Small Yard Tractor

[Flamingo]

I am in the market for a "subcompact" yard tractor. The only requirements I have are:

It needs to have a front loader
It needs to be capable of having an excavator with a thumb (I want to be able to grab small logs and load them in a trailer)

I looked at the Kubota BX series and it seems pretty good, but my knowledge of tractors can fit in the cup of an expended small pistol primer.

I have a small property (~4 acres) and I need to clear blackberries (doing it with a weed-eater, gloves and a pruner) sucks.

[oregon45]

My father-in-law has a John Deere 1025R that he's been very happy with; my Dad has a Kubota BX2380 and he's been very happy with it. They both have front end loaders, backhoes and a variety of other attachments. I've used both for the kinds of tasks you describe and can't really favor one over the other. The most useful attachment I've found is a long set of loading forks for the front-end loader--makes hauling logs and cut branches easy. The choice between the two brands really depends on what kind of dealer network you have in your area and what kind of support will be available after you buy--both brands require regular service to maintain their warranties.

Edited to add: the YouTube channel "Tractor Time with Tim" is very informative and has an extensive series of videos on choosing a subcompact tractor.

[BN]

I have a Kubota BX2370 with a 60" mower deck, front end loader, rear blade and a brush hog. I like it a lot. I can almost use the mower deck as a brush hog. I have a buddy with JD and he likes it. I think it has a lot to do with who your local dealer is. The front end loader is easy to put on and take off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo9zBK7421g

[Crow Hunter]

I am in the market for a "subcompact" yard tractor. The only requirements I have are:

It needs to have a front loader
It needs to be capable of having an excavator with a thumb (I want to be able to grab small logs and load them in a trailer)

I looked at the Kubota BX series and it seems pretty good, but my knowledge of tractors can fit in the cup of an expended small pistol primer.

I have a small property (~4 acres) and I need to clear blackberries (doing it with a weed-eater, gloves and a pruner) sucks.

I don't have one but I was researching them a few years ago for something similar.

A great bit of advice I was given was to figure what you needed/wanted to do and then determine what HP you needed to do it.

Then buy the next biggest size because you will undoubtedly find something else to do with it when you have it and won't have enough HP to do the job.

[Oldherkpilot]

I agree with Crow Hunter about over buying. It looks like there's only a couple thousand dollars difference between the sub compacts and the compacts. The compacts will give you some added performance for loader/backhoe use. I have three Kubotas at present and had three others. The newest one is a '93 GF1800 with 2600 hours (it had 1900 when I bought it 20 years ago). All have been stellar and have almost 5000 hours between the three. Like the OP, I have a 4 acre place that puts about 100 hours per year on the tractors. The only thing I envy the newer tractors for is the hydraulic flow rates. The newer models have almost twice the flow rate of mine, which translates to faster loader operation. I just bought a Gator and now realize I ought to have had it years ago as well. Good luck!

[TCFD273]

I am in the market for a "subcompact" yard tractor. The only requirements I have are:

It needs to have a front loader
It needs to be capable of having an excavator with a thumb (I want to be able to grab small logs and load them in a trailer)

I looked at the Kubota BX series and it seems pretty good, but my knowledge of tractors can fit in the cup of an expended small pistol primer.

I have a small property (~4 acres) and I need to clear blackberries (doing it with a weed-eater, gloves and a pruner) sucks.

Rent a Kubota SVL 97 and a deforrester attachment.

About $1100 for a day delivered in my area

Will clear anything you want

I live on 5 acres, mow it with a commercial 60”

In fairness, I own 3 kubota track loaders and 2 kubota excavators. I have no need for a small tractor

But if you’re just wanting to clear an area, rent don’t buy. Prices are pretty high right now.


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[SD]

Model year 2021- John Deere 1025r with mid-mount 60" finish mower and 120r loader. Additional purchases 42" Frontier pallet forks and Frontier RC-2048 brush cutter. Currently 62 hours on the meter, very much like the machine and do not regret purchase. The tractor has limitations because of lower ground clearance, purchased a carry all for the rear-end from Tractor Supply mostly for additional weight when using loader it is great on level ground but drags bottom with the smallest depressions. Also added a toothbar on bucket well worth the cost. The loader controls limit you to one function only, so no curling while you are raising/lowering ( my last subcompact did it above average).

Last year when I was shopping Kubota would take a contract for a BX but would not guarantee a delivery, nice machines but some of the stamped metal handles/controls had plastic hand covers falling off on dealer lot.

Kioti- was nice the 2x looked at but had the quick connect manifold like Kubota but one would not connect and on the other tractor leaked even after sales associate had mechanic twist wrenches and bleed off lines.

New Holland, had a couple but wanted 27K+, thousands more then the other brands.

John Deere- by far the easiest loader to connect/disconnect along with swapping bucket for pallet forks, belly mower again the easiest on/off. It took me 3x JD dealers before Beard in Panama City gave me a price that surpassed all the others.

Things I would do different; dealer installed rear-wheel weights and ballast it is a must have if you plan on using that bucket.

