Re: Help from all y\'all experts please
Rat,
I assumed that the Kubota best hydro claim was based upon reliability, I wasn't impressed when I drove them. I found them more jerky and whiney than NH, but that's my observation and not my brother's father's neighbor's friend who knew a gal who once dated a guy whose uncle drove a Kubota once. Personally I don't like NH's Supersteer; it just looks like a maintenance head-ache in the future. I'll leave JD out of this since my local dealer's pricing made them uncompetitive in my book.
Bobobro,
Looking at your land made me a little homesick for Texas, boy I sure do miss brick houses. Nice looking place. Anyway, I had 2.5 acres, that were in a similiar condition to yours. I had an old rider that I used for the first year until it died from the abuse. I bought an Ariens since it looked to be built better, and my misses still thought I was crazy for wanting a tractor. The Ariens and I suffered for 4 years until we moved up north and purchased 5 acres and a real tractor. The Ariens got stuck in the mud a number of times, but the good news is that with regular mowing those grass patches will fill in for the most part.
I shopped the big three plus Massey Ferguson driving the models that interested me, and comparing their specs. I made my choice based on my personal preferences, since not being a tractor guy, I didn't and to some degree still don't have any brand loyalty. I really liked the MF's, but I didn't like the dealers. I actually have two two MF dealers nearby. The local JD dealer chain thought their tractors were worth retail - maybe I looked like a sucker. I had several Kubota & NH dealers to choose from, and I selected the dealer based upon my own impressions and supported by reccommendations from the wise folks at TBN. Now the tough decision was that the dealer sold both Kubota & NH. The owner & the salesman neither would express any preference for either brand, claiming both of equal quality. I drove them both, & drove several different models of each. The NH won hands down for me, it had the best specs for my needs and it drove the best.
Now, here's something really strange, I will really like to encourage you to find a Kioti dealer and look at the CK20 Hydro. I know you said up front you don't want to look outside the big three, but I think that machine will answer the mail for you both in performance and price. If you do some reading in the Kioti section, you will see that TBNer's who own these machines generally hold them in high regard. Besides, it kind of looks like an <font color="orange">orange</font> <font color="blue">boomer</font>. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Rat,
I assumed that the Kubota best hydro claim was based upon reliability, I wasn't impressed when I drove them. I found them more jerky and whiney than NH, but that's my observation and not my brother's father's neighbor's friend who knew a gal who once dated a guy whose uncle drove a Kubota once. Personally I don't like NH's Supersteer; it just looks like a maintenance head-ache in the future. I'll leave JD out of this since my local dealer's pricing made them uncompetitive in my book.
Bobobro,
Looking at your land made me a little homesick for Texas, boy I sure do miss brick houses. Nice looking place. Anyway, I had 2.5 acres, that were in a similiar condition to yours. I had an old rider that I used for the first year until it died from the abuse. I bought an Ariens since it looked to be built better, and my misses still thought I was crazy for wanting a tractor. The Ariens and I suffered for 4 years until we moved up north and purchased 5 acres and a real tractor. The Ariens got stuck in the mud a number of times, but the good news is that with regular mowing those grass patches will fill in for the most part.
I shopped the big three plus Massey Ferguson driving the models that interested me, and comparing their specs. I made my choice based on my personal preferences, since not being a tractor guy, I didn't and to some degree still don't have any brand loyalty. I really liked the MF's, but I didn't like the dealers. I actually have two two MF dealers nearby. The local JD dealer chain thought their tractors were worth retail - maybe I looked like a sucker. I had several Kubota & NH dealers to choose from, and I selected the dealer based upon my own impressions and supported by reccommendations from the wise folks at TBN. Now the tough decision was that the dealer sold both Kubota & NH. The owner & the salesman neither would express any preference for either brand, claiming both of equal quality. I drove them both, & drove several different models of each. The NH won hands down for me, it had the best specs for my needs and it drove the best.
Now, here's something really strange, I will really like to encourage you to find a Kioti dealer and look at the CK20 Hydro. I know you said up front you don't want to look outside the big three, but I think that machine will answer the mail for you both in performance and price. If you do some reading in the Kioti section, you will see that TBNer's who own these machines generally hold them in high regard. Besides, it kind of looks like an <font color="orange">orange</font> <font color="blue">boomer</font>. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
