So I have 100% more experience today than I did yesterday. We stopped by the Mahindra dealer by our new place today followed by the Kubota dealer a little further off.
The Mahindra dealer was a mom & pop shop and really great people. They recommended the Max 26 HST. It was nice, my lady and I took turns doing circles on the lawn
Likes: sweet loader, quick attach - size felt comfortable. It seemed to me that the fit and finish was solid, more industrial feeling than the Kubotas we looked at later. No emissions stuff. No nonsense sales attitude, close to us, friendly and helpful.
They quoted 23k after tax (we have a pretty hefty sales tax up here) with the QA loader. Rear mount blower was another 2500 and a finish mower another 2500 (tax in).
We spent so much time chatting with the nice Mahindra folks that we only had ten minutes at the Kubota dealership. Even so, we were quoted about 17k and change for the 2601 and I
think about 18k and change for the 2650. No attachments. The sales person there is following up with me on pricing via email so I’ll know more tomorrow.
Likes: 3 speed trans, even though I'm not sure whether this is important to me yet. It looked bigger than the Mahindra. It does weigh more according to the brochure, but the weight is different on the site. Weird. The cab model really does look nice.
We were up at the property today before visiting the dealers, meeting with the owner, and I couldn't help but think about the advice here while standing outside in the bitter wind. I'm concerned a cab won't fit in the garage and the added cost seems like a lot considering how often it will actually be needed. In the summer I imagine preferring an open tractor. We're moving up there to get outside
I won't be mowing in the rain. But a cab is tempting, they look super comfortable and kind of fun, quite frankly. Seems if one wants a rear mount blower however then you need additional hydraulics to work the chute. Cost on top of cost. I get that it would make the winter experience so much better but the cost is too high to justify. It’s going to be snowsuit and ski goggles, I think. A tractor is already a pretty significant outlay and I do not need one for my livelihood. I’m not kidding anyone, I work on a computer at a desk all day.
The 2650 is a little bigger than the Max 26. At close to 2300 lbs for the tractor only though, will it be too heavy to mow with? Again, the numbers for weight differ between the pamphlet (1786 lbs) vs the site (2293 lbs) so I’m not sure which is the correct figure. I’m sold on turf tires whatever we end up deciding. The Mahindra dealer was selling me on the rear mower, they seem less expensive but that's also when I learned that the mid PTO was optional on the Mahindra. So an MMM on the Mahindra is another of those cost on top of cost things. Short of getting a front mount snowblower or MMM, do I need the mid PTO?
I'm leaning towards the Kubota 2650, the cost wasn’t as bad as the site made it look. I'm still interested in the smaller Kubotas as well, the 2301 and 2601. They seem like capable tractors but have less weight at 1566 and 1632 lbs respectively. So the 2601 and 2650 have the same size engine but differ in weight by about 550 pounds, which seems a significant benefit for moving snow. However I’m going off the larger number, which may be incorrect.
Our place is in Mono, near Orangeville. Yearly average for Orangeville appears to be about 64”. Asked the owner about snow and he indicated that the predominant winds typically blow the drive mostly clear. However, when the wind comes out of the east, watch out. After hearing that I wonder if a big tractor is really required. Again, I will likely be working from home when the snow is really bad.
If some reasonable person out there is reading this thinking “he doesn’t need to spend 20k to clear his driveway and cut his grass” please speak now
