Just remember..."Nothing Runs Like A Deere"

Too bad they don't make their own tractor, at least the compact diesels. They are made in japan by Yanmar. Kubota is the only tractor manufacturer that makes the whole tractor, motor and all. Yes they may cost more, but so does your Porsche over a Chevy or Ford that is made in Mexico, not the US.

What about the Mahindra? They are made by Mitsubishi in the USA and seem pretty good. Looking at a 1533 model.

Dave

Finding a good tractor is a problem. I had this problem too. It was like 2 years ago. My dumb neighbour tried to sell me some old junk, but I refused it.

I had a same trouble when I tried to buy my first tractor. It was a kind of adventure, LOL. There weren't options good enough for me next to my home, so I started to search on the internet. Then one of my friends recommended a best garden tractor of all time. Talking about Cub Cadet XT1. It's just perfect for my lawn. I used it almost three years and had no problems. It's fast and shiny and it cuts grass really good. OP, if you have not found tractor yet, you can choose this one - you won't regret. It's better than buying a random tractor from your sneaky neighbour, I think.

I had a 6 foot 3-point finish mower behind my Kubota for the first year I lived out here, mowing 2 1/2 acres. It was OK, but I couldn't take the pounding and put a $500 suspension seat on it.
This spring when the 44" Grasshopper zero turn we used for trimming died I got a 60 inch Grasshopper zero turn. I used it once.
MrsWD wanted to learn to use the mower, and she enjoyed it so much she took over the mowing chores. So in my experience a ZTR is far easier than a 3-point mower - I haven't mowed the grass since May!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1576615436.jpg

In my experience, the trick for her is not how to determine the choice of machinery, but to minimize the elapsed time between the re-storing of the machine and the presentation of sandwiches.

Grasshopper...mower deck, meh...Who cares?

Kubota 72" diesel ZT in the Spring.

Something like this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1576616963.png

I have ten more years here on the farm. After that, please mow me over, back up and do it again.

I like the reliability of Kubota. Have a 3710 HST 4d. had it 22 years. I finish mow prox 10 to 13 acres. I use to use a belly mower. worked ok but I mow around a lot of apple trees. I finally went to a pull behind TPH PTO finish mower.

Way easier to attache and unattached, Easier maintenance and can get closer to trees and obstacles without getting smacked by branches. I found they are more ruggedly built then mid mounts as well. I will probably never use my belly mower again.

Unless you are dealing with steep or changing terrain, 2wd drive with turf tires will do. If not then 4wd with R2s or if more severe terrain: Ags. For under 10 acres prox 35 PTO hp is plenty for mowing and even running a loader and other implements. I have run a 72 inch blower off it, a 2 staget Valby 150 chipper, a 20K splitter and 6' bush hog. That tractor has done everything.

The Kubota Has 1500 hours on it and is very reliable.

Eleven or twelve years ago I bought a 1999 Kubota L2500 with 500 hrs., a loader, and big finish mower. It was used by a local parks department, so it mostly saw mowing duty mixed with loader work with mulch, fertilizer, etc. It's been flawless and now only has 800 hrs. so it will last a long time more. I sometimes think about buying a new, more powerful tractor but they won't lift any more load than mine will. I have a box scraper, landscape rake, lifting forks for it which get everything done I need. I don't actually think I could find as good of a tractor for the money I paid now days.

Looks like this thread got bumped by spammers. I wonder what OP wound up with?

Holiday break for the kiddies ?

I have this.
you can put a belly mower on it or remove the backhoe and put attachments on it.
I looked at the one smaller than this but I am really glad I got this one.
biggest problem now is I don't have any more tractor work to do except put in another septic line. really thinking about selling it to do track events.
but I love my tractor too.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1576675825.jpg

I want to get a box scraper for my tractor, how wide is yours?
I'd have to get a 7' to be wider than my rear wheels.

Around here, if you can find a good used JD or Kubota, you'll never lose money.....Had my JD 2240 for 5 years. Could sell it tomorrow for $2K more than I paid.........

Mark, I think mine is five feet which matches the width of my rear tires. If they are six feet, then the box scraper us six, but I'm almost positive it's five. It's a pretty heavy duty one that weighs maybe 350 or more pounds.

I wound up with A Massey 34 HP Compact utility tractor. It has a FEL and a 5' bush hog, also have a box blade, post hole digger and the roto-tiller for it. It has been flawless in its operation and I have used it a lot.

Dave

1/3 of my shop:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1576706266.jpg

The two smaller compacts are 17 years old and still run great. The larger one on the right (not a real farm tractor - not a plow machine) is new.

The ZT will be a mower and the small tractor on the left gets a small excavator and will be relieved of all mower duties:cool: