For your cause, how long do you feel that you want to drive a tractor with armstrong power steering with a loader on it? I do hope you aren't a pencil pusher because it will get old FAST! We know your wife won't like the manual steering!
I have to second the comment about the power steering. Also, HST is much better and faster for FEL work. These little tractors (the
B2320 included) are quite fuel efficient anyway. I have previously owned a B7100DT (gear drive),
B7100HST (hydro), and now own a
B7610. I didn't notice a difference in fuel consumption between the gear and hydro
B7100's, but the
B7610 does use more fuel than either of the
B7100's. This is simply because
B7610 has a 1100cc 24HP engine, had the
B7100's have a 750cc, 16 HP engine. That said, for loader work, the
B7100, IMHO, is just as capable as the
B7610 (which is very comparable to the
B2320 you are looking at).
The gear-drive
B7100 was my first tractor. I purchased it primarily for loader work, box blade, and post hole digging. After about 20 hours of mostly FEL work, I bought the
B7100HST, as the non-syncro gear drive got old with the back and forth of FEL work. I synchronized transmission would be much nicer than a non syncro one, but I still think hydro is best for this job. Gear drive shows it efficiency advantage on larger ag tractors pulling plows and other ground engaging implements all day long.
I put about 100 hours on the
B7100 HST over the course of a year, and quickly tired of the "arm-strong" steering when doing loader work, but it was fine for everything else, including moving firewood pallets with the rear carryall (which made it easier to steer), and clearing snow from the driveway with the rear blade.
When I found a great deal on my
B7610 ($7500 w/ a post-hole digger, and a york rake), I jumped on it, and sold the
B7100HST (for $7000, including a cheaper post hold digger than came with the
B7610, and also the york rake that came with it -- already had one).
Of course, you are looking at two completely different price ranges when comparing a
B2320 to a
B7100, so price definitely has to weigh in. If you can swing the
B2320, I say go for it. If you need to keep the price low, you can't go wrong with a
B7100, although, I'd definitely go for HST. If you're going to do a lot of FEL work, then you're better served with power steering.
You should be able to pick up a similar-sized older Kubota with power steering for not a lot more than some ask for their
B7100's.
Models to look for that have power steering (in approx order of age, oldest to newest, HP in ()'s).
B1750 (20),
B2150 (24)
B7500 (21),
B1700 (17),
B2100 (21),
B2400 (24), B2700 (27)
B7510 (21),
B7610 (24),
B2410 (24),
B2710 (27),
B2910 (29)
B2320 (23),
B2620 (26),
B2920 (29)
I didn't list the Bxx30 models, as they are even more expensive than the
B2320 you mentioned. I also didn't list the
B8200 (19 hp) and
B9200 (23HP) (from the 80's, which are a little larger than the
B7100, because I don't know if either of these has power steering, but they might).
Good luck with your purchase, and learn from my experiences, and buy your third tractor first.
