Tractor Sizing What size machine & RFM?

   / What size machine & RFM? #1  

Richard

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2000
Messages
4,813
Location
Knoxville, TN
Tractor
International 1066 Full sized JCB Loader/Backhoe and a John Deere 430 to mow with
I've got a neighbor who's ...well... he's loaded.

He's been cutting his yard/fields with some kind of John Deer riding mower that I think has the blades in the front?

Takes him 3 hours just to cut his yard and he wants to diminish that time. He does have some odds/ends trees in the yard so it's not all speed cutting.

I might add, he said something about "a batwing finish mower with 6' blades on both sides"

I do not know exactly what he means by that BUT it does give an indication that he wants a decent cutting swath behind him.

So... what kind of finish mower might give a 12' or more cut?
What size machine needed for this?
He wants a loader. I said if you remove the cutter you might need a counter balance. So now we add in a front loader and "something on the rear" (perhaps I'll try to suggest a backhoe to him)

I'm thinking hydro since his wife will be using it. I don't know if they'd want a cab or not... my guess is if SHE ever cuts the grass, she might like having the A/C on. He seems to not mind cutting exposed to the elements, he's also somewhat of a penny pincher.

Nearby brands are Kubota, Massey, JD with one of the JD dealers being a real horses patute. I wouldn't buy water from him if I were stuck in the desert. The other one seems ok. There is a New Holland dealer, 30/45 minutes away. This dealer has a free pickup/deliver policy for repairs and the local dealers charge for this but are closer.

My speculation is, he'd probably prefer used to new. At least for the tractor. I'm thinking there is some merit in getting a new mower so you can be sure the mower is 100%.

Any thoughts on tractor size? Oh, I might add... most of his land is at minimum on a slight slope. He also has some parts that are on a slope that would start to make someone (me) nervous if I were sideways. A real mixture of slopes.

Also... (he's developing 40 acres) he wants to build a boat / Camper house and the tractor would probably do double duty moving boats around, perhaps even into the water.

Thoughts?
 
   / What size machine & RFM? #2  
So, a 12ft FM batwing. I would say a Deere 3720-4320 Cab would be just about perfect. Although, batwings aren't the best for "getting around" things like trees. There are a lot of used ones out there, and most aren't too old. I've seen a few package deals with tractor AND batwing together on eBay and such places.


Kyle
 
   / What size machine & RFM? #3  
How many acres is he mowing? A 6' zero turn mower may be the quickest with a speed of 6-8 mph. Zero turn will probably give the best cut and leave the turf in better shape. A batwing mower is not going to work well for turns or obstacles. Any pull type mower with pto is going to have a wide turning radius. A batwing is still going to require another mower to trim next to obstacles and therefore more time.

Penny pincher and batwing finish mowers are opposite terms! Then add the cost of the tractor and he will be spending some coin.

I can mow my 1 acre yard with 50" zero turn in about 45 minutes and I have quite a few berms, trees, bushes, pond, garden etc. I have an additional 200 trees that I mow around occasionally. I also have a Toolcat and 90" mower for the other 5-6 acres but I just mow that a few times each year.
 
   / What size machine & RFM?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I don't know how many acres in total. One issue is some of his land is smooth lawn and other parts are probably old pasture land (I've cut it before and was relatively easy & smooth) and some parts are recently cut woods that were bulldozed down (roots) and is pretty rough although they did go over it with some kind of box blade.

Question...

If you get one of those "bat wing finish mowers" can you raise their cutting height on the fly like I can my 10' Rhino?

That might allow him to use something like that and lower it for his actual lawn and raise it for the rougher ground.
 
 
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