CUT life span when compared to a graden tractor?

[chucko]

ok in trying to get my wife to think the bx1500 is over all a better deal left me see if a assumptions are right here.

a gas "ridding lawn mower" (like sears) will last about 8 to 10 years - on avg
the Bx should make it 20 - years right?

how about cost of service? the new ridders all seem to have oil filters ect so it can't be a lot different can it?

 

[DaveInColorado]

This is not even close to being an apples to oranges comparison. The BX1500 is at least twice as heavy as the largest Sears garden tractor and consequenly will leave small dents in a very nice loamy lawn. If all you want is a mower, then get a mower. The BX1500 has an extremely useful front loader which is not available at all for the Sears models. The BX1500 will also accept farm type heavy duty attachments. I have a tiller on mine that leaves a finely ground result, plus is quiet and tills 100x faster than my rear-tine walk-behind tiller. I also have a box scraper.

The Kohler engines in the large Sears tractors will last a long time. I think you could go 15-20 years on a Sears tractor and more like 40 years on a Kubota. If you have a very large garden (50x100?), get the Kubota.

The BX1500 is too large for a normal city-type yard.

 

[GregJ]

Chucko,
You are absolutely right about the lifespan, depending on how you take care of it. In fact, I think your 20 year prediction is probably on the light side. Deisel engines will last a very long time with proper care.

Depending on how much lawn you have and what else you could use a CUT for, I'd suggest one more factor in your equation. What implement could you use to make your life a LOT easier with a CUT. I don't know of anybody that doesn't like their FEL. The real advantage of a CUT, in my opinion, is all the other things they can do, besides mow lawn. Take some time and study all the features and implements available for these small tractors. They can really add to your "quality" of life... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Just a FEL alone can really save a lot of work.

However, if I was going to use it for just mowing less than an acre of lawn, I don't know if it would be worth the extra dollars. I have about an acre of lawn and use a JD LX277 for mowing. I use my Kubota B7500 for all the other duties. My JD does an incredibly good job of mowing, because that was all it was designed to do. If I were starting over and could only do one machine, I would definitely be looking at a BX with a FEL and mower deck. But without a FEL or some other implement to increase it's value, I'd be looking at a good riding mower.

Just my opinion,
Greg

 

[fishman]

Chucko,

All I can relate to you is the experience my Dad had with his first compact tractor, a Ford 1100. It was a little 4wd tractor with 11 pto hp. He bought it new in 1980 or 81, I cant remember, for $3600. He sold it 20 years later for $3,000. In that time it was used to care for 4 acres, including plowing a very large garden, and a small vinyard. The reason he sold it was that he bought a much larger acreage and really needed a larger tractor.

In all that time he never had a major repair, just oil changes, batteries, etc. I think he did put a new seat on it. The three digit hour meter read 9xx, but since it was only a 3-digit meter, and I used the tractor most of the time, we didn't know how many hours were on the tractor. Heck, I never paid attention.

You won't get that kind of resale value out of a box-store gas lawn mower, that's for sure. And they won't have the capabilities of a compact tractor. I say if you can afford one of the BX series, you won't regret it on your one acre spread.

If you do any gardening or landscaping, don't forget the loader. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Spanky100]

Chucko

I agree with what Dave has stated. I will add some to it but the key point will be the last. I currently use a 1810 Cub Cadet to mow 3 acres. I believe it is a 1986 (it was my Grandfathers and Fathers so I know the maintenance history since new) model year. The Kohler Magnum M18 oposed two cylinder has 800 hours when the leaves were done this year. The only non-preventive maintenance we have had to do was 4 belts, one idler pully, and replace the rubber universal at the front of engine to the hydro pump. The yearly PM is Lube-oil-filter change, change hydro filter, air filter replace, put fuel stabilizer in at last operation, and spark plugs each 3 years. The fuel consumption in heavy grass is 1/2 to 3/4 gallons per hour. I suspect a comparable HP diesel would use 50 percent less fuel than a gas engine on the same operation. The key point is what do you want to mow with? The diesel or gas. Consider your enjoyment. If you can afford it without sacrificing a family need. Then go for the one you want. Keep it in good shape, keep the maintenance records and the resale value should hold up well. Good luck with your decision.
Wayne

