First Post-Tractor Overkill?

   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #1  

MGH PA

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2010
Messages
280
Location
Northcentral, PA
Tractor
2005 Gravely 148Z 48" ZTR
First post here, never though growing up I would be into tractor's as much as my father, but I suppose why fight it?

Little background info as well. I grew up on 90 acres, my dad ALWAYS having tractor's, although he and my uncle only actively farmed it for the first few years after they bought it in the late 70s. From there on out, my dad had vintage John Deere's (still has one), a Massey Harris, a Ford 8N (still has it), and now his JD 990. We've used them for grading, gardening, food plots, hauling pole wood out, excavating, plowing, etc. My wife and I bought our first home about 1.5 miles away from the property. We're on a little over 2 acres, but it's a rural setting , with about 80 acres of undeveloped ground bordering us. I have a two story Gambrel barn (so storage isn't an issue for a new "toy.":D)

My yard is relatively open with a variety of fruit trees plated toward the top half. I've been mowing the yard (almost 1.8 acres or so) with an old CC AGS 36" rider. It's slow, underpowered, and the clutch packs are about shot. I had looked into getting a ZTR since I hate how long it takes to mow, but then I realized how much I used my dad's 990 the past two years we've been here. We've graded with it, hauled items from the barn to the basement, moved loads of topsoil, loaded firewood/transferred firewood from the bottom of the property up to the house, etc. I keep telling myself 2 acres is not enough to warrant a SC tractor, but it's hard for me to drop the $$ on a commercial grade ZTR that is only good for one thing, and that will sit in the barn for most of the year. I know if I had a tractor, I would use it, and of course I would take it to my parents to help out over there (two tractors get the job faster than one, right?:thumbsup:). We also mow ~40 acres for our neighbors every year as well (currently just using my dad's 990). Not to mention, I plan to (god willing) to purchase my own land eventually, and I know at the point, I WILL have a tractor, so why not now?

Question is, is it overkill to have a SC on a little over 2 acres? I was specifically looking at the Kubota B series, but then I start to think, "that's double the cost of what a commercial ZTR is." I have a little while to decide, so I'm researching, and getting opinions usually seem to help as well, so any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #2  
No such thing as over kill as long as you don't go too big and the Kubota B is a nice size as are the JD, NH, Kioti etc. counterparts. There truly is nothing like owning your own tractor.

As a point of reference, my neighbor owns one acre and has a big JD ZTR, 35 HP JD CUT, Mule, push mower and weed eater. He has started mowing the highway shoulders on both sides of the roads, he lives at an intersection, in addition to places down the road. Between the three of us we keep our road mowed on both sides for over 1/2 mile.
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #3  
Go for the tractor!!!!make sure you get it with the FEL...unlimited uses,buy from one of the major brands.Can't move dirt,snow,firewood ect. with a mower.MMM should take care of your grass cutting chores.
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #4  
I have what I call a large 2 acre country lot.:cool:

My tractor has done soo much for me it is hard to think that I once lived without one.

A tractor is a very versatile tool that can be used as precisely as a screwdriver.

Everyone should have one.!!:thumbsup:
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #5  
We bought a home on 3 acres. We also bought a JD garden tractor from the previous owner. It has a 54" deck and a snow blade and I got along pretty well with it during the 1st year. Taking off the deck and putting on the snow blade was a half day task but it still beat shoveling a 400' driveway.

Then we bought another 12 acres about 30 miles away as recreational property and we bought a B2920 Kubota but kept the JD too. Once you have the tractor you will use it a lot. I still use the JD for mowing on the 3 acres, but just because I have it and don't want it to just sit unused. The Kubota does just as well mowing and is faster. The Kubota with the HST is not much more complicated to operate than a garden tractor, so my wife is comfortable mowing with it.

My neighbor traded his JD garden tractor for a ZTR. It is some faster on his 3acres than my garden tractor, but not much although in fairness, he has more obstacles to mow around which would take longer with a tractor. You are going to realize a big time savings using about anything with a bigger deck than what you have. I mow 3 acres in 2 hours with the garden tractor and a bit less with the Kubota. So if I saved 30 or 40 minutes for a once a week task during the mowing season, I would still prefer the versatility of the tractor.
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #6  
I bought my PowerKing when I lived in town on .4 acre lot! I had the engine rebuilt, bought a FEL and installed it, upgraded tires, bought and sold some attachments, etc. I hoped that I'd be able to put it to use on some land of my own eventually. After 6 (six!) years of living in town we moved to 12 acres in the country.

Sure, my neighbors in town looked at me a little funny, but planning ahead never hurts.

Jim
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #7  
Welcome to TBN. :)
I'd pick tractor,sure your going to pay more but your project list will be heck of a lot easier.
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #8  
Brother...I have 2.5 acres...started off with a 19 HP (16.5 PTO HP) Deere 670. Nice machine and a good fit for my property.
But, I needed a few more PTO HP for a chipper, so I went for a 790 (27 HP and 24 PTO HP). Also a good fit...maybe a bit big.
But, I wanted a reverser transmission (both the 670 and 790 were collarshift, which I was fine with...except for reverse (Low is too slow, High is too fast)). The reverser provides a lot more versatility in gear ranges (12 x 12, to be precise). However, to buy this transmission, I had to buy the Deere 4400 it was installed in.
So now I'm up to 35 Engine HP (30 at the PTO).

Still on that 2.5 acres though...

So, don't worry about overkill...buy the tractor you want.
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #9  
Yup..What Roy said!!!
 
   / First Post-Tractor Overkill? #10  
You only live once, buy what makes you happy, within reason at least. I've got 6.5 acres that I'll be building on. I bought a 40 horsepower enclosed cab tractor with FEL. It's pretty much all open so I'll be mowing a lot of land, but still it's more tractor than I need. I love it though, it gets the job done quickly when I want to and gives me an escape when I have a bad day at work. I also plan on eventually buying the adjoining 6 acres and hope to buy another connecting lot in the future too, so I wouldn't say that our plans are all that different. So have fun and get what makes you happy, the difference in price is far from unreasonable.
 
 
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