I use the pallet forks a lot, from grabbing and moving logs, using them up high to rip wild vines, and like the guy from YT (3-Cabins) that carryall strapped to the front works better then on the backend.

* Yanmar was offering me some good prices but 300 miles away.

[Borderland]

Kubota. I'm not up on the current models but I had a B 7100 for about 20 years. Expensive to maintain but the best quality. The problem today is shop/labor time, not parts costs. Buy the quality and reduce the shop/labor costs. If you can do the repair/maintenance yourself you're money ahead with JD because of the cost of parts. If you pay someone for repair, not so much. Parts is about 2/1 with Kubota and shit needs replaced more often with JD. I just re-built the mower deck on a Kubota with my neighbors help. Parts were 2x, labor was free.

Kubota is longevity engineered. JD is maintenance/replace engineered. Not unlike GM.

[Clusterfrack]

I am in the market for a "subcompact" yard tractor. The only requirements I have are:

It needs to have a front loader
It needs to be capable of having an excavator with a thumb (I want to be able to grab small logs and load them in a trailer)

I looked at the Kubota BX series and it seems pretty good, but my knowledge of tractors can fit in the cup of an expended small pistol primer.

I have a small property (~4 acres) and I need to clear blackberries (doing it with a weed-eater, gloves and a pruner) sucks.
Cdub_NW, can you help my buddy Flamingo with some tractor advice?

[littlejerry]

I have an older JD 770 with a front end loader. 99% of the time it has a bush hog on the back.

I use it to maintain a small property we use for hunting (maintaining trails, cutting fields, growing food plots). It's been great for that.

I'm not all that demanding or discerning. It does the job and hasn't fallen apart.

[Cdub_NW]

Rent a Kubota SVL 97 and a deforrester attachment.

About $1100 for a day delivered in my area

Will clear anything you want

I live on 5 acres, mow it with a commercial 60”

In fairness, I own 3 kubota track loaders and 2 kubota excavators. I have no need for a small tractor

But if you’re just wanting to clear an area, rent don’t buy. Prices are pretty high right now.


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THIS ^^^ Rent a track loader with a deforester attachment, it will make incredibly short work of acres of blackberries.

As for ongoing constant work on a small farm. A sub-compact with a backhoe and thumb can be very useful for smaller stuff around the yard but it will have its limitations quickly and will run you $22K+ just to get started. My buddy with 4 acres has the small kubota BX sub-compact and has found it very useful for his needs. For my 10 acres with needs for more substantial capacities, a mini excavator and track loader are what I've been using. It is amazing the attachments/implements you can get for a track loader and how powerful those machines can be.

[5pins]

Small tractors are great until you need to tow a tank. When that day comes, you will wish you had just got a real one in the first place.

[Borderland]

My neighbor has an older JD tractor. Might be about 40HP. He just had the clutch replaced and told me it was an 8K repair bill. He considered a new tractor but got sticker shock looking at the prices.

One of the reasons I sold my Kubota. I did most of the work on it myself but after a few repair bills I decided I could live without it. If I have any tractor work to do now I'll just rent one for a few days.

[Oldherkpilot]

My neighbor has an older JD tractor. Might be about 40HP. He just had the clutch replaced and told me it was an 8K repair bill. He considered a new tractor but got sticker shock looking at the prices.

One of the reasons I sold my Kubota. I did most of the work on it myself but after a few repair bills I decided I could live without it. If I have any tractor work to do now I'll just rent one for a few days.

I have the shop manuals for all my tractors but have only needed them once. At about 2200 hours, the hub flange sheared off the axle on my GF 1800. Took me a couple days and a new, $180 axle to get it mowing again. I doubt I would have gotten it repaired if I couldn't have done it myself, I hesitate to guess what such a bill would amount to. A buddy said he reckoned the original axle could be welded but I wasn't willing to risk another total teardown on the thing if the repair failed.

[Tuefelhunden]

I have a small Mahindra 20S and like it a lot. I have flat 2 acres and mow with a 53" deck, grade gravel with a tow behind scrapper and carry gravel and misc. in the front loader. Good value in my opinion. That said the Kabota's also have a great reputation. I have heard the newer built JD's are not the leader of the pack that they once were.

[LittleLebowski]

I’ve only got five acres right now, but I love me some tractor discussion.

[Crazy Dane]

I have a New Holland TZ 24 that's 15 years old and still going strong. I did not get the front bucket and regret that ever so often. I've been looking to trade it for a Kubota but I always talk myself out of it. I mow, bush hog, scrape the drive, rotovate the garden, do light grading, pull logs etc.

If you intend to turn any rotary implement with a sub-compact go ahead and get the most Hp that is offered, with Kubota that's the BX2680. I got my rotovator from someone that had a 18 HP Kubota and the tractor could not turn it.

I have the 60 inch mowing deck and due to my uneven terrain the 54 inch would work better. I did a lot of yard leveling with the 60" the first few times I mowed.

I have a coworker that works part time putting together and delivering the Kubotas and he says to stay away from the drive-over mowing decks. They work ok until they don't and gets expensive to repair them back to where they function properly. That is the biggest issue he sees.