightly smaller, bucket doesn't stick out as far, should be easier to maneuver in our small fields and barn. 5ft bucket instead of 6ft bucket. A little cheaper. Cab looks like it has less visual obstructions than the Boomer.

Pros of the Boomer, sitting on the lot, more horsepower. Weighs a few hundred pounds more. Dealer 30min closer than Bobcat.

Both come with 2 rear remotes, telescoping 3 point, cab, work lights, HST, skid steer quick attach. Specs listed for reference. We would like the tractor asap, but we will probably have it for 20 years so waiting is not that big of a deal in reality. When I started looking I thought we were going to be in the 25-35 hp range so I am surprised we are even considering the 50hp unit, but on paper it is not very much bigger than the 37hp Bobcat.

SPECS:
View attachment 694283 View attachment 694285

Easy decision.
The Boomer 50 has the following advantages:

# 1 - It's on the lot!!! Lead times for everything are getting crazy right now so that 4 months could get pushed again and it could be longer for the Bobcat.
# 2 - The Boomer 50 has 3.4 gallon more capacity in the fuel tank - u can stay in the field/work longer
# 3 - The Boomer 50 actually has 2371 lb lift capacity on the loader at the pivot pins. The Bobcat doesn't specify on their literature and that usually means they measured from the pivot pins instead of 24" (500mm) out. The Boomer still lifts 1849 lbs 24" from the pins.
# 4 - PTO HP. The Boomer 50 can run a Massey 1734 3 x 4 Hay Baler and is at the threshold of a 1745 4 x 5 Hay Baler (40HP PTO required) instead of the smaller Ibex baler u are looking at.
# 5 - 3 point lift capacity. The Boomer 50 can lift 2756 lbs at the ball ends compared to the Bobcat's 1631 lbs. The Bobcat literature doesn't specify 24" beyond the ball ends so I'm going with the 1631 at the ball ends. The Boomer 50 can lift 2116 lbs 24" past the ball ends so it would still be almost 500lbs more if the Bobcat numbers are 24" out.
# 6 - The Boomer 50 has 13.4gpm pump flow compared to the Bobcat's 11.4 gpm.
# 7 - The Boomer 50 is on the lot!!!

Did I mention you can get the Boomer 50 now? I know what you're saying about not having trouble waiting but I work at a plumbing/heating supply and we are seeing everything going into shortages and allocations. Kinda makes me wonder if we are going to have anything to sell by July/August. Also, STEEL PRICES are RISING. Water heaters are going up 8% or something like that in June or sooner, Amtrol just announced they are raising tank prices, etc so the price might go up on the Bobcat by the time it comes in.

I looked at compact tractors a couple years ago and ended up going with a Utility Case Farmall 75C. The extra weight and lift capacity have come in handy and if you really do start haying those fields you won't regret the extra weight, HP, PTO HP, fuel capacity, loader capacity and 3 point capacity that the Boomer 50 will offer. Oh, and the Boomer 50 is on the lot.

NinjaB · Apr 14, 2021

Lots of good points
I am still waiting on Bobcat to see if they can get a 2540 from another dealer, they have found several of them but haven't talked the other dealers into giving one up yet.
I am a little worried about the bigger size of the Boomer, it may not fit under the side awnings (small covered outdoor stalls) of our livestock barn, which would be nice to muck those areas with it, I will have to remeasure I know the Bobcat could fit but just barely. I also think the smaller front to back length and more compact FEL will manuever better in the small fenced pastures.
That said, if Bobcat can't find a tractor in a few weeks time I am really leaning towards getting the Boomer off the lot.

Also I don't think we will ever do round bails, using hay for goats and donkeys and feeding from square bales. And we store hay in a hayloft. So either minirounds or square baler, I assume the 32hp pto on the Bobcat can handle a square baler if we go that route instead of minirounds?

rngrrymd · Apr 14, 2021

I just double checked Bobcat's site and they do list loader specs 1389lbs at 500mm ahead of pivot and 1631lbs 24" beyond ball ends on 3-point which is how the rest of the industry normally lists their specs. I guess I missed that last time I looked. Do u have any Kioti dealers nearby? The CK4010SE HST Cab model is pretty much the same specs as the Bobcat. Kioti's parent company Daedong is making the Bobcat tractors for now until Doosan can build their own models in house which is probably 3-5 years down the road. Maybe a Kioti dealer has the CK4010SE HST model in stock. I could be wrong but I doubt any Bobcat dealers are going to cough up their tractor in a dealer to dealer sale and lose profits from a customer sale when they know getting a replacement from the manufacturer is 4 months down the road at minimum. Might be worth checking on the Kioti version since you have tight spaces.

The biggest question is do u need the smaller model more to get around your tight areas or the larger model to get tasks done quicker. What tasks will you need the tractor for the most often and can u find a workaround for the tight spaces. My 75hp is a little big for some tasks but I make it work. I can tell you it takes less time to plow the snow off the driveway and I can move 35 yards of dirt or 22 ton of stone (tri-axle load) pretty quick with it.

NinjaB · Apr 18, 2021

The $32000 price of the Boomer 50 seemed like too good of a deal. Rechecked with them and that was the non cab price! Boomer 50 with FEL +cab is $36650.
Haven't heard anything from Bobcat yet about getting the 2540 from another dealer.

Even with the higher price I am still really considering the Boomer 50. The more I read the more it sounds like nobody wishes they had a smaller tractor...

DieselBound · Apr 18, 2021

NinjaB said:
Even with the higher price I am still really considering the Boomer 50. The more I read the more it sounds like nobody wishes they had a smaller tractor...

Well, when I break something on my larger tractor I WISH I'd done so on my smaller tractor. Larger tractors are more costly to repair. My smaller tractor has been useful in getting my larger tractor unstuck! (was pinned in, stupid move on my part, with a dump trailer loaded with material listing off into an abyss and couldn't back it all up straight to get out; it was, however, payback for the larger tractor once rescuing the stuck smaller one!)

Ever thought of hiring someone out to do your haying? Equipment costs, your time, the potential equipment breakages etc., it all adds up. I have some neighbors who got into haying for their own animals only to find that in order to justify the expenses of their equipment they have to hay a lot more land AND look to sell that hay: a couple years back one of their cousins put gasoline into one of their diesel tractors (the things unforeseen will never cease to amaze in their ability to wreak havoc!).

Price out your attachments! I've got over 1/3 the amount of money in attachments than what I paid for my Kioti, and that's on the frugal side.

Go bulletproof on meeting 80% of your total needs. The other 20% can be limped, and that which cannot be handled, which will be a very small amount, is usually one-offs that can be handled by rental equipment.

Cabs are worth it. Keeps rain off your head (and tractor station dry- I can utilize a display for my cameras). Keeps bugs away. Keeps gnarly brush (I've got some wicked blackberry vines) away. Reduces sun burns. Can, if optioned, provide heat and cooling (AC). Operating in tight spaces and in the woods, however, requires one to pay a lot of attention (one should be doing that anyway when operating machinery!).

NinjaB · Apr 27, 2021

Bought the Boomer 50 with cab!
Waiting on third fx and hydraulic top link to come in and get installed before I get it delivered. Maybe 1wk or so.
Also getting a set of 42" pallet forks.

Next purchases, I think will be:
MKL RK5 60" Grapple
King Kutter 84" YR-G Rake
-Still contemplating those.

Then I will have to decide on hay equipment, thinking used for those and not sure what yet. (We did hire out our hay 2 years ago, but last year they totally flaked on us and it didn't even get cut)