Massey 1526????????????

[bill74sweetman]

I am in the market for a small tractor to mainly blow snow (we get atleast 5 or 6 feet of snow in my drive that measures about 250 feet by 25-30 feet wide , blacktop) and mow 2 and a 1/2 acres of lawn that is mostly flat and open except around the edges.

I have settled on a kubota or a massey, mainly because of their proximity and the gut feeling I have about them. ( oh yeah their rep. is really good too!)................a bx 2380 with 2 rear remotes a 54" mmm, FEL and a 60" snowmaxx blower fully hydraulique for 28000 tax-in. Or a Massey Fergusson 1526, 2 rear remotes, a FEL , a 60" Woods rear discharge finish mower and a 60" Eco-nor fully hydralique snow blowerfor 35500 bucks tax-in. Both have a block heater and loaded tires. The John Deere dealer was CRAZY and must think his tractors are made of gold or he is on some serious drugs.........LOL!!! The kioti dealer too but not quite as bad. LS's MSRP was good BUT maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaany hidden costs, atleast here,after all was said and done a mt125 was within 500 bucks of the bx.

My brother has a bx25d and loves it! I CANNOT find an indepth review on the 1526 so tell me is it any good?? Pricing?? Etc.

Thanx Bill

 

[kenmbz]

Welcome to TBN Bill. I hope one of the other Massey owners chimes in to help.
Been very happy and problem free so far, but so has my neighbor with his Kubota.
I use a pusher plow on my 700 feet x 10 foot wide driveway, but that was with about 9" or so. Blower would be nice.

 

[cglaser104]

The 1526 is a relatively new machine as it hasnt been in production as long as a Kubota BX has for continuous years. The 1526 is also larger than the BX series and more evenly equates a B2601 series tractor in terms of size and power.

Platform equality is this;
Kubota BX series = MF GC17xx series
Kubota B series = MF 1526

The 1526 is made by Iseki of Japan and the build quality is absolutely on par with that of a Kubota. The AGCO(MF parent company) and Iseki partnership is over 25 years old and going strong so you'll get support with either brand long term. Iseki does make their own machine but I don't believe they are distributed in north america. You don't see a lot of info on 1526 because most people buy either a GC17xx or a 1700E series tractor from Massey Ferguson. I didn't look at a 1526 myself because I wanted a backhoe (I got a GC1710 which is similar to a BX2380) and they don't have a backhoe available for a 1526.

Given the quality of my Iseki made GC1710 I wouldn't hesitate for a second to get another Iseki made machine like the 1526.

 

[seville009]

when you say 5 or 6 feet of snow, do you mean at one time (such as drifting), or is that a seasonal total?

I had a Kubota B7500 (hst) with a front blower when i first purchased my house; 600’ long driveway and about 50’x40’ parking in front of the garage. We get about 120” on average for the season. It was reliable mechanically and worked fine.

Upgraded to a MF 1545 (hst) when I bought more land and needed something bigger for brush hogging. Used a 3 pt blower with it;FEL on the front. Also was mechanically reliable and moved the snow fine.

My neck/back/body couldn’t handle blowing backwards for hours though. I have a heated skidsteer with a blower; very quick and easy on the body. Still have the MF1545 as a back up though in the winter.

So.....my opinion is the both the Kubota and MF brands are good.

 

[bill74sweetman]

I am sorry I forgot to mention that I know the 1526 is more machine than the bx. I just don't like the gc series, sorry I mean no disrespect.
And yes drifting is a large problem for us here (we live on an open hilltop with farmer's fields on 3 sides and a huge parking lot in front) so yeah 5-6 foot drifts are common. We probably get around 8 feet of just fallen snow per season. A typical storm is a tad less than a foot.

 

[seville009]

with that much snow, i guaranty that, while you’re working your way through one of those drifts, that you will be wishing that you had something a bit bigger and more powerful. You can never go wrong with having too much power (within reason, of course). Don’t know your budget, but maybe see if the larger equipment is something you could afford to do.

 

[cglaser104]

I agree. With snow moving and removal weight and power are your friend and that's the 1526 between the options you laid out.

I would only add that depending on tire options you want turf tires instead industrial for snow. Traction is superior.

 

[seville009]

I agree. With snow moving and removal weight and power are your friend and that's the 1526 between the options you laid out.

I would only add that depending on tire options you want turf tires instead industrial for snow. Traction is superior.

Good point.....I always had tire chains on the rear tires; youæ±*e definitely going to want chains when youæ±*e dealing with deep snow.

 

[Paystar]

Wow, have prices ever gotten crazy now! I'm in Canada too and when I bought my B2620 in 2013 I got it with loader, 60 inch mid mount drive over deck, rear remote, snow blower with hydraulic rotation, bigger alternator, work lights and a 60 inch Land Pride box blade for $25,000.

The BX is a good tractor but I would go either the 1526 or B2601. Both are easier to service and work on than the BX.

I like both Massey and Kubota. Can't go wrong either way. I was actually really wanting a Massey when I bought, but in this size class the Kubota just had more and nicer features than the MF1526. And I like having the individual steering brakes on my Kubota.

Just remember....a good dealer is your best friend. So if you feel better about one more than the other, that's the way I would go.

 

[bill74sweetman]

Yeah I get ya!! My cousin removes snow commercially and 1 of his tools is an Agco 4x4 with 80ish hp on his pto and when he can he uses the side-chute, wow can it really spit out the snow. He can remove the bulk (Not the little jiggy crap) of snow in my drive on a good day in about 10 minutes. On a bad day no more than a half hour. but his small 50 hp tractor is still waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to big for my needs!

in response to seville009`s second post......................................................................oops `my bad!!