Buying Advice First Tractor purchase advice

[grm61]

Did you get a chance to look at this?

New Kioti NX451 hst walk around from Barrett's Equipment - YouTube

I think it will come with telescoping links and stabilizers, fixed drawbar, lots of gizmos on their cruise, pretty good hydraulic flow. I think it will be good to look it over good and do a good test drive, to see how you like the "feel"

Did I mention that it is fun to go looking at tractors? Plus you notice different things each time. For example, how do you like their bucket level indicator?

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link no work

 

[cat fever]

Thanks Fallon.

I did test drive an L series in Kiowa. Nice tractor.

People don't understand the winds here until they live here! That blizzard last week almost blew us into New Mexico... I even had a ton of snow in the attic. It somehow worked its way into the roof vents on the north side. I decided then and there a cab was no longer optional.

First, I'm glad things worked out for your new baby and wife. (The firemens hands being so cold probably made the baby cry. )

It sounds like you have made the choice to go with a cab. Excellent decision, I started out looking for a 35-45 hp open station tractor. Ended up with the 66 hp cab model. I can only say I (wife) made the best choice even though it was more than I planned on spending. I have not looked back one time thinking I spent too much. Having heat/air cond. stereo- - -yup made the right choice. (and no bugs)
Good luck shopping, while I think you'll be happy with whatever brand you go with, I am very happy with my Kioti.:thumbsup:

 

[airbiscuit]

link no work

Fixed.

New Kioti NX451 hst walk around from Barrett's Equipment - YouTube

 

[CobaltSky]

Did you get a chance to look at this?

New Kioti NX451 hst walk around from Barrett's Equipment - YouTube

I think it will come with telescoping links and stabilizers, fixed drawbar, lots of gizmos on their cruise, pretty good hydraulic flow. I think it will be good to look it over good and do a good test drive, to see how you like the "feel"

Did I mention that it is fun to go looking at tractors? Plus you notice different things each time. For example, how do you like their bucket level indicator?

View attachment 462947

Yep, I watched that today. I wish there were more NX videos. If I buy one, I'll have to make one

 

[vanguard]

I've read every word of this thread, good stuff. I've had my tractor for about 1 1/2 years and don't consider myself an expert. Having said that, I thought I might chime in with the kind of stuff I would have liked to have been told when I was buying.

1) Dealer support is huge. I'd pick a kioti over and ls or an ls over a kioti if I thought one dealer was going to be easier to work with than the other.

2) At 45hp I don't need all of it for many tasks (I mow a lot). However, there have been a few jobs, like grading the driveway with a land grader, when I used every one of them. Sounds like you'll have a lot of driveway to maintain and I suspect you'll be happy you didn't go too small.

3) My deal thinks a cab "steals" 5-10 hp and most people say the same about HST. If you're getting both I wouldn't be too shy about 50 hp. You're getting 35 acres, there is nothing unreasonable at all about a tractor that large for you.

4) I have a flail mower and a finish mower. I personally don't rate it as high as the folks around here seem to. I attach the finish mower 99% of the time and use the flail when I have to. If I was you I'd strongly consider a bush hog. It's probably the best fit for your use case.

5) You'll probably end up with a riding or zero turn mower for those areas close to the house, around bushes, etc. After that you'll be in a nice spot where the tractor does the big areas and the mower does the fine ones.

 

[Fallon]

HST is 15% less efficient than gears, but so worth it. The motor on the A/C compressor is a couple HP & if you fire up a lot of electronics I could see being close to 5hp, but not 10.

 

[TJP89]

Yep, I watched that today. I wish there were more NX videos. If I buy one, I'll have to make one

Member ErictheOracle has a Kioti NX6010 and has a massive collection of videos (most of the NX videos on youtube are his). He has a 100+ page thread in the Kioti Buying/Pricing section (My NX6010) about his adventures clearing land in MN. The vast majority of problems are induced by the over-use of the tractor, but he has torn apart almost everything on his save the engine and tranny (though that may be next). If you want info on the NX it is pretty well discussed in the Kioti subforum here. If you search for NX on youtube you'll find Eric's stuff there too.

The NX price sounds high. If you can get it down to 30K, that's reasonable. I'd have to take a close look at the LS and Kioti too make an informed decision, but that's your job, not mine. As I said before, I think both are good. I am biased though.

