...if anyone wants to know lol...
It's a tractor forum. It's what we do.
Today, going with pops to a TYM / LS dealer nearby since they're not open on weekends to acquaint myself with these options. Looking at their subcompact and compact options and getting an idea of how far my money will get me.
Your money will go farther with TYM / LS, than with Deere/Kubota. What you lose in the long-run is resale value and knowing that the thing will be supported both by the OEM and the handfuls of third-party vendors that surround the two premium brands.
Personally, I'd take a 3-year old or even a 5-year old Deere or Kubota over a new anything from any other brand, every time. But there's a limit to that. I would
not take a 10-15 year old Deere or Kubota over most other brands, due to the way the cost of parts starts to climb after the tractor is out of manufacture.
Deere will ensure you can get parts for your tractor beyond 30 years of age, and there are countless third-party shops and junk yards that specialize in Deere and Kubota parts, both new-old-stock (NOS) and used. But the cost of Deere parts does rise with years out of manufacture, and I believe I've heard the Kubota owners comment similarly, making the usage and repair of old tractors more expensive each year.
My concerns about this particular option is the lack of QA. BUT it comes with the implements I most urgently need.
Let's be careful. here. If you mean quick-hitch on 3-point, that's a total non-issue. Not totally necessary, and can be easily added later for $200.
If you mean no QA on loader, then opinions will vary more. It means you can't drop the bucket and pick up a snowplow or forks on the loader. That's a no-go for some people, and a total non-issue for others. I've owned both, and will never go back to a pinned bucket, but that's because I like to switch the bucket out for snowplow and forks, and also like to just drop the bucket in the barn when running around with no need for it.
But you also mention removing the whole loader. Many will never do this, and argue it's not necessary. I personally like to remove my loader when I use the tractor for spreading fertilizer or seed on the lawn, or when aerating. But my loader is stupid-heavy, and leaving it on really impacts how fast I can go on a lumpy lawn. Those with wide-open flat spaces will probably argue they never remove, or never need to remove the loader.
My personal opinion and advice to you is that I'd make sure you have at least one of these two options: either removable bucket (SSQA) or removable loader. Either one can work, when you want to whip around the yard with the mower. Personally, I'd favor a QA bucket over removable loader for your needs, if you had to choose only one option, because removing the loader and putting it back on frequently gets real old. My recommendation is based on the impression that your property is hilly, lumpy, and has some tight spaces to turn a tractor with rear-mounted mower, making a rig with mower + bucket mounted at the same time awful long and cumbersome.
Tomorrow, I have to go to the JD dealer anyways to get the parts to for my wacker, so I'll take a look while I'm there. Also going to stop by the Kubota dealer, too, to ask them about the trailer / transport, as well as look at what they have available in my budget.
So, here's the thing. Everyone says "shop the dealer", and I even repeated it above. But the reality is that you'll never deal with that salesperson or sales department again, after you buy the tractor. You
will deal with their service department and parts counter, but not sales.
Someone on a prior page mentioned asking friends and neighbors about their experience, and if you're so lucky to know a few people who have dealt with a given dealer, then that's great. But I always come away from these recommendations thinking they sound good in concept, but leave the reader with a task they can't easily accomplish.
Yes! I have truck - I'll look into this further if I decide to go this direction. There's an equipment rental business similar to what you described in the area, I guess I'm more anxious about doing this on my own and would prefer paying a premium for help to avoid introducing chaos / danger to the public.
I wouldn't sweat this issue. Yeah, you can rent a trailer with surge brakes, and get it done on your own, if you need to. But paying a local dealer or any car hauler with a rollback is a cheap insured way to get it moved by someone who does it all day everyday.
If you go on your own, make sure the trailer is rated for the load, the truck is rated for the trailer, and you do a quick brush-up on weight distribution and strapping. It's not rocket science, but it is a good bit of new material to learn atop everything else, if you don't typically deal with trailering heavy items.
Which I was told to take it off after that and put it acres away in a carport! Another reason one of my tractors has a FEL. and the other it doesn't or even needs to be installed on it for that matter.
