NFR Question next

Canuck from Kansas · Aug 20, 2023

It seems I spend much of my weekend pushing my Cobalt electric mower around my half acre of scrub lawn. Now that it looks like we will be getting an acreage in NY state, I will be getting a tractor mower. I am partial to John Deere, it's what I ran on the farm in Kansas - dependable as hell and tolerated abuse. Also, I am seriously considering electric.

Question next, what kind of tractor mower would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

Dr. Magill · Aug 20, 2023

I’d stick with a commercial grade ( not from a box store) John Deere is a good choice .
I’d go with diesel not electric because:
You know how it operates
Don’t need to charge it
Same performance in hot or very cold weather
They’ve been around
Mechanics know them
Probably less expensive

TicTokCroc · Aug 20, 2023

We just got a Kioti 2510, a lot of the smaller tractors are very similar components and same manufacturers under the hood. Kioti has been gaining market share due to slightly better specs then Kubota and better price. I wouldn't mess with John Deer and their right to repair issues. Get a quick hitch system, 3 point hitches are a whore.

Mossback · Aug 20, 2023

Kubota...
But consider the local parts and service availibility for whatever brand you choose. This is just another Ford/Chevy deal, as most manufacturer⁶s have good machines at different price points, so careful comparison of features you are actually going to use is probably going to be your task.
We have a cheap Korean knock off that does everything I need it to do, bought used and so it is fine, and while I'd like a size up Kubota, I can't justify the cost for the minimal benefit.

brownheron · Aug 20, 2023

I bought a small Kubota when we got our place on the OP. We got the smallest size with a backhoe (BX23S) and I bought it between Xmas and New Years so got a blowout sale price with $0 down and 0% interest. It was still expensive...

The parts/service availability is super important as Mossback notes. Make sure you have that sorted before purchasing.

I've added a third function unit to run a grapple and have a set of pallet forks and a mower deck. Everything has worked great and has saved me a massive amount of effort on our property. Pallet forks have tons of utility. I topped a pallet with plywood and use it to move building materials, big potted rhodies, water barrels, etc around the property. Mower deck probably gets the least use.

Two lever quick coupler is mandatory if you think you'll be using more than one attachment. Sooo easy to swap stuff out.

My only gripe with the tractor is that I'm having a hard time mounting my bluetooth speaker to the ROPS so I can listen to my Skynrd tunes while working.