1850 or 2350 for me?

[hangnail]

new guy here, but have been lurking for a very long time.

im looking to purschase with in a year a kubota. i was originally looking at a 2350, but lately have thought after my project it may be to much tractor for may reg. yard useage.

my project... well heres what i have going on, i have about 1/2 acre lot, and the back yard which is a majority of the lot is completly unuseable, over grown with trees, and a slope i could ski on going away from the house. i plan on atleat 1 large retaining wall, abiout 5 feet high the width of the lot, and maybe a second tier of about 2 feet near the edge of my lot. so i need to move a lot of fill, that i will need to be deleivered. i also need to do a lot of cleaning up for years of neglect back there, dead trees, over grown everything.

after i do that the tractor will be a tool, snow removal, as well as other projects, i have enough to justify me keeping the tractor, such as redoing my stone driveway with pavers, so preping thedrive way, tilling and redoing my lawn, ect.

i am looking at haveing the FEL, a MMM i will prob add a yard vacuum trailer deal, i also am looking at getting a tiller, and a landscape rake, seems you guys moslty prefer the rake over a box blade. i would also like a log splitter.

my fear is the 23 will be too much after i am done, so granted, it 1850 might e a tad small for the big dirt move, but it may be perfect afterwards, the 23 may be easier since it has a bit more power and lifting capacity, but after be a bit much for my uses. i susly go with the pricinple of bigger is better. but im lookign at maybe saving a few bucks, but if the 23 is overall a better perfromer for me,ill pony up.

and before anyone says to just rent a tractor, i have looked into it, up here the rate is about 200 a weekend, and up. for that amount i can make payments and keep the tractor when im done. not to mention , there is the every weekend hassle of going down to the rentalplace and picking up the tractor and hoping noone else is also inline for one.

i have played with a bx24, and i know that the backhoe is would be great, but for the few times i would need it i could rent one. they did not have a 18 or 23 with a FEL on it when i went down there. my neigbor has a bx 1500 and loves it, i know it has made it up and down my yard. but i would ike the little extra lifting power

thanks guys, i will post a pick when i get a chance

chris

 

[psdx]

You did not mention the cost difference, only a concern thqat the 2350 may be too big once you are done. Since the size of the BX1850 and BX2350 is identical, why not spend the extra dollars (minimal) to get 5 additional horsepower? You may someday regret not having more hp to run that tiller you mentioned, but once you spend the initial dollars you will never regret the additional power. Good luck with your decision.

 

[hangnail]

cost is a factor, but more so is the tractor going to be enough. i would have to move the fill from my front yard to the back yard, not a huge distance, maybe 50 yards or so, but a lot of dirt, i have not even tried to calculate the amount yet, if the 1850 is able to do it, i will go with it, granted there is about a $2,000 difference does make me lean to the 1850.

i should also add that i'm not 100% sure about the tiller, my main need will be to redo my lawn, and i am not positive a tiller is the best tool for that. i am still looking up threads on redoing lawns

 

[rbarker]

my fear is the 23 will be too much after i am done, so granted, it 1850 might e a tad small for the big dirt move, but it may be perfect afterwards, the 23 may be easier since it has a bit more power and lifting capacity, but after be a bit much for my uses.

Count me in as another who thinks that since the tractors are the same size you should go for the 2350 for the extra horsepower. Sounds like you'll be moving a lot of fill and traversing up some slopes so the extra power won't hurt. When you don't need the power, throttle it down. The 1850 would be of no advantage later when you were done all the heavy stuff since the size is the same.

 

[crd]

The LA243 FEL for the 2350 is slightly larger (cu. feet and lift) than the 1850's LA203. So if moving dirt is the big first task you'll move more dirt in 9 trips with the 2350 than you would in 10 trips with the 1850. That'll add up by the time you've backfilled a 5' retaining wall.

As someone else said, size-wise the tractors are within inches and a few pounds of each other. This from a happy 2350 owner.

