Buying Advice Sub-compact or Garden Tractor Orange or Green

[Clemsontractor]

I just moved out to the North Western part of VA, in the rolling hills of wine country. I have 4 acres of land, that has a fairly substantial elevation change from where the house is to the edges of the property. Somewhere along the lines of a 50 - 75 foot elevation change. Im trying to decide if I need a sub-compact tractor or just a really good garden tractor. If i use the calculator on the JD and Kubota websites, they both direct me to needing a sub-compact, but it seems a tad bit of an overkill in my opinion. Either the garden tractor or the sub compact will have a 54" mower deck on it. I understand and appreciate the fact that I can certainly do more with a sub compact than I can with a garden tractor, I am still trying to be prudent. My thoughts are that the bulk of the yard will remain the pasture grass that it is, while about 50 linear feet around the perimeter of the house is going to be sodded (having this installed in two weeks). I could use the push mower (Husgavarna) to take care of this area, yet use the tractor with the larger deck to care for the remaining pasture grass. It is our intent to put in a garden, and I know that I will use a tractor (regardless of which size) to do some box scraping to shape various areas of the yard, a blade for the winter time to clear the driveway, and some sort of tiller, disc, hook, etc to break ground for various projects.

I have both JD and Kubota dealers coming out tomorrow to give me their opinions, but wanted to get some opinions of others in either similar situation, and/or who have had a dealer come out to provide onsite consultations.

In advance, I thank you for your time.

#All-in

 

[RalphVa]

If you have that elevation change, you need a 4wd for safety. I started off with a Gravely and even going to dual tires did not solve its traction problem going down the 100 ft drop on our property.

I need a series 2 tractor for clearance, too, (JD 20xx series or Kubota B) to stay above stuff on the uneven ground or above the brush on the property. Had the oil dipstick get ripped out of the Gravely by brush. The Kubota BX have a cooling fan underneath that would be subject to such. The JD 1025E/R doesn't have as much clearance as the JD 20xx.

Ralph

 

[Clemsontractor]

Did you like the 1025R? That is one I am considering along with the BX 2380 or 2680 series

 

[3gunr]

sub compact will be way more useful than a garden tractor, THe ability to have an fel and a 3 pt hookup makes a world of differance.

 

[Tractorable]

I’m just south of you in Marshall, VA. Definitely recommend you hedge away from a garden tractor and more towards a sub-compact or compact. With your hills you’ll definitely need 4wd especially with all the wet weather and mud we’ve been getting. A couple years ago we got 2.5ft of snow so think about what you want to use to dig out of that. Is your driveway gravel or paved? If gravel you’re going to have to maintain it with a machine that has some weight.

The Kubota BX’s are good machines, they just lack ground clearance. A Kubota B might be a good size for you. Not sure about the JD. Yanmar builds a nice small compact with excellent ground clearance, the SA324/424. Yanmar dealers in Gainesville and Culpeper. Definitely get a loader, you’ll use it for everything.

 

[arnoldziffel]

Respectfully,

Don't waste your time or money on a Garden Tractor.
NOT a match for your situation.

 

[Diggin It]

Don't forget to price red (Massey, Mahindra, TYM, Branson, Yanmar) and blue (New Holland and LS). They all have similar sizes for better prices.

 

[TheMadOne]

I'm amazed you managed to get both dealers to do a site inspection. Good thinking.

If your property is how you describe, don't be surprised when they recommend a B or 2 series. The one series and BX both suffer from a lack of ground clearance that it's pretty clear you need.

I'd also push you away from a MMM for pasture grass. A brush cutter might be the ticket, though what you call pasture grass and what I think of might be two different things.

Get wheel spacers and loaded tires. The broader your stance and the more weight you have down low the better for dealing with slopes. I live on the side of a valley and often found even a standard L with loaded tires triggered the "pucker alarm" more than I liked.

Get a FEL with a quick attach, SSQA or JD. Pin on buckets limit your future options.

 

[chim]

Try to get enough tractor the first time. After mowing with 5' decks on three different and larger tractors since 1989, I bought an L3200 and a 6' rear finish mower in 2012 for our 3-1/2 acres. The teensy bit that I can't get with the tractor takes less than 10 minutes with a 20V DeWalt trimmer. About once every 4-6 weeks I do have a marathon trim with a gas trimmer or two along the creek banks and fence row. This year we're upping the game to a 42HP tractor and a 7-1/2' RFM.

To some extent, size is a matter of perception. At our previous house, I thought the 38" Ranch King (MTD) was one awesome machine! Fast forward about 30 years. Wifey is a farm girl and when we were shopping for the L3200 she told her cousin "Jim's getting a new garden tractor". Someone posted on this or another tractor board that unless there are at least three steps to get up to the cab, it isn't a real tractor

 

[Paystar]

Just my thoughts, which don't mean crap, but from someone that has used lawn and garden tractors and now a Kubota B2620 I would say forget about a garden tractor.

A gas garden tractor is much harder on fuel than a Kubota or Yanmar diesel. And then if you step up to a diesel Kubota or JD garden tractor, the price is nearly as high as you can buy a BX1860 scut for. And it will be just as nimble, have four wheel drive and have a higher resale value than a garden tractor. And also give you the ability to add a real loader and backhoe if the need ever arises.