 

[CobaltSky]

We have a winner.

 

[Tompet]

Congrats! Quite a difference from your first post on this thread...you done good. Enjoy!

 

[airbiscuit]

We have a winner.
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You chose well grasshopper :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[CobaltSky]

Thanks guys. That's a shuttle in the pic. Someone bought the HST off the lot 2 days ago so he ordered a replacement for me on the next truck so I have at least a week to wait.
Getting FEL, hydro top link, a 7' Kodiak land plane, dealer installed rear wiper and and radio, rears loaded with rimguard.
Time to implement shop!

 

[cat fever]

Very nice looking tractor. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it. I mean get a lot or work done.

 

[paulfun9]

We have a winner.
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Congrats! The LS is a nice machine and I have actually been thinking very hard about adding one to our fleet here.

 

[grm61]

Very nice machine:thumbsup: Congratulations:drink:

 

[vanguard]

I think you're going to be happy with that purchase.

 

[TJP89]

Nice. Great Machine. Wish I had a cab, but couldn't justify the cost at the time. You'll really like it.:thumbsup:

 

[nybirdman]

Nice,you haved saved yourself some money by purchasing enough tractor to start;unlike most of us!

 

[airbiscuit]

Nice,you haved saved yourself some money by purchasing enough tractor to start;unlike most of us!

Can we get an amen AxelHub? LOL

 

[mike69440]

I glanced at the first page, then skipped to the last.

You went from a big yard tractor to what you can use, you should thank TBN.

 

[AxleHub]

I glanced at the first page, then skipped to the last.

You went from a big yard tractor to what you can use, you should thank TBN.

1st opening post is

We just moved to a 35 acre property in Colorado. The land is rolling pasture with some widely spaced evergreens and a pond. The property was vacant for almost 2 years so the lawn, if there ever was one, is non existent. We have an 800ft gravel drive, that comes down a moderate grade. I am looking for a tractor that can handle mowing about 5-6 acres of this pasture, with the goal being an acre or so of decent lawn around the house and the rest of that 5-6 just infrequently cut and kept looking decent. It is pretty arid here, so we don't get a lot of weed trees and thick stuff.

I also want to plow (or blow) that driveway, and keep it graded. I may want to till a garden at some point or use a tiller/grade around the house as a basis for establishing lawn.

Snow here can be deep at times, and drifting is the main problem. However snow is dry and powdery (that famous Colorqdo powder), and the sun usually melts off a lot of what the wind doesn't blow away within a few days of a big storm.

To date, I have been focused on Kubota, with my main interest appearing to fall in the B series, specifically the B 2650, but I am open to all suggestions. I think the 2301 might not power everything I want to power, and I like some of the upgrades of the 2650 over the 2601. I looked at the L2501 briefly, but my gut says it might be too heavy for the mower type use around the house. I went in thinking BX, but the more I thought about it and researched, I think I just need something bigger than that. I'd love a cab to protect from the wind driven snow here, but I just can't stomach the extra $$$$ of that glass bubble.

My concern with the 2650 is whether the MMM, which is ground contact will work for mowing my 5-6 acres of pasture. For that matter I don't know if the suspended MMM on the 2601 would be any better, or if I should just get a 5' rotary cutter for the job. If I go with the bush hog now, I'm wondering if the MMM is even worth the extra $$$ to get with the package, thinking I might use it later closest to the house, or if I should just plan on getting a finish cutter for the 3pt later... Or I could get the 60" MMM now and try it to see if it will do the job before I decide on adding the bush hog. So much indecision.

Now for snow, I was wondering if the 60" FEL would do the job, combined with a rear blade, or if I should get a front snow blade or a blower. I don't want to do a lot of forward/reverse/turn/dump on the single lane driveway, but if I can just float the FEL on the gravel and blast through straight a few passes using the rear blade to divert th spillage, I'd be happy (until the wind drifted it all closed again, that is).

Is the rear blade all I need for grading the drive, or should I look into a box grader or scraper?

Not sure what models of or sizes of blades, tillers, or cutters to go with, so any advice is appreciated.

So, I bow to your collective wisdom. Please recommend a tractor and implements.

The end of the story is

We have a winner.
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Amen.