Tractor Research Over: Now the details

[monkeybreath]

Pretty much have it cleaned up - though some spots on the carpet a problem still. Makes me want to become a vegetarian though. After I got back from ER I wrapped the arm in plastic and shaved arm and taped plastic to my arm with packing tape - it worked pretty well. That way I got another hour and a half of tree cutting in. A ***** to shower with it though. But lesson is well learned.

 

[glennmac]

When I was researching and shopping, I was focused on mowing my two acres of lawn and brush clearing another acre on this side of the overgrown creek. And after I cleared that acre of the brush, rocks, stumps, etc., I planned on eventually mowing all three acres with a finish mower. Those other 8 acres on the other side of the creek were an inaccessable swamp and jungle--so forget that. It all seemed clear and logical to me, and therefore, applying the Occam's Razor parsimonious purchasing principle, I bought a BX.

Now I have 8 acres to mow. I have sweeping vistas I didn't have before, a sparkling and burbling creek opened up to deer and herons and ducks, and channels draining the swamp. I have improved the beauty and value of my property immensely--just me, all alone, with my tractor.

But not my BX. I realized after two weeks that the BX could meet the limited 3 acre objectives I had set for it. But I also then had glimpsed "the power" of the tractor. And that that power could terraform the swamp-jungle. But that the BX was too small.

I traded up to a 2910, built a bridge with the help of the tractor, and began clearing the other side of the creek. Beat the tar out of the tractor. Thousand dollars worth of damage and repairs eventually. Rode over dozens of huge 20 stemmed bushes, the tractor's nose pointed 30 degrees up in the air to get the Woods 60" medium duty cutter over the stems--and it cut them. Maybe took many passes and lug-outs but it cut them. Took me maybe 50 hours to clear an acre. I really needed a bigger, heavier tractor. Carted stuff away, but it took a long time with the small and weak FEL.

Now that it's cleared, it's got to be maintained or else it will re-junglefy. So I need bigger mowers. I need a 72" brush mower and an 84" finish mower. But the 2910 is too small for them.

And I want a backhoe--to dig channels, and dirt, and to sculpt a sitting and view spot high on a hill overlooking the open acres. The very best current backhoe for the 2910 (7800) is a Bradco 3375 frame mount hoe. But the frame mountings will interfere with my MMM. So I have to sell the 72" MMM, which is big money losing proposition, and then buy a RMM.

The answer is: I now inevitably need a Grand L to maintain and extend the work for which I should have had a Grand L in the first place.

Gee, how come I didn't foresee all this three years ago when I so scientifically specified the 3 acre jobs for my tractor. Because I couldn't. Tractors are magical ... like a cornucopia. Whenever you do one thing with them, that opens up the opportunity to do two new things you never thought of. Etcetera. Exponentially. As long as you have the land. And the will.

 

[monkeybreath]

Makes a lot of sense. Sort of what I have been doing without a tractor - pushing the limits of what I could do physically - thinking of new projects and going for it. . . on and on. So I take your point. Beause the property and what we have done with it requires a great deal of time to maintain, we take time with each new project or idea to ask ourselves - will this make things easier, or more burdensome. So we are trying to simplify a bit and at age 59, I sort of want to finish off all of my many unfinished projects. An interesting "mowing" fact here in the foothills in Central Cal - is that given rain patterns and seasons (it rarely to never rains from April or May until mid Sept and sometimes not until Nov or later) That means that our grass in areas outside of yard - which are not watered - are mowed 2-3 times in Spring - and then that is it as no watering and no more growth. The mowing we do then, other than in the yard, is very infrequent. I think that is different than just about every other area but not sure.

 

[ronjhall]

monkeybreath
I went through the same concerns when I bought my 2910. It was like Glennmac. I started looking at a BX. Ended up with the 2910.
Now that I have had this tractor for over 3 years I’ll list the items that are limiting factors with a 2910.
1. 24 PTO HP can be stalled out with a 5 ft rotary cutter in heavy grass.
2. Hitting a large stone with the reverse tine roto tiller will stall the engine if PTO RPM’s are not set at 540.
3. The FEL will only lift about 900 lbs with proper rear ballast.
4. The FEL will only lift a little over 6 ft high.
5. The folding ROP’s when up hits every limb in the yard.
6. When down the folding ROP’s uprights still hit or limit how close you can get to a tree or overhang. Your body is higher than the uprights but can be moved around to clear some limbs.
7. The tractor weighs about 1800 lbs. Not enough weight to fully use some of the attachments that I have.
I will not change tractors because the 2910 fits my needs very well. But with the size property that you have I would look at the Grand L series tractors to get the load lifting advantage of the FEL.
To solve my ROP’s problems I purchased a dedicated JD front mount mower. No ROP’s and cuts faster than the 2910 with 72” MMM.
There is one thing that will cause me to purchase a new B series. Add all the upgrades that are on the 30 series Grande L tractors. I’m a gadget guy and the features are my kind of gadgets. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Henro]

monkeybreath,

I know we are all saying go bigger...

Don't get the idea that the B2910/7800 is not a workhorse!

Mine keeps amazing me with what it will do. Yesterday I moved about 90~100 tons of fill. Not sure exactly what the weight was, but it was four tri axle loads of dirt/broken concrete/ground up pavement. I know those trucks carry up to about 25 tons per load...The B2910 did not even blink at doing this chore.

I think part of the real goodness of the B2910 is that it does have a pretty high HP to size/weight ratio.

