First Time Homeowner

[sbonanno44]

Good Day All!

I am a 25 year old new homeowner. I just moved into a home with a modest sized plot (1.5 acres) in Southern NH that has some extreme terrain. With winter approaching quickly and not a lot of free time I will be hoping to utilize the forums for advice about purchasing residential power equipment (i.e. snowblowers, lawn mowers) that can handle my steep and uneven landscape.

Feel free to give me a heads up if this is not the proper arena for these types of issues.

Thank you in advance

 

[Muhammad]

Welcome to TBN.

 

[Soundguy]

welcome to tbn.

there are specific forums to help out with these subjects, however you'll probably get good advice no matter where you post.

for real extreme land, perhaps a SCUT and belly mower, 4wd and hst might be better for you than a conventional rider lawnmower. for sure would be more bang for your buck, as you could then have a snow blower and loader or blades too..

good luck

soundguy

 

[Briana03]

WELCOME to TBN

I moved your thread to the Snow Removal Forum. As you read, you'll notice plenty of discussion on recommended blowers.

Also, when you're looking for a lawn mower, you can check the Lawn & Garden Forums or our sister site: Lawn Mower Forum.com

Good luck & CONGRATS on your home purchase!!

 

[leonz]

Good Day All!

I am a 25 year old new homeowner. I just moved into a home with a modest sized plot (1.5 acres) in Southern NH that has some extreme terrain. With winter approaching quickly and not a lot of free time I will be hoping to utilize the forums for advice about purchasing residential power equipment (i.e. snowblowers, lawn mowers) that can handle my steep and uneven landscape.

Feel free to give me a heads up if this is not the proper arena for these types of issues.

Thank you in advance

You have to decide what you can afford
before you can even take a step as
everything has its opportunity cost.


How much available income that is excess
cash on hand with which you afford to
dedicate for spending each and every month
for 48-72 months?

As you have only 1.5 acres with varied terrain
you most likely will be fine with a 2 wheel tractor
as they have plenty of power for mowing and snow casting. you can also purchase a sullky to ride behind it.

The BCS model 853 2 wheel tractor has plenty of power for a mower, tiller and snow caster.

The purchase first cost and interest is also lower in total than a sub compact tractor with a mower and snow caster.

Your total flexible available income is what will determine what you can truely afford.(been there, done that).

Look at the two wheel tractor home page to see what many folks do with these machines as they are not toys.

The family that owns and operates Earth Tools - Walk-Behind Tractors - (502) 484-3988
in Tennesee is very helpfull and very capable of answering any questions as they use 2 wheel tractors to farm the land they own.

The BCS and Grillo 2 wheel tractors are all gear driven and all the attachments are also gear driven and you will appreciate that in single or two stage snow caster attachment.

Spend some time in the 2 wheel tractor forum and you will learn a lot and save a lot time and money which is in short supply these days.

 

[cdaigle430]

For extreme terrain, a subcompact tractor will get you killed. Best all around would be an ATV or UTV. You can haul, plow, snowblow, pull, winch just about anythng.

Otherwise-if you can tame the extreme terrain, then a tractor or SCUT will come in handy.

Is your terrain also rocky?

 

[KennyG]

I think the real question is how extreme (pictures suggested). My first thought was plant ground cover and just stay off of it.

 

[North Country]

I think the real question is how extreme (pictures suggested). My first thought was plant ground cover and just stay off of it.

Exactly. Your "extreme" may be a suburbanite's "mountainous" or my "side yard." :laughing:

How much is already lawn? How much that isn't lawn will you be actively maintaining? How steep is the steepest section? Take a measurement if you can; we all tend to overestimate steepness until we've measured a few slopes ourselves.

 

[sbonanno44]

Thanks for the replies and advice. Most likely I am playing up the extreme terrain a little bit compared to others. My major concern is navigating the steepness of my driveway for snow removal this winter. I have someone helping me out with the mowing (friend w/ commercial service) for the remainder of the fall, so I can spend the winter researching and selecting a mower/tractor to handle the lawn.

I plan to get some pictures and measurements to add here over the weekend. I have about 150 feet of driveway that is all incline except for a small area up top that is flat, about 2 car lenths long by three car widths wide. The incline is steep enough that it causes cars to bottom out where the driveway meets the street if you are not careful.

I've read about track-drive blowers and it seems they would provide the ease of going up the slope easier, while having limited turning mobility. Is it possible to get the same traction benefits from chains on a wheeled machine instead?

 

[leonz]

What your referring to is the angle of attack with regard to the drveway angle problem.

As I mentioned before the majority of the snow casters available are too light in front to do any good. The BCS 835 2 wheel tractor wiith the Berta 32 inch snow casterf is more than enough tractor for what you want.

You can always buy snow chains for the BCS 835 and wheel weights and you will have lots of digging power and traction.

A track drive snowcaster will have issues with ice and traction unless you have a heavy honda or Yamaha or studded tracks or studded tires on the snow caster.


If your little driveway is the only issue all you need is a 12 horse tractor, snow chains and a 2 stage snow blower for the tractor.

You should be able to get an off season mowing tractor bargain from John Deere and a snow blower attachment with chains for much less money than dealing with a dedicated snow blower that may cost you more than twice the cost of a 12-18 horsepower lawn tractor with the attachments.