My old b7500 bit the dust, advice needed on replacement

[drewzee87t]

Hey all,

I haven't posted here in a couple years. I got my first tractor b7500 4 or 5 years ago. It was a mechanic special (basket case) when I got it. I nursed it to life and ran it for several hundred hours since I had it and it has finally gone to heaven. It suffered from blow-by throughout the time I had it and finally got to the point where it won't start at all. I compression tested it (thank heaven for this forum or I would have never found the right adaptors for the tester) and it's toast. 120, 100, 200.

It has a LA272 loader and I put the 302 brush guard on it as well as a new front grille and light bezel. New hoses and stuff on the loader also. So, being a cheap bastard, I thought, hey, I can just find another b7500 and swap over the loader and keep on trucking, plus have a parts tractor. I actually found a b7500 reasonably local that has 1100 hours, starts right up and everything works. No blow-by, nice and tight. Owner traded up to a bigger tractor.

When I was at the dealer looking at the b7500 and talking shop with the sales guy, he suggested one other thing he had that I might look at. It's a b2910 with 1200 hours and a 401 or 402 loader. Really nice shape, all works well, starts right up. It's bigger and more capable than the 7500 for sure. So, I am looking at $5500 for the 7500 with 54" belly mower and no loader (that I won't use) or $9500 for a nice 2910 with a loader.

I have a 20 acre property with about 2.5 that I finish mow with a cub cadet, and about 12 that needs brush hogged every year. I have a 48" brush hog, a 48" tiller and a 48" earthcavator box. I have about 120 yards of gravel driveway to deal with. The 7500 does okay with all of these implements but it takes me a month of sundays to brush hog, to the point where I just hire out the brush hogging to my friend who has a big tractor and a bat-wing shredder.

So my conundrum here is that for my property I probably really should have a larger L-series tractor that can manage a 60" brush hog. My neighbor has 8 acres to brush hog and he has a 60 some horsepower massey tractor and 5ft. hog. He says it still takes him about 14-16 hours to do his brush hogging. I pay my other neighbor $150 to do the whole thing with the bat-wing and it's done. If I feel like spending the time, my little tractor will get it done.

So the prices on L series tractors used it seems to make sense to get a new one. So I am creeping up from $6k to $20k + as I think about it.

I discussed with the wife unit and she thinks I should just get whatever I want but she DOES NOT want me keeping a junkyard at our house. So I am leaning towards just scrapping the 7500 for whatever I can get and buying the B2910. I don't really use a tractor more than 80-100 hours a year, if even that much. I could use more power as the B7500 bogs down when tilling and sometimes with the brush hog. I don't think I can justify a new tractor (and new larger implements) for the amount of work I do.

I am leaning heavily towards the B2910. It will use my existing implements, has more power and weight and a much better loader than the 7500 and I won't have to dick around changing the loader over to it. I am not really that into playing with tractors that it would be worth it to go with the bigger iron, and if I need big iron everyone around me has it (I live in cow country) and I can get folks to help me with bigger jobs.

Your thoughts, particularly if you have experience with a 2910 v 7500 or L-series.

Thanks, this site has been great and very helpful over the years.

D

 

[PaulL]

I think you've nailed it. Someone will give you money for the 7500 with good loader, for a parts tractor and for the loader. You'll get a couple grand out, and won't have it lying around. The B2910 will do 90% of your jobs, and hiring out the brush hogging makes sense.

A few people will tell you to go up to an L, great financing, it's a bigger and better machine. But then you have to decide L2501 or one with DPF, and realistically it's still not big enough to brush hog that much land, so unless you love driving your tractor you're still going to hire it out. So really it's an MX or the B.

Last consideration is whether the B2910 is really all the tractor you need for your 90%. Sounds like it may be, but the L2501 is worth considering in that territory. New with a warranty has something going for it.

 

[85Hokie]

I would get the B910

My BIL has a B2920 FEL/BH- and I really enjoyed using it before I bought my new BX25D 7 years ago - actually me getting to use his, made me buy mine if that makes any sense.

That machine will run a 5' hog easy - 30Hp at engine ....and rated 22Hp at PTO.

Great lift on the rear too. Plus a position control on the 3 point is a nice thing too.

