One tractor, or tractor and rider?

[Iowa Boy]

Okay, the search begins. Some of you saw my tread about losing weight, and there is a good chance, (okay, a chance anyway), that I will be buying a tractor next spring. One of the suggestions in that thread was that I should take my time and do some shopping, so when the time comes I know exactly what I want.

I bought my lot a couple of years ago, and for a while I was looking at a
B7100, thinking that size was about right. I started looking around last year, and kind of liked the Massey 1523/1528 for the features and the price.

Now I want to broaden my search. The first question I have for all of you is whether I should be looking at a sub-compact or a compact tractor. Let me describe my land. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac on a 5 acre pie shaped lot. The point of the pie, where the house sits, is about 3/4 acre of clear ground that I currently mow with a nearly new JD LT180 (60 hours). Then there are 2 acres of timber, on the side of a hill. At the bottom of the hill, there are 2.5 acres of open pasture with a creek in it.

The reason I want a tractor, more than just my rider, is so I can clear some trails through the woods, and skid some of the down trees to cut for firewood, and so I can work the pasture into a nice level play area for the kids. To do this work, I see myself needing a FEL, a box blade, a small rotary cutter, and eventually maybe a MMM to mow the pasture area. I do not need a BH for anything, at least not for enough to make me want to spend the extra money.

One of the first questions I want to answer is if I should keep the LT180 for mowing around the house and buy a compact tractor for working the woods and clearing the pasture, or if I should try to buy 1 unit to do it all.

If I buy one unit, I would be probably be looking at a JD2305, Kubota BX24, or a Massey GC2300. Then I could use it for everything. I don't think it would be optimized for working the woods and the pasture, but it would allow me to use the same unit for mowing my yard.

The other option is to keep the LT180 for mowing, and buy an additional tractor that is more suited to working in the woods. In that case I would be looking at something like a Kioti CK20/25, Massey 1523/1528, Kubota B7610, or JD2320/2520. I know at this time, there is quite a variation in the sizes that I mention, but at this point I have not narrowed my search more than that.

For dealers, there is an excellent JD/Kubota dealer very close by, although they seem a little more expensive than other dealers. There is a Massey dealer about 40 miles away that is willing to deliver a tractor for me to try for a few days. I like Kioti, but the closest Kioti dealer is 3 hours away. I plan on doing all my own maintenance, but for warranty work that could be a little too far away.

I'd like your suggestions. Do I go with 1 unit to do everything, or do I keep my rider and buy a little bigger tractor? Money is somewhat of an issue, but not enough that I want to sub optimize my equipment for the next 15 years.

Thanks for your help.

Joe

 

[gizmo]

I have both. My rider is a 15HP with a 38" cut and my finish mower has a 72" cut. The rider is just too slow and narrow for cutting my fields and the tractor cannot maneuver around the house and pool. I maintain 10 acres and about 2/3 is dense forest. The remainder is sparsely treed fields. It sounds like a situation similar to yours. I could live without the rider as I also have a push mower, but the tractor I could not do without. I have a 40HP 4WD TLB and I use all of it, especially for handling trees. I would suggest getting both.

 

[Timber]

I have both too, The lawn tractor has a 50 inch cut and flys and the Kubota does all the dirty work. I think a Lawn tractor or a Zero steer and a Tractor is a better combination. MMM finish mowers will cost about 2 grand anyway so my feeling is a nice lawn tractor is about the same price and light & fast. That said Brush cutting is another subject

 

[swampvol]

I am presently in the exact situation. 3/4-1 acre in the front, 4 acres of pasture/field in the back. I decided on a toro zero turn from Home Depot for the finished area, and got a little larger tractor with a fel, box blade and cheap 5' brushog for the rough stuff.

I am in the process of getting into some more acreage where I want to cut in some trails and would eventually need a little more tractor.

 

[crbr]

A big 'un and little-'uns here too. A LT170 and a LT175.

