Considering best bang for the buck for acreage

   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #21  
You could go 11.5 mph on a paved road, pulling the R/C. The only point of the R/C touching the pavement would be the castor tail wheel and R/C tail wheels are pretty robust.

Not that fast in a field, even a smooth field. You never know where an animal has dug a burrow or where ground has subsided. The energy stored in moving R/C blades is tremendous. You do not want to tilt the R/C so one or both blades strike the ground. There have been instances of deflected R/C blades cutting through R/C decks. R/Cs are considered the most hazardous of CUT implements to operate. I'd say chainsaws and R/Cs are about equally hazardous.

Hay implements are also hazardous. Big Ag harvesting implements are all hazardous.

We occasionally mow here with a 50-hp Deere pulling a 8' CountyLine R/C. With the big wheels on the 50-hp Deere we mow pretty fast, but our mowing area is the commons in a residential development which is kept "walking" smooth for the residents.

You know your field better than I. Rough and hilly; rough ride on a tractor which only has pneumatic tires as suspension.
 
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   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #22  
Hi, neighbor,,,
My ex-neighbor mowed 3.5 acres with a BX & 60" belly mower,,, it was an eternal task,, never finished,
he would only mow part of it, the beating made him put the machine away.
Then,, back at it, another day.

My SIL and daughter purchased the property,,
he can mow that 3.5 acres in about 2 hours with a JD 855 and a 60" Woods RFM.
It would take me longer,, I could not ride the JD855 as fast as he goes.

Since he is next door,, and I have more than 5 acres I mow,,,
I purchased this to mow the majority of both of the lawns,,,

Portrait_zpsnk5ixws8.jpg


It is 41 engine HP,, I have not decided on a RFM,,, yet,,,
After 35 years of mowing,, I think I deserve a bigger mower,,, :thumbsup:
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #23  
Hi all,

We have 45 *hilly* acres in southwestern VA, of which about 25 acres is grass (former pasture). The remainder is wooded. I am looking for something(s) that will accomplish the following tasks (in no particular order)...

  • -keep the grass (20-25 acres worth) from getting out of control (rough rotary cut it is fine since it doesn't have to be pretty). Mowing is fine too. Unclear which is faster/cheaper (surprisingly, it seems that mowing might be?). NOTE - the grassland is very bumpy, and there are some good hills, so I think a Zero Turn would eventually fall apart and/or get stuck. VERY FEW OBSTACLES THOUGH, JUST BACK AND FORTH, ALL DAY LONG.
  • -possibly grading an old dirt road that is now washed out severely, some big rocks in there.
  • -occasional re-grading of a 1/4 mile long gravel driveway.
  • -occasional snow plowing of the same driveway.
  • -hauling firewood up to the house (I think a fel will be fine for this).
  • -hauling other stuff like rocks (again, a fel should do it).
  • -occasional light digging work (fel).
  • -clearing brush in the woods, keeping paths clear (fel, possible rotary cutter eventually).

My budget is a little bit flexible, but I do want to be careful.

Maybe most importantly - TIME isn't really an issue (to a point). If it takes me more time with a smaller machine (FOR ANYTHING ABOVE), then that's fine up *to a point* (for example, mowing everything in 12 hours, spread over a few days, 3-4 times a year, seems about right).


My current thinking (as of today, anyway) is to get a Kubota BX scut with a fel and a 60" belly mower. I wasn't going to bother with this kind of mower, but I saw that it allows you to raise it to 6", which should allow me to move at a good clip. The BX's move at 7-8mph, which should allow me to cut 3-4 acres an hour, which is GREAT!! I'd add a LandPride (or similar) box grader, and a front angle blade to plow (and chains), and I think I've accomplished everything I need for about the minimum cost (still pushing $20k new, but I don't really see a way to go cheaper without going used).

Thoughts? Suggestions? Laughter? ;p

Thank you!

