Hello, not my first post, but first new thread. I've been researching compact tractors for a couple months now. Still not ready to pull the trigger, but homework is nearing the end. I'm decided between the B series 2601 vs 2650 and I won't lie here, the Mahindra Max 26 is still on the table.
I live on 2.5 acres and have been getting by for three years now with wheel barrows, a 4 wheeler and my truck bed for all of our large gardening work. Seems like we are always having to add mulch to a few thousand square feet of gardens around the house and pool. We've resorted to having dump trucks deliver it in 6 to 10 yard loads at a time. We usually use wheel barrows to spread the mulch or I've also borrowed the neighbors 75 hp tractor which is extremely useful but cumbersome around the house. Our place also has 10 palm trees that need trimming two times a year and palm leaves aren't small. Needless to say that a burn pile is almost always present. As soon as we burn one down, I gather it all back up by hand tools and start building it up again. A little tractor will suit my needs exponentially well. I'd store it and even use it in my 30x40 shop for lifting things up to my loft or the occasional thing into my truck bed, etc.
FWIW I do not plan to mow with any newly purchased tractor. Currently I have a yard guy who cuts, edges and cleans for an incredible price. My wife and I have both agreed that if he ever leaves our area that we'll buy our own zero turn. The only attachments I think I'd ever get for this tractor is a box blade and maybe a little tiller, so PTO power is not a huge issue to me. The loader capability and the nimbleness of the tractor are my main concerns. My property is south of Houston Texas and nothing but flat San Augustine grass, except where the burn pile is which is outside of the back fence; still on my property but almost down in a ditch. When it's wet the 4wd will be required. For the burn pile area I'm thinking R4's will be my tire of choice.
So just how compact or sub compact will suit me best?
The B2650 is the largest on my list and it has all the bells and whistles with the electronic dash and higher ground clearance and LA 534 loader capable of lifting over 1,000 lbs! I would probably never need that much, but the safety net is there when I do approach lifting heavier things.
The B2601 is probably best suited for me being so nimble and still has plenty of power as far as capacities and capabilities go.
Then, yes, there's the Max26. It's the cheapest, but the Mahindra dealership is further away than Bobby Ford Kubota. I hear the controls will not be as smooth on the Mahindra as they are on the Kubotas. I test drove the Max 26 by myself and did not notice jerky controls, so almost no concern there. My wife and I test drove the B2650 and she liked the size but the controls can in fact be worked to make the tractor jerky. (The dealership did not have a B2601 with a loader attached at the time). Wife and I drove by the Mahindra dealership when they were closed and she stated the Max just looks like a big riding mower and we both didn't like the loader control knob placement, you have to really reach for it whereas on the Kubotas the loader control stick is a short reach from the arm rest (which the Mahdindra does not have).
I live on 2.5 acres and have been getting by for three years now with wheel barrows, a 4 wheeler and my truck bed for all of our large gardening work. Seems like we are always having to add mulch to a few thousand square feet of gardens around the house and pool. We've resorted to having dump trucks deliver it in 6 to 10 yard loads at a time. We usually use wheel barrows to spread the mulch or I've also borrowed the neighbors 75 hp tractor which is extremely useful but cumbersome around the house. Our place also has 10 palm trees that need trimming two times a year and palm leaves aren't small. Needless to say that a burn pile is almost always present. As soon as we burn one down, I gather it all back up by hand tools and start building it up again. A little tractor will suit my needs exponentially well. I'd store it and even use it in my 30x40 shop for lifting things up to my loft or the occasional thing into my truck bed, etc.
FWIW I do not plan to mow with any newly purchased tractor. Currently I have a yard guy who cuts, edges and cleans for an incredible price. My wife and I have both agreed that if he ever leaves our area that we'll buy our own zero turn. The only attachments I think I'd ever get for this tractor is a box blade and maybe a little tiller, so PTO power is not a huge issue to me. The loader capability and the nimbleness of the tractor are my main concerns. My property is south of Houston Texas and nothing but flat San Augustine grass, except where the burn pile is which is outside of the back fence; still on my property but almost down in a ditch. When it's wet the 4wd will be required. For the burn pile area I'm thinking R4's will be my tire of choice.
So just how compact or sub compact will suit me best?
The B2650 is the largest on my list and it has all the bells and whistles with the electronic dash and higher ground clearance and LA 534 loader capable of lifting over 1,000 lbs! I would probably never need that much, but the safety net is there when I do approach lifting heavier things.
The B2601 is probably best suited for me being so nimble and still has plenty of power as far as capacities and capabilities go.
Then, yes, there's the Max26. It's the cheapest, but the Mahindra dealership is further away than Bobby Ford Kubota. I hear the controls will not be as smooth on the Mahindra as they are on the Kubotas. I test drove the Max 26 by myself and did not notice jerky controls, so almost no concern there. My wife and I test drove the B2650 and she liked the size but the controls can in fact be worked to make the tractor jerky. (The dealership did not have a B2601 with a loader attached at the time). Wife and I drove by the Mahindra dealership when they were closed and she stated the Max just looks like a big riding mower and we both didn't like the loader control knob placement, you have to really reach for it whereas on the Kubotas the loader control stick is a short reach from the arm rest (which the Mahdindra does not have).
