Tractor Sizing What size tractor do I need?

[Matthewf13]

Hi guys,

I am buying a tow behind rough cut mower this year to cut my 10 acres. The mower weighs about 500 pounds and my land has small hills on it. I currently have a Craftsman with a 24hp B&S Intek engine, do you think I need something bigger? Recommendations?

 

[murphy1244]

Are you really cutting 10 acres with a chraftsman lawn mower??? Must take a long time.

 

[Matthewf13]

Haha..I hire someone to cut it for $450. My fields are WAY too thick to mower with a little mower.

 

[xring100]

Hi guys,

I am buying a tow behind rough cut mower this year to cut my 10 acres. The mower weighs about 500 pounds and my land has small hills on it. I currently have a Craftsman with a 24hp B&S Intek engine, do you think I need something bigger? Recommendations?

IF you've settled on a mower and its got its own motor i'd pick up an ATV it will ride better over rough ground since it has shock absorbers rather than you being the shock absorber

 

[MIKE R]

IF you've settled on a mower and its got its own motor i'd pick up an ATV it will ride better over rough ground since it has shock absorbers rather than you being the shock absorber

I second that. Or a side by side for comfort.

 

[Whisper35]

Hello Matthew,

I would recommend a John Deere in the 2000 series(2005,2505,2720).
You'd have plenty of power to pull your new mower. I don't know how your Craftsman will do with that much weight on the back when you get to the hills. If the grade is steep, even on a small hill, your Craftsman may not be able to handle the stress of the constant use. 10 acres is a lot of mowing.
The JD will give you a lot more options than your Craftsman will. It will be much more versatile than the tractor you have now and I believe that you will get a lot more use out of it. I get a lot of use out of mine!

 

[Whisper35]

Mattthew,
If your fields are that thick, you might want to consider something in the 3000 series......
You can look at the Kobata too. My friend has one and he likes it.

 

[cartod]

Yea, you need something in the 3000 series with a rear brush hog. Id forget about the pull behind mower completely, I dont think you will be happy with that setup with 10 acres.

 

[fieldman12]

Yea, you need something in the 3000 series with a rear brush hog. Id forget about the pull behind mower completely, I dont think you will be happy with that setup with 10 acres.

I guess first of all we need to know if you plan on keeping this like a yard or just mow it three or four times a year? I assume since you said rough cut your just looking forward to mowing it every two or three months. In that case I would get a compact tractor or utility tractor with a bush hog in the 30 to 60 hp range. If you want to keep it like a yard hands down get a zero turn mower. That is just way to much to mow with a basic mower and too much time unless you have a fold out finish mower. For a zero turn to make any good time it would have to be pretty smooth.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You will be surprised at how fast you can cut 10 acres of pasture grass with a lawn mower with a 60" deck if it is smooth enough to run at optimum speed. SOME of the larger commercial grade mowers with the larger tires and suspension seat will mow at 10MPH (claimed speed) and with very little overlap plus no turning and overlapping around trees or other obstacles, they will beat most tractors pulling a 6 foot bush hog. The only negative is they wont cut saplings but small bushes and weeds are dog meat with them. I mow about 5 of my 11 acres with my ZTR mower in about 2 hours or so which includes several dozen trees, flowers and shrubs and 2 pond levees to mow around.