 

[mjarrels]

More is always better... change colors too... I can go on either side of a "brand war".

mark

 

[Kendall69]

People often don't buy a particular brand because of "warranty" issues, and I think theat is a big mistake.
Warranty issues are more rare on tractors than on a auto. I bought my Tractorn from kentucky, I'm in Southern Ca. ( I had a Kubota dealer 1 mile from me )

It hit the ground running and never stopped since 1999, I just sold it and it was NEVER EVER back to the dealer for warranty issues. Even here on the site there are not a huge number of warranty issues.

So don't short change a good tractor on a slim chance of warranty work.

 

[flusher]

I'd like your suggestions. Do I go with 1 unit to do everything, or do I keep my rider and buy a little bigger tractor? Money is somewhat of an issue, but not enough that I want to sub optimize my equipment for the next 15 years.

Thanks for your help.

Joe

Local dealers are one option. There are others. For example:

You can buy a new 25-hp (engine) NorTrac tractor with FEL from Northern Tool for $10500 and free shipping. It's a rebadged Jinma tractor.

Check the grey market tractor dealers in your area. A 20 hp Yanmar 1700 with FEL is about $7000. These are used tractors that usually have a few thousand hours on the engine.

I have 10 acres of flat pasture land that I mow with a 21-hp (engine) Kubota B7510HST with the LA302 FEL that I bought new in May05 for $12,600 (10% down, 0% for 36 months). The MMM for this tractor runs near $4K.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'd look at the Kubota B7410/7510 or 7610 (or an equivalent sized tractor)with a loader and MMM. I would sell or trade the Deere LT180.
IMHO, that one tractor would be best sized for your property.

If your finished lawn doesn't have too many obstructions, you could skip the MMM and go for a cheaper or bigger RFM.

Are you going to do your field with the mower, or get a cutter?

The previous post mentioned Nortrac...well, you must do your own maintenance if you go that direction. I strongly suggest you stick with Deere, Kubota or NH, unless you are good with a wrench and don't mind waiting for parts. There's also resale value, if you want to consider that (I don't make resale value a big consideration).
I'd also stay away from grey market tractors. Basically for the same reasons as the Nortrac.

Good luck!

 

[jbrumberg]

Iowa Boy:

I have a White LT1650 with a 42" mower deck for around the house. I use my tractor for the fields, dragging trees, dirt and rock work, and moving material. The weighted R-1's do a number on the lawn when it is wet. Jay

 

[MossRoad]

How many engines do you want to maintain and how much storage space do you have? I was tired of all that equipment, so I bought a Power Trac PT425. It mows the lawn, brush hogs the trails, plows the snow and moves the dirt. There are about 36 other attachements that I didn't purchase, from post hole digger, to stump grinder. I have a push mower to do a small area that is behind a fence, about 350 square feet, but that is it. And I have gained lots of weight since I bought the tractor!

 

[Cliff_Johns]

I went for the two tractor option too.

Cliff

 

[IslandTractor]

Obviously a lot of people have two. I think that many guys already owned riding lawn mowers and just kept them rather than starting off with the question as you are however. That was my situation. I have two but I'd rather have one. My 42" cut mower is fine but I hate riding it after getting used to the tractor. This year I have added a finish mower for the tractor and once I set that up I may ditch the lawn mower. Two engines are more upkeep. Gas engines are more of a hassle IMO. 60" cut is faster than 42". Easier to store one tractor than two. Of course there are advantages to having two but overall I'd prefer to have one tractor plus the implements rather than two devices to maintain/store/operate.

 

[swampvol]

My 42" cut mower is fine but I hate riding it after getting used to the tractor.

lol...I know exactly what you mean.

 

[GaryE]

In my opinion, "do I go with 1 unit to do everything" is a compromise at best. If you have a good mower for your lawn, keep it. If you need something with more muscle for your other jobs, find the right tool for those jobs.

Would you buy one screwdriver to meet all of your needs? Buy one adjustable wrench to save drawer space?

Just my 2 cents....


Good luck,


Gary

 

[Bob_Young]

With what you're planning, Iowaboy, I think you're aiming just one size too small on both your choices.

If you go the one tractor route, I'd vote for the B7610 with turfs. It's maneuverability will be fine for the lawn work while still being capable of much of the rough work you're looking at. It'll provide much better ground clearance for woods work than the BX, but it might not do quite so neat a job on the lawn. The BX suspended mower would win on that count.

