Small

[Speedbump7]

Thanks in advance, hopefully this is the correct forum.
My background. Property is approx 1.5 wooded acres next to a pond, with a 1000' dirt driveway onto a dirt single lane road. The drive washes out on occasion and New England snow is a major concern. The mowed areas are mostly heavly wooded and not Golf Course condition.
Currently, I use a 12 hp Wheelhorse Garden Tractor. For mowing, it is perfect but, snow and drive grading are tuff. It has lasted 18 years though.
In looking to upgrade I having trouble id'ing a tractor that seems right for the mowing aspect. They all appear too big for the tight wooded areas (all the decks are much larger than the 36" Rear Discharge I specially ordered when I purchased the WH.
I am looking at; CubCadet/Yanmar Sc2400, New Holland TZ18Da, Kubota BX1850, or a Massey Ferguson GC2300. (The Kubota looks closest to my needs).
All with a FEL, belly mower and Cat 1, acc's later as $ allow.
As the WH is getting very tired I am trying to decide on a new choice.
The jump form GT to SubCompact is new to me, any suggestions.

 

[Airic]

If you are looking for a good deal the MF2300 might be worth looking at. They have new models (2400 and 2600) that replaced the 2300 this spring. There should be a few 2300's out there that can be had for a good price. I bought mine this spring and its a great tractor.

 

[Charlton John]

I currently own a N.H. TZ25 only difference between the 18 you are contimplating and the 25 is horse power and a little weight, size is the same. Excellent little SCUT for your needs. I am currently looking to upgrade to a little bigger tracter (either 26 horse or 30) but only because I am maintaining a little more land and the land needs some major overhaul and is hilly in spots. But again for your purpose the TZ 18 works great getting in and around tite areas and the FEL will come in handy for odd jobs and snow removal. Only gripe is the ROPS dont fold on the Tz MODELS. Good Luck!!!!!!!

 

[slewisma]

Any of those tractors will be okay for the driveway work (though bigger is better if that is the only goal).

For the lawn, most of these don't come with less than a 48" deck. If that won't fit through a bunch of places you need to go, it is the deal-breaker.

I've been surprised but my BX24 seems more nimble than my old 12HP Sears riding mower was when it comes to maneuverability. I got the 54" finecut deck and there are two specific places that I now have to mow with the push mower (until I turn them into extensions of the adjacent beds).

So, it's all about the width. If 48" or greater will work for the majority of what you need to fit between, go for the SCUT.

 

[roxynoodle]

You might be surprised at the manueverability of these CUTS and SCUTS. I also find mine more manueverable than my lawn tractor. If all of the tractors you have named still seem too large, you might want to consider a small, used Yanmar such as the 1300D. It's small but powerful. Another idea is to get the compact you want and also a cheap lawn tractor like I do. My compact doesn't fit everywhere on my property either and that is why I trim with the rider.

 

[gilbertmsg]

If you have a Kioti dealer near, you might want to take a look at the the CK20. Plenty of tractor for your property and for the money you probably won't do any better. I was very suprised at what a small tractor can do.

Eddie

 

[Gittyup]

You should also consider Deere's and TYM. Deer subcuts are good and the FEL release mechanism is super easy for on/off. This might be especially important if you are mowing in tight spaces. The loader makes these little tractors much longer. The TYM T273 is really sweet, and there are good deals on them as well. The JD X700 series is also a very nice machine, especially in all-wheel-steer.

I think any of those discussed would work for you, though.

 

[Mark_G]

I would agree that a Kioti CK20 might be a good fit. If you first remove rocks and thicker brush (Rent a DR etc) then you might get away with a belly mower and that would be very maneuverable.

Doesn't cost anything to look. I have a little over 5.5 acres and just got a CK30. I intend to use it to cut my wooded property and clean up with my DR field and brush mower where the CK30 can't reach.

Mark

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

If the Kioti CK20 is a good fit, then also check out the Mahindra 2015, or 2216 as they are the closest apples to apples comparison to the CK20.

 

[Soundguy]

Test drive that TZ.. perhaps even a larger one.. see what it can do... heck.. test drive -ANYTHING- you are considering buying.

soundguy

 

[Speedbump7]

Thanks eveyone, the advice is appreciated.
I need a little help on who "TYM" is.
And there appears to be no dealer for Kioti close.
I will do a little more home work and let you know what I find.

 

[Gittyup]

The official TYM Tractors Web site

The TYM T273 is a really sweet tractor. Nicely sized. No one else has anything quite like it.

 

[Jar Head]

Got a newbee here...just got my password this morning, also just got a
Sc2400 on Saturday, to be delivered this thursday (I can hardly wait). I'am on 12 acres w/ approx. 5 acres cleared. My 2 goats take care of 2 of those and the rest is up to me. I am retiring a 13 yr. old Craftsmans LT4000, which took care of the grass chores for the last 3 yrs. I've been researching compacts and sub-compacts for the past 4 mos. Almost bought a Mahindra but saw this and the rest was history. Good luck on your final choice. Man it feels good to have a tranny...even a small one

 

[Gravdigr]

If I read right it sounds like what your are looking for is just something to mow a couple acres and clear snow off the drive? If so have you ever considered a zero turn mower? I know a company called country clipper that sells a nice commercial grade 30hp mower with hydraulic lift and you can get a plow blade and tire chain kit for snow removal.

