So, some background information to start: currently have a John Deere 318 with mower, rototiller, and single stage snowblower (and an older sears lawn tractor that is used only for mowing). It's getting a little long in the tooth, and I'd like to get something with a bit more capability. The property that it is being used on is a farm (160 acres), with the land and pasture being rented out. Having said that, there are still a few times when I need to go into the pasture to haul wood and/or rocks. The house is located 400 yards from the county road and has a fairly large yard-none of what could be called lawn in an urban sense. The lane way is "old style" with two gravelled tyre tracks and grass in the middle and on the edges. Snow in the winter is a issue as is general maintenance of the lane (put 9yds3 of road crush on it this year and still need more). Also, whatever is purchased needs to be able to fit through a regular garage door.
I've begun the looking stage, but am a bit overwhelmed by all of the "options". I've looked at a Kioti CS2410 with fel, 60" mmm, 50" snowblower, 4' box blade, and 4' rough cut mower as an option. One concern that I have about the CS2410, is the low ground clearance. (this is also an issue with the JD318) I haven't yet looked at other models, other than a brief look at JD-the salesmen were "too busy" to give me the time of day:thumbdown:
So, just wondering about other models and whether or not the increased cost (not sure what that would be as I only have the one quote on the CS2410-am waiting for them to get back to me about other models) would be worth it for the limited use in those rougher conditions.