If you keep the current mower for the lawn, you'll be free to go a bit larger for the heavy work. I don't think a B7800 or B3030 would be any too big for what you mentioned. In fact, a TC30, L2800 or L3400 might be an even better match. Since lawn work won't be an issue, you can go with R1 tires for the most traction. You probably should look for something big enough to handle a 5 ft. brush hog for the rough mowing. Plugging along with a 4 footer gets old kinda quick...figure cutting 3 ft. and change each pass with overlap. With a BX or the B7610, a 4 ft. hog is the realistic upper limit.

Aiming too low on your original purchase and then having to upgrade later is the most expensive way of getting what you want/need. As you might expect, I favor the two-tractor solution
FWIW
Bob

 

[Iowa Boy]

In my opinion, "do I go with 1 unit to do everything" is a compromise at best. If you have a good mower for your lawn, keep it. If you need something with more muscle for your other jobs, find the right tool for those jobs.

Would you buy one screwdriver to meet all of your needs? Buy one adjustable wrench to save drawer space?

Just my 2 cents....


Good luck,


Gary

Gary, I tend to agree with you, although a screwdriver does not cost several thousand dollars and an adjustable wrench does not take up half my available garage space.

I think what it boils down to is that if I keep my 42" riding mower, I would probably not get the finish mower with a tractor.

Joe

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Gary, I tend to agree with you, although a screwdriver does not cost several thousand dollars and an adjustable wrench does not take up half my available garage space.

I think what it boils down to is that if I keep my 42" riding mower, I would probably not get the finish mower with a tractor.

Joe

I'm "old school", and what some would describe as "cheap". (I call it prudent with my money!) I'd keep the rider and get your nickels worth from it, buy the tractor you think you need and later on down the line when the rider wears out, buy the finish mower. There is no such thing as having too many tractors, regardless of what size.

Just my opinion and probably worth just about what you paid for it.

 

[GaryE]

Gary, I tend to agree with you, although a screwdriver does not cost several thousand dollars and an adjustable wrench does not take up half my available garage space.

I think what it boils down to is that if I keep my 42" riding mower, I would probably not get the finish mower with a tractor.

Joe

Joe,


I own an old Sears 22" self propelled mower, a Sears GT-5000 lawn mower with a 54" deck and a Kubota L-3710 tractor. The 22" mower gets into places the GT-5000 never could. The GT-5000 cuts my several acres of "lawn" MUCH faster than the 22" ever could. My L-3710 bush hogs my fields, digs my pond, clears my trails, tills my gardens, drags trees out of the woods and moves the dirt my GT-5000 could never do. But my L-3710 leaves ruts in my lawn, can't get into tight areas and has trouble doing very much close the the house without doing some sort of damage. I would never even think of using a finish mower on it, even thought I do have one left over from my old tractor.


Every tool has it's place. Yes my L-3710 with all of it's toys have cost several thousand of dollars, but so far it has been well worth it. I have done so much more with this combination than I could have ever imagined. I have a friend that went with the one tool fits all path... he went with a BX series Kubota to do all of his work. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice machine, but he is so limited in what he can get done.


It boils down to what you really need to get done. If you already have a machine to cut your lawn.. keep it. Find a tool to do the rest of your work.


Hope this is of some help,




Gary

 

[john_bud]

How many engines do you want to maintain and how much storage space do you have? I was tired of all that equipment, so I bought a Power Trac PT425. It mows the lawn, brush hogs the trails, plows the snow and moves the dirt. There are about 36 other attachements that I didn't purchase, from post hole digger, to stump grinder. I have a push mower to do a small area that is behind a fence, about 350 square feet, but that is it. And I have gained lots of weight since I bought the tractor!

Iowa boy,
Actually, for your needs the rig moss road has is about perfect. It's not a traditional tractor, but is more versitile. In my opinion, it is not as robust for lots of field work - but your jobs are not primarily tillage. So that shouldn't be a big deal. Check out the forum for the Power Trac's and visit the web site. It can't hurt.

jb