Buying Advice First Tractor Purchase. JD 1025r filb vs Kubota b2920....Help!!

[PapaPerk]

Look at a BX25D with belly mower. Will be cheaper and mow better than the 2920.

 

[PapaPerk]

I shopped these two tractors several years ago, and decided on a B2920. It ended up costing only a few hundred dollars more than the Deere, but was a much more substantial tractor with more ground clearance and bigger tires. For rough terrain, those things matter a lot.

Your prices seem a little high, so I suspect you haven't gotten an actual price quote from a dealer yet. Normally, you can get Kubotas and Deeres for 10-15% off MSRP depending on the market and the dealer.

The R4 tires are OK on the grass as long as it's not soft/wet and you're in 2WD (and I should note that even turf tires on my smaller mower would tear up the grass under those conditions). Overall, for loader and backhoe work, I think the R4s are a good choice as a compromise for mowing.

I didn't mow with my 2920 (have a small Deere riding mower for that) but many people mow with them and I have yet to hear a complaint posted here. We would certainly hear about it if there were problems.

The only other knocks against the Deere to me was the extensive use of plastic, and the cheap fuel gauge on the fender. Neither of those probably matter in the long run, but when I sat on the Kubota and felt the metal fenders and hood, and saw the proper fuel gauge in the instrument cluster, it just felt a lot nicer to me. Personal thing I suppose.

Yeah Kubota is MUCH nicer tractor.

 

[DeereMann]

How does your 1026 mow? I have now thrown a 2720 into the mix as well as the 1025 and the kubota b2920. I found a new one 2720 that I am working a deal on. I wonder how much the cut quality on the lawn would suffer by going up to a 2720 as opposed to the 1025.

It mows good, not great. This is to be expected from my moving up from a L&G to SCUT tractor segment. The SCUT's & CUT's mow "good enough", and do all sorts of other things. If you want only the best cut, then keep the L&G, or buy a used mow-only lawn tractor.

I have the JD 60D drive-over deck. The drive-over feature requires a leveling connection arm where the central front anti-scalp roller goes - so the deck will scalp if you have a very uneven area to mow. But I have very few of those areas, so it does fine for me.

Biggest surprise is how well the mulching kit works - no more baggging ever again for me. In fact, I mulched ALL the leaves this fall. It was great. Plus, no side chute discharge deflector so you can trim around obstacles from either side of the mulch deck.

 

[PsRumors]

My 1025r mows great.

For the TLB with 60" MMM (quick connect and independent lift) I paid $20,900 delivered.

 

[jackl]

Last spring I traded in my B7510 for a B2920. I did look at the Deere's and drove one, but I wasn't too serious about it since the price was higher, the trade in wasn't as good and I had 0 issues with my 7510 that I bought in 2004. I have 5 acres and use my 2920 for everything to include mowing and a fair amount of FEL work. I don't have a backhoe or a tiller, but I wish I did.

As for mowing, I have a Bush Hog 5ft finish mower that I use on the lawn and a 5ft regular Bush Hog I used on about 1 acre of field. My 7510 had turf tires, but I had issues with them using the FEL as they aren't stiff enough and load up easy. My 2920 has R4s and are no worse on my lawn than the turf tires. With either it's a matter of how wet the grass is, how sharp you turn and whether or not it's in 4WD. I'm very happy with my choice and my finish mower is perfect for my lawn as I can back under trees and mow around obtacles easily. Also, it's simple to attach and take off.

I'm digging a pond that is about 100 x 100 and is currently about 5 ft deep. I purchased a heavy duty toothbar for my bucket and it makes a huge difference when digging undisturbed soil such as stripping topsoil or digging through clay. The B2920 is a pretty powerful unit for it's size and I am very happy with it. I moved a lot of dirt last summer. I've been plowing the driveway this winter using my back blade and despite what I hear about turf tires being better in the snow than R4s, I find no difference betweeen the 2 and we get plenty of the white stuff.

I bought my 2920 at Messick's Farm Equipment just North of Harrisburg. Good luck!

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I didn't look at this for several days because I've never owned a JD so figured I had no input. I have bought 17 Kubotas, 16 of them from Barlows and one from a renter that moved. I've owned most of the BXs and Bs and one L. I used to mow with the tractors but no mow with the Kubota F mowers which are the best mowers, bar none made but not cheap.
I didn't own a BH for years and didn't think I could justify the cost but bought a BX25 a few years ago and being mostly a home landscaper and rental property septic tank maintainer doubt I'd go without my own BH again. Use it a lot doing home landscaping and don't want to wait till I have enough projects to justify renting one.
I currently own a B2620 FEL BH plus Fs and RTV1140 and like the B2620 but the BX25 is my favorite Kubota and will probably trade the B2620 to a BX25 one day.
Look seriously at the BX25 MMM and they all come with a FEL and BH. The B has higher ground clearance and a bit bigger FEL and BH bucket but it's more maneuverable and easier transported and will do everything the B will do but maybe take a few more minutes doing it.

 

[DeereMann]

jgss2,

I forgot to mention I have not used R4 Industrial Tires before, so can not comment on relative snow traction or turf gentleness. I do know that R3 Turf tires are not built for heavy FEL loads, but for me I don't need to lift heavy loads much and even if I do, I just go with 1/2 loads.

R3 Turf Tires are ok if you don't use your FEL for lots of large projects, but if you have such projects then you should consider the heavy lift capability & rugged construction of R4 Industrial Tires. I am quite satisfied with my R3 Turf tires for my tractor use profile: 70% mowing/mulching; 15% snowthrower; 15% FEL.

Regarding plastic hoods & such - all the on-highway truck makers have been building with nothing but fiberglass hoods for years now. Same with the bigger ag tractors. So I don't see why this bothers anyone.