Tractor Sizing First Time Tractor Buyer Looking for Advice

[RFB]

The L3540HSTC (Cab with heat and A/C)
with a FEL will give you 35.0 Net Eng. HP
28.0 PTO HP for about 29k (I figured roughly 14% off of list)

This size Grand L is about the HP range you are considering, and the Grand L's are a nice package.

 

[doall]

flail mowers are fine if you never have to cut 2-3" brush. A bush hog is a must, I agree. Flail mowers are really nice though.

 

[leonz]

I really appreciate everyone's advice! Would love to hear more ideas. Another question comes up. I have heard mid-mount mowers are better because they maneuver easier and you can look down and see it to get close to trees, etc. Do you think I would have issues just having a 3-point flail or finish mower?

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You mean if their better(belly mowers) and don't whack a fence or a tree and have your spouse scream at you for nailing the flower bed?

Your response time wont matter a **** bit, and the mowers arc with the left side or the right with the guard will wake you up quickly.


A Caroni with hydraulic side shift will solve that issue forever and you will be able to mow closer than with a belly mower.

You could use a smaller flail mower with hydraulic side shift and have more than enough power to do everything and not have issues with heavy brush and tall brush as it will sail right through it as the flail mower wil be operating at "full engine power" for the 540 RPM setting and you will have more HP per foot of cut and a trail of shredded mulch.


A flail mower will outlive your old tractor and can be used on the new tractor,
oh and you will not be able to use the old belly mower on the new tractor in most cases.



Not going to happen unless you have a riding mower with a compensating steering system that slows down the tractors forward or reverse direction while turning or has rear steering wheels.


You should read the 93 pages plus on flailmowers then come back and ask questions you do not think were covered in those pages.




A) I am not obcessed with flail mowers, they can and do replace the rotary cutter and finish mower in many cases including my own saving the end user thousands of dollars and retaining thier value.

B) large diamter brush can be redered to dust with a flailmower using both case hardened grass knives and hammer knives as it is done by highway departments with boom mounted flail mowers nationwide and in Europe as well.

C) flailmowers are less work with a balanced cut and thats Just one of many of the plusses for flail mowers.

EDIT
D) you can purchase a front mounted flailmower with hydraulic side shift feeding oil from the front end loader
control valve for your tractor if you have a mid mount PTO as well.

IF you buy a tractor from an out of state reseller you will have to haul or have the unit hauled there in most cases
for warranty work so keep that in mind.

 

[johnrex62]

I really appreciate everyone's advice! Would love to hear more ideas. Another question comes up. I have heard mid-mount mowers are better because they maneuver easier and you can look down and see it to get close to trees, etc. Do you think I would have issues just having a 3-point flail or finish mower?

I sit on an L3700SU with a 60" "brush hog" on the back end. It is the same width as my rear tires, so if I need to get close to something I just move in a straight line and put my back wheels where I want to mow. Works everytime. Seems to be about the same as watching a belly mower to me.

There is a bit of difference when making sharp turns as the mower doesn't track as nicely as in a straight line, but on the other hand it is a LOT nicer to back into low limbs and mow underbrush and cut the grass before it touches me. With a belly mower my butt is directly above what I cut and that means those thorny branches would be in direct contact with me as I keep the grass underneath cut. Ouch!

 

[KU Gator]

In your original post you indicated you may get a FEL later. I would strongly advise getting the FEL with the purchase. I think you will find it the handiest tool an most used other than maybe the mower.

As for mid-mount mower, I think without question they are the easiest to get around things as you mow. They pivot under the tractor so you don't have to worry about them swinging wide. It is basicly like mowing with a riding mower. I have mowed quite a lot with them and never had sticks or anything else hit me so I don't know what the comment about that is referring to. The weight they add is centered under the tractor, so they don't have to be counterballanced with something on the front and lower the center of gravity of the tractor, helping it to make it more stable.

With that said, they have their less positive points. They are not really hard to remove or install, it takes maybe 10 minutes on my tractor, but not as easy as something on the 3 pt hitch. They are more expensive than a similar size RFM and you are limited to the tractor brand, vs a large selection of brands and quality levels for the other mowers. The Kubota MMM's are pretty ruggedly built, but I certainly would not use it to attack brush. So I also have a rotary cut mower for that purpose, or when I let the field get too out of hand.

