Three Acres compact or sub-compact?

laffer98 · Jun 9, 2005

I have three acres of rolling hill North of Kansas City, Mo. (actually somewhat between Liberty and Kearney). I want a good practical tractor that will be easy to use and maintain for finish mowing, snow removal, first year or two landscaping, some gardening etc.... what's everyones opinion and who doesn't look for the best deal in town to go with the best tractor /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif?

RoyJackson · Jun 9, 2005

A Sub CUT would probably do the job, but I have a Deere 790 with the same acreage.
The Deere is a great tractor, but I think a Kubota B7500 series is probably the best fit, if you have no intention of getting a chipper/shredder (which is why I went for the 790's PTO HP).

The first machine I looked at was a Kubota BX2200. For cutting grass, it's the best choice. For the other tasks, not as good IMHO.

I really enjoy my 790 and would recommend it to anyone..but it is a bit of overkill for most of my tasks...but, I'd buy it again!

I just think a B7500 is probably a better fit for three acres. Or, if you go used, look for a Deere 670..perfect fit for 3 acres (I know...I owned one)!

jim_wilson · Jun 9, 2005

I really depends on what you intend on doing with that acreage. If all you want to do is mow it and some other occasional tractor type work then a BX series or another SubCUT would probably do fine. If you intend on doing any serious digging, plowing, or ground engaging work you should probably go bigger.

laffer98 · Jun 9, 2005

My first inclination is to tell you it will be mostly for mowing, but since we are not there yet I don't really know. I did want to get something versatile, for landscaping and snow removal, good on hills and easy to operate(wife). I suspect, since I am close to retiring, eventually I will have lots more time to work with it. We are still trying to get our house plans completed so we can get the site survey done, to get water in and excavation work started. Last year we had most all the scrub trees knocked down and piled up. So those will have to be moved and burned eventually. Trenching work for utilities, sewer etc... might be a learning experience for me.. I'll reiterate the order of things that are important to us, mowing, snow removal, landscaping, gardening. Thanks to all for your insight and experience.

Bob_Skurka · Jun 9, 2005

My thoughts are either a Sub-CUT or, as Roy pointed out a B7510 series Kubota. The little B7510 is virtually the same size as a Sub-CUT, it is very light, similar to a Sub-CUT, but with a little added ground clearance. It is essentially the next step up from a Sub-CUT but as with the Subs, it is an excellent mower, won't tear up the lawn, and a bit more capable with other implements.

JDFANATIC · Jun 9, 2005

laffer98,

Everything in your posts says sub-CUT with the exception of the trenching comments. For three acres though, I'm thinking hire out the BH work (or rent) and then settle down to the size machine that fits your needs.

Oh, and I think the JD2210 would do just fine for this. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

jim_wilson · Jun 9, 2005

I bought a BX23 last summer and I have only have a 1/2 acre lot. But so far most of my work has been some pretty heavy duty excavation, moving rocks, clearing snow in the winter etc. The BX has done ok in most of this and there have only been a few instances where I wished for more capacity from the tractor.
The thing with the tractor is once you get it you will start to view things differently because the machine will allow you to do things that you wouldn't have thought about doing if you had to do them manually. For that reason I would recommend that if you think that a SubCUT like the BX really will handle all of the work you will want to do that you think about maybe going up to a B7610. If you look at the specs of the BX vs. the B7510 there is not a huge difference. For a tractor that is only slightly larger than the BX the 7610 will give you a tractor that has an appreciable increase in capacities for the loader etc.

frank_f15 · Jun 9, 2005

think i would go with a cut, they have a bit more ground clearence.

laffer98 · Jun 9, 2005

Ok I've looked at the specs, and I am going to go to Kubota and John Deere and checkout the B7510 and JD4110. I'm thinking short term these will be a little more than I need, but from what everyone has wrote I think it wise I go up one size larger. That way I won't be looking to upgrade next year, simply because I wished I'd gotten something larger. I will probably sit on the BX and JD2210 but ground clearance issues on what is now only a pasture say's go with the larger CUT. Unless I find issues I don't like with one or both of them, I imagine I will be buying one, probably based on dealer and price.

seapea · Jun 9, 2005

( Ok I've looked at the specs, and I am going to go to Kubota and John Deere and checkout the B7510 and JD4110. I'm thinking short term these will be a little more than I need, but from what everyone has wrote I think it wise I go up one size larger. That way I won't be looking to upgrade next year, simply because I wished I'd gotten something larger. I will probably sit on the BX and JD2210 but ground clearance issues on what is now only a pasture say's go with the larger CUT. Unless I find issues I don't like with one or both of them, I imagine I will be buying one, probably based on dealer and price. )

Let me know how these price out for you. Although the JD4110 has more feature than the B7510, my take is that the price differential is bigger than it should be.

echovalley · Jun 9, 2005

if your looking at subs.Dont forget to look at the massey gc2310tlb.i have been very happy with mine. .Got a great price$16k TLB,tooth bar,bucket hooks,and sun canopy

LarryD · Jun 10, 2005

Always remember you can rent a larger machine if you want some really serious work done i.e. digging a pond or pulling stumps. While a small tractor can do some very hard work, you can rent a machine designed for the task and have it back the same day. The little guy will take care of the details.

Boone · Jun 10, 2005

I run the B7500 HST. It is a nice machine but the real heavy work for my new house was done by a contractor with a 2 yard excavator, quad axel dump trucks and a medium sized cat. For the big one time project, I thought I was treated very fairly for the service I received.

I am doing the landscaping (when it stops raining long enough,) with the B7500 and it is working really nicely.

