B7500 vs B7800

[paul54]

I'm new this to forum, been lurking, but this is my first post. My experience is limited, I currenty own a small
JD lawn tractor - So her go's - I have about 7 acress of land (mostly wooded) and one of my future projects
would be trying to turn about one area of woods into lawn. This would involve, some material moving
and backhoe work. I live in New England so I'm talking about hardwood (oak/mable) stump removal.
I like the size of the smaller B7500, but do I need the larger unit? I'm trying to get a feel for the capabilities
of each tractor. Some of these strumps are good size. I will not be using this for mowing

Any feedback will be appreciated

 

[GAKubotaFan]

If money is not a concern I would go with the B7800 for 7 acres. I maintain 8 acres and bought a BX2200 and later upgraded to a B7800. It's a matter to time and money. If time is not a problem then the 7500 should be fine, the b7800 is just going to be faster. I used my backhoe 6 hours this weekend and love it. I am so glad I upgraded. Most people end up getting a larger tractor, but not many go back and get a smaller one. Buy the largest tractor you can afford that will work on you land. A tractor is an investment and a few dollars over the long run in not much.

 

[GregJ]

Paul,
I have a B7500 and have used it to clear an area of fairly large alders (14 trees). It was a real workout for my machine, but I got it done. If you are talking about clearing an acre, including stump removal, I am not sure that even a B7800 will do it for you, unless you have a lot of time and are ready to put some serious wear and tear on your machine. Mine has some pretty significant battle wounds from my project. I'll attach a photo so you can see the size of some of these stumps. I have other stump photos if you are interested. Now that this project is done, I am glad I have the B7500 because it is just the right size for my landscaping and maintenance projects. I only have 2.5 acres. Hope this helps.

Greg

 

[Casimir]

Paul:

If you think the 7500 would fit your needs better except for the land clearing project, I would strongly recommend you hire someone with a dozer or track loader to do the clearing project. They can do it a lot faster and with less headaches. Digging out stumps, even with a backhoe is a long, slow job. And when the stumps turn out to be as large as your tractor (as in the previous post), you won't be able to move them around after you dig them out /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif.

You will still have a lot of work for your tractor and a box blade doing the final grading, cleaning up the roots and trash left behind the clearing operation and getting the area ready to seed. A dozer or track loader can push the trees into a pile, so you can burn them or salvage the wood and then burn the leftover branches and stumps.

We just cleared about 5 acres for pasture. At $70 per hour for a Cat Track Loader, it still cost me almost $6000 to clear it and seed it, but it would have taken me several years to do it with my Ford/NH 1520 (about comparable to the B7500). The Loader operator said he had never seen so many stumps per acre /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif, which was what drove the cost up.

It will be easier to clear the trees if you do not log it first - that was part of our problem. The previous owner had logged the area and sold the timber, so each stump had to be dug out, rather than just pushing the tree over.

Previous posts have recommended buying a tractor that will serve 85% of your needs and hire the other 15% done by someone with the proper equipment for the job. I think that is good advice, IMHO /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Greg J, that is a serious stump. I have a 7800, but no BH, and I am impressed. With the FEL with teeth I am challenged with a quick pop out on 5" trees. Looking at that alder stump makes me wonder how you even carried it in the bucket, I am not confident my 7800 could do that.

As far as the original post, the 7800 with a BH may fit the bill, but I couldn't justify the price for the BH. If I need anything dug out I will hire the job out to a pro. Overall I am pleased as heck with my 7800. After I get in the woods this Fall I will see if I wouldn't have done better with the 3130, but I like the size and price of the 7800.

LOL, Frank D

 

[frank_f15]

don't know what other uses u have for the tractor, do u need to remove snow? do u want to use it for cutting grass? how many stumps do u need to remove? but off the top i would go with the 7800, better suited to BH work. if the use of the BH is a one time deal, then best to hire it out or rent one.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi,

At first the B7800 may look big to you. After you have one for a while it will look just about right on those 10 acres.

I started looking at the bx22 and ended up with the B2910. I like it a lot. If you can afford the extra cash I would go for the B7800 [or better the B2910 which has some nice luxury features].

If grass cutting was my major interest I might do something differently, but over all the B7800 is nice package.

 

[paul54]

It sound likes a mix bag of advice - To answer some of the questions and provide a better description
of future fun! - No grass cutting, maybe some snow plowing, maintaining a gravel 300' driveway,
some garden work, a lot of new yard work, stump removal etc. It sound like the b7500 might get the
job done, but much slower? But B7800 should work. I hope to be doing this full time (retired) when i
make the purchase so speed will (?) not be an issue.

Paul

 

[GregJ]

Paul,
I like my B7500 because of it's small footprint for my uses. I need to be able to get in and out of some small places and still have the power to do some heavy work. If space is not an issue and the extra $2500 (or so) are not a problem, I would spring for the B7800. Who wouldn't like "more power". That being said, I love my B7500 and it has done all that I have asked of it.

Greg