Hello all, I’ve been searching the forums quite a bit, but figured I’d post to both introduce myself and ask some questions.
I’m in WNY and have a little over an acre of land. Where I’m at, I don’t get a ton of snow, but it gets cold and I get snow. I have a long driveway, I don’t remember the exact length, but it was over 300’ equivalent when I measured a few years back. It wraps around the house and I have a large courtyard between the house and garage. I have a fenced in garden area with raised beds and a green house and then I have chickens and a coop. Probably 2/3 - 3/4 acre is fenced in for my dogs. On my land, we had well over 100 trees, but 85 or so were ash and we did not realize this until a few years back when they started dying. I have had about 5 treated and 3 may survive, but the rest all died. I’ve been taking them down myself and have around 20 more to go. I have been bucking, splitting, and selling firewood.
The first job I would use the tractor for would be to help take down the rest of the trees. I’ll fell them, but I plan to get a grapple to help move logs and lift logs so I don’t have to bend down as much. Once this is done, I’ll be looking at a PTO stump grinder as I’ll have about 85 stumps to remove. They range in size from about 6“ to 30” but most are in the 12-22” range. I’ve gotten some preliminary quotes and at $50-75 per stump that adds up quickly! Once the stumps are removed I plan to put in a larger in ground garden area. We will also add a second chicken coop, and I want to build some sidewalks to the coops, redo my back patio, build a fire pit area, and a pergola in the back yard. I also plan to put in a pad for a hot tub. Additionally, I need to do quite a bit of landscaping. In the future, we plan to add a koi pond, but I will rent a mini excavator to dig the hole and then use my tractor and grapple for placing rocks and landscaping around etc.
Things I see myself using the tractor for:
landscaping
prepping for cement or pathways
prepping for new chicken coop
tree removal
hauling around my property
gardening/tilling
watering new trees and shrubs
snow removal
general lifting things into and out of my truck
fencing
moving mulch/dirt/stone etc
Attachments I want to be able to run:
loader w/ 3rd function
grapple
forks
stump bucket?
tiller
rake or dethather
Pull trailers
I’m looking more for smaller tractors that are still capable as I want to be able to get my tractor into my garage (6.5’ tall doors), and fit around lots of obstacles I have. I don’t plan to mow with it, but would like a mid PTO so I could in the future if things change.
I went to the local JD dealer and looked at the 1025R. I liked the tractor, but the price was higher than the rest and after stopping several times, I still don’t have a quote for exactly what I want and it’s difficult to get the time of day there unless you’re spending $100k so they are out.
Local MF dealer had a GC1725 and it was also nice, but never gave me a quote with 3rd function installed and last time I talked to them they said I should look at the 1526, that they just got in, but never followed up with pricing so again, I’m not a big farmer so I’m not getting attention.
Yanmar dealer is a bit farther away (almost an hour) and was overall a good experience. I really liked the SA325. However, the salesperson was not super knowledgeable about the tractor and told me it had to regen which I don’t think is correct and when I asked how much ballast Yanmar spec’s he said they didn’t have a specific weight which again doesn’t seem right to me. I don’t like the proprietary Yanmar QA, but otherwise like the tractor and the warranty. Dealer seems nice, but they seem like they don’t sell a lot of tractors and had more of the articulating tractors and zero turns on their lot. They also had a lot of fireplaces and wood burning stoves on display. This tractor and dealer are an option and for a bit were my top choice.
Kioti dealer started off good. I called and spoke with a salesperson I liked who asked questions and seemed knowledgeable. They quoted me a price for a CS2520 and I liked the price. I was able to swing by yesterday, but the person I talked to was not in and they didn’t have anyone for sales at the time so I walked around the lot and looked at the Kioti and New Holland tractors. I liked the CS2520, and decided to walk back inside before leaving and another sales person was there, but they were a typical shady used car salesman and badmouthed other brands, badmouthed the person I was talking too that I liked, told me the CS2510 loader lifted as much as the CS2520… He told me he would beat the other salesman’s quote, but wouldn’t write it down.. all the tell tale shady tactics I don’t respect. So despite liking the tractor this dealer is out.
Stopped at a Kubota dealer and even though I had initially ruled out Kubota due to low lift capacity on the BX and plan to get a grapple, I figured I’d go to “rule Kubota out” and the dealer was great. Small mom and pop place that has been in business for 50 years. The grandson of the guy who started it was working sales and had been working parts for the past 5 years he said. The lot was an absolute mud pit and they were short staffed due to illness, so the guy helping me had to pause to help others a few times, but he came back and was responsive. He recommended a B2601 or L series. I had initially said I thought the L was too big, but wonder if I should look at the LX compared to the B? Anyway, price is a bit higher than I had figured I wanted to spend, and the treadle pedal I’m on the fence about, but this dealer has been the best so far by a lot. We actually just chatted about life, my line of work, etc for a while after they quoted me.
So I keep seeing folks saying to choose your tractor by the dealer and if this is true then I probably am going to get a Kubota. I guess I just wanted to make sure I’m not forgetting any brands to look at and what else I should be doing? Is it common practice to call other dealers for quotes like when buying a new vehicle? What do I want to make sure I get on the tractor? I know for sure I want a loader, 3rd function, and grapple right away. I meant to ask to price out for rear remotes too and I forgot.
