Looking for help with purchase – B/LX/L tractor owners with wet/soggy soil

[Matt999]

Hi folks. First time tractor buyer here in PA with another variation on the B2601/LX2610SU/L2501 question. I’ve searched for input on this topic and didn’t have much luck. I have about 25 acres of mostly flat ground - 6 acres that I mow with a zero turn, 6 acres that I need to brush hog and the rest wooded. The things that I want to do with a tractor are move mulch/wood chips a few times a year around the yard, brush hog 1-2 times a year, move firewood and maintain trails in my woods and around my property, maintain a stone driveway and move snow. The challenge is I have wet soil and soft ground. It’s wet or soggy a lot of the year except when things are frozen in the winter (even with normal freezing the ground is wet a few inches under the top layer so it needs to be a hard freeze) or when it’s mid-summer and we haven’t had a lot of rain. I like the L2501 due to simplicity and power for its size, but I have concerns about the weight and tearing up my yard so also considering a lighter tractor. I believe the B2601, LX2610SU and the L2501 will all meet my needs. For comparison, we get tractor help 2-3 times a year from someone who has a JD1025R with R4 tires – sometimes with a backhoe on. We’ve only had rutting problems once and that was with multiple passes in the same area and the underlying ground was soggy. That tractor with a FEL is similar in weight to the B2601, but the backhoe adds another 600 lbs.

So, based on experience with wet/soggy soil issues, do you think the L2501 is too heavy and I should go with something lighter?

Thanks

 

[RalphVa]

Main issue I have with the L2501 is that the steering brakes are on the same side as the HST pedal. Cannot be used for steering. Love the B2601, but you may need the even bigger tires on the LX.

 

[Dieseldonato]

I think tire selection would be just as important as tractor size. I've been favoring the r14 hybrid tire as of late. My dad's L245dt does well with r1 tires, but they are quick to rut up soft ground. R4 pack full of crud pretty fast. I've been unimpressed with them off road compared to the r14, r3 or r1 tires for traction. Of the 3 tractors you mention I would favor the b or lx. Smaller foot print a little lighter and would be able to handle the conditions your describe. (Same thing we deal with in Lebanon, PA) I had looked at the lx line but decided for my price range and the availability of good used equipment in my (our) area to go used, and ended up buying a b7510. Needed a few things and new tires but it's been a very good tractor so far and compliments my father's L series very well. It seems to me your doing more or less similar chores that both myself and my father do.

 

[Matt999]

Main issue I have with the L2501 is that the steering brakes are on the same side as the HST pedal. Cannot be used for steering. Love the B2601, but you may need the even bigger tires on the LX.

Thanks for your input. I see there is a difference of brake placement between the 2 models.

 

[Matt999]

I think tire selection would be just as important as tractor size. I've been favoring the r14 hybrid tire as of late. My dad's L245dt does well with r1 tires, but they are quick to rut up soft ground. R4 pack full of crud pretty fast. I've been unimpressed with them off road compared to the r14, r3 or r1 tires for traction. Of the 3 tractors you mention I would favor the b or lx. Smaller foot print a little lighter and would be able to handle the conditions your describe. (Same thing we deal with in Lebanon, PA) I had looked at the lx line but decided for my price range and the availability of good used equipment in my (our) area to go used, and ended up buying a b7510. Needed a few things and new tires but it's been a very good tractor so far and compliments my father's L series very well. It seems to me your doing more or less similar chores that both myself and my father do.

Agree. I'm leaning toward R14s for that reason. Appreciate your input on tractor size and tires.

 

[skeets]

Where are you in the keystone? And if the ground is that mushy befor you get something you might really want to think about having someone come in and do some drainage work. Unless you are along a swamp or low laying river bottom land. We had the same problem in the lower orchard with drainage, they came in and put drain tile in and in about 2 months it was pretty much solved,,, just a thought

 

[Matt999]

Where are you in the keystone? And if the ground is that mushy befor you get something you might really want to think about having someone come in and do some drainage work. Unless you are along a swamp or low laying river bottom land. We had the same problem in the lower orchard with drainage, they came in and put drain tile in and in about 2 months it was pretty much solved,,, just a thought

I'm in the south central part of the state. A creek runs through my property and we have a very high water table as does everyone else on our side of the road near the creek. Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Freeheeler]

From what I read, you won't be doing a lot of ground engagement work so the added weight of the L is a bit counterproductive for soggy ground. The LX has about the same footprint and hydraulic capacity but weighs less so should do everything you need with less chance of rutting. Of the 3 the LX has the highest ground clearance which can come in handy in the woods. The 2601 is a bit smaller overall but should be fully capable of doing what you need and I think would be the lightest of the 3. As mentioned earlier, tire selection is also key. I think any of those 3 will do the job, might boil down to availability.

 

[Matt999]

From what I read, you won't be doing a lot of ground engagement work so the added weight of the L is a bit counterproductive for soggy ground. The LX has about the same footprint and hydraulic capacity but weighs less so should do everything you need with less chance of rutting. Of the 3 the LX has the highest ground clearance which can come in handy in the woods. The 2601 is a bit smaller overall but should be fully capable of doing what you need and I think would be the lightest of the 3. As mentioned earlier, tire selection is also key. I think any of those 3 will do the job, might boil down to availability.

Thanks for your input. All good points to consider. The B2601 is available at the 2 nearest dealers now, but the others are on order. I'm not in a rush - just more interested in getting the right tractor and can wait a bit if needed.

 

[Jhtractor]

Main issue I have with the L2501 is that the steering brakes are on the same side as the HST pedal. Cannot be used for steering. Love the B2601, but you may need the even bigger tires on the LX.

