Tough Decision

[MF RED in MT]

Hey Irvingj,
Is there really any difference between the GC2410 and GC2610? Looking at the specifications, they still have the same 68.5 engine displacement, and appear to only do the HP rating at a different RPM.
Model HP RPM
GC2410 22.5 2600
GC2610 25.0 3000
Seems to me if you crank up the RPM, then you are going to crank up the HP.
KC

 

[irvingj]

MH Red- that's been a question that I've never gotten a solid answer to... yes, it does look like there's simply an RPM difference, but as to any other differences? Not sure; seems like there must be. And yes, I've heard they share the same block.

 

[SARG]

The dealer that sold my pal his GC2400 ( Hienz Equipment in Valetie, NY ) specifically told him the difference was in the "decals" and save his money from the price difference to buy fuel.

 

[ray66v]

Merry Christmas.

For everyone who has not done this yet; this problem can be easily avoided.

We have a saying in my family, "Don't go shopping for a wedding dress, after you've already bought one". (It's a long story).

Sure the 2610 has some improvements, yes it has a slightly more powerful engine. Do you need any of that? Probably not. Do you want it anyway? Fine, stop looking at the marketing, and the slick financing options.

Figure out how much is it going to actually cost you to switch. Then, if you decide you want to spend thousands to switch, do it.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I spent a lot of hours on tractors in my youth, but the tractors I used back then had neither 4wd, or much for hydraulics. The only one I used that had a 3pt hitch was a JD 1010 that I spent hours running a rotary cutter on. I really had no idea what could be done with the smaler 4wd SCUTS /CUTS until I started using them. Once we have a little experience, we can see which features are really important to our situations, and what things we like / dislike about any model. Marketing hype aside, the latest round of our favorite sized tractors have added, or changed a lot of things that we found important, or told folks we would like to see. Sure, if we had done things as we might have, we probably all would have rented a sample, or samples of models we were interested in, and tried them on our land. That is not always possible, and many, myself included just didn't do it. So, we think about trading after we already have bought something. By now, we should know at least what size we really want, or need, and which features we like / need on the tractor we chose, and how important those features we didn't get are to us. Trading for a new tractor that really suits us much better is not a waste of money any more than a trip might be. It is part of an ongoing experience, and part of something that both does work for us, and provides us with satisfaction. Sure it is just a tool, but tools that fit us, and the way we do things bring smiles, and a sense of pleasure each time we use them, and are very much worth it over the years that we can own something we truly enjoy. What we don't want to do is put the family welfare, or relationships at risk to have them. As long as we work for them, and there is peace in the family we really shouldn't get too upset about what it cost us to learn that. After all, in the overall scheme of raising a family, or our total income for the number of years a tractor can serve us, it really isn't that much.

 

[groundcover]

Very well said Chuck. Merry Christmas to all ,stay safe out there !

 

[tsteahr]

When I bought my 2410 I discussed the 2410 vs 2610 with my dealer in CT. He suggested I go with the 2410 and save the difference in cost (he had both on the lot). He told me the only difference between the 2410 and the 2610 was engine settings. He offered that if I ever needed the extra power, in 20 minutes he could adjust the 2410 to the 2610 specs. He told me both the engine and HST were the same (along with the rest of the tractor). We did not discuss if the HST in the 2410 can be adjusted such that the 540 RPM PTO speed can be set to the higher engine RPM. However he seemed confident he could change a 2410 to a 2610 and visa versa with minimal time and effort. He did not feel the extra revs of the 2610 were needed in most situations. His personal opinion was that M-F felt they needed models with different HP ratings to compete with the variety of different HP ratings offered by the competition (for example BX2360, BX2660, etc).

 

[irvingj]

kubotafan-- yep, methinks yer right. I just did some numbers, too; I had been surprised at the drop in payment amount, but knew I'd have to crunch some numbers to really make a decision.

Yesterday I took my little beastie down the road (to Thomas' old house) to clean up the parking area for a friend. Son's away at college, others in household are really not able to shovel indefinitely.... There was a lot of built-up packed snow/ice, as well as a lot of space that had never been cleared. Their parking area, which could easily hold five cars side-by-side, had been reduced to barely enough room to park two and get out to walk to the door.

So I drove the 2310 the two miles down the road, chewed on the ice & packed snow with the blower holding the front wheels off the ground, knocked some log butt ends free from being frozen to the pavemant & removed them, etc. etc.

That little 2310 did just fine on a relatively tough job and I was really proud of its ability to get through all that stuff. (Only had to change BOTH auger shearpins once!)

Rick at Northwood had said, of the 2300 that was being replaced by the 2600 the day I was there, the the owner said he hated to part with the 2300-- it was like a member of the family!

Yeah, guess I'm there, too. I'm gonna keep the 2310. Looking at numbers, I came up with just about the same as kubotafan- just under 10 grand for 3 year's use.... Too much for too little, and the 2310's just fine the way she is.

Thanks for all the advice/comments concerning the decision, TBN!

 

[Thomas]

"it was like a member of the family!"
Always could count on.

 

[MF RED in MT]

Hey Irvingj,
Just a thought, keeping your 2310 you could invest in a cab with heater and I bet you will be really happy? B.T.W. , I just got my 2360 snowblower last week, and I have a question on these shear pins/bolts, because It sounds like I could need some in the future? Do you just get them at your hardware store or MF? I would assume that the hardware store will be cheaper, and if so, what grade bolts do you buy for replacement?
Thanks, KC