looking for an ideal garden tractor

[blivy]

appreciate all the feedback everyone. I've been scouring craigslist and marketplace trying to find that deal sweet enough not to pass up.
Any other locations y'all would recommend (especially in the southeast United States)?
thanks!

 

[gtunney]

Consider an old X series JD. You can get a lot for under $10K. If I exclude my snowblower on my X585 (its selectable 2/4wd), I got a loader, 3pt hitch, 54" deck with 14 bushel collection system. I don't have the rear PTO, but it can be added and I would still have been under $10k. Cuts grass very well.

 

[bartjoebob]

Greetings everyone from Athens, GA.

Looking to get advice on what folks here think would be the ideal tractor for my needs. I'm going to post a similar thread in the larger forum area, but thought I'd start on the vintage tractor page as I own and like working on older things, and frankly don't want to have to drop down $10-25k on a new garden tractor.

A bit about what I'm hoping to do, starting with some info on the property I'm on...
For starters, I have about 5 acres. About an acre is a wooded hillside that i maintain with loppers, bushaxe, spray, as needed. However, sometimes a tree falls and I end up doing a lot of sawing and hauling. The rest is in a floodplain on the river. I removed about 4 acres of privet when I first got the place, and now maintain about 2 acres as a shady lawn (plant fescue, clover, and allow whatever nature wants to come up grow as well--as long as it can be mowed). The other 2 acres is wooded and i just maintain a trail through it that goes to the river. I also have a long gravel drive (about 1,000 feet) that needs to be maintained.

As far as equipment I already have:
I have 2 walk behind Gravelys. One i keep a 40" kidney deck on to mow with. The other has AG tires with dual spacers that i use with my scraper blade to help maintain the drive, use with my tiller or my rotary plow for gardening, or use with my bushog to do a yearly trim of all the areas in the floodplain that I don't mow as lawn.
I also have a small saw mill that came with the property. I don't use it a ton, but occasionally when a friend or family member may have a tree come down or does some clearing it can see a lot of use (I have about 20 trees stacked along my drive right now in various stages of being milled).

I love my Gravelys (how sturdy they are, their versatility and attachments, plus how easy they are to work on) but I'm starting to want something that has a bit more power and that could help me do some jobs faster and easier. And...while I like that I get my steps in when I mow with the Gravely, I would like to be able to ride and carry my little boy along with me (i have a sulky for the gravely, but it's not good for 2-up, nor is it good for going around trees).

I'm thinking about garden tractors as I would like something smaller than a standard tractor (I had borrowed a buddy's Kubota a few years back and while it was great, it just didn't fit into all the places I'd like to go). I like the idea of a garden tractor as I think that it would not rut or compact the lawn area I mow sometimes weekly (but at least every two weeks) down in the flood plain.

Ideally, I'd find a tractor with a belly mower (at least 50"), a front end loader (to help lift up log spars for the saw mill), and the ability to drag an angle blade or a box blade to help maintain the gravel driveway. If one existed that had PTO take offs on the front and rear, I'd love that as well.
Early on I was looking a lot at the Gravely 8000 series or the larger G models (20G, 24G) but I'm not sure of two things:
1) the availability of front end loaders for these
2) whether the hydraulics could support both the front end loader and the belly mower at the same time (or if they'd conflict)

In any case, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on what they'd recommend.
I don't really have a budget set yet as I'm just starting to learn what's out there.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

You have pretty much described a subcompact. Massey GC line will be tough to beat spec wise and build quality. Green and orange paint is expensive.

 

[blivy]

Wanted to revive this thread now that I've had a chance to look a bit more into it.

In the long run, I may try to get a zero turn for mowing, keep one of my walk behind gravelys for all that it can do (plow, till, push, bush hog, mow...really is perfect!), and get a compact tractor for driveway maintenance and helping with tree clean up and the saw mill.

Right now as mowing is starting to ramp down and fall and winter rains are ramping up I'm thinking more about the compact tractor as the first investment. If it happens to come with a belly mower that can help with leaf mulching then so much the better!

Ultimately (in regards to a tractor), I'd love to have a front end loader and an angle blade on the back. However, finding a compact tractor in my price range (below $7500) that has this ability has been hard. I have found one, but it's slightly larger than what I was looking for. I've also found a few compact tractors that could help me out a good deal, but don't yet have the FEL. Not sure how expensive it is to add one of those in the future, but could get by without the FEL right now if I found a good enough deal on a tractor that could pull a blade and possibly have a belly mower.

