Shopping for New Toyls

[Jim Becker]

Aside from the nice orange machines , K is pretty well known for their diesel engines...so it's not surprising that Bobcat chose one for that particular project.

[Dennis Peacock]

Tyler,

I have 3 acres to mow. I have a JD 345 lawn tractor and it takes me 3 hours to mow the lawn. The JD cost me just over $8K and I could have purchase a fullsized tractor for $10K.

[Matt Meiser]

By contrast to Dennis, I mow about 3 acres and it takes me about 1/2 of the time it takes him. When you are shopping, make sure you are comparing apples to apples--a 54" deck on a lawn tractor and a 54" deck on a compact tractor aren't equal as you can mow faster on a compact tractor (or ZTR). My neighbors have a lawn tractor--I can make a front-back pass (in both directions) in less time than it takes her to get from the front to the back. I usually get home from work, mow, then eat a slightly late dinner.

And no matter how much you try to talk yourself out of it, spend the extra money to buy a loader. You won't believe how useful it is.

[Jim Becker]

And no matter how much you try to talk yourself out of it, spend the extra money to buy a loader. You won't believe how useful it is.

Amen!!! Halleluia!! I can safely say that the FEL has paid for itself many times over...Dr. SWMBO and I both use it more than anything else we have available.

[Ken Garlock]

Tyler, if you are going to be a part time 'gentleman farmer', you need a rig like Jim Becker, be it Kubota, or John Deere. The only bad thing is that you will need to lay down about 15 kilo bucks.

An alternative would be to check out the tractor auctions around your part of the country. A good old 'Johnny Popper' would be good, and will increase in value as time goes on.

[Tyler Howell]

Ken,
Don't call me a Gentleman .
Sorry buddy I don't know the lingo "Johnny Popper" as in Deere John??

[Chris Barton]

I agree with others that have suggested Kubota. Second, buy used. I just purchased 5+ acres of mountain top in east TN and will need a multipurpose machine for what I want to do with it. A good used Kubota with a slew of attachments like the FEL, box blade, belly mower, etc can be had for under $20K easy. I will be waiting till the dead of winter to buy mine. The sellers will be very motivated a month or so prior to 4/15/07...

[Tim Morton]

From Google:

The Toolcat 5600 with heat and air conditioning (highly recommended) lists for $32,500. Add $3800 for the mower, $4000 for the snow blower, $1900 for the snow blade, $2000 for the post hole auger and $525 for the versatile bucket. You can contact the company at 866-823-7898 or locate a dealer online at www.bobcat.com. You'll find more information on the Toolcat at www.toolcat.com.

and t hat was over 3 years ago.... Hope you don't own any GM stock

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home...76.html?page=2

[Tyler Howell]

That's about the same as a Harley???
and you get 4 seasons

[Michael Morgan]

The Toolcat is a very nice machine, it was designed for maintenance departments for large properties like a large campus or business park. If you want a vehicle with a little dump bed get a Polaris ranger, or a yamaha Rhino, and save a ton of money. If you want something to maintain your property a think a Kubota Compact would be the way to go. Attachments for the tractor will probably cost about 25% of what attachments for the toolcat would cost. I have a Bobcat S-250 Skid Steer, Cab with heat and AC, and the two speed option. It's somewhere around 80H.P. It's a real Beast! I use it for commercial snow removal and carrying logs. Last fall I carried (not dragged) a 40" Diameter red oak log 11' Long out of the woods. I was on two wheels most of the time but I got her.
Jim has a great little kubota that would be great for what you are looking for.

[Joe Mioux]

Tyler,

I absolutely love me New Holland Boomer 32hp diesel. With it I have a 5 ft loader and a 5 rear discharge Brush hog finish mower.

Turning radius is great.

JD has a few more sophisticated features, but for the money not worth it in my opinion.

A 5 ft mower will easily handle your 5-6 acres.

My Brush Hog handles a lot and is tough. Although it did lose out to a concrete pier one day. The fix was cheap though.

Buy a utility 30 plus hp tractor, 4 wheel drive, hydrostat, cruise control, loader, and a rear mounted mower to start.

I don't think anyone here will disagree with the above. Brand? well that is up to you.

joe

[Steve Dewey]

Wow - good to see other tractor nuts here. I'm a moderator on a compact tractor forum. It's like SMC but for tractor guys&gals. Seems that we aren't supposed to post a link to other forums, but if you can't find it with google, send me a PM.

Regarding the toolcat - nice machine for the right user. It's pretty expensive and somewhat of a "jack of all trades, master of some". For all the money you spend on it, you tend to get good customer service. Biggest downside I see is not being able to load the dump bed with the front end loader. It would be nice if they made it similar to roll off containers. For the cost of the tool cat, you could get a compact tractor & a UTV (w/ dump bed).

After renting a full size hoe to demo my in ground pool, I can definetly see the attraction to the cab with HVAC. I have a New Holland TC18.

Dewey

[Matt Meiser]

Wow - good to see other tractor nuts here.

Its just another tool.