Need VS Want - looking for advice

[kckndrgn]

Hello all, new here and new to the tractor search. I did some searching here and on other sites and my head is still spinning from all the data and reviews and information and...

My family recently moved from the city to a 2 acre home (future homestead), we also own 22 acres of hunting/vacation/retirement land. The hunting land is mostly wooded, with about 5-6 acres of open area/field.

Currently I have a 42" riding mower and push mower to maintain both properties.

For our home I "need" to do the following:

• Mow
• Till
• Transport items from the back to the front
• occasional landscaping

For our hunting property I "need" to do the following:

• Mow
• Create food plots for deer
• Bush Hog
• Maintain driveway (300', uphill)
• Haul wood
• Misc property maint

I have borrowed my FIL's TE-20 and bush hog to clear the field at the hunting property, but we usually end up using the riding mower to keep it mowed (if that's what you want to call it, mowing 3'+ grass is NOT what the riding mower was intended for ). We have intended on bringing up his box blade to fix the ruts in the driveway, but every time we plan it, something comes up and it doesn't get done.

With our new home I am looking at expanding a garden. I have tilled up a 25'x25' area by borrowing (again) my FIL's tiller. And I'm finding that my riding mower will take the better part of a full weekend if not more, to mow the yard.

So with family wanting some of my time, I'm looking at a small tractor, more than likely the BX series. I think, given what I've laid out I want a MMM and FEL, a "nice to have" would be the back hoe on the tractor, but i know that is not truly needed (although I can always find a use for it). A tractor big enough to have a 5' BH and 4' or bigger tiller is also wanted.

I was originally looking a purchasing an older (70's model) Kubota, but I have postponed that in thinking that I should be going newer. I do have some mechanical ability to tinkering around with an older unit is doable, but with kids running around wanting my time I'd rather have something that just runs and gets the job done.

BTW, and while my FIL says I can use his tractor and accessories anytime I need to, I don't like it. It seems like every time I get to our property something breaks and I fix it. So I'm doing all this maintenance to stuff I don't own.
Thanks in advance for any advice as I head down this road.

 

[sjd50575]

Personally, I don't regret going newer and bigger than what I thought I needed it has been well worth the money this far. I debated a long time on a cab and the number of times I have wished I didn't have one is far outnumbered by the number of times I am glad I did get one. I would spend the money and get what you WANT now or you will always be wishing and looking to upgrade. They are not going to get cheaper and upgrading every few years usually ends up costing more in the end ( for me anyway).

Good luck. And 100% agree on borrowing things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hodge]

Welcome to the forum!
It sounds like you will need a B or L series tractor; a BX will be too small and low to the ground for some of the work you want to do. Plus, you will be hard pressed to handle a 5' bushog with a BX.

 

[85Hokie]

Welcome to the forum!
It sounds like you will need a B or L series tractor; a BX will be too small and low to the ground for some of the work you want to do. Plus, you will be hard pressed to handle a 5' bushog with a BX.

Right up to the time that you wanted a 5' mower and 4' tiller - I would have said BX,but as Hodge pointed out - the B or L will be the better choice.

 

[aeronutt]

If it were me, I'd buy two machines. A BX for everything except the mowing, and a ZTR specifically for the mowing. This will cost a bit more, but once you've used a ZTR to mow an acreage you'll never go back. I mow 2 acres in 45 minutes and that includes dodging about a hundred trees.

Use the BX with a small bush hog to knock down the 3-foot grass on trails and then either maintain it with the ZTR weekly or knock it down again monthly with the BX.

Many professional mowing companies rotate their equipment every 3-4 years as a precaution against unplanned maintenance outages. You can buy their old machines for a third of new cost. Downtime costs them a lot of money so it's worth always running newer machines. Homeowners will only put a tenth as much wear on these machines so it could be years before you experience any noticeable degradation. You can also absorb a few hours of downtime for a bad bearing or worn clutch without losing valuable productivity time so a minor breakdown doesn't hurt you like it would the commercial guys.

For the backhoe needs (wants...) you're unlikely to use one enough to justify the cost. I can rent a compact excavator for a weekend for around $300 and do more dirt work in that weekend than a BX backhoe could accomplish in a month. It might be handy to have the BH laying around for impromptu projects, but I just can't see spending that kind of money for an implement that will sit unused 362 days per year. You can rent that excavator a LOT of weekends before owning the BH starts to look good. Also, by not having the BH, you will always have the 3pt hitch available for the other attachments.

 

[aeronutt]

Right up to the time that you wanted a 5' mower and 4' tiller - I would have said BX,but as Hodge pointed out - the B or L will be the better choice.

