What to but

[rlamt]

I'm new to this and not sure what to buy or how much to pay. I live in a hilly area so my only real use is working a small 100x200 arena, moving snow and maybe a little dirt or gravel. I already have this disc culti/packer for the arena and need a tractor to fit it:
TerrainTough/Hunter's Specialties - Disc/Culti-Packer Combo - By Tarter Gate

The New Holland dealer has a TZ24DA with a loader priced at $14160. with 60 months no interest.
JD suggested a 2305 at $14083.
Kubota recommended the BX2350 at $12000.
Massey Ferguson recommended the GC2300 priced at $11302.00

The Massey is lowest in gross hp but second highest in the PTO HP. The dealer says that's what I need to be looking at. He claims the PTO HP is equal to the drawbar HP which is what I need to be looking for. Comparing the specs, the Massey seems close to or better than the others in everything but the gross HP. Price is important because at this point I can't imagine using this for a whole lot more than the arena. I have very little grass to cut and most of it is on a hill where my little lawn tractor is barely safe.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[JimParker]

Well, I tend to bleed green but the Kubota makes a lot of people really happy. I did look at the Masseys also, and really liked a lot of things about them. Both Massey and Kubota have a lot of nice touches on these lower-end tractors. Just make sure you fit comfortably, and can easily operate all the controls. I wound up going with a much larger tractor with much nicer ergonomics mostly because of the comfort factor. But in your case, the ones you're looking at seem right for your jobs. (And any of them would make fantastic "oversized lawn mowers" to add to the appeal.)

Go to the dealerships and try them all out. Don't just sit on them, ask the dealer to let you operate them a bit. Sometimes when you're just sitting there, you don't realize what a difference ergonomics make. But when you try to shift in/out of FWD while you're adjusting the box blade or something, you quickly realize how important it can be.

Good luck. And remember to have fun while you're checking out all the tractors... You only get to do this once in a very long while, so enjoy it all you can!

 

[flusher]

I'm new to this and not sure what to buy or how much to pay. I live in a hilly area so my only real use is working a small 100x200 arena, moving snow and maybe a little dirt or gravel. I already have this disc culti/packer for the arena and need a tractor to fit it:
TerrainTough/Hunter's Specialties - Disc/Culti-Packer Combo - By Tarter Gate

The New Holland dealer has a TZ24DA with a loader priced at $14160. with 60 months no interest.
JD suggested a 2305 at $14083.
Kubota recommended the BX2350 at $12000.
Massey Ferguson recommended the GC2300 priced at $11302.00

The Massey is lowest in gross hp but second highest in the PTO HP. The dealer says that's what I need to be looking at. He claims the PTO HP is equal to the drawbar HP which is what I need to be looking for. Comparing the specs, the Massey seems close to or better than the others in everything but the gross HP. Price is important because at this point I can't imagine using this for a whole lot more than the arena. I have very little grass to cut and most of it is on a hill where my little lawn tractor is barely safe.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Any of those CUTs would do the job pulling your cultipacker. I have a 21-hp Kubota B7510HST with 4WD and the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket) that I bought in May2005 for $12600 plus tax (0% financing for 36 months). I has 17hp on the PTO. I'm sure my Bota could handle a disk like yours. My neighbor discs his hay field with a 25hp Ford 8N using a 6-ft wide tandem disk.

Be careful about mowing on hills. If your riding mower is tippy, these CUTs will be also. My Bota only has about 50" wide track on the rear wheels and I would hesitate to mow on hills with it.

 

[bill177]

After long consideration I bought the GC2300. I have a tiller for it and the FEL. A great little workhorse. I particularly like the single HST rocker pedal. I'll be getting more toys for it this next spring. By the way, the MF has all metal fenders and floorpan (no plastic to break).

Something not pointed out in other posts: Be sure you are comfortable with the dealer. Even if you pay a few dollars more, buy from a dealer that wants your business. Not from some jerk you have to keep calling because he won't return your calls. Unlike a car, you might have that tractor for twenty or more years.

 

[aesanders]

All of those are quality tractors. I wouldn't worry at all about the engine HP. You won't be able to tell the difference of a 22hp diesel engine to a 25 hp diesel engine. PTO hp is more important overall, but that disk/cultivator you have is not a pto implement so it really will not matter taht much. I bought a Deere recently but really like the Massey as well. I also like the New Hollands and Kubota's. If I had plenty of money I would probably own one of each just for kicks. I don't think you could go wrong with any of these, but the recomendation to try them all first is good. You may find you really like the layout of one better than the rest. Some people like the treadle peddle of the Massey. Other's prefer the side by side forward and everse pedal like the Deere and New Holland have. To each their own.