 

[Roadworthy]

I have an L2501 with a five foot brush hog. I mow ten acres with it once or twice a year. It takes forty five minutes to an hour per acre. That may help you decide whether to invest time or money.

 

[drewzee87t]

Thanks for the replies. I am waiting to hear back from the dealer on the 2910. Hopefully we can work something out. As for the brush hogging, it's probably not as bad as I am making it out, but the first time I did it I didn't know the property (where the holes and drainages and springs and stuff are) and I was cutting down bushes and weeds that were 4 to 7 feet tall on most of it because I hadn't had it done for a couple years. I have a lot of mild slopes and some that I need to be real careful about, and a lot of holes and drainage ditches on the property, as well as a pond that I don't even attempt to deal with due to worry about tipping over on the damm side. Brush hogging is fun for about the first acre or two, and then I want to play with something else

If the dealer won't take the 7500 problem off my hands I found another guy that parts tractors that offered me 2k for it. I also found an engine for $2400, so if I can't make a deal on the 2910 I will probably suck it up and clear some room in the shop to split this thing and fix it over the winter. I don't really need it until spring, but my driveway is in a poor state of condition and would be nice to have a tractor to fix it with. I also don't get much joy out of wrenching on broken tractors in the cold.

I am really trying hard not to spend a ton of money when I don't do that much actual work.

Will let you know how it go.
D

 

[bx tractorjoe]

I would get the l2501 with the ammout of property you have.. these tractors will surprise you with what they can do lifting wise and just about anything else you want to do with it..

I have had something like 18 tractors in my time.. and my l2501 is the second new one, the first was a bx23s that I loved but would not lift enough for my needs..

Most of my other tractors were great but usually 20 plus, or some in cases 50 years old and usually required some tinkering here and there, a new hose or fixing something when i really needed it.. but would usually get rhe job done but there is nothing like a new tractor and how much smoother they are.. but even new tractors can have a small issue after some hours but usually something simple..

I guess it depends on if you want a payment or just want to own it..

 

[drewzee87t]

I am not a payment guy and unless it's for business to make money with, I don't buy anything I can't pay cash for without any worries.

I bought the 2910. The dealer was super and it's been fully serviced, brand new front wheels/tires, and they will put 4 new hoses on the FEL to replace some questionable ones, fill the tires for me, fix a lightbulb and deliver it, for less than I thought it would be for the as-is where-is. They did quote me my dream machine L3901. I test drove that one and a LX3310 (which is basically the modern upgraded b2910) and loved them both, but I just can't justify that much for what I am doing. I also looked at the MX5400 but that's way overkill for me. I didn't drive it. They didn't have any used L's. The used L's are gone before they even come in.

Thanks for everyone's help. I think this one will be fine for me. They don't do any trades on non-running tractors, so I have to deal with the b7500 myself. Oh well. The dangling cord in the ROPS went to that worklight that's tucked in there. I will have to fix that myself or remove it.

Maybe in a couple years I will make the big upgrade. The b7500 convinced me I needed a tractor, this one will probably convince me I need a bigger one, and as long as it's running I probably will get most of my money out of it if I do upgrade.

 

[D2Cat]

This is the jist of what I got out of your post. "I am looking at $5500 for the 7500 with 54" belly mower and no loader (that I won't use) or $9500 for a nice 2910 with a loader." If you can get (or did get) the B2910 for 5K more then the B7500, you could sell the loader off of the B7500 for a couple grand. Then whatever other parts you sell, or the remainder of the tractor doesn't put you very far from 5K.

 

[drewzee87t]

Sorry if there is some confusion here for you. If you read the posts, my original problem is that I had a dead b7500 w/ loader. The dealer had a running b7500 with no loader and with a belly mower. I won't use the belly mower. I was going to get the running b7500 and swap the loader onto it, then part out the junk b7500.

The dealer also had a b2910 w/loader which was far more attractive to me, so I decided I didn't want to get another b7500 and screw around with it, and bought the b2910. Now I am going to sell the b7500 as a parts tractor. I should get 2k for it from a guy I am talking to that wants to fix it or part it out. He has a tractor junkyard, so is probably in a better position to be parting out tractors than I am.

Hope that squares you away. I think probably the bold italic part is where I got ya. Also I don't mean to be snarky D2Cat because you are very helpful to people here.

 

[Cathy Liebchen]

The fact that they never have used L series because they sell instantly says it all