I like the steering brakes on the left foot and the HST pedal on the right foot on the LX for what its worth. I have heavy clay soil that takes a while to dry out, come see the ruts in my lawn where I thought I could drive last week as it was dry for a couple of days. I would suggest you look at the different types of tires of lawn damage is a concern. I have the R-14s and they are not too rough on the lawn, except for when my 15 year old son is tearing around like he is a nascar driver mowing....

 

[mikester]

A SCUT tractor will not be very suitable moving wood/mulch because of limited carrying capacity requiring many frequent trips to move loads. The more you drive the worse the soft soil gets.

small bucket + small wheels + soft ground + lots of driving = muddy mess

A tracked machine in the soft stuff will do a better job. Have you considered something like a tracked carrier?

KC Series Track Carriers | Kubota Canada

Not only is the KC Series compact in size, it also provides all the load capacity and dump force needed to efficiently and reliably get the job done.

kubota.ca

I know it's always tempting to find one machine that does a little of everything, the problem is it does no one thing particularly well.

 

[Matt999]

I like the steering brakes on the left foot and the HST pedal on the right foot on the LX for what its worth. I have heavy clay soil that takes a while to dry out, come see the ruts in my lawn where I thought I could drive last week as it was dry for a couple of days. I would suggest you look at the different types of tires of lawn damage is a concern. I have the R-14s and they are not too rough on the lawn, except for when my 15 year old son is tearing around like he is a nascar driver mowing....

Thanks for your input. It sounds like I need to focus on the B/LX with R14s. And keep my son from driving it too hard

 

[Matt999]

A SCUT tractor will not be very suitable moving wood/mulch because of limited carrying capacity requiring many frequent trips to move loads. The more you drive the worse the soft soil gets.

small bucket + small wheels + soft ground + lots of driving = muddy mess

A tracked machine in the soft stuff will do a better job. Have you considered something like a tracked carrier?

KC Series Track Carriers | Kubota Canada

Not only is the KC Series compact in size, it also provides all the load capacity and dump force needed to efficiently and reliably get the job done.

kubota.ca

I know it's always tempting to find one machine that does a little of everything, the problem is it does no one thing particularly well.

A tracked machine would get a lot of things done that I'm looking to do. The brush hogging is a big one that would be missing. Agree that it's hard to find one machine to do it all when there are some limiting factors. Thanks for suggesting another option.

 

[Daferris]

I have an LX2610HSD that I have the large 15-19.5 R4 tires on (same tires as the standard L). In my case I do a lot of loader work and work with dead trees in my woods. The R4's have thicker sidewalls and tread so that was why I went with them instead if the R14's. All that said 85% if the time here in Mid-Michigan I plowed the snow in 2wd only going to 4wd the time we had about a foot of wet snow.
The bigger tire dramatically increase the footprint of the tread. Mine are loaded with RimGuard so I have about 310 pounds of ballast in each tire (620 total). But that comes as a expense of the total machine weight that might be a drawback for you. My LX with a cheap back blade on it weights 3,555 pounds for the operating weight. Attached is the photo of it when I was adding the hydraulic top link

 

[Matt999]

I have an LX2610HSD that I have the large 15-19.5 R4 tires on (same tires as the standard L). In my case I do a lot of loader work and work with dead trees in my woods. The R4's have thicker sidewalls and tread so that was why I went with them instead if the R14's. All that said 85% if the time here in Mid-Michigan I plowed the snow in 2wd only going to 4wd the time we had about a foot of wet snow.
The bigger tire dramatically increase the footprint of the tread. Mine are loaded with RimGuard so I have about 310 pounds of ballast in each tire (620 total). But that comes as a expense of the total machine weight that might be a drawback for you. My LX with a cheap back blade on it weights 3,555 pounds for the operating weight. Attached is the photo of it when I was adding the hydraulic top link

Thanks for your input. That is a sharp looking tractor with those bigger tires.

 

[dirtydeed]

Same situation here. My road name is Swamp Road which should give you some indication of soil conditions. I specifically picked the B2650 for that purpose.

My suggestion would be to go with the LX (SU version) with the large tire package...and do not fill the tires. Stick with either the R14's or R4's.

 

[Matt999]

Same situation here. My road name is Swamp Road which should give you some indication of soil conditions. I specifically picked the B2650 for that purpose.

My suggestion would be to go with the LX (SU version) with the large tire package...and do not fill the tires. Stick with either the R14's or R4's.

Very helpful that you're dealing with some of the same stuff. Thanks for your input.

 

[dirtydeed]

Very helpful that you're dealing with some of the same stuff. Thanks for your input.

I have about 5 acres of "grass" that I mow with two zero turns. The little cub cadet zero is used for the very wet areas. I put a set of atv tires on the rear and don't get stuck nearly as often now.

 

[Matt999]

I have about 5 acres of "grass" that I mow with two zero turns. The little cub cadet zero is used for the very wet areas. I put a set of atv tires on the rear and don't get stuck nearly as often now.

That's a great idea. My toro tires have spun from day one and it gets stuck a few times a year when it gets a little to close to a soft spot

 

[Millsertime]

I live in the Poconos of PA with similar wet woods. I do most of my "woods work" in the winter. I've worked trees/rocks during the semi wet season (80% of the year) and have not got stuck with R14's on LX2610 yet. Once I start sinking in that top black layer of muck, I get the heck out of there!

With regards to damaging my lawn which drains rain well....The R14's don't rut my yard as long as I make subtle turns and stay out of 4WD. Good luck!