 

[chucko]

I "think" 20 years is lite too but it is hard to guess on something new like this model.
Anyhow I don't want/need a FEL for anything at all not on a 1 ac yard. But I do have a shell rock drive and the wife drives a school bus. Sometimes if we have had rain I find myself fixing ruts so I need/want a box blade.
I might also want a yard rake.
right now I have a small garden (30x30 -) and a new walk behind tiller so I would not need a tiller for a long time. besides I am in Fla and tilling sand is not too hard with a walk behind even if the garden grows. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I know what can be done with a mower ver a CUT but the problem I am having is the wife will only see the CUT as a 8k mower ver a 4k - mower so you see when I am coming from. She will not take my work on it or a sales guys word so I need to get numbers like cost of ownership over the life of the mower to prove my point.
Any of you guys married to a red head you know how they can be.

 

[dlr920]

I may not be able to provide much insight into the overall cost for it's lifespan but I must admit that when I was considering the purchase of my BX2200 the one thing that made it so much easier was having the wife try it herself and see the advantage of the powersteering going around all the trees and flower garden. Being that I work alot of late nights and limited time on weekends she has put almost half of the hours on the machine since purchase.

 

[TresCrows]

Chuko, let me talk you into a BX1800 or 2200 OK. If you are going to spend the money go for the ring /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. Don't stop halfway.
Lifespan, no comparison in heavy duty use. When I moved here 5.5 years ago all the houses were new and everyone was buying new machines. Most bought Sears 20/25HP Garden units. Most of those are now worn out. Several have since been replaced by Kubotas or such. Now, there are some JD riding mowers and Kubota garden tractors that are heavy duty but the stuff from Sears and K-mart really cannot be expected to hang in there like a real tractor. My Kubotas are just getting broke in good, the Sears stuff is headed for the junkyard. A real tractor with an FEL and a few 3-point implements is not going to be cheap. It may be cheaper to buy several Sears GTs on sale every few years. None of them have a FEL or can do the work a tractor can do. That is where a tractor begins to justify itself, doing all the work others have to hire out, saving your back with the FEL etc. Life without an FEL is not possible. Hydraulic muscle is comforting to have, I use it for everything. Any compact utility tractor--CUT--is going to be far more powerful than a GT. Don't let those horsepower claims fool you. My 24hp diesel, 4WD Kubota B2410 could pull a whole fleet of Sears GTs backwards and when they are in mower heaven my Kubota will still be going. You would not believe the effortless power of something like a BX2200 when compared to the biggest Sears unit. NO COMPARISON /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. You may also wish to look at the NH TC18, JD has a new subcompact tractor as well, or just get the Kubota, you will like it. J

 

[GregJ]

Chucko,
Trust me, we're workin' with ya here.... We love spending other peoples money.... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I just went out on the Kubota web site and saw that the BX1500 FEL has a capacity around 398lbs. Do you have a wheelbarrow? Can you visualize 398lbs. in your wheelbarrow. Make some comparisons like this. Get creative. A few weeks ago I used mine to lift a wood stove up onto the deck of my neighbors house. His stove weighed around 400lbs. It turned a 4 hour back breaking job into 5 minutes, (of course there was another 5 minutes of chest pounding and grunting sounds, and of course another 20 minutes to consume a cold beverage after it was safely on his deck /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif). How much is your time worth. These tools are capable of more tasks than you can imagine. A box scraper sounds like a good approach. Of course if you have more rock delivered, how are you going to spread it? Wheelbarrow and shovel??? Obviously you can't do it with a lawn mower.

To be honest, I am not sure the cost of operation and maintenance is a direction you will want to take this if you want a CUT. It's probably going to be a wash, maybe even a little more expensive to maintain a CUT. There are more filters and fluids that are required with a deisel tractor vs. a gas lawn mower. Sure you use less fuel, but not that much less.

I guess my tactic would be to push the functionality vs. cost of operation perspective. Look at it as "future potential". You don't have to buy all the implements at once. Once you buy a lawn mower you have shut the door on all the potential implements a CUT can offer.

