New member

NEOhioGuy · Sep 12, 2004

Greetings everyone! I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks now and I must say that I've really enjoyed reading the posts. Everyone seems impartial and helpful which is more than I can say for a lot of forums (not just tractors). Anyway, looking for some confirmation that an upcoming purchase price seems reasonable so here goes:

NH TC33DA HST, FWD, PS, Deluxe seat, Deluxe 3pt hitch - $14,999
NH 914A 72" MMM - $2,400
Woods BB60 60" Rotary Cutter (rear discharge), slip clutch, laminated wheel - $1,057
Woods 1009 FEL w/60"bucket - $2,700
Buhler 72" Rear blade - $240
NH Fiberglass canopy - $430
Two rear 50w halogen work lights (on ROPS) w/switch - $56

Now I need to decide on a rear or side discharge for the 914A and Industrial or Turf tires. My dealer is recommending turf because we're eventually going to have a 3 acre lawn put in (hopefully early next year). Currently we have 13 acres of weeds (no trees, etc.) I'd really appreciate any and all opinions ASAP as we've applied for financing already, but haven't signed anything. We're considering buying as early as tomorrow or Tuesday. Sorry for the short notice.

AndyM · Sep 12, 2004

Howdy neighbor! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Welcome to TBN...

Which dealer are you looking at?

I'd personally go for the R4 (industrial) tires. That's what I have on my TC18, and I use it (with a rear finish mower) as my primary mower on my 3.6 acres. I also use it to plow my 250 foot driveway in the winter. I've never had a problem with the R4's tearing up my yard except driving through the yard during the worst rainstorms.

Inspector507 · Sep 12, 2004

Welcome to TBN and to BLUE ownership.
For me, with a rear discharge 914, do NOT let it get too tall. I have no experience on a 914 side discharge, but the rear discharge will not play well with long grass.

thcri · Sep 12, 2004

I have R4's on my TC29D and the majority of the usage is mowing and I don't hurt my lawn at all. That size of tractor it won't make any difference you will have to watch it on wetter days with either tire. The R4's will perform much better in all the other things you will be doing.

As far the 914 mower. If you plan on being religious about mowing go with the rear. Otherwise go with the side discharge. Now if you don't have a lot of things to go around I would skip the MMM and go with a rear finish mower. It will do a nicer job and it is easier to take on and off. Just a thought

murph

AndyM · Sep 13, 2004

Now if you don't have a lot of things to go around I would skip the MMM and go with a rear finish mower. It will do a nicer job and it is easier to take on and off. 

I do have a lot of trees to go around, and I still went with the rear finish mower. I simply wanted something that I could put on and take off quickly and replace with something else.
Just my opinion-- there's plenty of others here who prefer the MMM.

ronjhall · Sep 13, 2004

Shane
Welcome to TBN. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 eventually going to have a 3 acre lawn put in (hopefully early next year). 

The cost to have 3 acres of lawn put in may pay for the attachments to do the job yourself. More Seat time.

A Tiller and Landscape Rake with gage wheels should do it.

 Woods 1009 FEL w/60"bucket - $2,700

Whenever I see that someone is purchasing a new tractor with a after market loader I post a link to these 2 threads.
When is rear ballast needed with a FEL?

Goodbye M246, hello 7308!

Make sure your dealer will support you if there is problem with the FEL.

hazmat · Sep 13, 2004

I'll second Ron's suggestion - look at the New Holland Loader. The new 14LA is pretty impressive spec wise. I think it is worth any extra $$$.

Regarding the MMM: you really have to stay on top of your lawn mowing with the rear discharge. I have 1 acre of lawn. I have had to mow it every 5 days this summer (lots of rain). It looks fantastic, but I'm spending lots of time mowing (an hour a pop). I don't mind the seat time, but I've got plenty of other projects to work on. It is sweet not to have to worry where the grass is going.

The side discharge will handle longer grass, and if it looks bad, you can always use the mower to blow the grass into a widrow to rake up.

For tires, it depends - I started with the R4s, but they were tearing up my lawn. I have soft sandy loam soil & some hills - turning on a slope can really dig in. My dealer set me up with a set of turf tires for short money (he had some take offs sitting in a storage trailer) I'm much happier with the turfs on the lawn. I still have the R4s so I swap out the wheels for heavy duty work. takes about 30min.

Think about the long term use of the tractor. If it's mostly a mowing machine - then go turf.

thcri · Sep 13, 2004

( I'll second Ron's suggestion - look at the New Holland Loader. The new 14LA is pretty impressive spec wise. I think it is worth any extra $$$.
)

I would like to add a third on that. Too many complaints of the aftermarket type loaders here. Also remember, if something goes wrong there is no pointing of fingers.

murph

NEOhioGuy · Sep 13, 2004

First off, I'd like to apologize for posting in the wrong forum. I realized this morning that I should have posted in the NH Buying/Pricing section. Second, I'd like to thank all those who replied. So here's the skinny... We've decided to purchase according to my original post except we're going with the NH 14LA FEL. It was going to cost another $200 for a special kit to mount the Woods 1009 so that we could have the 914A MMM attached at the same time. The extra $700 would provide some peace of mind to us. The price quoted for the MMM was for side discharge and was going to cost an additional $600 for the rear discharge so we opted for the side discharge. That plus the comments by Inspector507, hazmat and murph clinched it. We're also going with the R4 tires; traction = more safety in my mind. We'll consider the turf tires if/when it becomes a problem in the futire.

Many thanks to Ron for his links re ballast. We'll definitely keep that in mind and play it safe at all times. Although I wouldn't mind tackling the lawn, we need some major dozing done, here. Landscaping wouldn't begin to describe the amount of dirt that needs to be moved and we're looking at having at least 3" of new topsoil brought in for the 3 acres. Not to mention the amount of rocks/boulders that need to be crushed and moved. I'm just not up to that task and even if I was, I don't think the wife could stand waiting that long for green grass. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

As for Andy... Howdy yourself, neighbor! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif We're purchasing from Canfield New Holland. We met Greg Pauley (president) at the Canfield Fair and were very impressed with the way he conducted himself during our "interrogation". We both got a good feeling that he was an honest guy and didn't feel pressured at all. We also got the impression that he'll take good care of us regarding service.

We're going in tomorrow to sign the papers and are hoping for a Friday delivery. Everything is in stock so all they have to do is do a prep and checkout. I'll find out tomorrow morning whether it's a go for Friday. It may be a moot point 'cuz we'll probably get hit with fallout from Ivan with our luck and then have to wait for things to dry out before "playing" with the new "toy".

Again, many thanks to those who contributed their knowledge and opinions. I'll keep you posted and of course, pictures will follow.