How to convince wife that you need to keep your tractor

[jas67]

I have a 1 acre property with a lot of tight spots to mow around, so a BX would not be a good machine to mow my property with. I currently have a Simplicity ZTR with a 44" deck, and a Kubota G1800S (4 wheel steering) with a 48" deck (and an older B7100 gear drive with FEL). I will sell one of these machines, when the wife I decide which one does a better job. Our property is also almost all sloping which can make things a little difficult with the ZTR, esp. with even the slightest bit of moisture on the grass (traction).

We're currently doing quite a bit of landscaping, building a retaining wall, grading and seeding the ground around the new pole barn we just build, which is why I bought the B7100 to begin with, as I'm no fan of doing large amounts of earthmoving and leveling with shovel, rake, and wheel barrow. We are also going to put up a fence, so I bought a PHD for that job as well. Once we are done with these projects, all that leaves removing snow from 260' of driveway, keeping the stone drive maintained that goes to our pole barn, and distributing the large pile of mulch around the hard each spring. I have thought about buying a tiller attachment, and then starting a side-business tilling small gardens, and doing PHD work, an light landscaping.

My wife is conspiring against me on this, as despite currently having the B7100 with FEL, she has managed to do 3/4 of the mulch work with her pitchfork and wheel barrow when I'm not around, thus removing one of the justifications for keeping the B7100!!!

I also need to decide which mowing machine to keep. I bought the Simplicity ZTR new, and have used it only one full season, but was a little disappointed that it is so easy to tear up the turf turning on hills, and going around obstacles. I wish had I bought it with the 52" deck, instead of the 44", as the 44" actually takes a larger radius than the rear wheels when going around things, which puts the rear wheels in mulch, which then drags through it and makes a mess. The 4WS G1800S is better at this, but takes a little more maneuvering in the tight spots. If I do end up selling the B7100, at least I can try to locate a snowblower for the front of the G1800S so I don't need to go back to my 24" wide walk-behind snowblower for this driveway. My G1800S does not have the 3-point, so, I can't easily add a back blade (which would be great, as we get a lot of 1-3" wet snows, where a back blade would work better than a blower).

Too bad you can't put a loader on the GS2110, the turning radius of that would be good for my property. Kubota should make a 4WS BX!

Thanks for listen, and if anyone else has successfully dealt with this situation, let me know how.

jas67

[DavidVT]

Dump the ZTR, you will not be the first person to have discovered they are not perfect for every job. Surely someone is eager to buy yours....

A good friend just put his Kubota ZTR on the market which is still pretty new and was not cheap. They kept getting into trouble around the edges of the pond and on hills. He bought a large conventional Kubota garden tractor and they are happy with it.

You need the 3 point etc of the 'real tractor'. The wheel barrow thing is great but none of us ever get any younger... Give her the keys to that tractor and encourage her to use it...... If the gear drive is an issue, and your wallet is ok with it, then consider trading the old tractor and ZTR for a new tractor with hydro of similiar size.....

Good luck, I recognize an uphill battle when I see one!!!

[slewisma]

Rent or borrow a BX for one mow. I was surprised how maneuverable it is. Thought I needed a ZTR or 4WS but really wanted the loader and BH so I rented a BX24 for a weekend (hint, do it on a holiday weekend and you might get 3 days for the price of 2). My rental didn't have a mower but I was able to try the turns I need in my yard nonetheless.

Think about your yard layout when choosing the deck though. I got the 54" and am glad. The 60" wouldn't fit through some of the tighter spaces between beds.

If you only have 1-3" of wet snow at a time and it is on 260' of paved driveway, you might even find the FEL to be sufficient for snow removal.

[jas67]

DavidVT,

My wife has no interested in dealing with the non-synchronized gearshift (even though she prefers a manual transmission in the car -- thank god). I've been looking for a good deal on a hydrostatic drive B7100/B7200, or other Kubota in the 5-6k range with a FEL, or one that I can move my FEL to. If I get a hydro, i think she'd be more inclinded to use it.

[jas67]

Originally Posted by slewisma

Rent or borrow a BX for one mow. I was surprised how maneuverable it is. Thought I needed a ZTR or 4WS but really wanted the loader and BH so I rented a BX24 for a weekend (hint, do it on a holiday weekend and you might get 3 days for the price of 2).

I have a friend with a BX24 that is planning on selling it when he is done with is current list of projects, maybe a I borrow his. What uncut radius can you leave with your BX?

Thanks,
jay

[Egon]

A B7100 HST without the Fel bucket on it makes for a very nice mowing machine.

[rcrcomputing]

Hmmm, this could be looked at like "my tractor or my wife" issue.

Gotta think about that..

[jas67]

Originally Posted by Egon

A B7100 HST without the Fel bucket on it makes for a very nice mowing machine.

The turning radius on my B7100 would suck for mowing my property. Is a BX a lot better?

[slewisma]

Originally Posted by jas67

I have a friend with a BX24 that is planning on selling it when he is done with is current list of projects, maybe a I borrow his. What uncut radius can you leave with your BX?

Thanks,
jay

BX24 turning radius is specified at 7.5 ft. (2.3 m). I haven't measured but that seems about right based on some curved beds I've got to go around.

The deck reaching out past the side of the tractor buys a little too.

The HST actually works magic in making it a little tighter still since the ability to quickly backup to make an adjustment is so easy.

Note though that the B series actually has a tighter radius than the BX, probably because of the BX's 4WD.

[jas67]

I've read that turning radius isn't always measured the same. Is this 7.5' the radius of the uncut area you leave behind when cutting, or is that the outside front wheel (i.e., can you turn around between two obstacles 15' apart)?

Thanks,
jas67