What tractor do I need?

[bill allen]

I live on 10 acres and I keep the entire 10 mowed like a lawn. My wife and I have been doing it with two zero turn mowers but I think I would like to start doing it with a tractor which should be much faster and more comfortable. There are only a handful of trees so there is lots of room for turns and the areas around the house that we fertilize and water I would still continue to use the zero turns on. I am planning on pulling something along the lines of a 10'-14' finish mower. I also need a loader on occasion but 95% of the time the tractor will be used for mowing. I am not very familiar with many tractors but right now I am thinking either Kubota or John Deere and I plan to buy new. What horsepower tractor should I be looking at?

 

[Parkanzky]

My father-in-law pulls a mower that size with a ~90 HP tractor. You can probably get away with a bit less, but my motto is that it's better to have more than you want than less than you need!

 

[bill allen]

I think 90 is good advice but I don't want to go that big so what size would I need if I only go 10' on the mower? Currently, I am mowing the place with a 72" zero turn and it is a rough ride along with taking too long so I want to up the comfort and cutting width. Also, since i will be mainly mowing with this tractor so should I be looking at something with an HST transmission or something else?

 

[Wagtail]

If there's a golf course nearby (and there always seems to be) take a six-pack over to the groundskeeper and ask what he/she recommends.

 

[LD1]

I'd be looking for light + horsepower. Once you go over 50hp a lot of machines get really heavy. I don't think you need 90hp for a 10' mower. Something 50-60hp should pull a 10' mower. The jd4x20/series or the Kubota MX are both high HP for their weight and that's what I'd look at. But I have my doubt's that a 10' mower on a tractor will be much faster than a ztr. Unless you are mowing really slow with the ztr due to the rough ride.

 

[Cherokee140]

One thing to remember is (and this goes very true for your main application) is more is not better. More means more weight, and if you want that yard to still look like a yard a bigger and heavy tractor is going to want to sink in....tear up the grass on turns...bla bla bla.

I would second the suggestion on looking at golf courses....$5 says they are using a pull behind reel mower of some sort....they might even pull them on a ATV or side by side of some kind. I know that is what the local NFL team uses, as well as MU and KU....they all have these huge reel mowers, or at least they did.

If it is really a rough ride going faster might make the cut worse. In my case I can't mow as fast as I could because the ride is so rough....I am currently researching options....Ferris mowers, finish mower for one of the tractors, some kind of self powered mower for the side by side....I just don't know what I am going to do yet....but really not much of a rush....down pour again as I type....I might really need a boat before long.

 

[Wagtail]

Have you considered getting your 10 acres rolled? It'll cut down on the bouncing.

 

[Raincoast]

I agree with the previous post... A heavy tractor is likely to rip up your lawn & leave deep tire tracks. Especially when the ground is a bit wet. Even on the dry areas of our lower field, my 45 HP tractor leaves noticeable tracks. On the damp areas it sinks in 2 or 3 inches... In the WET areas, down to the axles is pretty common. 4 wheel drive & diff lock engaged to crawl out of the hole.
I've been wishing for a zero turn!

 

[StuartDK45SE]

I'd get a 50-60 hp and put a 90" Woods finish mower on it. It's not the 10' cutting swath you're wanting, but I bet you could run it at a pretty good clip (pardon the pun). After doing that with zero turns, I think you'll think you've died and gone to heaven.

 

[DK35vince]

My opinion, if the yard is that rough with a zero turn it is going to be just as rough mowing with a tractor.
Our ZTR w/72" deck will mow circles around our tractor w/84" finish mower . And the tractor is certainly no smoother in the ride. ( with flex forks, suspension seat and 8 PSI in the tires I think the zero turn rides better than the tractor)
Smooth up the yard.