Thanks for reading this far.
I’m in WNY and have a little over an acre of land. Where I’m at, I don’t get a ton of snow, but it gets cold and I get snow. I have a long driveway, I don’t remember the exact length, but it was over 300’ equivalent when I measured a few years back. It wraps around the house and I have a large courtyard between the house and garage. I have a fenced in garden area with raised beds and a green house and then I have chickens and a coop. Probably 2/3 - 3/4 acre is fenced in for my dogs. On my land, we had well over 100 trees, but 85 or so were ash and we did not realize this until a few years back when they started dying. I have had about 5 treated and 3 may survive, but the rest all died. I’ve been taking them down myself and have around 20 more to go. I have been bucking, splitting, and selling firewood.
The first job I would use the tractor for would be to help take down the rest of the trees. I’ll fell them, but I plan to get a grapple to help move logs and lift logs so I don’t have to bend down as much. Once this is done, I’ll be looking at a PTO stump grinder as I’ll have about 85 stumps to remove. They range in size from about 6“ to 30” but most are in the 12-22” range. I’ve gotten some preliminary quotes and at $50-75 per stump that adds up quickly! Once the stumps are removed I plan to put in a larger in ground garden area. We will also add a second chicken coop, and I want to build some sidewalks to the coops, redo my back patio, build a fire pit area, and a pergola in the back yard. I also plan to put in a pad for a hot tub. Additionally, I need to do quite a bit of landscaping. In the future, we plan to add a koi pond, but I will rent a mini excavator to dig the hole and then use my tractor and grapple for placing rocks and landscaping around etc.
Things I see myself using the tractor for:
landscaping
prepping for cement or pathways
prepping for new chicken coop
tree removal
hauling around my property
gardening/tilling
watering new trees and shrubs
snow removal
general lifting things into and out of my truck
fencing
moving mulch/dirt/stone etc
Attachments I want to be able to run:
loader w/ 3rd function
grapple
forks
stump bucket?
tiller
rake or dethather
Pull trailers
I’m looking more for smaller tractors that are still capable as I want to be able to get my tractor into my garage (6.5’ tall doors), and fit around lots of obstacles I have. I don’t plan to mow with it, but would like a mid PTO so I could in the future if things change.
I went to the local JD dealer and looked at the 1025R. I liked the tractor, but the price was higher than the rest and after stopping several times, I still don’t have a quote for exactly what I want and it’s difficult to get the time of day there unless you’re spending $100k so they are out.
Local MF dealer had a GC1725 and it was also nice, but never gave me a quote with 3rd function installed and last time I talked to them they said I should look at the 1526, that they just got in, but never followed up with pricing so again, I’m not a big farmer so I’m not getting attention.
Yanmar dealer is a bit farther away (almost an hour) and was overall a good experience. I really liked the SA325. However, the salesperson was not super knowledgeable about the tractor and told me it had to regen which I don’t think is correct and when I asked how much ballast Yanmar spec’s he said they didn’t have a specific weight which again doesn’t seem right to me. I don’t like the proprietary Yanmar QA, but otherwise like the tractor and the warranty. Dealer seems nice, but they seem like they don’t sell a lot of tractors and had more of the articulating tractors and zero turns on their lot. They also had a lot of fireplaces and wood burning stoves on display. This tractor and dealer are an option and for a bit were my top choice.
Kioti dealer started off good. I called and spoke with a salesperson I liked who asked questions and seemed knowledgeable. They quoted me a price for a CS2520 and I liked the price. I was able to swing by yesterday, but the person I talked to was not in and they didn’t have anyone for sales at the time so I walked around the lot and looked at the Kioti and New Holland tractors. I liked the CS2520, and decided to walk back inside before leaving and another sales person was there, but they were a typical shady used car salesman and badmouthed other brands, badmouthed the person I was talking too that I liked, told me the CS2510 loader lifted as much as the CS2520… He told me he would beat the other salesman’s quote, but wouldn’t write it down.. all the tell tale shady tactics I don’t respect. So despite liking the tractor this dealer is out.
Stopped at a Kubota dealer and even though I had initially ruled out Kubota due to low lift capacity on the BX and plan to get a grapple, I figured I’d go to “rule Kubota out” and the dealer was great. Small mom and pop place that has been in business for 50 years. The grandson of the guy who started it was working sales and had been working parts for the past 5 years he said. The lot was an absolute mud pit and they were short staffed due to illness, so the guy helping me had to pause to help others a few times, but he came back and was responsive. He recommended a B2601 or L series. I had initially said I thought the L was too big, but wonder if I should look at the LX compared to the B? Anyway, price is a bit higher than I had figured I wanted to spend, and the treadle pedal I’m on the fence about, but this dealer has been the best so far by a lot. We actually just chatted about life, my line of work, etc for a while after they quoted me.
So I keep seeing folks saying to choose your tractor by the dealer and if this is true then I probably am going to get a Kubota. I guess I just wanted to make sure I’m not forgetting any brands to look at and what else I should be doing? Is it common practice to call other dealers for quotes like when buying a new vehicle? What do I want to make sure I get on the tractor? I know for sure I want a loader, 3rd function, and grapple right away. I meant to ask to price out for rear remotes too and I forgot.
Thanks for reading this far.