I guess in the end though if I had more property, I would want something like a L3430...to add to the stable beside my B2910, naturally! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[monkeybreath]

Re: Update on the journey

Well, I have listened to you all and thought a lot about all of the input you have provided - and again - it is appreciated. So, today, I cast my net out even farther (traveled about 250 miles total) and looked at a B7800 at one dealer, and at 3430 HST and 3410 HST at another dealer - earlier I also got a price on a 3130 HST - new. I have to say that the size of the B7800 still looks like it will do the job for me (remember, while I have 90 acres, the reality is that I have 5 of the 90 and the cows have the other 85 acres though they have granted me easements to the 85) Also as I contemplate my uses here, I figure I will use to mow only max of 4 times a year due to where I live - maybe about an acre total - I sense many of you mow every few weeks. . and most of my use likely for maintaining roads and landscaping tasks, and who knows. . . . But, I recognize that you guys have a lot more tractor savy than I have (especially since I have never owned one) so I am listening. . . and asking for more help. Anyway, this is where I am and what I have found:

(1) B7800 about $12,000
the best FEL I can get with this model, about $3000
Have not yet discussed particular implements

(2) L3410 HST with 16 hours, with R4 tires / filled at about $14000
--this model apparently does not take the Kubota 723 loader, so with a Woods 1012, with 66" bucket with QA and cutting edge and tooth bar, total= $4200. Dealer will weld on chain hooks.

(3) L3430 HST, with 24 hours, R4 tires = $15,500
Kubota 723 Loader, with 72" bucket cutting edge and tooth bar = $4600 , (no QA with this one, that would add $300)

The implements with (2) and (3) above, quoted by dealer:
Gearmore BB 66 scraper = $525
Gearmore Post HD - D40 with 9 and 12 " augers = $800
(I want a utility PHD - won't use it much but when I need it I really need it)
Gearmore cutters: L60"-40 = $925, or
L-72"-40 = $1025

(4) L3130 HST (new) with 723 FEL with HD bucket and tooth bar, priced together at $19,800 / quoted BoxB 60" at $510. PHD with 9" auger at $775, rear rotary mower (I think 60") at $795, no brands mentioned yet.

I am aware the L3410 is the older model, I inspected both the 3410 and the 3430 and discussed with dealer. Same HP, but differences are L3430 hood opens - flips up while 3410 has side panels access to engine / no cup holder for 3410, cruise control operation a bit different / 3430 seat has arm rests (though dealer will give me some arm rests he thinks I can mount on the 3410 seat) / and the 3430 has more electronic dash info. . . may be others - that was as much as we could discover. Delivery is quite a ways and will be $75, and will include tutoring, set up and run throughs hooking and unhooking, etc....

Also, Moss Roads web site and the Power Trac site, and that thread has caused me to also look at the PTs -at a 30 HP diesel model and at a 45 HP diesel model - very intriguing - though at the higher end of the PTs the attachments become a bit costly. But I really liked what I found.

Anyway, your thoughts re the equipment, cost and so on. . ?

 

[monkeybreath]

Re: Update on the journey

Want to add one more fact and ask about its importance re my post re the two units immediately above: Reviewed specs at home tonight and also see that 3430HST weighs 3635, and 3410 HST weighs 2800. How important ?

 

[Kytractor]

Re: Update on the journey

I think the weight is very important. I too, looked at the B7800 ,L3130 before deciding on the L3830. Thanks to the advice from other tbners and my brother-in-law who owns a lot of heavy equipment. He said the heavier and wider the better for the fel and back hoe. In a little over 2 month I have 82 hrs. on it. I have dug over 1500 feet of ditches, moved tons of rock and dirt from slips on the property. dug water lines graded over 1000 feet of drive and parking lot. I thought the L3130 and L3830 was way too big for my property but after looking at the 7800 today again, I can see I made the correct decision for my property. I can now see what I couldn't see then about the weight difference after a little experience. Out of the ones you picked,(Keeping your property in mind) I would go with the L 3430. Hope this helps.

 

[fishman]

Re: Update on the journey

Well, if you truely are going to leave most of your property to the cows, then you probably don't need a bigger tractor. I have a 2910, which is the same frame, engine as the 7800 and it is perfect for my 10 hilly, brushy acres. I considered a BX at first, like most, then looked at the 2410 seriously, before settling on the 2910. It's too big to mow my lawn, so I bought a little Kubota 1670 lawn tractor for that task. For my lawn, it works far better than any larger tractor because of the obstacles.

Anyway, enough rambling. If you think the 7800 will work for you, buy it and be happy. It's absolutely the highest horsepower tractor in that weight and size class, so you're getting a lot of bang for the size and $. That's what sold me on my 2910.

Oh, and get a 5' rotary cutter as Bird suggested. Also, the 7800 has plenty of power to drive a 12" auger on a phd, unless you have a lot of rocks.

Somewhere there is also a thread on the benefits of a 60" bucket versus the standard 54" on the FEL. Most seem to like or want the larger bucket. I have the 54" and am quite happy, but always wonder how the larger bucket would work out.

Lastly, I know that kubota has come out with a quick-detach loader system, don't know if the 7800 has it or not. That makes a lot of sense if you want to use pallet forksor take the bucket off for mowing.

 

[frank_f15]

Re: Update on the journey

if u are really going to use the tractor on only 5 or so acres of the 90, then the 7800 should be ok i like a lot of the other would suggest something a little larger. and weight is important, sometimes it is good and sometimes it ain't so good. THE IMPORTANT THING IS WHAT DO YOU WANT? not what we want /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif