Looking at getting a new tractor

[daytime dave]

I priced a John Deere 2025 with a loader, back hoe and flail mower. I'll trade in, give away and otherwise get rid of all my other tractors except the Farmall Cub and the JD X758.

Anyone have experiences with similar sized tractors and equipment? I don't need the back hoe for much, but they are handy. Any other brand you guys might suggest?

[HenryFan]

If you can live without the back hoe, price a Kubota LX 2610 SU. It's a compact tractor with 24ish horsepower and no mid-mount PTO. It has a slightly larger frame/body and to me, it is more comfortable than the subcompact tractors. Mine has a front-end loader and I paid extra for a third function to use a grapple. The grapple is an exceptionally useful implement and, at least to me, is much more useful than a back hoe. I don't use mid-mount mowers, so the absence of a mid-mount PTO is fine, it probably saved me a dollar or two. Four wheel drive is a necessity if the tractor has a front loader but you know that.

I am a John Deere fan and one of my tractors is a JD 3043D and the other is a Kubota L3033. I stay with Kubota and JD because of build quality and also, parts availability. Parts availability can be problematic with some tractor brands. I don't want to name which brands may have difficulties in parts availability since I have only owned JD and Kubota but I have read on tractorbynet and Green Tractor Talk of frustrated owners with certain brands.

Also, the presence of a dealership is important. I don't want to drive two or three counties away to buy a filter or a part.

Good Luck with your search and purchase.

[Sir Henry]

I have a Kubota BX2680V-1 with a 60” belly mower and I deleted the front bucket because my Branson has a bucket. It’s also a 23.3 hp which means no DEF. And it has a cup holder.

I don’t suppose my Cub counts.

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[BrokenolMarine]

We have had really good luck with our Kubota L2501. It does 95% of the things we need done around here. We don't have a need for a belly mower either, but do have the bush hog, bucket, box blade, pallet forks, hay speers... And a neighbor with bigger tractors and heavy equipment for that other 5%.

I wanted the pallet forks for building my range, but Miss T was surprised at how useful they have been. She uses them in brush cleanup, first to pile up downfall, then to pick up the piles and move them. She moves other impliments, pallets of course, round bales, square bales, water cubes...

One thing... Check the reviews on your dealer. The kubota dealers in the area here, all of them, owned by one person. Customer Service not high on the business model. We order on line, and my mechanic does the work on my tractor.

[HenryFan]

BrokenolMarine is right about pallet forks. I have delayed finding a set of pallet forks for my Kubota out of cheapness because my neighbor has two tractors with pallet forks but at some time, I want to add them.

[rickhem]

I have a Deere 3520, which at 37 HP, is a bit bigger engine than what you're looking at, but physically very similar, so it fits in all the same places. It's listed at 30 HP at the PTO, and I run a six foot brush hog with it, mostly just cutting the edges of fields, and keeping some trails from getting overgrown. I'm thinking I would have preferred a flail mower, but I really didn't know much about them when I got my brush hog. Mine originally had a backhoe, but the guy I bought it from sold that prior to me buying the tractor. All the hydraulic connections are still there though. Since you'll cover the mowing duties with the X758, the center PTO would only be for a snow blower, and with me having a plow for the snow right now, I'd prefer the snow blower. I'll jump on the pallet fork bandwagon too. I bought forks a couple years ago, and when I take the plow off in a couple days, it's the pallet forks that'll go on, not the bucket. Moving all the fallen trees and branches off the trails, and off the edges of the fields, is much easier with the forks.
A good local dealer is a nice bonus. There is a place called MacFadden & Son, a farm equipment supplier and auction site, that's less than a mile from me, and Townline Equipment is another half mile from there. MacFadden is a Mahindra dealer, but sells all kinds of accessories. Townline is a Kubota dealer. I can just drive my tractor to either place in less than 5 minutes, that's a nice thing. I bought my brush hog from MacFadden's, and am just about to have Townline fill my tires with Rimguard. MacFadden is having their spring auction this Saturday, lots and lots of stuff there, check their on-line auction site to see if there is anything close to what you're looking for.

Late Edit: As someone that has a Deere, I'd give thought to getting something that uses the "skid steer quick connect" or whatever it's called, instead of the JD hook and pin system for mounting stuff on the loader arms. There are way, way more options for stuff using that skid steer system.

[Hatchdog]

I have a 2004 JD 4310 32 hp. This unit has a larger frame than the series you are looking at. Originally I bought it to mow fields, plow snow, drill post holes and other chores. The place I lived at was flat and I liked having a larger framed tractor for that work. Currently I live in a wooded hilly area. No longer have fields to mow but do use it for lots of chores. Now that I live in a less level area I wish I had the smaller framed tractor like the model you are looking at. Just earlier this week I drove down to the bottom of my place and some stretches of my “road” are pretty sloped side to side and the pucker factor for a tip over was present. I made the road for a side by side with lots of suspension not the tractor.

I use clamp on pallet forks and having forks is wonderful. But I wish I had bought a pallet fork unit that attaches to the loader in place of the bucket. As warned, the forks have slightly bent the bottom of the bucket. Not a problem for what I use it for, gravel, dirt, snow, etc.

This tractor is 22 years old and has 1400 hours on it. Lot’s of hard work and while maintained yearly not babied at all. So far I had one minor electrical issue and one front wheel seal fail. That’s it. Not bad for the years of hard service it has provided.

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[Mags]

Search for a used one. Considerably less expensive.

[BrokenolMarine]

We bought the skid steer connection for the front of the tractor and the Kubota quick hitch for the three point in the rear. Slick... Love it. One of the reasons we didn't go bigger is the filter that has to periodically run at high rpms to clean itself, then costs a couple hundred dollars to replace when the time comes. The salesman assured us that the 2501 with 4wd would handle nearly every job we'd encounter on our small farm, and he was right. I couldn't see spending the extra money for more power, (arr, arr, arr...) When we might need it once every six months or once a year... And all the associated costs would be higher. Smart decision.

[daytime dave]

Search for a used one. Considerably less expensive.

I thought about that, but I got 0% financing on the garden tractor package when I bought my current place. The last payment is April this year. They have 0% financing on the one I'm looking at. That's why I'm leaning towards a new one.

[BrokenolMarine]

That, and unless you have knowledge of the seller, you don't know if they took care of the equipment and how they treated it. We regularly maintain our equipment and don't expect it to perform outside it's limits. We also don't loan it out, we happily bring it to you and do the work, but don't drop it off.

The other side of the coin? We had a family member who rarely maintained his equipment, constantly pushed his equipment to failure, and would use borrowed tools and equipment like he owned it. He often returned it broken or damaged and claimed "it was like that when I got it." You wouldn't want to buy something HE was selling.

[HenryFan]

That, and unless you have knowledge of the seller, you don't know if they took care of the equipment and how they treated it. We regularly maintain our equipment and don't expect it to perform outside it's limits. We also don't loan it out, we happily bring it to you and do the work, but don't drop it off.

The other side of the coin? We had a family member who rarely maintained his equipment, constantly pushed his equipment to failure, and would use borrowed tools and equipment like he owned it. He often returned it broken or damaged and claimed "it was like that when I got it." You wouldn't want to buy something HE was selling.

I have been snake bit loaning equipment and other items in times past. Probably 37 or 38 years ago, I loaned a friend a Jon boat, motor and trailer while I was assigned to an overseas billet for a couple of years. When I returned, I was dismayed at the condition of the outfit but not a word about the condition was said by my friend.

Neither a lender nor a borrower be.

[BrokenolMarine]

We rarely borrow, but if we do...

Years ago, before we could afford to buy a trailer of our own, we borrowed a trailer to move some items for a friend. I borrowed the trailer from my Rabbi in the PD. (Not a real Rabbi, a mentor). He showed me a wire in the lighting harness that pulled out. Been that way for years, just stick it back in before you leave, and check the lights whenever you stop to make sure they are still working. (Really, he was a Police Seargent, a Shift Superviser. )

On the way home, I stopped by Auto Zone and picked up a new harness plug and installed it before leaving. I used to teach Aviation Electronics, it was a very professional job. About halfway down, we got a flat. Wal-Mart was right there. We pulled in. No tire, but they had wheel and tire sets. I bought three since they were a size up from what he had. Two for the trailer, and mounted the spare in the rack on the side of his trailer.

We returned the trailer and thanked him for the use. He called a couple weeks later and invited us to lunch. Handed me a check for the three wheels, the harness, and labor. "I should have done it years ago. I'm embarrassed you had to take care of it." I tried to explain a rental would have cost me three times that amount. I never cashed the check.

Once in a while I needed a heavy duty trailer to haul debris. I was going to buy one, and and asked my friend who was my "go to" guy for all things mechanical who had one and he told me to just use it whenever I needed it, just call. He ran a construction business on the side. (He ended up building my dream woodshop in Virginia.) If he had debris on it, I added mine, hauled it all, then dumped it all and returned the trailer empty. I always left $20 under the mat at the door with a thank you note. His wife opened the door one day, "Why do you do that? No one else ever offers, no matter what they borrow. It's not like it burns gas and oil."

"No Ma'am. But Kevin has to buy tires and tags, and pay taxes. I appreciate not having to rent a heavy trailer."

She just smiled and closed the door.

[Mags]

When I need something I don't have, I'll rent it.

Back to new or used. I bought my tractor, a 1983 JD 955 Landscape Tractor, used about 1996/97. Cosmetically, the paint was sun/weather worn, but the tractor itself was and still is mechanically sound.

[JEBar]

I have a 25+ year old John Deere 4310 .... its over at our oldest son's place .... were he still uses it for various things on his 23 acres .... its been a good rig that seldom has needed any repairs

link to a YouTube video discussing one .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5zt-9kEuKg

[Hatchdog]

I have a 25+ year old John Deere 4310 .... its over at our oldest son's place .... were he still uses it for various things on his 23 acres .... its been a good rig that seldom has needed any repairs

link to a YouTube video discussing one .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5zt-9kEuKg

Interesting that we have the same tractor from the same era. I remember when mine was new and looked like the one in the video.

[daytime dave]

I've had good luck in purchasing used mostly. Some bad experiences, but thankfully not many.

[JEBar]

Interesting that we have the same tractor from the same era. I remember when mine was new and looked like the one in the video.

ours appearance is far from new .... she still cranks easily and runs smooth .... as noted, our oldest son has it .... he's also ago a much newer and larger Kubota with a full cab .... with the heat of our summers, having an air conditioned tractor can sure come in handy

[BrokenolMarine]

I sometimes regret not getting the cab on the tractor. For the protection from the heat and cold, and the dust and debris thrown up, including fire ants.

[HenryFan]

If you are ever forced to split the tractor, you will be glad it doesn't have a cab.