Bumping as we our lawn service lady is retiring, and we either need to start mowing our yard or find a new service. We were getting the next door neighbor deal, so I'm nervous what a real world cut will cost.
We have 2.5 acres that is mostly open space. It will get used for the bucket to pick up stuff off the trailer, plowing, and cleaning up yard projects. As my wife and I talked last night, the list of stuff she wants done around here grew.
I talked with Kickstand a bit ago and he has a L2501, which has no mid-mount PTO. He has a rear 3pt finish mower. He's happy with his tractor, and I think we have similar goals.
@bbaXJ - sounds like you have LX2610 with the 60" belly mower. How hard is that to install and uninstall?
I'm trying to weigh between L2501 with the pull behind or the LX2610 with belly mower. Not sure how frequently I would truly need to drop the mower, but if I were doing some ditch clearing, I may want that clearance. I do sense the belly mower would be easier to mow with.
I'm thinking either way to get R14 tires, hydrostatic, 4wd, front bucket, forks, and mower to get started. Any advice is appreciated.
More info on this? Definitely want to swap between bucket and forks, and maybe the stump death device you showed a while ago.
The L series is significantly heavier duty than the LX series. Similar size, but looking at them side by side the axles, frame, and loader are far beefier on the L series for nearly the same price. The benefits of the LX are the mid PTO, slightly more compact, lighter weight, and more creature comforts standard(nicer seat, tilt steer, etc). For general use around home the LX is plenty of tractor and I have zero regrets with my purchase.
My belly mower cuts great. I can install or remove it in 5-10 minutes. It's much easier/faster if the loader is on at the time so I can raise the front end off the ground and rotate the deck into or out of position. On average I only remove the mower deck once a season for severe dirt work and usually sharpen the blades at the same time. It lifts up pretty high and can be pinned to the frame in 30 seconds so that you can still use the 3 point without the deck dropping down. With it pinned up the ground clearance is plenty for 75% of dirt work you'd want to do, even in the woods. It's a very beefy deck and weighs about 400lb so it can take some abuse if you do high center or hit it on something.
Loader on/off is less than 5 minutes of work. I would advise NOT getting the SwiftTach loader system if you can avoid it, it's unnecessarily complex and there have been a lot of field issues with it on various machines, including leaking connections and loader arms coming disengaged and damaging the loader and tractor. It's not standard on the LX so shouldn't be hard to avoid. Probably not even an option on L series. The standard loader setup is much more robust, much simpler, and still very easy and quick to remove and install. Note this is different from the skid steer quick attach. SwiftTach is the Kubota specific gimmick connection of the loader arms and hoses to the tractor. Skid steer quick attach (SSQA) is the attachment of the bucket/implement to the loader. SSQA is not standard on all Kubotas, but it does come on most of them and most dealers won't sell one without it. It's an absolute must, and it's not Kubota specific, it's fairly universal.
SwiftTach (try to avoid this):
SSQA (absolute get this):
I'd have to have a very large, very open yard to consider a 3pt finish mower. I have nothing against them, but they're big and unwieldly. I have a good sized yard, but lots of trees, obstacles, and uneven sections so the 60" mid works better here. If your yard is flatter and more open I'd pay the extra couple hundred bucks for the 72" deck to reduce mowing time by 20%.
Note that the mid mower is a ~$3000 option(probably even more now). If you have a good mower or zero turn already it may not be worth just skipping the mower option for the Kubota. I like having it because it's less equipment to store and maintain. But when I want to use the loader in the summer it gets annoying taking it on and off when I need to mow, because the added weight will make the front tires tear up the lawn and it cuts down on maneuverability having it hanging off the front. Less of an issue though if you have a flat and open yard, just mow with the loader on.
Pallet forks are a must IMO. I use them way more than the bucket. You're welcome to borrow my stump bucket to try out and see if you want one, or even to knock out some projects. I only use it a couple times a year but it comes in handy when I need it.
Agreed on the R14 tires as well, I actually switched to them a few months back. The R4 were a little harder on grass, but main issue was snow. They were crappy but mostly tolerable in powder, absolutely godawful and useless in wet snow. R14 are rumored to be far better, I got to drive them in snow and was pleased but we didn't get any plowable snow after I got them this spring so didn't get the true test yet.
You're welcome to come out to Fowlertucky sometime and try out my machine before you bite the bullet on an expensive purchase.