I don't think those implement sizes are really justified for the OP's mission. Implements that are BX compatible would be fine for what he's doing. However, I do agree that you should go ahead and get something big enough that upgrading in a few years is not needed. Very few people wish they had bought a smaller tractor. If a BX is big enough, great. If a BX is marginal but justified as "could make do with it", a B is the better choice. I think an L is oversized for everything named.

 

[sodak]

I agree with Aeronutt with the caveat that it depends how many trees you have to mow around. I was told to get a Kubota and Zero Turn and decided to just go with a B3030 instead. Some of the B series have a mid point PTO for 60 for 72" and they can generally handle larger implements than a BX. If you don't have a lot of trees, you could go with a rear finish mower for the 3 point (rather than MMM) and save some $.

BX has really cool extras that the B series doesn't yet have from bxpanded.com - forks, expandable bucket, etc. But, as they say, "buy more tractor than you think you will need." So, B series might be your best bet.

Not sure what freight would be, but I noticed a low hour B-series with almost everything (maybe more than) you need for what seems to be a reasonable price here:

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23611

Good luck,happy shopping, and welcome to the forum!

 

[kckndrgn]

Thanks all for the advice so far, and thanks for the welcomes to the forum.

I will agree that I could get by with a smaller BH and Tiller (Tiller really depends on the size I want to expand my garden).

At home, not too many trees to dodge, yet. In fact, i've planted 7 trees this year with another 7-10 planned (all fruit/nut trees). Most of the trees currently at home are bradford pears, which I don't like so they'll be coming down soon.

At our hunting property we have a few established trails that are 5'-6' wide, and the areas that we currently mow/BH are open with few trees.

I'm looking at the B series of tractors now. As for ad that was linked, that looks nice I will look into, I don't mind road trips.

 

[eipo]

That B2650 linked to above is a smokin deal. And that tractor will do everything you need it to do.

I would recommend a B series and the only reason I wouldn't recommend an L is because you lose the mid PTO.

 

[aeronutt]

That B2650 linked to above is a smokin deal. And that tractor will do everything you need it to do.
.

You might have to race me to that one. And I live closer...

Actually, I'm about to send a kiddo off to college so my tractor collection won't be expanding for the next 4 years. Have at it.

 

[virginiavenom]

That B2650 linked to above is a smokin deal. And that tractor will do everything you need it to do.

I would recommend a B series and the only reason I wouldn't recommend an L is because you lose the mid PTO.

you can have mid pto with a Grand L, but not with a standard L as far as my research has shown.

 

[kenmac]

Look at used and go bigger than you think you need. est friend just bought a L3200 with 40 hours and saved about $10K.

 

[kckndrgn]

Hey guys, again, thanks for the advice.

Had a talk with She Who Must Be Obeyed, and we discussed what we (I) needed the tractor for and why.

Found a dealership that was open today (Saturday) and we went to look at the B & BX tractors.

Found a salesman that was very knowledgeable and helpful. Explained what we wanted and "needed' to do, he explained some differences in B and L (and L grand) tractors.

When we started talking about cost it was good have the wife there, she kept me in check.

After talking about what we would use the tractor for 80-90% of the time and how we could use smaller implements to complete the other tasks, just a bit slower. I had my wife sit in the B and BX tractors, because she'll be using the tractor some, so I wanted to find out what she was more comfortable in.

In the end, we pullled the trigger on a BX2360 w/ FEL and a 4' box blade and 4' BH. I should have the tractor on Monday and the BH/Boxblade later in the week.

Thanks again.

Also, there were 2 customers that were at the store who both owned a BX and said how much they loved it for mowing and other uses.

 

[sodak]

"Pics or it didn't happen"

Congrats!

 

[kckndrgn]

"Pics or it didn't happen"

Congrats!

Tractor should be delivered today, I'll post pics then

Here she is

 

[rtgt]

Hey neighbor!

Congrats on your new toy...err, I mean tractor...

I live 4 doors south of you.

Feel free to stop by anytime the shop door is open.

 

[kckndrgn]

Hey neighbor!

Congrats on your new toy...err, I mean tractor...

I live 4 doors south of you.

Feel free to stop by anytime the shop door is open.

Well, ain't this just a small world! Thanks for the invite same goes for me if the garage door is open, stop on by!

 

[sodak]

VERY NICE! My only regret in going a size up from the BX is that I can't use more of the attachments from BXpanded.com

The Piranha tooth bar does work on my B, though. That thing is awesome.

 

[kckndrgn]

VERY NICE! My only regret in going a size up from the BX is that I can't use more of the attachments from BXpanded.com

The Piranha tooth bar does work on my B, though. That thing is awesome.

Yeah, that's next on my short list of "upgrades" to perform, along with getting a tool box on the tractor.