b7610 right for me?

potluckacres · Jun 16, 2004

I'm new, and know very little about tractors other than what I've thus far been fortunate enough to read on this board. I'm trying to select the right tractor for my application. I have 15 flat, cleared acres. About 2 to 3 acres are finish mowed. I intend to acquire the tractor to assist in maintaining pastures for a couple of horses, vegetable garden, build and work a small apple orchard, and maintain a 50-75 yard gravel driveway. The vast, vast amount of the tractors work will be grass cutting. In addition though, I will call upon if for pasture maintenance, de-landscaping the craters my dogs dig, and weed control / brush cutting in my field several times per year.

I don't have logs to move, boulders in the way, or piles of snow. Just lots of grass and weeds. I originally thought I wanted a small L series, then the b7800, and now I'm thinking about the 7610. Would I be expecting to much from the 7610 to maintain 15 acres as I described. Would the b7800, or something else for that matter, really do more for me given the chores I have.

Thanks,

Brian

fishdoc · Jun 16, 2004

As an owner of a 7610 I would say that yes, it can do the job. Now the question is, what will do it better and is it worth the extra money to you. The bigger the rig the less time you may spend working. The 2 to 3 acres finish mowing is easily done with a 60" MMM. The 7610 is still small enough to get around quite nicely in my opinion.

Henro · Jun 16, 2004

Each time you go up in size it seems like you get a lot more tractor relative to the cost increase...

Any of the tractors you mentioned will work. Larger tractor can use a larger rotary cutter and will have a loader with more lift/capacity and so on.

Any tractor will make pretty quick work of 3 acres of grass, so I would focus on the other things you want to do.

When you get too large you have to worry about the lawn and how the heavy tractor might damage the grass. Now if you have a yard like I do, with lots of short weeds that look like grass, that may be less of a problem...

The B7800/2910 is not really that large of a tractor...the L3130 is in my view much bigger...

I would probably go with the B7800 size as a minimum, if the lawn was not my number one priority. IF the lawn was a high priority, then I would go with nothing larger than the B7610 and suffer the extra time it took to rotary cut those 12 acres of field.

Sure seems to me though that the B7800 with 72" MMM [or 72" RFM if you don't have a lot to cut around] and 5' rotary cutter would be a good compromise...

Those L series sure are nice though... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

khd · Jun 16, 2004

I agree with both Fish and Henro. b7610 (which I have) would certainly do the job but the 7800 is not that much larger nor much more expensive for the extra HP/Implement capacity.

Although the 7610 more than fits my needs for my property and needs (no where near 15 acres) there has been a couple of instances where the extra of the 7800/2910 would have been useful. I don't regret my descision as the 78/29 would have been too much tractor for me. Your case might justify it.

Like many say on here, it all depends on budget and time available to do what needs done as either will get the job done given the right amount of time. Budget wasn't a factor for me but available time is an extreme factor hence the 7610 over the 2230 in my case. I'm also 6'4/260 so comfort played a role also but that's another story.

Good luck.

Kevin

DanR67 · Jun 16, 2004

potluckacres -

I've had my B7610 @ 3 months now - and I couldn't really ask for more. But I only have to mow 2-3 acres (@ 50 mins with 54" MMM - and that's driving around lots of "obstacles"). I also needed primarily a "mowing machine" - but do have some chores (rocks / wood fuel etc.) to move around that benefit from the 7610's decent FEL capacity.

A B2910 / B7800 would simply have been too much tractor (& more $$) for mowing purposes - but a BX2200 or similar subCUT would have been "not enough" when it came to FEL work.

Since you mention you don't have the need for moving rocks / logs - the FEL size sounds like it's less of an issue - that would favor the B7610.

But if you need to brushcut the remaining 11-12 acres - then I think the larger PTO rating of the B2910 / B7800 (22 HP) over the B7610 (18 HP) may be advantageous for running a larger brushcutting implement - this is essentially for "saving time" - I'm sure the B7610 has enough power to handle what you're asking - just may mean some more "seat time" (not always a bad thing! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

I don't run / own a brushcutter - so I can't say if the 4 extra PTO HP is worth it (but more is always better, right? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

As Henro mentioned, the weight of the B2910 / B7800 is still reasonable - but I think there is quite a jump when you step up to an L-series - don't know if trailering the tractor to different sites is a factor you had considered....

Since I think both the B7610 and the B2910 / B7800 could meet your needs - a simpler question to ask might be:

Is this intended to be a *working* (ie business) tractor - or a *weekend warrior* one?

Mine is definitely a *weekend warrior* - and while it could certainly stand up to tough, daily usage - I'd most likely go with the slightly bigger 2910 / 7800 if it was going to be a*business* (farm / ranching) machine - more power available if ever needed.

If possible - ask your dealer to demo both models - I'd go for the *harder* brushcutting as the test - my B7610 mows like a dream (nice cut & quite manueverable) - I'm sure the 2910/7800 are just as good!

A bit of a tough choice you have there! Best of luck with your decision!

Dan

potluckacres · Jun 17, 2004

Thanks to all for the replies! I've looked at both the b7610 and b7800 parked on the dealer's lot, and compared the spec's of each... but my lack of experience hinders my judgment. Just how much more of a tractor is the b7800 over the 7610. I know what the brochure's numbers say, but what does that equal to in the real world. Am I going to get bogged down whacking weeds with the b7610 that the b7800 could motor through? How much time savings am I really looking at rotary cutting 10 acres with the b7800 as opposed to the b7610? I'm ignorant to this.

thanks

brian

Henro · Jun 17, 2004

<font color="blue"> Just how much more of a tractor is the b7800 over the 7610... </font>

About 20% more...going by PTO HP difference...but who knows what that really means?

I think you need to get on both tractors, belt in, and take them for a ride, at least around the dealer's lot. Then follow your gut feeling.

Keep in mind that whatever you buy will start to feel smaller the more you use it. That is my experience anyway with my B2910. I thought it was larger than I should buy when I was shopping, saw the price difference over the B2410, and bought it on a whim, at the last minute, without even driving one...

Best decision I could have made. Did not know that at the time, of course... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

mathteacher · Jun 17, 2004

<font color="blue">How much time savings am I really looking at rotary cutting 10 acres with the b7800 as opposed to the b7610? </font>

I believe that the B7800 can handle a 5 maybe 6 foot cutter vs. the B7610 with a 4 maybe 5 foot cutter. That extra foot does make a difference. I think/know (I own one! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) that the B7610 can handle the work that you have but I think that the extra time needed would warrant the bigger tractor. You might even look at a dedicated mower for the 2 to 3 acres of finish lawn. I finish cut about 6 to 8 acres of my land and it is has lots of fruit trees to cut around. If I had to brush cut a bunch of land I would opt for the bigger tractor with the bigger cutter.

Donald B.