Here is a pic. Sorry GolfGar I can't get the clean thing to work.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/667292-kubyard.jpg

RalphVa · Jun 10, 2005

I looked at and drove both the B7510 and JD4010 as well as a BX1830 and JD2210. The B7510 and JD4010 were identical in price with FEL and brush hog. A JD4110 with same hp as the B7510 was $2000 more.

I went with the JD4010 because I wanted a fixed ROPS that would fit underneath my garage doors. I KNOW I'd forget to lower a folding ROPS sometime.

Haven't hurt for hp.

For your trenching, I'd just rent a ditch witch gizmo. No sense digging a wide trench for just pipe work. If you need to remove some stumps still left there, then a BH might be needed.

Ralph

garchib · Jun 10, 2005

Not to be the broken record, but once you buy a CUT or sub-CUT, you will find a million and one uses for it. If I had 3 acres instead of my 2 acres, I would trade in my 4100 for something bigger, due to the comfort factor on the larger mid-frame units. Having sat on a JD 4210 / 4310, they are far more comfortable than my 4100. They are also more comfortable than the Kubota B7800 I recently used. When you mow for several hours a week, you cannot be too comfortable /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif BTW, my 4100 is a great machine and I have had no issues with it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

steveinmo · Jun 10, 2005

laffer,

There is one line of thought that says once you get in the house, the landscaping done, etc. all you will need is a mower, so either rent or hire the heavy stuff. The other side is that if you have a larger, more versatile machine you will continually find things to do and your tractor will certainly make them easier to do.

Budget is certainly a consideration that we all have to deal with. You could certainly buy an older tractor (Ford 8N, MF35, TO20, etc.) and a riding lawn tractor and have enough tractor to do numerous chores and save a bunch of $$. On the other hand, they aren't always dependable and do take some maintenance. My Ford 861 has sat outside for the last year and half while we were designing and building our house. Therefore it took some tinkering to keep it running and caused me a lot of agravation. When it's time to mow, you want that puppy to start! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif The new house is supposed to be done today /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif and my new JD 3320 is currently sitting in the third garage. Hopefully it will get a nice new pole barn/shop one of these days.

The JD 2210 is a really nice small tractor but can do a lot. Check it our at Frie's in Kearney - they have/had quite a few on their lot last time I was there. I liked the Kubota machines but was really turned off by the dealer. There is a new NH dealer that just opened (Grand Opening tomorrow) in Smithville. I think they are tied in with the Case/Cub dealer down the road who I didn't care for either.

Good luck!
Steve

Dachshund · Jun 10, 2005

So, Steve - ever thought of getting rid of the 861?

bandit67 · Jun 10, 2005

( My first inclination is to tell you it will be mostly for mowing, but since we are not there yet I don't really know. I did want to get something versatile, for landscaping and snow removal, good on hills and easy to operate(wife). I suspect, since I am close to retiring, eventually I will have lots more time to work with it. We are still trying to get our house plans completed so we can get the site survey done, to get water in and excavation work started. Last year we had most all the scrub trees knocked down and piled up. So those will have to be moved and burned eventually. Trenching work for utilities, sewer etc... might be a learning experience for me.. I'll reiterate the order of things that are important to us, mowing, snow removal, landscaping, gardening. Thanks to all for your insight and experience. )

It seems that you will need a machine that can handle some significant landscaping duties for the first couple of years, as you are building a house. Last year, when I bought my 1 acre property, with a house and tractor I planned on doing a major renovation to, I decided it was time for a new tractor, as I was not willing to keep renting little machines. I bought a SubCut, which I thought would be more than enough to handle an acre once all the landscaping work was done. I've found that I could have easily gone with a Compact, and more and more, wish I had. For example, yesterday, I moved some bundles of lumber after they were delivered. A bundle of 80 9'-2x4's was at the absolute limit of what my FEL could pick up, and that was with 2-180 lb guys standing on my rear blade to help counterbalance the load.

When I bought my machine, I figured if I ever moved up to 3 acres or more, I would upgrade to a larger tractor. With all of the work and chores I've found for my machine on my one acre, I now realize I just should have gotten a larger machine from the start. And since I seem to like the punishment, I think I may buy more fixer-uppers, and will be doing a lot more landscaping in the years to come. For the last 6 months, I've been telling my wife I should have gotten a larger machine. I'm now pretty certain that I will be upgrading to a larger machine, just not sure if I'll pull the plug in the next month, or if it will be in the next year.

For your 3 acres, and your new house, I recommend you go with a Compact. Yes, mowing will be a big part of the equation at some point, but for the next couple of years at least, landscaping your new property will be an even bigger part of the equation. After that, with 3 acres and your retirement, you'll constantly be coming up with more and more projects for your tractor, so I think you'll really appreciate a larger Compact.

PhilNH5 · Jun 10, 2005

I am in the minority here I guess. I have 5 acres of hills and a BX2200. I looked at the subcuts (only BX readily available at the time though the MF and JD subs were available to look at.) and the entry level cuts like the JD 4010 and Kubota B7500. I felt that the low profile of the sub cuts would be better for my needs on my property. At the time the price dif between the subs and the cuts was not much. In fact for JD the 2210 was more than the 4010.
The BX can do a lot of work. I haul wood - both when cutting and then all winter to heat. I do snow removal on a 300ft drive. I do minor landscaping - new garden beds and landscaping walls. I have not even attached the mower deck as I could not sell my old garden tractor. But according to posts here the subcuts excel at cutting grass.

Phil

steveinmo · Jun 10, 2005

Doxhound,

Yes, I've thought about getting rid of it. I've also thought about keeping it. I've also thought about restoring it. But....with the new house and all the chores I have ahead of me I should probably sell it and buy some additional toys, errrr tools for my new 3320. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Steve