Here are three examples of what I can find locally.
Any thoughts on which would be best? Pros/drawbacks of each?


1) A Kubota B8200 4wd with front end loader:

Kubota B8200 tractor and loader - farm & garden - by owner - sale

B8200 kubota with front end loader. Has fresh rebuilt engine. Front tire are foam filled and rear tires in great shape. Is not the best looking but works great $6000 call or text 70694530six6

athensga.craigslist.org

Fits the bill, but has a few drawbacks: I think it's larger than what i probably need on my little property, and it says it's a rebuilt engine. I know that can be a good thing on a small engine like the Kohler's I'm used to, but may be a red flag on a diesel tractor.
Also, from what I've learned, I'd probably prefer an Hydrostatic transmission and this looks like a geared one.


2) A 2005 Kubota BX1850 4WD

2005 Kubota BX1850 4WD, Power Steering, Diesel, Hydrostatic - farm &...

I’m selling a tractor for my grandfather that has past. Tractor details: 18 hp Diesel Power steering Four-wheel-drive Full three-point hook up Turf tires 1000 hours Everything works perfect, no...

athensga.craigslist.org

Only drawback is it comes with zero implements

3) A Kubtoa B7100HST 4WD

Kubota B7100HST PACKAGE - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Kubota B7100HST 4WD Tractor runs great starts right up. Pto, lift, and everything works good. Clutch growls if pushed at full throttle it has done it since I got it 10 years ago. Throttle down when...

atlanta.craigslist.org

Comes with implements that could be handy. Not sure I need the tiller but could sell that off. Not sure of the issues with the 60" belly mower, but if i could get it working it could help out on some immediate maintenance needs.
Drawbacks for me are that it doesn't have an FEL. I'd also prefer turf tires so i don't tear up the grass as much. Finally, I'm not sure if the clutch "growl" he describes is a big deal or not.

What are y'all's thoughts on the above?
Is adding an FEL a huge deal?
Am i foolish to even think of these for mowing? (can you even have a deck on with the FEL at the same time???)

Lots of questions I know. Looking forward to hearing more good points.
thanks again,
b

 

[blivy]

bump

 

[herm0016]

i would not worry about turf vs ag tire at your budget. the trufs are nearly useless for anything but mowing.

if you want a loader, save up, increase your budget and/or wait to find something with a loader.

 

[blivy]

i would not worry about turf vs ag tire at your budget. the trufs are nearly useless for anything but mowing.

if you want a loader, save up, increase your budget and/or wait to find something with a loader.

Thanks Herm. Good advice...may be hard to follow though as I've got the itch (and an unfortunately limited budget!!).
FEL is a huge plus. But being able to pull a box or scraper blade would be more important for driveway maintenance this winter.

Good point on the tires. I won't let that be a huge factor in decision making.

Between the three do you think any has a clear advantage or disadvantage?
thanks!

 

[herm0016]

i mean... you cant even mow with any of those, the clutch thing and the engine rebuild are red flags to me.

how about you make do with this: pto, cat 0 3 point, solid machine well under your budget that will be worth 2k for a long time. and it will mow the grass without extra stuff.

Ingersoll 4016 Garden tractor w/ 3 pt. hitch & rear PTO - farm &...

This Ingersoll 4016 garden tractor is an appx. 1996 model and has the optional Cat. 0 three point hitch and rear PTO hydraulic valve setup for running a tiller, chipper, wood splitter, etc. It is...

greenville.craigslist.org

these are great little tractors, it will pull a harrow no problem for the driveway. pull a cart in the woods, mow the grass, etc.

if you can buy the 7100 for 4k and sell the tiller for 1500 and get the belly mower working, its not a bad deal. should probably split it and change the throw out bearing though.

 

[herm0016]

yanmar 2000 tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Yanmar 2000 tractor with bucket, new bushhog, new disk, box blade, slip pan and a 2000 yanmar 4 wheel drive for parts. Asking 7000 obo. Text Michael at or call

dothan.craigslist.org

? not a bad deal really. offer 6 cash.

 

[bcp]

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Bruce