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I have a Kubota 2680 with the front mount 50" snowblower. LOVE IT. I have a Curtis cab on it also. Does a great job.
Sub-Compact/Compact Recommendations
- Thread starter Bdsankey
- Start date
Williy
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2020
- Messages
- 2,553
- Location
- Texas
- Tractor
- Yanmar YT 235C Yannar YRC 60 rotary cutter, Yanmar RT72 rotary tiller B75 Backhoe & bucket & thumb, LS land grader
I do believe that the LS company will be around for a
long time. The LS tractor line was right next to the
Yanmar tractors. One of the LS tractors has the lever
on the back so you can raise or lower the 3pt hitch so
its a little easier to hook up your attachments. The LS
tractors are sturdy and well built tractors not like the
plastic JD's one dealer said that the JD plastic hood if
anything hit it it would bounce off but I don't believe it
as when the temp hits more than 20 degrees below zero JD plastic crap becomes very brittle but you can
always take the bank and buy a new one from JD!!!
willy
long time. The LS tractor line was right next to the
Yanmar tractors. One of the LS tractors has the lever
on the back so you can raise or lower the 3pt hitch so
its a little easier to hook up your attachments. The LS
tractors are sturdy and well built tractors not like the
plastic JD's one dealer said that the JD plastic hood if
anything hit it it would bounce off but I don't believe it
as when the temp hits more than 20 degrees below zero JD plastic crap becomes very brittle but you can
always take the bank and buy a new one from JD!!!
willy
This might not be the most important reply, especially if you know equipment, but I bought a really nice NH TC24DA from a neighbor moving to a smaller place.
It's too big. Can't get through most of my gates, is cumbersome to mow with, and does un-necessary damage to the lawn. Great tractor, but it is possible to regret buying a compact rather than a subcompact.
Username Taken
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2019
- Messages
- 1,357
- Location
- S Florida Winter/Michigan Summer
- Tractor
- Kioti CX2510 HST
LS is a very big, very serious, worldwide Company. They will be here in 2040 as long as idiots in DC don't allow the world to be destroyed by other idiots.
But they have growing pains. One of which (and not to be taken lightly) is the fact they are growing so fast. Not just here, but all over the world.
But they're getting it worked out. Whether your Dealer will be here in 2040, or even next year, is another matter.
I initially came to this forum trying to check up on LS. Things (most of them bad) have happened in the meantime but I'm still interested in them.
I'm also interested in other Korean and Japanese brands. The UAW can kiss my pasty white butt.
badger123
New member
I am a Wisconsin guy too. 15+ years ago I bought 7 acres with a horse barn. We built a house and have a fairly long driveway ~300 ft, part wooded, part field, part lawn & landscape. I decided to go with a BX22 w/ a mid-mount mower. What I realized over time is that an all in one solution is at best average for each solution. I sold my BX22 and got a 52" zero turn & CT2035 Bobcat Tractor. I am sooooo much happier. Mowing doesn't take any time at all and I now have a number of 6ft 3pt attachments that really get the job done. When a tree falls having the big FEL is an awesome time and back saver.
This is not a cheap solution, I think I spent ~25K, but I wouldn't go back to MMM setup.
This is not a cheap solution, I think I spent ~25K, but I wouldn't go back to MMM setup.
mcascia
New member
I have a 20+ acre vineyard and need to mow between the rows weekly. We've had a few garden type tractors early on that all died within a yr or two (don't get one) before settling on a JD2305 with a 62" belly mower. It has been 12 years now and the only real issue we had was the failure of the power shaft from the PTO to the mower (bearings wore out). It does a great job though but is underpowered for running tillers and bigger 3pt equipment. I also have a 1998 New Holland TC33 that going on 22yrs for bigger jobs with front end loader and 3pt attachments (flail mower, bushhog, finish mower, sprayers, etc) which has been the workhorse for me. I recently added a JD4720 with a cab to power my multirow sprayer (spraying is actually fun now) and for heavier duty jobs in the wooded areas. Its a great tractor.
quarencia
Silver Member
I have both a BX2230 and a B3200 Kubota. Both have 60” belly mowers. If your use will be 80-90% mowing, I’d go with the BX. The cut quality is largely the same, but my B3200 front tires and overall weight are very hard on a finished lawn. I have to limit turn radius or front tires really tear tracks out of yard. The BX tires have a completely flat tread face/profile while the Bs are rounded and dig in more.
