Re: Tractor Advise Needed

[MacTractor]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

First off, I think this is a great forum! I have been lurking for a while now but I am lurking no more. I am currently building having a new house on 3 acres of heavily wooded land. When finished I will be left with a house in a clearing in the woods and I will need to cut down and finish the landscaping myself. I will also have about a 100' driveway to clear in the Winter and as I live in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada, I will have snow. I have many plans for the yard including a small pond and such so I have been pondering the purchase of a small tractor to make life easier. I have been looking at a couple of models but really like the Kubota BX24 and the Massey GC2310. I just have a couple of questions for you guys:

1.. Are there any other models I should be looking at?
2.. I have been to a MF dealer locally here and he quoted me $22,000 CAD for the GC2310. I have seen them new on EBay for much cheaper in the US, so this maybe is the way to go. Has anyone brought one of these tractors across the border? Is there duty? Registration? Taxes?
3.. If I did buy one new in the US, would they honor the warranty here?

I know this tractor maybe overkill for 3 acres but it will be a working toy.

Please feel free to chime in with any imput.

Thanks in advance

 

[kozak]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

Welcome MacTractor,

Your first thoughts of tractor size are definitely NOT overkill. As far as I am concerned what you have selected will work but IMHO is a little small. I would go no smaller than say a 30 HP tractor. Something like the Kubota L3130, JD 3120 or NH TC31DA. Look at the prices we are paying here in Canada versus the US. Were getting slaughtered. Therefore, you want to make sure you get all the tractor you need the first time. Otherwise you will have to live with your purchase & make due or trade up & lose money.

Look at my profile. I have a TC35D on 2.3 acres & still wish I had a slightly larger tractor. Currently want to lift LARGE rock in place on berms I have created. Sure, I could spend 1 to $2K on contracting out but where's all the fun in that. The landscaping I did made it easier & safer with the bigger, HEAVIER machine. Guess what, I can plow snow in icey conditions with turf tires on. (No chains) The only reason..........WEIGHT !! My Tractor with FEL comes in at approx 3400 Lbs plus the 550 lbs counter weight on 3 pt. hitch & nothing is going to stop it.

There's always down sides to everything. With the BX24 of course working in the woods will be much easier or any other small quarters you find yourself in. But I think the disadavantage of clearance in a tight space for a larger tractor is far outweighed by the additional capabilities in lift capacity & time taken for a difficult task.

I would strongly recommend also looking at slightly used tractors (less than 1,000 hrs.) Dealer of course is very important. If they don't seem too interested in your business go elsewhere.

Buying from the States & you will lose warranty on new purchase. Of course our ever vigilant government will ensure you pay taxes.

Good Luck,

Vic

 

[jbrumberg]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

MacTractor:

Welcome to TBN ! Try to get as much seat time as possible with all the tractors your are interested as well as get a feel for the dealerships. The best "feel" should be your choice. As it appears that you will be doing a lot of dirt engaging work you will need a heavier tractor even if it is a "working toy". Please provide the readership with more information so we have more reasons to help you spend your hard earned money . Kozak's recommendations may be close to what you need initially. Jay

 

[MacTractor]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

Thanks for the advise. The only problem with a larger tractor is that I am going to try to kill a bunch of birds with one stone. The landscaping tasks will be something I will be doing in my spare time and I would love nothing more to have the largest tractor I could. The problem is that I will hope to do the following with one tractor:

1.. Landscaping such as spreading out soil and moving crushed stone and other types of rock and dirt.
2.. Digging items such as a small pond, trench for wiring to outdoor areas.
3.. Removal of stumps and roots.
4.. Help in the process of cleaing up dead trees and brush.
5.. Mow the lawn.
6.. Clear a 100+ foot driveway in the Winter.
7.. Carry stuff to the curb on garbage day and haul around other items.

I need it to do all of this and still fit in my Garage. I like the idea of the BX24 and the GC2310 as I should be able to do the above and more I hope.

I would love to buy used but my experience has been that it is hard to find good used ones. I don't want a machine that someone else had put a beating on.

Would the larger tractors still be able to mow the lawn? Are the BX24 and GC2310 just toys, or will I be able to work them? I think I need to get out and get some seat time to see what they can do.

 

[jbrumberg]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

MacTractor:

No tractors are really toys. They all work. To give you a sense of perspective I manage the same 12.5A's with my NH TC 29DA (29/23+ HP) as I did with my old Ford 1100 (13/11+ HP). I will add that I had the Ford for 20 years before "She Who Must Be Obeyed" gave me the "go ahead " to upgrade (You should have seen how fast I moved on that !). I will say that I can do most projects in around half the time and I do approach tasks differently, but that is also a function of Front Blade (Ford) vs FEL (NH) and attachment sizes 40" - 48" (Ford) vs
58" - 96" (NH). I really do miss the old Ford's stability and manuverability though. For your 3A's you tractor choices are pretty realistic if you realize that digging stumps and dirt is time and equipment involved. The larger tractors will mow your lawn and the finish cut may look pretty nice, but larger tractors are less manuverable, heavy, and with R-4 and especially R-1 tires you will chew up the lawn in 4WD/MFWD and during sharp turns. For you it is a trade off in tractor frame and weight- you need a heavier tractor for the ground engaging tasks and a lighter tractor for mowing. No matter whar size tractor and tire you ultimately decide upon you should weight your tires for stability and traction. Go with your own instincts on tractor size- only you know what projects lie ahead of you . I think your choice of tractor frame size and HP is appropriate for your long term goals. I would check out as many other brands as well. There are a lot of "HP junkies" in TBNland . Tractor research and acquisition is one of the "fun" aspects of owning a tractor . Get as much tractor seat time as possible to get a feel of the tractors as well as "feel" of the dealerships. A good dealership will save you money in the long run. Hurry up and get your tractor so the readership can help you spend even more money on attachments . Good luck and keep the posts coming- Jay

 

[sandman2234]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

Jay and I have a similar past, as both of us owned a Ford 1100. Mine was 4x4 and I built a set of adapters to mount duals on it. It did everything I made it do, just not nearly as fast as I wanted it to. Being my first tractor, I didn't know what I could expect from a larger tractor and what the drawbacks were. When I got a chance at a JD2555(65hp) I sold the little Ford to a good friend and never looked back. I have become a horsepower Junkie, as I find I can do jobs in so much less time than I ever thought possible. Most of the time the larger tractor and it's weight is a good thing. I don't try to mow the front yard with it, but with a good finish mower, I probably could knock it out in about four minutes. I have taken the ag tires off the JD again, and replaced them with turf's. If it gets muddy I will probably go back to the ag's again, but the turf's do most everything I need.
David from jax

 

[VABlue]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

Mac,

I'm in the same situation - 5 acres with only 0.5 cleared for the house and 0.5 cleared for the drain field, everything else is wooded. I want to clear some of the woods for more yard, and some trails. I chose a JD 2305 due to price and size when manuvering around the yard. Wish I had the backhoe...

Anyway, the BX24 would do you fine, esp the hoe for removing stumps. You do need to be careful with ground clearance, and (like Kozac said) you'll work a little slower than a larger tractor would allow. But it will be plenty strong to do the job while remaining nimble enough to feel comfy around the house. So long as you understand the limitations of the smallest machines, they can do the same jobs as the bigger ones. It just takes a few more chainsaw cuts and a couple of additional bucket loads...

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

The BX you are looking at is not overkill. I'm envisioning something in the mid 20 hp.. say.. 20-29.. and if you went into the low 30's.. it wouldn't be a deal breaker.. but usually that involves a step up in fram size that you may not be looking for in those woods.

You may consider hireing the pod construction out to someone with a backhoe.. vs buying a back hoe.

Logging is also a hard task.. though.. if you take your time.. not bad.. biggest problem is dealing with stumps. in that case.. as small hoe and lots of patience may save you money int he long run considering you want a pond and will have hundreds to thousands of stumps to dig up.. etc..

Soundguy

 

[MacTractor]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

Thanks for your imput. I have decided pretty much on the BX24 I think as from what I hear, you can't go wrong with Kubota. I was able to sit on one at a local dealer and work it for a few minutes and I think it will fit the bill. I'm sure with some of the tasks I am going to use it for, a bigger tractor would make easier work but I need something a little on the smaller side. The house will not be finished until Jan., so I also have some waiting. I will be buying new unless I can find a good used machine. I wish I was buying now because I see a 06 in the trader with 30 hours for $16,400. If it was a CDN model with some warranty left and I was in the house, I would be on it in a second.

Now I just need to start thinking about the attachements........ No shortage of ways to spend money these days.

Cheers,

 

[canoetrpr]

Re: Tractor Advise Needed

Welcome fellow Canuck!

That BX does look good in the trader. I'm pretty sure that the gentleman that has it listed (among other good tractors) gets them in from the U.S.A. and is thus able to offer decent prices.

I would not worry about the warranty so much particularly if you buy a model that is not a first year brand new model. For what you save purchasing a U.S.A. tractor, you can make your own warranty!. Kubotas are generally quite reliable.

If you are not in a rush, wait around. Keep an eye on the trader. Better yet, keep an eye on tractorhouse.com to see if anything comes up in the U.S.A. that is a drivable distance. The BX you are looking at should not be much of a problem to trailer and it would be worth the adventure as you would save thousands if you saw a used one come up in the U.S.A.

Tough situation for Kubota et. al. in a sense. Wasn't many years ago when it was the other way around. As a buyer though, I'd sure we were getting U.S.A. prices here!

Something you should know is that John Deere DOES honour warranty North America wide. So if you found what you wanted in green, you could buy it new. Check out Fort Wayne Indiana lawn mower, tractors & zero turn mowers, parts, sales & service. Some posts ago in the JD forum, one person bought from them and they got everything setup and delivered to his door step. Heck you save on PST too by cross border trade as the government only charges GST at the border!. Don't those of us who buy local get screwed (I did!).