Advice on first tractor purchase.

[drysalty]

Good morning , my wife and I will be moving to a new home in a week or so. The new place has 15 acres, 4 or so are presently cleared , a small yard around the house, a small pasture behind the barn and a big pasture behind that. The balance is wooded. We are planning to buy a machine for snow removal, mowing the pastures and clearing more around the house and pulling some firewood off the wooded section.

I致e been searching on line and lurking here to learn about tractors as I have very little first hand experience. What I知 thinking of is a 26 hp tractor with a rotary cutter a set of forks and a grapple. I致e been to a kubota dealer and he was pointing me towards a B2650 a Kioti dealer had me looking at a CK2610 and a Mahindra dealer had me looking aid a 1626 and 1635, 1533 and a 2638(?). The kubota dealer is 10 minutes from the new home, Kioti is 40 minutes and the Mahindra dealer is an hour away.

I watched ayou tube video the other day where the guy said you could save yourself thousands by buying your second tractor first. I thought that was great advice so I壇 like to ask the group for their experience so I can buythe right machine for my needs the first time around.

Thanks for any advice !

 

[nybirdman]

You are on the right track size wise;4WD,FEL and HST would be a must.You also may want to look at the L2501 Kubota.The L is slightly bigger and similar price as the B2650.

 

[Tractorable]

Yea, I agree it’s good advice to buy your second tractor first. I’m thinking the B series is little too small. If you have ten acres of woods and want a grapple you’ll want a tractor with enough weight to counterbalance the loads you’ll be carrying. I’d hedge towards a Kubota L series or better yet an L3560 or similar from another manufacturer. 2500-3500lb bare tractor weight would be ideal, the more the better.

 

[jeff9366]

The most efficient way to shop for tractors is to identify potential tractor applications first, then determine bare tractor weight necessary to safely accomplish your applications.

The fundamental importance of TRACTOR WEIGHT eludes many tractor shoppers. Heavier tractor weight is more important for most tractor applications than increased tractor horsepower. Bare tractor weight is a tractor specification easily found in sales brochures and web sites, readily comparable across tractor brands and tractor models, new and used.

Within subcompact and compact tractor categories, a significant tractor capability increase requires a bare tractor weight increase of 50%. It takes a 100% increase in bare tractor weight to elicit MY-OH-MY!

Shop your weight range within tractor brands. Budget will eliminate some choices. Collect a dealer brochure for each tractor model in your weight range. I spreadsheet tractor and implement specs, often a revealing exercise. I have a column for cost per pound.

Most tractors under 3,000 pounds bare weight operate in residential or hobby farm applications on one to ten flat acres.

Selling a used tractor is easy. Selling multiple light implements in order to buy heavier, wider implements for a new, heavier tractor requires a lot of time. Depreciation on implements is generally greater than depreciation on a tractor.


Kubota B2650 weighs 2,293 pounds, bare tractor.

Kubota L2501 weighs 2,623 pounds bare tractor. (larger displacement engine)

Both have the three (3) range HST transmission you need. Either will serve you well.


A quality dealer, reasonably close, available for coaching, is important for tractor neophytes. Most new tractors are delivered with a glitch or two requiring correction. My kubota dealer is six miles away. I feel my local dealer continues to add value to my equipment after seven years. Dealer proximity is less important for those experienced with tractors and qualified to perform their own maintenance.

 

[jeff9366]

What I'm thinking of is a 26 hp tractor with a rotary cutter a set of forks and a grapple.

If you buy ample capacity Pallet Forks you do not need the complication of a grapple for four to six working acres plus woods.

You will find a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment very useful.
Ratchet rake llc - Google Search

 

[rmk700]

Sounds like a great new property.

This would be likely my choice. I know people don't use the backhoe much, but I have found it gets used much more than expected.

https://www.kubotausa.com/products/tractors/tractor-loader-backhoe/l47

 

[drysalty]

I am starting to understand the importance of tractor weight, it seem the kubota are pretty light relative to their competition and the loader lift is pretty light. Maybe Im Missing something but I read it in the brochures and it’s all over the inter webs too. Can anyone comment on why this doesn’t put the kubota at a disadvantage relative to comparable competitors?

Presently I’m leaning towards the Kioti as my wife and I visited the local Kioti dealer and got a very good feeling there. The owner spent quite a while with us and wasn’t in a rush even though it was closing time. It’s a family business and it’s been around for a while and the owner has been in the tractor business his whole life. I’d consider the CK 3510 if it was a reasonable up charge from the 2610 . I’d like the extra power but I’m not sure if I’d opt for the SE, are the other add ins on that model worth the extra cost? The Kioti dealer quoted me a cash price on a 2610 of 23700 for the tractor and loader, a 60” Kodiak rotary cutter a titan grapple and a set of forks. That’s about a thousand lower than I had gotten from anyone else. Can anyone comment on that quote? It’s pretty close to what I was quoted for an L2501 with no attachments.

