I just got a new (manufactured June 03 and delivered June 03) TC24D HST (hydrostatic transmission) and love it. I also have a 30hp 2001 Kubota with FEL/backhoe, an antique Oliver Super 55 Diesel, and a Cub Cadet 1682 so I've got tractors of several sizes to compare this NH to.
The Cub/Kubota dealer didn't follow through and didn't want to deal, despite the fact that I have a 9+ year relationship with him; when they lost the sale the owner called me to talk and I laid out the problems with his sales guy. The Deere/Toro dealer didn't seem too concerned about dealing, and the 4000 Ten series Deeres only have about 700lbs of lift capacity at 12" behind the 3pt versus the 1200lbs capacity of botht he NH and the Kubotas so I eliminated Deere pretty fast.
The TC24D is a nice machine, it turns on a dime, very similar to a garden tractor making mowing a breeze. Mine has R-4 industrial tires because I do some blade and general landscaping work with the tractor as well as mowing with a Befco 60" finish mower. The mower deck is heavy and I will probably add some suitcase weights to the front of the TC24D, but only because I have some steep hills and I noticed some front wheel lift on the hills. On flatter areas the TC24 has enough weight to handle the heavy deck.
The size of the tractor, which is fairly small, combined with the 24hp engine gives this tractor a lot of power in a fairly compact package. I have ditches to clear and some are on some steep slopes with trees along them and this tractor is easy to get into areas that the larger Kubota and the Oliver would never even think about getting to.
I did not order the rear work light (my mistake) but I would recommend anyone who gets one of these to get that when you order yours. The headlights cast a bat shaped pattern forward with light and dark spots. They are fine for night mowing on FLAT ground, but if your property is bumpy the lights are not bright enough and cast an uneven pattern that makes simple tasks like mowing difficult. I don't know if I will add any auxilary lights forward, but I do a lot of stuff in the evenings and the headlamps are marginal for any serious work.
The one shortcoming I found is that the 4wd selector lever is adjacent to the hydraulic lift lever, and both are shaped exactly the same. While doing some tight quarters ditch work I thought I was lifting the blade when in fact I grabbed the wrong lever and disengaged the 4 wheel drive by mistake. I got stuck with the front tires on the edge of the pavement, the rear blade stuck in wet heavy clay and the rear tires spinning on large cobblestones, I needed 4wd but also needed to lift the blade . . . my eyes were on the road because I didn't want to have the tires grab and shoot me into a car if the tires grabbed anything. If the levers had different shape handles it would be easy to identify them by touch, but my prefernce would be to move the selector for the 4wd/2wd.
One nice feature that I found by accident was the little tool box built behind the seat. I didn't know it was there and the dealer never mentioned it. It is a little small, and you have to remove the "slow moving vehicle" triangle to get into it, but it is a very handy feature --now that I know it is there!!!
I was amazed with the value of the tractor, getting so much for such a competitive price. I paid $1270 less than a comparable Kubota and got more tractor than I could get from John Deere in a similar size. It took some shopping to get the local dealer to come down, but he did it when I told him what price quotes I got over the internet, he delivered it to my door with a full tank of diesel and sat at the kitchen table going over everything to make sure I understood all the features (except the handy tool box - I wonder if he knows it is there ;-)