BX floats on wet soft ground for mowing much better than the B also. The B3200 quickly sinks on really wet soft spots in the yard. It doesn’t get stuck and isn’t about to, it’s just hell on the lawn. It has to be soup before the BX starts leaving ruts.
Just my experience.
BX floats on wet soft ground for mowing much better than the B also. The B3200 quickly sinks on really wet soft spots in the yard. It doesn’t get stuck and isn’t about to, it’s just hell on the lawn. It has to be soup before the BX starts leaving ruts.
Just my experience.
I did quite a bit of research when I had the same question. I talked to mechanics at dealers about any mechanical issues, talked to other users, parts availability, as well as many other questions I felt I needed to ask.
I ended up getting a Massey GC1725MB. You don’t require the (B) part though, as you said you didn’t want a backhoe.
It‘s a 25 hp, diesel, 4wd unit.
I have the quick connect on loader, so I easily toggle between my bucket & set of forks.
I have the following accessories/attachments:
60” mid mount drive over mower.
50” front mount snow blower w/ chute rotation control
backhoe
front loader
forks
block heater
I have about 3.5 acres that I keep up. I only have 70 hrs on it thus far, but couldn’t be happier.
Frogmore
Member
Interesting thread with lots of opinions. I'll tell my story. Maybe it will help you.
In 2006, we moved to our new house on 10 acres, mostly wooded. In 2007, we paid a contractor to re-open the trails that had grown over, while we were building the house. We also went to the Deere dealer to get a mower. I was thinking the 100 series, because I liked the price. Then I test drove it and the X300. It was no contest. But, I knew so little then. The X300 was really not a great choice for my property and how I wanted to use the mower. Had I got the 100 series I would have had to solve the problem much sooner. But, the X300 kept working.
Later that year, I discovered that vegetation (beyond grass, which I already knew) does not manage itself. The trails were closing in. I got a Stihl brush cutter to help. It worked great, but what to do with all the cuttings. Just mowing over them didn't really work.
I bought a lawnmower towable chipper. It was fun for a few hours. But, chipping all the debris from a few hours of cutting took a couple of days of chipping.
In 2009 I realized I needed a tractor. I was warned about not getting a glorified lawnmower by both my neighbors and others. I knew very little about tractors. I ended up with the B2620. Unlike most people here I am not a fan of bigger is better. It can be, but it is also easy to get something that is too big. But, it really depends on your property. Mine is mostly wooded and I want it to stay that way. It also has narrow (4 to 8 feet wide) trails and I want to keep it that way. I have had the B2620 for over a decade now. There are times I wish it had position control. I didn't know what that was when I purchased. Had I known, I might have purchased the Deere that had it or the B2630. The '30 is bigger and was $1500 more and the dealer didn't explain the difference in a way that I remember understanding, or I didn't know I would be using the 3PH much. I also wanted QA for the bucket, which I finally fixed last year.
After I got the tractor, I opened up the possiblity of getting a bigger chipper. I got a Vermeer B625A, which is a small commercial chipper, typically available at rental places. I think it is great. It literally weighs a ton and my B2620 handles it well even up and down the 15-20 degree slopes on my trails. With the big chipper it takes about the same amount of time to cut as it does to chip and it is fun. It does, however, require maintenance and sometimes repairs.
As good as the B2620 is, I would never use it as an only mower. It is VERY scary on any kind of side slope (more than about 10 degrees). Much of my property has slopes in the 10-15 with occasional areas up to 20 degrees. Mowing requires traversing some of these cross slope. My X300 works well now that it has AG/bar tires. A couple of weeks ago I was in the less sloped part with my B2620. I was trying to get to an area and had to cross what looked like a gentle side slope. It did not go well. There was a soft spot and one of the wheel got stuck. There was a moment I thought it was going to flip. Luckily, it didn't and I was able to get it out of there safely. Had I not had a decade of experience on it, it likely would have gone differently.
So, no a B2620 is not a good choice for mowing my property. Last year I bought a Deere X534 for mowing. It has all wheel steer and difflock. It also weighs a lot more. It is a year older than my X300 and I paid more for it used than I did for the X300 new. I definitely think it is worth it.
I recently bought a used Deere X749 to use as a baby tractor. My B2620 is just too big for some areas (horse paddock, some trails) and I need to be able to do some tractor tasks there.
So, my advice is that you will probably find that there is no one machine that can do all the things that you will need/want done, let alone well. A SCUT is like a swiss army knife. It can do a lot of things, but none of them very well. If you have nothing else, it will do the job. If you have a choice of many tools, it probably wouldn't be the one you would choose.