As to tractor, if you decide you really want a MMM, that would have you looking at the B's or maybe grand L's. I would suggest taking a look at the B3030. A really nice tractor, a little heavier, wider, and stronger hydraulics than my B2920. With that said, with any of the 4 cyl engine tractor, I would suggest you test driving them at or close to their PTO RPM to get a feel for the vibration and see if it is suitable for you. Sit on several and test drive several and you will start to narrow it.

 

[TripleR]

I really appreciate everyone's advice! Would love to hear more ideas. Another question comes up. I have heard mid-mount mowers are better because they maneuver easier and you can look down and see it to get close to trees, etc. Do you think I would have issues just having a 3-point flail or finish mower?

I own MMM and RFM. For mowing lawns, I much prefer the MMM. I rarely even use my RFM anymore as my rotary cutters give a good enough cut to satisfy me. Any rear mounted implement is going to be harder for most people to control precisely as quickly as a MMM.

I have no experience with flail mowers, but if I was buying now I would give serious consideration to one in lieu of a RFM. I will not be replacing my rotary cutters with anything however and can't afford both.

 

[johnrex62]

I have mowed quite a lot with them and never had sticks or anything else hit me so I don't know what the comment about that is referring to.

What that refers to is that the OP states only about half of his property is currently being mowed regularly and only 4 of those acres are already lawn. That means he has a lot of untame brush and woods to maintain.

I have a lot of that as well, much smaller acreage than his, but still very wild. When trying to cut tall grass and weeds in those areas he will find low limbs, broad bushes and other obstacles that will have ground beneath them that will need to be cut. The easiest way to cut those areas is to back a 3pt mower into the scrub. This keeps your body away from the brambles and branches that hand 3-6 feet above the grass, just about at seat level on the tractor.

Once you get off the manicured lawn or out of the hayfield, there are a lot of other considerations to take into account, operator hazards are part of the buying decision as much as the tractor work.

 

[whistlepig]

I really appreciate everyone's advice! Would love to hear more ideas. Another question comes up. I have heard mid-mount mowers are better because they maneuver easier and you can look down and see it to get close to trees, etc. Do you think I would have issues just having a 3-point flail or finish mower?

Mid-mounts are better for maneuvering because they are easier to see. RFM's are easier to mount and dismount and easier to service. The RFM is out in the open and not buried under a tractor. Pretty much operator preference between mid-mount and RFM. Both will give a quality cut. Doing FEL work with a mid-mount while it is mounted is kind of unhandy. The mid-mount has a tendency to get scrunched while doing FEL work. A flail gives a better quality cut than a rotary mower but a rotary does better on mowing saplings, heavy grass, and heavy brush. A top quality flail will cost twice as much as a top quality rotary cutter. I think the flail's are well worth the money. Decide what your tasks are and pick your equipment accordingly. It's something that is well worth researching before buying. For sure buy the quick attach FEL with the tractor. That is the very best of all attachments available.

 

[Motractr]

KU Gator's advice about getting FEL upon purchase is great advice. I went to add an FEL a year after a tractor purchase and the price difference was substantial.

 

[fredhargis]

Lots of good advice here, so I can only share my approach. We had just bought 15 acres, with 4+ to mow and a 10 acre field under tillage. I wound up with a B2920 and a MMM. For mowing that has worked out very well. I also got the FEL and BH, but it appears the BH may be about the least used attachment I bought, and maybe even a dumb thing to do. I'm still looking for a RFM (trying to buy a used one) since I may have to mow the tilled field 1-2 times a year. My tractor is physically about as large as I can deal with, but even so I wish I had read more advice here before I bought it. I may well have went with the Bxx30 model, maybe a 2630.....and while I felt I got a very good deal another thing I would do is call Barlow's before I bought ( I only priced priced 3 nearby dealers). My tractor will have two primary uses, mowing, and then snow removal...hence the FEL (really deep drifts) and a rear mounted blower. One other thing, I only considered Kubota and JD, but if I did it over I would look at a few other makes, notably Case/IH and NH.