Compact Tractor vs Garden Tractor

[jdovin]

I am new to the site and look forward to learning from all the experience of those on this site. I am considering moving up from a 2K cub cadet (been a piece of junk) to either a compact tractor or heavier duty garden tractor. My property is less than 2 acres, but has it share of obstacles sometimes requiring positive traction-mow in marsh area near water, on hills, and inclines. I often have the need to repair and grade my driveway. Anyway-that my story-have been looking at the John Deere 500 series and above and possible the Kubota 7610 0r 2210. Thanks for any guidance.

Jim

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[creekbend]

There are specific forums relating to both John Deere and Kubota tractors here on TBN. You may find some info there in regards to assisting you in possibly making your decision. Best of Luck and Welcome aboard. :tractor:

 

[moored4]

:welcome: to TBN! :thumbsup:

Happy :tractor: ing!

 

[Deere Dude]

Consider a John Deere X748. 4 WD with great traction and built sturdy. They have a fairly low center of gravity so with weights, either wheel weights or loaded tires or both, it will handle all but the steepest hills comfortably. It is big enough to have a Cat. 1, 3 point hitch to deal with rear attach tillers or blades or many other attachments, and has the diesel power to toy with them.. Yet is small enough to not be overkill for a 2 acre parcel.

 

[RoyJackson]

Welcome to TBN!!

 

[Bob77064]

Welcome

 

[bp fick]

Welcome to TBN

You'd be pleased with the X700 series from Deere. You'd also appreciate the power and capability of the Kubota BX series. The older BX 1830, or newer BX1860 would suite you just fine.

Mahindra makes a small sub-compact, as does LS in the J series. You might spend some time sitting on any/all of these to get a feel for which would give you most bang for the buck.

 

[bp fick]

edited

 

[TripleR]

Welcome to TBN, second the information by bp fick and Deere Dude.

 

[Briana03]

WELCOME to TBN

I moved your thread to the Buying/Pricing/Comparisons Forum.

 

[Gittyup]

I have a similar size property and have struggled with this very choice. If u have tight spaces and or. A lot to mow around, the JD 700 series is the way to go. And if u have a lot of trees and shrubs to mow around, the aws option is awesome. But cannot put a loader on the aws models. I like the gts because they r more stable on hills and don't have a roll bar to get in the way. These will also handle small 3ph implements for driveway maintenance and are excellent snow movers. The 700 series can't be beat for mowing and snow removal.

However, the are not as capable as a scut for heavier dirt work. The scut is the way to go if a loader is a must or if u need better ground clearance. If I were going scut today I'd be looking hard at mahindras max. But there are so many good choices in the subcut size.

Don't buy too small this time round.

 

[Ford tractor]

Interesting. I have been mowing with a 2185 cub cadet for 13 years. It's had some issues, but hardly a piece of junk. Sorry to hear you didn't get a good one.

The machines you list are all going to be light years ahead of a lawn mower. And the brands are also excellent. Hard to make a poor choice no matter which one you get.

 

[flusher]

Welcome to TBN. Join the fun

The Kubota B-series subcompacts are nice--mine was a 2005 B7510HST with the LA302 FEL. Cost:$12.6K new. You might also consider grey market tractors also like Yanmar, Iseki, Mitsubishi, etc.

If you plan to use a rototiller, get a tractor with hydrostatic transmission so you can crawl along at 1/2 mph ground speed or less, which is what you need for efficient rototilling.

 

[rsewill]

Welcome to the forum.

Be sure whatever you get has a Diesel engine.

 

[Gittyup]

Many think diesel is the way to go. But, you can get 2000 hours out of one those kawasaki gassers in the JD x700s. For my use level, that's like 35 years. You will give up some torque. But, you can operate it quicker with much shorter warmups, and it will be considerably quieter too. It's also like $1500 cheaper to buy. And a little cheaper to maintain because the gasser isn't as fussy about fuel filters and fuel additives.

Diesels use less fuel, but the fuel cost more. So when you take into account the fuel cost difference combined with the higher intial cost, the gasser is a bit more economical, at least for the first 20 years or so.

I'm at 1050 hours, year 19 on my gasser. She runs great. (JD425).

The diesel versions of the X700 make the most sense when you are pushing their hp limits, like with the 60" mower deck, or a big tiller, or the 54" snowblower. Power to ground, I doubt you'd see a difference because you'd most likely lose traction before reaching hp/torque limits.

However, if I were to go gas in one of these expensive machines, I'd probably only consider the fuel injected ones because of the ethanol they now put in gasoline. Ethanol just kills carburetors unless you consistently treat your fuel.

 

[hodge]

You didn't mention your budget, which makes a lot of difference. I bought an extremely low hour (642), excellent condition Kubota B7100 HST 4WD, with a nice Woods RM59 finish mower, for $3000. You will be hard pressed to get a stamped metal John Deere rider for that, new. So, the amount that you have to spend will help us in giving you advice.