Three Acres compact or sub-compact?

[echovalley]

if your looking at subs.Dont forget to look at the massey gc2310tlb.i have been very happy with mine. <font color="red"> </font> .Got a great price$16k TLB,tooth bar,bucket hooks,and sun canopy

 

[LarryD]

Always remember you can rent a larger machine if you want some really serious work done i.e. digging a pond or pulling stumps. While a small tractor can do some very hard work, you can rent a machine designed for the task and have it back the same day. The little guy will take care of the details.

 

[Boone]

I run the B7500 HST. It is a nice machine but the real heavy work for my new house was done by a contractor with a 2 yard excavator, quad axel dump trucks and a medium sized cat. For the big one time project, I thought I was treated very fairly for the service I received.

I am doing the landscaping (when it stops raining long enough,) with the B7500 and it is working really nicely.

Here is a pic. Sorry GolfGar I can't get the clean thing to work.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/667292-kubyard.jpg

 

[RalphVa]

I looked at and drove both the B7510 and JD4010 as well as a BX1830 and JD2210. The B7510 and JD4010 were identical in price with FEL and brush hog. A JD4110 with same hp as the B7510 was $2000 more.

I went with the JD4010 because I wanted a fixed ROPS that would fit underneath my garage doors. I KNOW I'd forget to lower a folding ROPS sometime.

Haven't hurt for hp.

For your trenching, I'd just rent a ditch witch gizmo. No sense digging a wide trench for just pipe work. If you need to remove some stumps still left there, then a BH might be needed.

Ralph

 

[garchib]

Not to be the broken record, but once you buy a CUT or sub-CUT, you will find a million and one uses for it. If I had 3 acres instead of my 2 acres, I would trade in my 4100 for something bigger, due to the comfort factor on the larger mid-frame units. Having sat on a JD 4210 / 4310, they are far more comfortable than my 4100. They are also more comfortable than the Kubota B7800 I recently used. When you mow for several hours a week, you cannot be too comfortable /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif BTW, my 4100 is a great machine and I have had no issues with it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[steveinmo]

laffer,

There is one line of thought that says once you get in the house, the landscaping done, etc. all you will need is a mower, so either rent or hire the heavy stuff. The other side is that if you have a larger, more versatile machine you will continually find things to do and your tractor will certainly make them easier to do.

Budget is certainly a consideration that we all have to deal with. You could certainly buy an older tractor (Ford 8N, MF35, TO20, etc.) and a riding lawn tractor and have enough tractor to do numerous chores and save a bunch of $$. On the other hand, they aren't always dependable and do take some maintenance. My Ford 861 has sat outside for the last year and half while we were designing and building our house. Therefore it took some tinkering to keep it running and caused me a lot of agravation. When it's time to mow, you want that puppy to start! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif The new house is supposed to be done today /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif and my new JD 3320 is currently sitting in the third garage. Hopefully it will get a nice new pole barn/shop one of these days.

The JD 2210 is a really nice small tractor but can do a lot. Check it our at Frie's in Kearney - they have/had quite a few on their lot last time I was there. I liked the Kubota machines but was really turned off by the dealer. There is a new NH dealer that just opened (Grand Opening tomorrow) in Smithville. I think they are tied in with the Case/Cub dealer down the road who I didn't care for either.

Good luck!
Steve

 

[Dachshund]

So, Steve - ever thought of getting rid of the 861?

 

[bandit67]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My first inclination is to tell you it will be mostly for mowing, but since we are not there yet I don't really know. I did want to get something versatile, for landscaping and snow removal, good on hills and easy to operate(wife). I suspect, since I am close to retiring, eventually I will have lots more time to work with it. We are still trying to get our house plans completed so we can get the site survey done, to get water in and excavation work started. Last year we had most all the scrub trees knocked down and piled up. So those will have to be moved and burned eventually. Trenching work for utilities, sewer etc... might be a learning experience for me.. I'll reiterate the order of things that are important to us, mowing, snow removal, landscaping, gardening. Thanks to all for your insight and experience. )</font>

It seems that you will need a machine that can handle some significant landscaping duties for the first couple of years, as you are building a house. Last year, when I bought my 1 acre property, with a house and tractor I planned on doing a major renovation to, I decided it was time for a new tractor, as I was not willing to keep renting little machines. I bought a SubCut, which I thought would be more than enough to handle an acre once all the landscaping work was done. I've found that I could have easily gone with a Compact, and more and more, wish I had. For example, yesterday, I moved some bundles of lumber after they were delivered. A bundle of 80 9'-2x4's was at the absolute limit of what my FEL could pick up, and that was with 2-180 lb guys standing on my rear blade to help counterbalance the load.

When I bought my machine, I figured if I ever moved up to 3 acres or more, I would upgrade to a larger tractor. With all of the work and chores I've found for my machine on my one acre, I now realize I just should have gotten a larger machine from the start. And since I seem to like the punishment, I think I may buy more fixer-uppers, and will be doing a lot more landscaping in the years to come. For the last 6 months, I've been telling my wife I should have gotten a larger machine. I'm now pretty certain that I will be upgrading to a larger machine, just not sure if I'll pull the plug in the next month, or if it will be in the next year.

For your 3 acres, and your new house, I recommend you go with a Compact. Yes, mowing will be a big part of the equation at some point, but for the next couple of years at least, landscaping your new property will be an even bigger part of the equation. After that, with 3 acres and your retirement, you'll constantly be coming up with more and more projects for your tractor, so I think you'll really appreciate a larger Compact.

 

[PhilNH5]

I am in the minority here I guess. I have 5 acres of hills and a BX2200. I looked at the subcuts (only BX readily available at the time though the MF and JD subs were available to look at.) and the entry level cuts like the JD 4010 and Kubota B7500. I felt that the low profile of the sub cuts would be better for my needs on my property. At the time the price dif between the subs and the cuts was not much. In fact for JD the 2210 was more than the 4010.
The BX can do a lot of work. I haul wood - both when cutting and then all winter to heat. I do snow removal on a 300ft drive. I do minor landscaping - new garden beds and landscaping walls. I have not even attached the mower deck as I could not sell my old garden tractor. But according to posts here the subcuts excel at cutting grass.

Phil

 

[steveinmo]

Doxhound,

Yes, I've thought about getting rid of it. I've also thought about keeping it. I've also thought about restoring it. But....with the new house and all the chores I have ahead of me I should probably sell it and buy some additional toys, errrr tools for my new 3320. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Steve