Ok.... I've rambled enough. Just trying to give you some cost justification ideas.

Greg

 

[chucko]

ok guys I understand the cost diffence to jump to a 1830 or 2230 is not that much but we are only talking 1 ac so I feel the 1500 is already on the big side for it. (am I wrong?)
I kown what your saying about the loader but for my needs I don't see ever using it. But then again after I get the tractor it could be added. My wife like to count beans so I have to sale her that the life cost is about the same ....Then when she buys that I have to PROVE the other things I can do

 

[GregJ]

Ok... Here's your trump card..... RESALE VALUE !.... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif If she's a bean counter, she will understand the concept of depreciation. Go through the want ads and point out all the 6 year old lawn mowers for $200 ($2,500 new) and the 20 year old tractors for $5,000 ($6,000 new).

I think ya got her on that one! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'd still play the " future potential " and " keeping our options open " perspective. Just for good measure, ya might want to throw in the " Ya know, I'm not gettin' any younger " scheme too.

Greg

 

[Trev]

I guess I'd second what a lot of folks here are saying.

We initially bought a small JD "garden tractor", and I got the front blade for pushing snow.

Then we realized all of the other jobs this could potentially do for us.. tilling, etc., and we realized the limitations of the machine in terms of even pushing snow.. no rear diff lock, no FWD, no ability to angle the blade without getting off and doing it manually, and so on. Traded up to a 4300, and the dealer gave me a trade-in price on the little guy of exactly what we'd paid for it brand new.

Think carefully of not just what you plan to do now, but also of what you might want to do.

On the other hand, if your dealer is like mine, you could get the little guy, and then trade up without a loss if you decide you want more. Ask them about this before you purchase.. just as a suggestion..

Best,
Bob

 

[JDgreen227]

You are 100% right with your post, I have an '89 model JD 318 with a 50 inch deck and front blade I have used to tend my 11 acres since new. Had I thought it would pile up 100 operating hours a year, I would have spent another $3000 for a CUT and come out ahead. What my 318 has to struggle to perform is a snap for my 4210. I mowed about 80-90 hours a year with the old JD and it burns a gallon of gas per hour.
My new JD mows twice as fast on half the fuel cost.
A well engineered and cared for garden tractor will last 20 years or more but I am sure the hard hours I put on mine has taken a toll.

The resale value of a CUT versus a garden tractor makes the additional expense you pay up front well worth it. However, for anyone who has a small area of land to care for, you will never get the full value of the bigger machine. Estimate the hours you will use a tractor a year, and be generous with the estimate. If you only do mowing up to 65-70 hours a year, stick with the garden tractor. Anything over that, or if you need to move a lot of dirt and/or snow in addition to mowing, go for the large model. I WISH I HAD. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[jpr62902]

Chucko,

Here's a little more food for thought. Those Crapsman, er, uh, Craftsman garden "tractors" will only last 8 -10 years under light use, i.e. mowing only. Does your yard have a fence or other items you could run into while mowing? If so, the Sears won't hold up very well. I speak from experience. After my second Craftsman couldn't cut the mustard, I upgraded to a Honda v-twin. The improvement was noticeable, but then enter the BX22 -- no comparison. That Kubota is 20x the "tractor" that the Sears units were and 15x the Honda. So, if your mowing is anything other than light duty, you'll probably end up wearin' the Sears out much sooner than 10 years -- say 6 years. That's $8,000.00 for 12 years of service vs. $8,000.0 for 20 -30 years of service that you'll get out of the Kubota. AND, the Kubota will be a lot more durable, versatile, and you'll definately have the nicest tractor on the block. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Oh, yeah. By the way, my BX22 with 60"MMM is not even close to being too big for my 1 acre.

