Steiner vs Kubota vs Massey help?

[a5t1]

I was set on buying a B1700 because I wanted something a little heavier than a BX series and plan on keeping the tractor for a long time. I only have to mow 1 acre but have some jobs that I want a FEL for. Admittedly the B series is overkill but I thought it would be a "forever" tractor. I can't seem to get to them before the sell ($6k range w/o mower).

I just read some about the GC2300, really like that it has a lower RPM than the kubota and they are about the same price ($5500 for 600 hrs unit with FEL, no mower).

THEN I found a Steiner with the kubota diesel but it has around 2000 hours on it but comes with a 60" mower and it's about $3500. No FEL.


Thoughts? Experiences? Is the GC the way to go?

The main purpose is mowing 1 acre and doing snow removal in the winter.

 

[stevem5215]

I have a Steiner 420 and use a rotating brush with it for snow removal in the winter. It's good for about 3 or 4" of snow and when we get big snows of 12" I shut the brush off and just push the snow like a blade to the side of the yard. After clearing the snow I then brush the remainder off. The brush on Steiner is amazing. It will clear down to nothing. I usually have the cleanest driveway in the neighborhood because of it. Nothing like driveway envy in the middle of winter lol. Clear and dry by noon even on a cloudy day. It's that good.

If you check out Utube I have a video on there of "Steinering the snow" That was from a couple years back and i used the bucket loader to shovel it off. We got 36" that time. Too much for the brush had to use the loader for that day.

Steve

 

[MossRoad]

Be sure to check out the Steiner/Ventrac forum here on TBN. :thumbsup:

 

[Industrial Toys]

Too bad it isn't possible to spend some amount of time on any given machine. You say that you intend to keep your tractor for some time. So it's a bit of a disaster if you make the wrong decision. Selling stuff is a royal pain!

I got a Steiner because I am a fan of articulation. It was years before I finally got my Steiner 430 max Diesel from a Customer of mine who had downsized and spoke of selling. Now it's been a year or so. I hated it almost immediately. I love diesels, but this thing is really noisy and every piece of that crappy (looks like some do-it-yourself project in the back of a 1960s popular mechanics) tin body vibrates horribly!

Certainly the worst thing is the hand hydro control and hydraulic valves are mounted half an inch apart to the right of the steering wheel.

The slip scoop is the biggest joke I have ever seen! Remarkably, some people reportedly love it!

Then, there is a real shortage of power! In mowing up hill, and blowing snow.

Lastly (well not really, I have a long list of peeves) I have trouble backing the thing up. Maybe, it's because of the hand controls, or just general close quarters for an aging guy of six feet. That aforementioned hand control can be a bit confusing for the brain backing up as well. It's counter intuitive. Probably worse, if you operate different pieces of equipment all day long.

Having said that, I must admit that the Steiner has grown on me a bit. I do have a lot of other resources to draw on, but find the Steiner just plain handy at times and fun to drive around on. The hand control does give you the rather dangerous (and hence desireable) option of moving the machine while not actually "on" the machine. Who likes to get on and off a machine to move it an inch? Sadly, there are many times I try and use the Steiner for a task, only to find that another peice of equipment would do the job better and/or faster. Usually, in my experience, a swiss army knife won't do anyting as well as individual tools.

If you consider the Steiner, I would really spend some time on one actually doing the tasks you consider doing.