 

[Double 00 Soul]

It's a tough decision, I know because I looked at the same two machines. Since you say cost is a factor, that almost makes it a no brainer. When I checked at two local dealers, the 2350 was a bit more than $2000 more than the 1850. If 110 lbs. of lift capacity makes enough of a difference for you to override the cost factor, then I'd go with the 2350. For me, 110 lbs. wouldn't make me eliminate the 1850, it's no slouch in the power dept.. Have you tried both machines at a dealer? If you haven't, suggest you do so.

I've decided to go with the 1850 but my situation is a little different than yours. I already have a B3030, the 1850 will replace a riding mower. The deciding factor for me was that I can't get the 48" MMM on a 2350 and I have so many trees that anything bigger than 48" would just add to my mowing time. I love trees and won't cut any down to make room for a bigger mower!

I know the consensus is that there's no such thing as too much tractor, especially when they're this close in size but 2 grand will buy a lot of dog food.

 

[kwolfe]

Given your acreage and future uses after the main stuff is done, I would not discout the BX1500. If you search around, you can probably find a new one with the MM and FEL for a few thousand less thant he 1850. I have had one of these machines and they have plenty of grunt. The FEL has the same lifting capacity as the loader for the 1850 (400lbs) and if you read the specs, the 3pt actually is rated to lift 20 more lbs that both the 1850 and 2350. I moved over 40 yards of topsoil with thhe FEL and used a 48" BB to regrade part of my yard. The machine is plenty capable of performing.

If money is a big player, then I would not rule out the 1500 for the price. Ask your neighbor what he thinks.

 

[KeithInSpace]

I like the 1500 as well. It is unfortunate that the supply of these wonderful machines is dwindling as I think them a better solution to the "small" machine problem than the 1850. The 1500 was physically shorter than the other models and was a real workhorse. With the 1850, it seems Kubota just made it "less" than the 2350 in many different ways simply to distinguish between the two models. At the time I bought my 2230, supplies of the older (metal) machines were running short and I wanted one out of a crate. I went with the larger machine (2230) since when I bought it, the discounts were such that I was paying just a couple hundred more than I was going to pay for a 1500 just 6 months prior. Cool with the wife is cool by me.

Regarding power, I like SAYING I have 22 HP, but I think 18 HP would do juuuuuust fine. I easily bent a friends tiller and have never 'bogged' the engine even once on any task I have ever performed. And I've performed some tasks.

Looks like you plan on doing real work with the thing, so it'll come down to what floats your boat. If you can't stay away from another 5HP since it's "only" $2200 more, then get the bigger tractor and don't regret missing out. If you're not too concerned about bragging rights, get the 1850. Except for the most extreme of work conditions, you probably won't ever notice a difference between the two. Both beat the **** out of a wheelbarrow!!!

An 1850 will happily do everything it seems you're asking. And $2200 (or whatever the exact difference is) will cover a tiller, a landscape rake, and a box blade with a couple bucks left over.

 

[hangnail]

before this i was leaning towards the 2350, but just recently i had thoughts about the 1850, and these thoughts made me think i wold have too much.

i think it will come down to what i can get at the time. what is the better deal. since the wife told me i cant pull the trigger till next year, ill just have to keep researching, and going to the dealer to play.

when i was down at the local kubota dealer, they had several 2350's, but had none with a FEL, the same goes for the 1850, which they only had a few, but none with FEL, he said they just sold a ton being winter is on the way, yet it barley feels like it. i did mess aound with a bx24, didnt touch the backhoe, because if i did, id want it, and it would blow my budget. i just drove it around the lot a bit, and messed around with the loader. since the bx2350 and the bx24 are so close it gave me a pretty good idea of what to expect.

 

[hangnail]

i quess a little math might help me.

who many yards or cubic feet are in a typical dump truck?
how many yards or cubic feet can the 1850 and 2350 FEL hold?
how much does 1 cubic yard or cubic foot weight?


if i remember correcly the 2350 can lift about 520 lbs, and the 1850 os around 400 and change, is that right?