Kubota L2501 Check out Powers Equipment in Vinton, they have a nice, low hour machine perfect for you. BX is too small, B is nice, but for that acreage a small L is perfect. Get a 5 ft bush hog and you are in business.
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #24  
As you have TIME, why not get a 3,500 pound, bare weight tractor, such as a used MX, a Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans and a Land Plane Grading Scraper (LPGS or Land Plane) and chop and shave that pasture until is is smootaroni?
VIDEO: TRACTOR LAND PLANE - YouTube

Also, for brush removal, nothing beats a Ratchet Rake attachment on a tractor FEL bucket.
VIDEO: ratchet rake brush clearing - YouTube
 

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   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #25  
What about a Kubota B or L, with a rotary cutter (say just 60"). There are no obstacles to speak of, so my math tells me that even if I'm going at ONLY HALF SPEED (on just the B), which is ~6.5mph, then it would only take me about 6 hours to mow everything. Am I missing something there?

When you do the calculation,, remember to factor in turns, and overlap.

you realistically can cut 80% of theoretical.

Your 60" mower will then be cutting about 3 acres per hour,, at 6.5MPH.

After an hour, or two,, you WILL slow down to 4-5 MPH,, tops.

Recalculate at 80% @ 4.5 MPH,, you will get a realistic #.

IMHO,,, 2 acres per hour is doing good.
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage
  • Thread Starter
#26  
Howdy neighbors CADplans and Steppenwolfe. I'd be happy with 2 acres per hour. That's really about 10 hours (20 acres, since there are some outlying parts I can let go). I can do that over a few days easy, given I'm only talking a few times a year. Leaning towards a used L from Vinton at some point (thanks Steppenwolfe for the tip!), and then maybe get a 60" LandPride R/C. The L would also make mincemeat out of everything else I want to do.

Jeff, I like the sound of smootharoni (who wouldn't), but I don't have THAT much time!
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #27  
I vote for the L2501HST with a 5ft.Brush-Hog.Buy right once ,no regrets.
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #28  
I mow about 10 acres of rough hilly old pasture a couple times a year with a L3000 and a 60 inch brush hog. I find my limiting factor on speed is the terrain. On smother areas I use high range, 3rd gear. The cut doesn't look the best but me and the dear are the only ones that see it.

I also use a finish mower closer to the house and if I don't mow at least every other week it is real slow going.
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #29  
Since you said it's hilly and bumpy, I would buy a heavy tractor that gives you a better ride. I recently bought a 4550 Mahindra that weighs around 7000 pounds with the fel. I was mowing 15 acres with a T C 30 horse New Holland. It bounced me around so bad plus took forever. With the Mahindra takes half the time and I'm sitting relaxed and steering with one hand rather than holding on for dear life. I think a 4 wheel drive Mahindra 4540 or 4550 would be perfect.
 
   / Considering best bang for the buck for acreage #30  
Howdy neighbors CADplans and Steppenwolfe. I'd be happy with 2 acres per hour. That's really about 10 hours (20 acres, since there are some outlying parts I can let go). I can do that over a few days easy, given I'm only talking a few times a year. Leaning towards a used L from Vinton at some point (thanks Steppenwolfe for the tip!), and then maybe get a 60" LandPride R/C. The L would also make mincemeat out of everything else I want to do.

I would throw myself under the 5-foot rotary cutter if you made me cut 25 acres with it!

I have a Kubota L3710 with around 40 hp. It can run a 6-foot rotary cutter comfortably. I run a 90" (7.5 foot) finish mower on my 5 acre lawn and it takes FOREVER. It's about a 3 hour project to mow the main part without a lot of things to mow around. Fortunately my wife loves to mow - something about getting away from the rest of us for a few hours and losing herself in her thoughts.

If I had 25 acres to mow, an 8-foot mower would be the minimum. Dad probably mows that much with his 8-footer and he is never 'done'. Has to stay off of it when it's too wet, when he has Dr. appointments, tractor breakdown, etc. Mows whenever he gets the chance and he is retired and has a cab tractor and really likes to mow. Still - never done...

That 25 hp tractor looks big on the dealer's lot, but it will look like a Hot Wheels car when you get it home and put it in the middle of your acreage.

In the end it's up to you. I sense from your comments and questions that you are 100% new to tractors and their capabilities. That's ok, and we all started there. I've been around tractors and mowing fields from childhood as have many of the others here. I don't think you will find anyone who has ever mowed a 25 acre parcel that will tell you to mow it with a 5-foot cutter.
 
 
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