MGH PA
Gold Member
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.")
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.
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.")
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.