 

[chucko]

OK let me add this into the mix?
how are the Kubota "Garden Tractors" ? I forget the model numbers but the ones I looked at did not look like much more than a sears or MTD.... but then a BX was sitting beside it so I did not look too hard. I knew what "I" wanted

 

[GregJ]

Chucko,
Recently I looked at the Kubota riding mowers for a neighbor and personally I think JD has a better product. Feature for feature I think they have a little more to offer. I have had 2 JD's. The first one I sold after 13 years of reliable service just to upgrade to a mulching deck and a few nicer features. The guy that bought it from me is loving it. So it's 16 years old and still going strong. My new one has been extremely reliable and very comfortable to operate. John Deere is starting to sell some "consumer" models at the big box stores. I think I'd be a little wary of these "price point" models. Once again, I think you get what you pay for. My LX277 was around $4200, but for my use, it was worth the extra money.

Kubota's real strength is with CUT's. They are leaders in that market. John Deere has been making high quality riding mowers for years, so they just might have the edge there.

Greg

 

[fishman]

Chucko,

I have a Kubota T1670, which is their 42" deck model with a 15 hp Kohler single. Paid $3200 including tax. I really like it so far with 6 months and 30 hours on it. It fits perfectly into my smallish lawn.

I compared it to similarly and lower priced JD models at Home Depot and Cub Cadet models at my local power equipment retailer. There was no comparison between it and the 2k models from JD and CC. As far the more expensive models, I thought it was much superior to the high-end JD products at HD, although I have to acknowledge that JD makes some very good mowers, albeit pricey. I did not go to the JD dealer to see those. The CC in the same price range were pretty good. They were shaft drive, but that could be big $ if they fail, and a belt provides a buffer between rocks and stumps and the engine. Also, the paint was not very good, as the ones I saw already had several nicks with rust, and even some dents in the light guage metal.

The Kubota has a far superior paint job, the frame is extremely sturdy, and the deck is the equal of any CC. Also, the steering column is fully supported with a welded cage, not just a plastic housing. In addition, it has a rear suspension that really helps smooth out the bumps. Works very well.

I had it to myself for a few months until my wife tried it out. She loved it and now competes for my tractor time /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

In my opinion, if I had a one acre lawn to keep up, I'd certainly look at a BX1500 if funds weren't too tight. I doubt that you'd be happy with a mower the size of the T1670, and larger ones quickly exceed 5k. If I'm not mistaken the BX1500 goes for less than 8k with the mid-mount mower.

Heck, I gave the BX2200 some consideration as a lawn mower before my wife hit me up side the head and set me straight. Boy did I need that. If only Henro's wife would have done the same. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Rimmer]

"My wife like to count beans so I have to sale her that the life cost is about the same ...."

Never gonna do it on cost alone. The lawn you have there is a perfect candidate for a 3 HP push mower from K-Mapart, and I really believe that will be the lowest cost option even if you have to replace it every three to five years. Or, for a one acre lawn a small JD "lawn tractor" should last you almost forever. (MyJD 108 is 25 years old.) They don't have to be that expensive -- for example, my local Home Depot sells reconditioned JDs with "new" warranties for several hundred under new cost.

Gotta stess the functionality of the BX1500, and to do that you gotta have the FEL. Without the hydraulics, the BX1500 is just a big, expensive lawn mower -- put the hydraulics to use and you have a serious SubCUT.

Seriously, trying to sell the BX1500 only on the basis of longevity doesn't seem to be the right way to go. For one thing, if you say it will last 30 years, she can say "prove it," and if you talk resale value, she can say "if you like it so much, why are you going to sell it?". Would you justify buying a hammer with a fiberglass handle simply because the wooden one might rot away? My fiberglass hammer is almost 30 years old, but the wooden one I inherited from my father is a few decades older than that, and still works fine!

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[chucko]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The lawn you have there is a perfect candidate for a 3 HP push mower from K-Mapart, )</font>


hahaha....yea right like I am going to push a mower in the Fl sun in sand......

She is starting to come around a little. I wish the dealer here would get some in so she could test mow with one in their field

 

[Junkman]

Have you considered a goat... low maintenance and the wife will be pleased that she can get milk from it also. Fertilizes as it cuts grass. Doesn't mind the sun and has a small fuel tank. To me, it sounds like the perfect lawn mower for 1 acre and the kids will love it also. Meets the wifes expectation of cost and has good resale value also. No difficult service problems and you don't have to be concerned with whether to use dino or synthetic oil. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif