Buying Advice Buying the right tractor for 1.5 acres

[Matt95684]

As was said above, taking a mmm on/off on certain brands can be a BIG pain. The Mahindra has a drive on mower which makes it easier, but still not something you're going to want to do on a weekly basis, it will get old fast.

Also as mentioned, mowing with the FEL on leaves a lot to be desired as well as 'tractoring' with the mmm on it can be problematic.

I feel that if you want a tractor, get a tractor. If you want a lawn mower, get a lawn mower. I think your lot size (and your wallet, as well as your sanity and that of your wife) would be better served with a small tractor AND a riding lawn mower.

Saving the cost of the mmm would allow you to get a mower that would be more efficient as a mower and cheaper to run as well.

I will do some more looking this week as well as talk to the mahindra dealer in my area and will keep you all posted on what I find thanks for your help everyone I really appreciate it this is a great group in this forum!

 

[jc21]

I will do some more looking this week as well as talk to the mahindra dealer in my area and will keep you all posted on what I find thanks for your help everyone I really appreciate it this is a great group in this forum!

I mow 2 1/2 acres and keep 300' of crushed stone driveway clear (plus an occasional neighbor's) in winter with a 2007 JD X320 (48" deck/ 44" snow blower) bought new. I'm at 770 hours now. When I replace it, it will be with a SCUT.

My two cents? ... from what you describe a SCUT is the way to go. imho it is better to simplify your life and have one power source (the tractor) with a bunch of implements than a garage full of motors to maintain. With a little practice swapping out implements will become second nature and it beats having to become a part time outdoor power equipment/small engine mechanic. Go with a snowblower instead of a plow- if you get drifts like we do here in my neck of the woods (western WI), a plow won't cut it not to mention you willrun out of places to put the snow. Get a loader- there have been so many times I (and my back) wished for one from planting trees and shrubs, pulling rocks, moving gravel and leveling the driveway. A 48" rototiller would make gardening so much easier than the 16" rear tine walk behind I currently have. A 60" mower deck would chop considerable time off the 3 1/2 hours I spend mowing now. No matter what brand you decide on, find a dealer you feel comfortable and confident with, especially if they will be doing all the maintenance.

 

[Tractorrr]

I think a scut would be ideal. The wider the mower, assuming MMM, which seams best here the easier it will be to get close around trees or obstacles and the less time it will take. The scuts are expensive though but should last a lifetime or so I've heard. A zero turn such as Kubota Kommander might be ideal for the mowing but then I guess you couldn't do the snow plowing, or have the FEL and for me there is just something that is great about having that diesel sound and power.

 

[bumperm]

You've received a lot of good advice. I'll just add, whatever you get, be sure to get a front loader, it's amazing how useful will become, moving tools, digging, moving dirt, unloading stuff, carrying and more.

A backhoe is just an amazing tool to have. You may not need it all that often, but if you have one, you'll never want to be without it again.

When looking, don't fall in love with a particular brand or model without doing some on-line research. All manufacturers make mistakes, engineering or design goofs on some models. If you search <Brand X, Model XX, problems, or trouble, tractorbynet> (yes, doing a search on Google with "tractorbynet" included works better as a search engine than the one we have here) may well be an eye opener. Issues that you uncover may not be a deal breaker (e.g. the BX series plastic fan that can break in the woods - - but, you learn not to drive over lots of slash and stuff without a fan guard!), or some of the JD's having their lower 3-point pivot arm pivot pins mounted through a casting flange on their aluminum rear wheel gearboxes - and they tend to break off, or some years of small MF's with a spline shaft that does not extend far enough into the hydraulic pump and it tends to fail and requires the tractor to be split to fix (and no recall issued). Not meaning to be all doom and gloom, just saying there are a few models with shortcoming to be aware of, and a very many more that, with reasonable care, will last a lifetime.

There are no small SCUTs or CUTs, I'm aware of, that are made in the USA, though some are assembled here from imported sub-assemblies. So you get to choose between India, Japan, China, and S. Korea for the main brands. Some have decidedly better quality control and engineering than others.

Good luck, and wise shopping,

bumper

 

[Gary Fowler]

As was said above, taking a mmm on/off on certain brands can be a BIG pain. The Mahindra has a drive on mower which makes it easier, but still not something you're going to want to do on a weekly basis, it will get old fast.

Also as mentioned, mowing with the FEL on leaves a lot to be desired as well as 'tractoring' with the mmm on it can be problematic.

I feel that if you want a tractor, get a tractor. If you want a lawn mower, get a lawn mower. I think your lot size (and your wallet, as well as your sanity and that of your wife) would be better served with a small tractor AND a riding lawn mower.

Saving the cost of the mmm would allow you to get a mower that would be more efficient as a mower and cheaper to run as well.

