Comparing small tractors (long)

[DonE0929]

Help me think of what I have not thought of please.

This will be a cash purchase so financing deals are not a consideration. We will probably keep the machine 10 years, so that will be the minimum age at resale.

We have decided to replace our aging lawn tractor with a small ( think bx size ) tractor with belly mower and loader.
I have looked at Mahindra, Kioti and Kubota. I won't consider Deere although they have a very popular small series machine with great aftermarket support. There is a bobcat dealer 30 miles away and a Massey dealer about the same, but I've looked at Massey before and they never made my top 3 in anything I've looked at before.

I have a mahindra 1526 already, but it is too large for mowing my land and no mid PTO. It does have Loader, Backhoe, hydraulic top link and third function.
The smaller tractor can use my cat one pto attachments as well as most of my SSQA attachments. I understand the limitations of the smaller machine.

The brands I looked at have a good dealer and service departments, but the Kubota is the best of the bunch by a good bit and it is local to me. The others are in a neighboring town. Primary use will be cutting the grass, but there will be a lot of light loader work and dressing the Gravel driveway and paths in the woods. The machine is small enough to fit into the chicken run to clean out the coops. I also grade driveways all over my ( call it a neighborhood ) area that I can drive the tractor to, as well as downed tree clean up, clean drainage ditches ect. The smaller machine may get some of that work also.

I will dress out the machine as follows

HST
Max hp for the series
Third function
At least one rear remotes ( hydraulic top link )
R14 tires ( not an option with the red machine ) not liquid filled, my choice.
60 inch belly mover ( no drive over deck for kioti ) drive over. I have a finish mower, but the lay of the land makes it difficult to use.
quick hitch
no one offers a hydraulic top link, so will be sourcing that on my own.


The Kubota looks and feels like the best machine, but has the lowest lift capacity. Best feel in the hydraulic controls. 3k higher price
Kioti has the loudest hydro screech by far and the poorest mower deck and no drive over. Lowest price... 3k less than Kubota
Mahindra has the best lift capacities and a full fab deck, second best hydraulic feel. Middle price of the three. I'm not sure who is making it for Mahindra.
Hydraulcc flow seems acceptable across the board so we can call this a tie.

What am I forgetting to think about here? I won't be buying any other attachments at the time of purchase, so the deals offered to buy extras don't mean anything.

I feel, right now, that the Kubota is the top machine, followed by the mahindra. The kioti is the bottom of my list right now.

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

 

[jeepcoma]

What's your weight limit for mowing with tractor + MMM? That was a big factor for me, most of my property that I mow is in a flood plain. I came up with my weight limit and then found the biggest tractor I could within that limit, and it's worked out for me. I got a Deere 2025R and I know you said you won't consider it, but there are a ton of ways to customize the 1025R/2025R to do the jobs you want. The drive-over deck and the load-and-go FEL attachment options are a huge time saver as well and AFAIK best in class.

I've priced out Kubotas and Mahindras and, I never really saw much evidence of the "green tax". It's not hard to get a Mahindra eMax into 1025R pricing.

My local dealer sucks, so depending on how mechanically inclined you are, dealer support may be a big factor. I would pick that over color.

Ergonomics would be second. Have you sat on them? Spec sheets are great but some machines just fit and feel better, and it's a personal choice.

 

[CalG]

Buy the one you like the "feel" of.

$3K won't buy a mower deck!

 

[DonE0929]

Jeepcoma,

I did sit and ride on all machines. Ground speed with a load is important to me, unfortunately they won't let me scoop a bucket full of anything to test that. They did let me test with a backhoe onboard to simulate some kind of a load on the rear.

Weight is something I didn't consider to terribly much. I can drive my bigger tractor on my ground in all but the wettest of conditions, so the smaller machine will be fine. Along with weight, ground clearance will still be fine as well. That was a good consideration tho. As for Deere, I've looked at them before, there is a green(color) tax although there is also an orange tax to some degree. Every Deere I have ever looked at ( all larger machines ) have Deere only loader attachments ( not SSQA ) and it cost more to change it.... I have a lot of SSQA attachments and I prefer to use them. I'm not a farmer, but their discust and fight with Deere is real and I choose not to support them.... I've used there equipment and it is good, no complaints there.

CalG,

I agree with you on the feel good thing. 3k will mean nothing over the life of the machine. If I needed to buy additional attachments, maybe that 3k could be a deciding factor or for someone on a very tight budget it could be the only factor.

 

[Torvy]

TYM is right there in Georgia.

The T25 lifts more than the Mahindra and seems to meet all of your qualifications. (Not 100% on tires)

Price will likely be the lowest of those.

 

[DonE0929]

The nearest TYM dealer is over an hour away and it is not an interstate type drive... it's over the twisty mountain roads and then a run thru city traffic. I do have to go that way for a Doctor's appointment. May be worth the drive. A lift better than the mahindra makes it interesting for sure.

 

[jeepcoma]

OK so weight's not an issue, you have what sounds like a nicely equipped 1526 that can go everywhere you need and do every job except mowing... what are you actual needs for this second small tractor? It's a lot of expense to fill the mowing gap, which you could plug much more effectively with something that only does mowing with a ZTR. You can get one for the price of just the MMM deck which I know because it's stated in pretty much every thread ever about MMMs. But for your purposes, where you already have a do-it-all tractor, it might make more sense.

If you have a list of what the new equipment must do, what would be nice to do, and what it won't need to do, that might help narrow things down. When you already have a big capable tractor, having a smaller version that also does MMM is a big expense. Other than mowing, what would you use the smaller tractor for that you're not already going to be able to do better with the 1526?

 

[airbiscuit]

Yanmar makes nice tractors.

 

[CalG]

How does lift capacity factor in when you have a larger tractor?

Something I never really have understood in these kind of posts.

 

[Locoweed]

Couple of things you might consider. Cab with AC. Bigger tires ride over bumps much smoother. A good suspension seat is also a big plus.