tdenny,
When I bought my 855, about four years ago, it replaced an old 455 lawn tractor that had just given up the ghost. Even though the 855 was going to primarily be a lawn mower, I had dreams of a tractor that could move dirt to help control erosion (two sides of our lot have neighborhood rain drainage flowing past) and control the swampy grasses and trees that spring up from the drainage. My 855 came with a front loader and box blade and a mid mount mower.
My expectations were high and my experience was zero, so I didn't know how well my new tractor would fit the bill. I must say that from the very first outing I was very impressed with what such a small tractor could do. It seemed almost no job was too big, just that the tougher jobs might require taking small bites to get them done.
Over these four years I have been adding implements and my little tractor does well with most of what I ask of it. I have added bucket forks, bush hog, posthole digger, middle buster, backhoe and a hitch ball for the three point so the 855 also serves as trailer tug. You see, I have kind of gone crazy with implements, but the 855 does so many things so well, it's hard to resist just doing it myself.
Of course, there are jobs (like moderate sized stumps) that are hard to tackle with just small bites. Some jobs just take more power. When I run into a project that the 855 just can't seem to conquer, I begin to wish I had a bigger machine. But, much of the beauty of a tractor like ours is that the smaller size allows us to go places and do things with a finesse that the big boys can't.
Much as I ocassionally envy the powerful larger tractors, there are things that I couldn't use them for on my property that the 855 does nicely.
All in all, it amazes me how much such a small tractor can do. It's ability to do so many things well and it's ease of use encourages me to attempt projects that I wouldn't even think of trying otherwise.
How long have you had your tractor, and what kinds of things do you use it for? It sounds like you're enjoying your seat time.
OkieG