While I have had no intention of cutting down trees, the wind and snow have there own ideas. I have had 30+ trees fall over the years. Some of them huge enough that I don't have a saw (or knowledge/skill) big enough to handle them. But, many of the others I have handled, and a grapple (and forks) makes it much easier. Some of them were beyond the capacity of my B. Most of them would be too much for a SCUT.
In 2006, we moved to our new house on 10 acres, mostly wooded. In 2007, we paid a contractor to re-open the trails that had grown over, while we were building the house. We also went to the Deere dealer to get a mower. I was thinking the 100 series, because I liked the price. Then I test drove it and the X300. It was no contest. But, I knew so little then. The X300 was really not a great choice for my property and how I wanted to use the mower. Had I got the 100 series I would have had to solve the problem much sooner. But, the X300 kept working.
Later that year, I discovered that vegetation (beyond grass, which I already knew) does not manage itself. The trails were closing in. I got a Stihl brush cutter to help. It worked great, but what to do with all the cuttings. Just mowing over them didn't really work.
I bought a lawnmower towable chipper. It was fun for a few hours. But, chipping all the debris from a few hours of cutting took a couple of days of chipping.
In 2009 I realized I needed a tractor. I was warned about not getting a glorified lawnmower by both my neighbors and others. I knew very little about tractors. I ended up with the B2620. Unlike most people here I am not a fan of bigger is better. It can be, but it is also easy to get something that is too big. But, it really depends on your property. Mine is mostly wooded and I want it to stay that way. It also has narrow (4 to 8 feet wide) trails and I want to keep it that way. I have had the B2620 for over a decade now. There are times I wish it had position control. I didn't know what that was when I purchased. Had I known, I might have purchased the Deere that had it or the B2630. The '30 is bigger and was $1500 more and the dealer didn't explain the difference in a way that I remember understanding, or I didn't know I would be using the 3PH much. I also wanted QA for the bucket, which I finally fixed last year.
After I got the tractor, I opened up the possiblity of getting a bigger chipper. I got a Vermeer B625A, which is a small commercial chipper, typically available at rental places. I think it is great. It literally weighs a ton and my B2620 handles it well even up and down the 15-20 degree slopes on my trails. With the big chipper it takes about the same amount of time to cut as it does to chip and it is fun. It does, however, require maintenance and sometimes repairs.
As good as the B2620 is, I would never use it as an only mower. It is VERY scary on any kind of side slope (more than about 10 degrees). Much of my property has slopes in the 10-15 with occasional areas up to 20 degrees. Mowing requires traversing some of these cross slope. My X300 works well now that it has AG/bar tires. A couple of weeks ago I was in the less sloped part with my B2620. I was trying to get to an area and had to cross what looked like a gentle side slope. It did not go well. There was a soft spot and one of the wheel got stuck. There was a moment I thought it was going to flip. Luckily, it didn't and I was able to get it out of there safely. Had I not had a decade of experience on it, it likely would have gone differently.
So, no a B2620 is not a good choice for mowing my property. Last year I bought a Deere X534 for mowing. It has all wheel steer and difflock. It also weighs a lot more. It is a year older than my X300 and I paid more for it used than I did for the X300 new. I definitely think it is worth it.
I recently bought a used Deere X749 to use as a baby tractor. My B2620 is just too big for some areas (horse paddock, some trails) and I need to be able to do some tractor tasks there.
So, my advice is that you will probably find that there is no one machine that can do all the things that you will need/want done, let alone well. A SCUT is like a swiss army knife. It can do a lot of things, but none of them very well. If you have nothing else, it will do the job. If you have a choice of many tools, it probably wouldn't be the one you would choose.
While I have had no intention of cutting down trees, the wind and snow have there own ideas. I have had 30+ trees fall over the years. Some of them huge enough that I don't have a saw (or knowledge/skill) big enough to handle them. But, many of the others I have handled, and a grapple (and forks) makes it much easier. Some of them were beyond the capacity of my B. Most of them would be too much for a SCUT.
I have a Kioti CK3510. I think the smaller tractors like the BX2680 or the Kioti CK2610 are too light weight to be of much use. I have put more than 600 hours on the tractor in the last 4 years. It has been a great little tractor for me. I don't like Kubotas because the the treadle throttle doesn't work for me. I have a friend with a JD2032 but it doesn't seem as beefy as my CK3510.