Newbe needs help

[Anonymous Poster]

I have been reading this forum and respect the info supplied. Here's my question:
I am building a house on 2.5 acres, about a third each of trees, lawn and pasture (sloped). I need a nice little tractor to mow the lawn, possible mow part of the pasture, and snow removal on a sloped 200ft drive. I have a walk behind tiller so no plans for that (at this time, maybe in future though). What would be a good choice? I am looking for one that will LAST. Is power steering a good idea for my situation? Thanks for your imput!!!

 

[bigben37660]

Well in my case i have a 4x4 allis chalmers 5015 compact and it is with out power steering, i use it for everything, but if you get it, it will save you alot of strength trying to turn the steering wheel after a long day on it!

Ben

 

[s1120]

Well, first do not look at a lawn tractor, It will not hold up to pasture work. I would look to a garden tractor. As far as what brands? Any of the preminums will do a good job for you. I have an old Case/Ingersoll, and I love it. I have used it for everything on my 4.3 acres that sounde like yours. One thing to remember, if you buy new you will pay some big $$, if you buy used you will save money, but you will need to fix it up a bit. I go the used route, but I can, and enjoy fixing things my self.

 

[beenthere]

Many tractors will fill your needs, but with that size and your interest, I would suggest looking at a JD345, new or used.

 

[g42guy]

I like the 345 and that is about the range I thought I may need to be in. Is the power steering a big plus? What other tractors compare to the 345?

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

<font color=blue>...I like the 345 and that is about the range I thought I may need to be in. Is the power steering a big plus? What other tractors compare to the 345? </font color=blue>

Can't probably help you much, but I had a GT235 for a year.. mostly mowing, a little bit of pushing snow and dirt.

For just these jobs, I didn't find the lack of power steerying a major problem. What I did find was that I was always getting stuck when in anything short of ideal conditions. Turf tires, no differential lock, not much weight, etc. Put one front tire in a small depression, the the opposite rear tire would come off the ground. This usually meant manual extraction of a stuck tractor.

I considered moving up to the 400 series, which I was told was the level at which a diff lock became available. Then I thought some more about all the jobs I could do it I had something bigger.. and went with a compact utility instead.

If all you envision doing is mowing, I would think the GT 200 or 300 series would be just fine. It's just that, if you're like me, you will keep finding jobs you could do "if only" you had something else. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

HTH,
Bob

 

[beenthere]

To me, I think the power steering is a BIG plus. I have the JD445 all wheel steer, and it is a lot of tractor (has the diff. lock that Bob talked about). I occasionally drive a 345 and think it is really smooth (even smoother than my JD445 but I would not trade). I don't have a feeling of comparable tractors, as in my book there are none (I will admit to a strong prejudice).

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A premium garden tractor (new or used) should be the MINIMUM you should look for. I agree with Bob that power steering, while nice, is not a necessity. I would strongly suggest a differential lock (or 4WD ideally!) for rough ground, mud, snow removal, etc. While I like Deere in general, I really don't feel the current 300 series (325, 335, 345, 355) offers enough to justify the cost increase over the GT series (225, 235. 245). (I feel the GT series is the best value from Deere these days) The older Deere 300s (318, 322, 332) were much heavier duty and came standard with a differential lock, not to mention the availability of full hydraulics, FEL, etc. While nice, comfortable tractors - the current Deere 300s face tough competition from the new Simplcity Prestige and the Cub 3000 series (3206 and above) which offer a differential lock among the many features. Kubota makes good garden tractors as well - especially the BX series which offers a two range tranny, 4WD, heavy duty construcion, and the availability of attachments that appreaoch the utility of a compact tractor While not cheap, they offer far more than the current Deere 400 series and represent a better value than the new 500 units. I paid $12K two years ago for a BX2200, 60" mid mount mower, and FEL.

Do your homework then spend some time at the dealers and really go over each tractor you are considering. I would also arrange for a test demo on your property. Many dealers will accomodate the buyer of a $5000 - $10000 tractor and if not, that tells you something about the dealer as well.

 

[g42guy]

You guys are bringing up some very good points. I do think a 4x4 compact would be over kill for this property. Even though I would love to have one I couldn't justify the cost. But it makes sense to me that the dif lock would come in handy. I know Deere has great resale, but I plan to keep and use this for many years. Do the Cubs and Simps have a rep for long life like the Deere?

 

[Argee]

I agree with s1120. Case/Ingersoll is a mighty fine garden tractor. For their size and footprint they are little tanks. A 16 - 18HP with a three point and aux hydraulics and the right attachments will pretty much do all you'll ask of it. You can pick up used Case 446's or Ingersoll 4016 (same tractors) in the $2,000 range.

You can go over to Yahoo Groups in the Casegardentractor group to get a better feel for them.