Harv
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2000
- Messages
- 3,371
- Tractor
- Kubota L2500DT Standard Transmission
I was just preparing my very first post in anticipation of my very first tractor, when I realized I could use some advice from you all right now. I think I have a line on a used L-series Kubota in the 25hp range, with loader and box scraper. I will also need a few more implements to handle my particular tasks, but never having owned a tractor before I fear that I am not thinking like a tractor owner yet. In other words, I'm not sure if I know how to make the transition from doing-it-by-hand to doing-it-by-tractor.
In a nutshell, I will be maintaining 42 acres in the Sierra foothills here in California. My first concern will be to control the tall grass, weeds and brush that surround the home structures at least to the point of fire safety. I have been doing this by hand for the last several years using a backpack sprayer, a DR Trimmer-Mower and a hand rake. It's been a losing battle. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
From what I have learned by following this message board, the first implement I should try to get is a brush hog. I figure my tractor would handle a 5-footer, but I could easily get by with a 4-footer. Does this sound like the first-strike weapon of choice?
Like I said, I have been using a backpack sprayer, and spraying with Roundup is quite effective, except I could only spray a couple of acres in a day (a lousy, backbreaking day, I might add /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif). The question here is, should I transfer my spraying operation to the tractor by putting, say, a 50-gallon PTO-driven boom sprayer on the back? Or will brush-hogging render the whole idea of spraying moot?
Then there's the yard or landscape rake. Again, I'm probably still thinking like foot soldier, but it sounds like a handy tool for cleaning up loose rocks before weed-whacking, and maybe tidying up certain areas after weeds are down. Does the mulching action of a brush hog make this step unnecessary, too? Will a box scraper do just as well as a cleaner-upper?
I will defer questions about carryalls, forks and other stuff for a later post. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
I make my living developing web-based systems, and this is one of the best sites I have ever seen.
Congratulations to you all./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
- Harv
In a nutshell, I will be maintaining 42 acres in the Sierra foothills here in California. My first concern will be to control the tall grass, weeds and brush that surround the home structures at least to the point of fire safety. I have been doing this by hand for the last several years using a backpack sprayer, a DR Trimmer-Mower and a hand rake. It's been a losing battle. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
From what I have learned by following this message board, the first implement I should try to get is a brush hog. I figure my tractor would handle a 5-footer, but I could easily get by with a 4-footer. Does this sound like the first-strike weapon of choice?
Like I said, I have been using a backpack sprayer, and spraying with Roundup is quite effective, except I could only spray a couple of acres in a day (a lousy, backbreaking day, I might add /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif). The question here is, should I transfer my spraying operation to the tractor by putting, say, a 50-gallon PTO-driven boom sprayer on the back? Or will brush-hogging render the whole idea of spraying moot?
Then there's the yard or landscape rake. Again, I'm probably still thinking like foot soldier, but it sounds like a handy tool for cleaning up loose rocks before weed-whacking, and maybe tidying up certain areas after weeds are down. Does the mulching action of a brush hog make this step unnecessary, too? Will a box scraper do just as well as a cleaner-upper?
I will defer questions about carryalls, forks and other stuff for a later post. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
I make my living developing web-based systems, and this is one of the best sites I have ever seen.
Congratulations to you all./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
- Harv