lazyriver
New member
Hi. On the hunt for my first tractor. I started off looking at riding mowers and then quickly went to garden tractors and thanks to this site, been thinking a subcompact tractor is a good fit for my needs right now.
Hoping to buy used and have been searching local craigslist ads to see what's around. Ideal situation is something not too big that can handle mowing, grading and a loader. The primary use will be mowing the property and then maintaing a long shale driveway with a land plane (or box blade). A post hole digger will come in handy and I'm sure to find reasons to use a loader. There are a lot of rocks here. Being able to drag fallen trees would be a plus, but not necessary.
For mowing, I have rough and varied terrain with a bunch of hills, some flat spots, and rocks hiding all over the place. Planning on putting in a 1/4 acre orchard (on a hill) and it would be great if the tractor could mow that as well (trees will have 12 x 12 spacing). I also have 50+ acres of wooded trails to maintain, but have a walk behind DR brush mower, chainsaws and a UTV to do most of that work. I could imagine a loader being useful in the trails, but that's not why I need it right now.
I was looking to get attachements for my UTV but my research has led me to think the money is better spent towards a tractor. The Kubota BX series has caught my eye in terms of used price and capabilites but I also found a JD 2305 that is tempting. I'm leaning towards a Kubota BX2230 with 600hrs comes with a mower, loader, and snowblower for $11k (looks well-maintained). The JD 2305 has 900hrs and comes with loader and mower for around $8,750k. I also found a 2016 Kubota BX2370 at 300hrs with mower and loader for $12,500 but that is pushing the budget a bit since I definitely need to buy a land plane/box blade for any of these.
I like the small footprint of the BX but was wondering if it can handle grading the driveway and do some tilling/grading work in the garden/orchard. I have read that the B-series has a better 3-point hitch control and has more ground clearance. But, if necessary, I can always borrow a bigger tractor from a friend to do the tougher jobs. Another option I have considered is to buy a good riding mower, something like a John Deere x500 (found 52 for $3,850) or maybe even a used standing mower and wait on trying to score a deal on a tractor, like an older Kubota B-series (found B8200 with loader for $7,500).
Any advice on these machines, or if there are any other machines I should be looking at, will be incredibly helpful. Thanks!
Hoping to buy used and have been searching local craigslist ads to see what's around. Ideal situation is something not too big that can handle mowing, grading and a loader. The primary use will be mowing the property and then maintaing a long shale driveway with a land plane (or box blade). A post hole digger will come in handy and I'm sure to find reasons to use a loader. There are a lot of rocks here. Being able to drag fallen trees would be a plus, but not necessary.
For mowing, I have rough and varied terrain with a bunch of hills, some flat spots, and rocks hiding all over the place. Planning on putting in a 1/4 acre orchard (on a hill) and it would be great if the tractor could mow that as well (trees will have 12 x 12 spacing). I also have 50+ acres of wooded trails to maintain, but have a walk behind DR brush mower, chainsaws and a UTV to do most of that work. I could imagine a loader being useful in the trails, but that's not why I need it right now.
I was looking to get attachements for my UTV but my research has led me to think the money is better spent towards a tractor. The Kubota BX series has caught my eye in terms of used price and capabilites but I also found a JD 2305 that is tempting. I'm leaning towards a Kubota BX2230 with 600hrs comes with a mower, loader, and snowblower for $11k (looks well-maintained). The JD 2305 has 900hrs and comes with loader and mower for around $8,750k. I also found a 2016 Kubota BX2370 at 300hrs with mower and loader for $12,500 but that is pushing the budget a bit since I definitely need to buy a land plane/box blade for any of these.
I like the small footprint of the BX but was wondering if it can handle grading the driveway and do some tilling/grading work in the garden/orchard. I have read that the B-series has a better 3-point hitch control and has more ground clearance. But, if necessary, I can always borrow a bigger tractor from a friend to do the tougher jobs. Another option I have considered is to buy a good riding mower, something like a John Deere x500 (found 52 for $3,850) or maybe even a used standing mower and wait on trying to score a deal on a tractor, like an older Kubota B-series (found B8200 with loader for $7,500).
Any advice on these machines, or if there are any other machines I should be looking at, will be incredibly helpful. Thanks!
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