I have to agree. Get a tractor to work dirt, dig, etc. Get a mower to mow with. I think I am accurate in saying that a mid-mount mower is going to cost you about $4500. For that kind of money you can get a low end commercial grade zero turn mower or put a couple thousand more and get a very nice 52" deck zero turn with commercial quality deck and engine. You will mow twice as fast with it as a tractor if you have any kind of trees/shrubs/flowers to mow around and be able to mow much closer. In fact, you may be able to forgo weedeating around your trees completely using a ZTR mower. A good commercial quality ZTR mower is going to cost you in the neighborhood of $6500 but will likely last a lifetime with very little maintenance other than yearly oil/filter change. I like the suspension on the Ferris and Simplicity because it smooths out the rough spots in my 6 acres that I mow in about 2.5-3 hours. If you have only 1.5 acres and put a house, shop etc on it, you likely could mow in about 1/2 hour with a Ferris like my IS 700Z that will mow at 9.8 MPH which I don't think any SCUT OR CUT is going to do especially if there is any obstacles or bumps. There isn't much of anything any rougher than a tractor to ride on because there is absolutely no give to the tires and no suspension to absorb any shock.
If you need a tractor to move dirt and snow, get a SCUT with FEL and a snow blower. That should do everything you need to do on 1.5 acres and if you really want to use hydraulic to do all your work, add a backhoe like the Kubota BX25D TLB. It is expensive, but as they say, it only takes money to go first class.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

How long does the 42 inch deck take to mow the 3 acres? Knowing what you know now would you keep the 42 for the maneuverability or something bigger for speed I realize mowing around things makes a difference just curious to get someone's opinion so I can figure out what sized deck might be right. Do you think the 60" is probably too big?

My MMM is a 48". The 42" Land Pride is a rear mounted rotary mower (bush hog to some.) I only use the LP for mowing tight areas that get overgrown. Any large overgrown areas I use the big tractor with the 7 footer. The 48" MMM suits my little BX1500 just fine. If I ever replace the BX, I'd go with another BX, just with more hp and probably a 54 or 60" MMM. I find the little BX to be indispensable for so many lighter scaled tasks.

Matt, one thing for sure you'll get lots of opinions based on what works best for the individual in his/her application. TBN is a great resource, you just have to pool all the opinions and go with what suits you. Whatever you decide on, you'll have a blast. Spend some time at your local dealers, it's more fun than car shopping.

 

[treman]

Matt,
I was in a similar situation a few years ago except I was replacing an old 8n and not starting fresh. I almost wish that I had a clean slate at times because I ended up with a bit more tractor than I needed.

I have 2 acres in north central il in a similar sounding setup to what you have. I ended up buying a kioti ck27 to match sizes to all of my implements and it felt like the right size to me at the time. I love the tractor, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes wish I had stepped down to a big SCUT instead of getting a small CUT.

Many are advising the separate mower route which is what I ended up doing but looking back I think I would have been better off with a smaller tractor with a MMM deck compared to what I currently have. For me storage is a big issue which I would have had a much easier time with had I gone with a single tractor instead if 2.

Just saying that sometimes less is more. Good luck and I hope you find that perfect tractor. Sorry for he long winded post.

 

[Matt95684]

Matt,
I was in a similar situation a few years ago except I was replacing an old 8n and not starting fresh. I almost wish that I had a clean slate at times because I ended up with a bit more tractor than I needed.

I have 2 acres in north central il in a similar sounding setup to what you have. I ended up buying a kioti ck27 to match sizes to all of my implements and it felt like the right size to me at the time. I love the tractor, don't get me wrong, but I sometimes wish I had stepped down to a big SCUT instead of getting a small CUT.

Many are advising the separate mower route which is what I ended up doing but looking back I think I would have been better off with a smaller tractor with a MMM deck compared to what I currently have. For me storage is a big issue which I would have had a much easier time with had I gone with a single tractor instead if 2.

Just saying that sometimes less is more. Good luck and I hope you find that perfect tractor. Sorry for he long winded post.

No worries on being long winded I'm always that way I like getting as much info as possible.

 

[Matt95684]

So here's a quick update...

I talked to what seemed like a very knowledgable individual at a mahindra dealership over the phone today. He recommended I get an emax22 with fel and mmm. Said he doesn't think the extra cost is worth gaining 3hp (to move up to the eMax 25). Said fel had lots of uses and could pretty easily handle the drive that I will have (much the same as the great advice I got on tbn). And if I'm going to get an fel get one now or they charge ridiculous freight to ship one on it's own.

He quoted me a price for a new mahindra emax22 48"fel and 60" mmm for $15,500. That seems pretty reasonable for that much machine and new plus I really liked this guys knowledge base you can tell he not only sells tractora he uses them. The dealership is 40 miles away so not wild about that but he said if needed he could come get tractor and bring it back would charge me about $165 to do that.

Also did some online comparisons between mahindra kubota and jd and mahindra seems like a pretty good deal.

If anyone has some thoughts on this I would love to hear them. Thanks as always

 

[oldpilgrim]

you already know my thoughts !

If you get one, you won't be disappointed.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.