In the cemetery we are getting rid of our fleet of riding tractor mowers (2 john deere LT155, 2 old cub cadets, and a sabre) in favor of zero turn mowers. We got a country clipper JaZee pro 23hp and it does the work of 3 LT155 mowers. We are looking at a john deere z445 as well which will cut our fleet size from 5 mowers to 2 and still get the work done in the same amount of time.

Also if you happen to have a 4wd atv don't count out the snowplows for those. I used to use a F250 with an 8' plow for the cemetery but last year got a 07 yamaha grizzly 700fi with the 5' plow and I will never use the truck in the cemetery again. The grizzly with plow can get the job done just as fast but is more manuverable in tight places and I spend less time in the spring fixing the grass along the roads and straightening headstones that got clipped by the truck plow because I couldn't see them.

 

[LBrown59]

5*In looking to upgrade I having trouble id'ing a tractor that seems right for the mowing aspect.
10*I am looking at; CubCadet/Yanmar Sc2400, New Holland TZ18Da, Kubota BX1850, or a Massey Ferguson GC2300.
15*All with a FEL, belly mower and Cat 1, acc's later as $ allow.
20*As the WH is getting very tired I am trying to decide on a new choice.

5*see below.
10*I would add Kubota BX 2350 Kubota BX24
JD 2305 and Massey Ferguson GC2310 to the list.
15*You might want to look into a small riding mower with a small mowing deck for the mowing aspect and buy a sub compact with out a belly mower for the other task.
20* see15*

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Got a newbee here...just got my password this morning, also just got a
Sc2400 on Saturday, to be delivered this thursday (I can hardly wait). I'am on 12 acres w/ approx. 5 acres cleared. My 2 goats take care of 2 of those and the rest is up to me. I am retiring a 13 yr. old Craftsmans LT4000, which took care of the grass chores for the last 3 yrs. I've been researching compacts and sub-compacts for the past 4 mos. Almost bought a Mahindra but saw this and the rest was history. Good luck on your final choice. Man it feels good to have a tranny...even a small one

I'm just curious. What Mahindra model you were comparing to the CC SC2400 and where you tought the Mahindra came up short when comparing them?

 

[NEFirewood]

If the Kioti CK20 is a good fit, then also check out the Mahindra 2015, or 2216 as they are the closest apples to apples comparison to the CK20.

I use my Mahindra 2015 with a 3 point rear mower (Woods RDC54) and the loader. I was dead set on wanting a belly mower when I bought the machine, but now I am a die hard 3 point mower fan. When I saw the tractor with the mower on the day I had it delivered I was thinking how will this giant thing manevuer around my yard, but it does, and does quite well.

I also have a lot of trees and I can tell you thing that I really like about 3 point mowers, I can back up the tractor between two trees, drop the deck down and drive forward.

Another thing I truly love about a rear mower is that I can attach/reattach the deck in probably 2 minutes, the hookup is that simple. No back aches, no pain, just 3 pins, and a shaft, and I'm off an mowing. Nice part is, I can park the deck when I am done (probably even less than 2 minutes), and go off to do loader work with no loss in ground clearance that I would have if I had a belly mower.

Just something to think about. I found once I had the tractor, that chances are very good that I pull it out for loader work way more than mowing work. If you buy a machine with a loader, suddenly everything looks like a loader job

 

[MarkV]

Speedbump welcome to the forum. I know you are looking for one replacement machine but when you price belly mowers you may find that a dedicated mower and a tractor can be had for about the same price.

MarkV

 

[LBrown59]

Speedbump welcome to the forum. I know you are looking for one replacement machine but when you price belly mowers you may find that a dedicated mower and a tractor can be had for about the same price.

MarkV

I could get by with out the belly mower on the BX23 and do all the mowing with the BX1500 with MMM .
I could but i wouldn't want to because yesterday evening My wife and I mowed together using both tractors.
We were done in a little over an hour. with just one tractor it would have taken 2 hours or longer.

 

[daTeacha]

I can relate to the problem of teh tractors having decks too large. I mow with either a Cub 129 or a JD 240, both with 38" decks. I tried larger decks on both and simply can't get between trees in many places. It isn't a question of being able to maneuver, it's being able to fit through. The JD came with a 42 or 44 and I traded the deck in for the one I use now. Prior to that I had purchased an older cub with a larger deck, maybe 48, and found it was too big.

I plowed snow for quite a few years with a front blade and chains on the Cub, but this is Ohio and that's Maine. You might be getting a "bit" more snow than we do.

I think you will end up with two machines. Get a SCUT for the big mowing areas and plowing snow. Use the WH as long as you can for the tighter mowing. You might as well use it up.

We just dropped about $700 on a Snapper walk-behind mower for trim work, the wife having finally given up on JD's JX series walk behinds after 3 seriously costly tranny problems with them. No matter what you do, a good piece of equipment will put a dent in your wallet.

Stick with a respected local dealer who services what he sells, ask him what works best for what you want to do, and follow his advice. The guy who sold us the Snapper also sells Toro and some commercial equipment, but said he wouldn't advise me to get the Toro since the JD's didn't survive very long on our hills. He could have sold me the Toro, but sold me the slightly cheaper Snapper instead, figuring to make a loyal customer on a smaller sale instead of an unhappy one on a larger sale.