smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor

   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #1  

aardvark

Gold Member
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Jun 7, 2004
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It seems like the MMM decks for most CUTS and subCUTS are about the same price as a new rider lawn tractor. Is it smarter to have two seperate units, a lawn tractor to mow the lawn with, and a CUT for clearing my lot and general work, or is the MMM a better choice? For $1500 price tag of a MMM I suspect I could get a half decent lawn tractor (or am I wrong?). Mostly looking for opinions, I'm not sure what I'll do now that I've thought about it a little. I had originally planned on a subCUT/CUT and MMM, but maybe I can get the tractor and a Home Depot special JD or Cub Cadet lawn tractor for mowing two acres.

Thanks
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #2  
I personally don't like mid mount mowers for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is just having to take on and off for doing different tasks. Also, the loss of clearance with a MMM is not acceptable to me.
I prefer to, and do, use a riding mower which, to me, is much easier to use around the yard, trees, and obstacles, although the MMM is much easier for those tasks than a rear finish mower. I haven't seen any MMMs for $1500, but I suppose some are. Most I have seen are at least $1600 up, mostly up, when buying WITH the tractor.
Lawn tractors do a good cutting job, may be easier to sharpen, and would allow quick and easy cutting of 2 acres. With the large decks that are available these days on lawn tractors, I'd recommend not getting the MMM. John
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #3  
It may all depend on the size of tractor you purchase. After a certain size the lawn mower may be best.

Note: my Kubota B7100 with midmount is a very nice lawn mowing unit and for me is preferable to a lawn mower. Moving up in tractor size may change the ease of lawn mowing

Egon
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #4  
Jared

I have an<font color="orange"> Kubota </font> with a 72" MMM.
I have not used it for over a year. Since I bought a dedicated mower.
Had to take my <font color="green"> JD </font> F735 in for some warranty work.
Putting the MMM mower on the tractor only took about 10 minutes.
Using the tractor for cutting was a pain. It sets higher dose not turn as sharp and will not get as close to trees and other objects as the <font color="green"> JD </font>.
I originally bought the MMM to get the grass cut in as short amount of time as possible. It did that but took more time to trim.
If i had considered a separate mower when I bought the tractor I would have saved the cost of the MMM. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #5  
When I saw how much they wanted for a mid-mount mower I opted for a riding mower. I only mow about one acre so it isn't a problem and have never regretted my decision. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #6  
I'll second what John and everyone else has said. I don't like MMM's for all the reasons mentioned. I tryed both a finish mower and MMM behind my tractor and didn't like it. I have a 455 and it's a breeze to mow. Alot faster to mow too.
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #7  
Mowers are things you find by the side of the road free (or almost so) after the original purchaser has decided he needs a new one (i.e. it needs a drive belt, doesn't have enough cup holders, his neighbor bought a bigger one, etc.). You put a $100 of belts and parts in it and run it until it fail catastrophically. Hoods, mufflers, brakes, clutches are all luxury items and not required. And when it does die, your next mower is waiting by the curb somewhere!

This leaves you money to spend on a bigger tractor, or more implements, and you don’t have to compromise your tractor purchase for mowing duty.

Seriously, even if you buy a new mower, it still makes sense to buy a small machine to mow with, and a CUT to use as a tractor.
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #8  
<font color="blue"> It may all depend on the size of tractor you purchase. After a certain size the lawn mower may be best. </font>

I agree with Egon! And seeing that you are only dealing with 2 acres, my GUESS is that you will end up with a tractor that will be relatively on the small side.

Two things to keep in mind about the lawn tractor is that they don't seem to last as long as a subcut, and for sure in my case, they are not as much fun to use. I have a Kubota BX with a 60" MMM and I love it for what it is/does.

My larger tractor (Kubota B2910) actually cut better than my yardman garden tractor. I had a rear finish mower (RFM) on it. It was a great mower, but did not suit my needs. I think a larger really is better suited for mowing large, open areas. Not for a couple acres or less. Regardless if a MMM or RFM is used.

If you search the archives, you will find a lot of opinions on the MMM vs RFM question. For me, the mower deck is off and on the BX in a few minutes and not a real issue. Generally it is on the tractor though, in my case because the larger tractor exists to do the heavy work.

There is a lot to be said about having a second machine there with the mower deck, ready to cut without delay when you want to. Sometimes more than half the battle is having to take an implement off your tractor before you put your mower on. Especially if you want to use that same implement after you are done cutting the grass! If you had a small TLB and a nice lawn, you would take the backhoe off, the loader off, put the MMM on, cut the grass, take the MMM off, put the loader back on, and the backhoe back on. Just saying that makes one want to have a dedicated mower!

Honestly, it is such a pleasure to cut grass on my HST tractor, that I don't think I would every enjoy sitting back on a belt-driven gear-drive lawn tractor. Not when I do a lot forward-reverse directional changes. I guess a HST or automatic transmission lawn tractor would work better for though... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

This is starting to sound like I am talking in circles, and I suppose I am. Be sure to do a search, you will find a lot of info on this question.
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #9  
Well, guys......I have all 3. The MMM, the RFM and a riding mower which I had before the tractor. I prefer to use the tractor and MMM combination. It pins up "out the way" if I want to use a 3PH implement. I did take it off last winter in preparation for snow clearing. The RFM will be put into service if the grass has gotten too long for the MMM to be effective to use. I know, I'm probably cutting too much off the top with the RFM, but I guess that's my choice /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
The riding mower sees most of it's use mowing the bank out front by the road. No way will I put the tractor out there. The rider is almost, if not beyond it's limit. I also have used the rider when the grass is long. I can lift the discharge chute and blow the clippings a lot further. The rider gets too beat up on my 2 acres to use continuously, and so do I. My yard, if that's a description for it, is rather bumpy and the rider beats me to death. Where as the tractor with larger wheels seems to be a smoother ride. Takes twice as long to mow with the rider too.
I can probably trim around a quarter laying in the yard with the RFM, just takes time. Besides I don't do much weed eater trimming, maybe 2-3 times a year.
 
   / smarter to buy CUT and MMM or CUT and lawn tractor #10  
I have the combination of CUT and lawn tractor (no MMM for the Deere 4300 CUT).

Mow over 8 acres with the Deere X485 all-wheel-steer, and couldn't mow it with a bigger MMM (just wouldn't look the same and now I don't need a trim mower, but would have to with an MMM on the CUT).

Its a big investment, but it is what I want to do and am fortunate to be able to do it. (Don't know about the 'smarter' part, but I don't do this to impress someone else or to get thier blessing of my own decision. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I do it for me, mainly )
 
 
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