I really liked the Mahindra 1626 too. That machine felt very comfortable to me and I liked that it was relatively quiet, especially at idle.

I should also mention I’ve gotten quotes on LS XG3025 and XR3135 . I haven’t been to see them in person as it’s a bit of a ride to get there. I don’t know much about the dealer but the fact that I had to chase him for some numbers I find a little off putting.

Keep the information coming, I’m grateful for al of it.

 

[hks003]

For that kind of property, I'd look at the L series or equivalent like others have mentioned. Maybe even the 35-40 Hp range. I have a 38 horse LS, and I've been able to do a few things I didn't plan on doing while tractor shopping that a smaller B series or LS XJ, MT, etc might not have handled just from the weight perspective. Think moving fallen trees, using a ratchet rake like Jeff has pictured to pull some nasty stuff out by the roots, using the front loader to pick up the front of lawn mowers, four wheelers, etc. The kiotis are heavy for their size and I hear good things.

 

[TheMadOne]

You are on the right track size wise;4WD,FEL and HST would be a must.You also may want to look at the L2501 Kubota.The L is slightly bigger and similar price as the B2650.

Yea, I agree it痴 good advice to buy your second tractor first. I知 thinking the B series is little too small. If you have ten acres of woods and want a grapple you値l want a tractor with enough weight to counterbalance the loads you値l be carrying. I壇 hedge towards a Kubota L series or better yet an L3560 or similar from another manufacturer. 2500-3500lb bare tractor weight would be ideal, the more the better.

I had a standard L, any amount of logging was...difficult with it. It simply didn't have enough weight in it to pull properly(even with filled tires), made skidding larger logs unfun. I do wish I could have kept it and gotten the L3560, having two tractors would have allowed for a lot more flexibility than one. I've sat on a B2650, it has a nice layout, a lot closer in ergos to the grand Ls than the standards. The cabbed version is loud.

If you buy ample capacity Pallet Forks you do not need the complication of a grapple for four to six working acres plus woods.

You will find a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment very useful.
Ratchet rake llc - Google Search

I like my grapple, it does a much nicer job with less maneuvering than forks, feels more secure as well. I also pretty much retired my ratchet rake when I got the grapple. Not gonna sell it, but the amount of use I have for it is much lower than it was. Land clearing with a root grapple and box blade is much faster than with the ratchet rake, since I can clear what I take off easily.

I am starting to understand the importance of tractor weight, it seem the kubota are pretty light relative to their competition and the loader lift is pretty light. Maybe Im Missing something but I read it in the brochures and it痴 all over the inter webs too. Can anyone comment on why this doesn稚 put the kubota at a disadvantage relative to comparable competitors?

Presently I知 leaning towards the Kioti as my wife and I visited the local Kioti dealer and got a very good feeling there. The owner spent quite a while with us and wasn稚 in a rush even though it was closing time. It痴 a family business and it痴 been around for a while and the owner has been in the tractor business his whole life. I壇 consider the CK 3510 if it was a reasonable up charge from the 2610 . I壇 like the extra power but I知 not sure if I壇 opt for the SE, are the other add ins on that model worth the extra cost? The Kioti dealer quoted me a cash price on a 2610 of 23700 for the tractor and loader, a 60 Kodiak rotary cutter a titan grapple and a set of forks. That痴 about a thousand lower than I had gotten from anyone else. Can anyone comment on that quote? It痴 pretty close to what I was quoted for an L2501 with no attachments.

I really liked the Mahindra 1626 too. That machine felt very comfortable to me and I liked that it was relatively quiet, especially at idle.

I should also mention I致e gotten quotes on LS XG3025 and XR3135 . I haven稚 been to see them in person as it痴 a bit of a ride to get there. I don稚 know much about the dealer but the fact that I had to chase him for some numbers I find a little off putting.

Keep the information coming, I知 grateful for al of it.

Kubota is light due to them being the largest import brand. If each BX costs "X" to ship, and you can lower the weight by a few pounds without overly effecting performance, that becomes money in the bank for both the shipping company and Kubota. It's been a point of contention for a long time. The new M8 row crop tractors are the first ones that Kubota has gone against their usual policy and are actually heavier than most of their competitors. They're also built by Versatile in Canada, so there's no ocean to cross with them either.

Kioti is solid, they're cheaper due mainly to being the new kid on the block. I would have considered them if there was a dealer in my area. Mahindra...check who actually makes the tractor you're interested in. The 1626 is made by Mitsubishi, I believe. It's a good machine, though I've always been a bit wary of Mahindra parts support, since they change not only models, but manufactures fairly often. May just be a problem in my head. LS is the maker of the smaller New Holland/Case models. Reportedly dealer/company support from LS can be very hit or miss, though that's true of every brand to some degree.

Buy the tractor that puts the biggest smile on your face.

 

[drysalty]

How do you like your LS? I like what I’ve read and the nearest dealer is at least 70 miles away and he’s the only one that I see anywhere around here so I haven’t seen one in person.