Buying Advice Looking for advice; 355/2210 out; 2520 in

[newt92]

I went from a 2210 to a 2520 Feb of 2007. The best thing I ever done! BIG difference. Lot of good points have been made above. The ride quality is not the best with the ind. tires, they are not forgiving. The option for a suspension seat would be nice. I have mine at 6 PSI with fluid in and its a rough ride. I also have a set of turf tires on wheels and they ride alot better. I also have the PSI low. I used the turfs the first year for snow removeal and was impressed with traction. They have large gaps between the lugs so they bite well. This year I have had the ind. on and work well also. Neither are going to be good on ice unless you have chains on.

As far as mower decks go, if you dont have alot of objects to go around (trees, poles, etc.) you would be better off with a RFM. The trimming ablity is not good at all going around things. RFM will be easier to remove and put on like B8FISH said. Might keep the 355 for trimming, or other jobs. Also keep in mind the weight of the 2520 if you have wet or soft spots in the yard.

Hope I have added some points, good or bad. Anyway good luck!!

 

[ddivinia]

Fred--were you thinking of getting a MMM or a RFM? If your mowing really is wide open the RFM may make more sense in the long run--less time to swap between mowing and using the LX-4 (I would still get a quote to trade that in on an LX-5 or equivalent BTW) and you would eliminate the entire "independent lift" debate/issue/question.

I agree - upgrade the LX4, an extra foot makes a huge difference.

A RFM might make sense. just depends on your yard.

D.

 

[ddivinia]

D -

.....about the tires - that is another good question. I have both turfs and bars for the 2210. Turfs are on for mowing, bars go on for the winter. I have also used the bars for heavy loader work and the traction improvement is tremendous. But...I'm not real crazy about getting 2 sets of wheels/tires for the 2520, and therefore thinking of going with the R4 ind. tires. From what I have read on TBN the R4's fit better/less rubbing and should give me adequate traction for ground-engaging work.

Thanks!

I had turfs on my 2210 and they sucked. Never had any traction, got stuck in just about everything. I would go R4s.

D.

 

[fgross335_2210]

Guys,

I appreciate all of the input, many more good points to consider.

Sounds like I might have to do another suspension seat upgrade, the X series springs/seat on the 2210 was a nice change. So maybe I can upgrade just the slider/springs since the seat is already high-backed. Something to look into. (Is the 3 series seat better?)

I'm not sure about the RFM, but (again) something new to consider. Not even on the radar before, but yes, much easier to remove/replace.

I'm heading out to my closest dealer over the lunch hour. Raining and 40 degrees, but who cares? I'm going tractor shopping!

 

[Malvern]

fgross335_2210

Did the same thing almost 2 years ago, 2210 to a new 3120. I did trade my 2210 because I didn't want to deal with selling it myself. The dealer gave me a fare deal so I did it. Get the 72" 7 Iron MMM. This deck rocks and I don't think its that hard to remove and install for loader work. I'm cutting about 7-8 acres every weekend, I just put the cruse on, sit back and relax.

Malvern

 

[ddivinia]

Guys,

I

I'm not sure about the RFM, but (again) something new to consider. Not even on the radar before, but yes, much easier to remove/replace.

I !

You might ditch the LX4 totally and just use the RFM. Depending on how rough the pasture is.

D.

 

[fgross335_2210]

Hey guys,

Back from the dealer! We priced out a 2520, R4's, 72in MMM, 200CX loader, 53" bucket, and a bunch of odds and ends (power beyond, etc). 9.5% discount and a total price of just over $20K.

For some reason the Deere ordering system was really confusing about the hyd. center lift, so we speced it with the mechnical lift system. Question - is this any worse than the 2210's system? Seems like it works in an almost identical manner and the 2210's lift has worked fine for me. Appears you set the mower height with the 3pt adjuster and you're good to go. Or am I missing something?

Dealer did agree that for my needs an RFM might be a good subsitute for the MMM. For those of you with RFM how good is the cut? My current 62C does a really nice job.

They had a 2520/200CX setup with the power-angle 6' blade. The curl function is locked out and the 2nd SCV is used for the power angle. Looked like a pretty slick setup. Is it worth another $1800? Going to compare this against a front blade but I think 54" is a bit narrow for the 2520, and like the front blade/loader approach for snow removal.

Thanks!!!

 

[Runner]

My experience with the 2520 and a Frontier GM1072R rear finish mower is that it delivers a beautiful cut, but can be a bit heavy for that tractor if you have to deal with hills.

 

[turbo36]

I'm in the Grand Rapids area and I have a 2305 as well as a 2520 (also a 3720 Cab) so if you have specific questions feel free to PM me.

 

[fgross335_2210]

Thanks again to all responders, lots of good info.

Dealer came by and looked at my 2210. I guess I had my hopes set too high because his offer of $7500 didn't resonate real well with me. My 2210 has 250 hours, 210 loader, 62C deck, femco folding rops, x series suspension/seat, rear worklight and block heater. Oh and two sets of wheels/tires, turfs and bars. In excellent shape, always stored indoors, no damage to plastic or metal, I would rate it an 8/9 out of 10. Dealer said he was making me a high offer because it's in good shape? Hmmm, well OK.

I looked on machine finder and found several 2210's with the same or more hours for $10,500-11,000. So I was hoping for $8500-9000 on trade, he would make $1000-2000.

So tell me the truth - am I expecting too much? This unit retailed for $12,999 5 years ago. Was expecting a little more since I am trading up.

I'm thinking I might just need to list the 2210 for about $9.5K myself and see what offers I get.

Good news! Updated the wife and she didn't flinch! What's up with that?

Tomorrow I will call another dealer. The search continues.