Buying Advice Help me choose a tractor for mower / loader / driveway duties please!

[Tinstafl]

You really need a zero turn. I love my Xmark and it will cut your grass in an hour and that hill is not very steep and will not cause it any issues. Also my 60 inch deck will fit into a 72 inch opening with a couple inches to spare but the 72 inch deck will not fit. A scut might be best for the driveway but the blade on the atv does the same job. Cheaper to hire the stumps out or rent a machine big enough to do it.

 

[k0ua]

Get a set of Blizzaks for that VW and you will be amazed at the difference in traction. Night and day difference over "all season" tires.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

I prefer a tractor for you situation. My Massey Ferguson GC2400 mows very well with its 60" deck and covers ground at a pretty good pace. No it won't be as fast as a zero turn, but I prefer a one machine solution. IMO, unless you need a tractor that is too big/heavy to mow with, or you have a huge (think many acres) amount of lawn to be groomed, I don't think it's worth having two machines to store and maintain.

A smaller tractor will be better for mowing, a larger tractor will be better for ground engaging. Either should do most of your tasks well, with a couple of exceptions. First, moving 30 yards of material will take a while, the bigger the bucket the faster it will go, but the tractors in a reasonable size for mowing will still have a "small" bucket. I spread 30 yards of mulch this year with my little tractor, it was a LOT of buckets! Second, the trees. I assume you'd like to remove the stumps? You wont be able to do it easily. You won't even come close to being able to pull them out, and trying to dig them out with the bucket will create quite the mess. A backhoe is the best way to remove the stumps with a small tractor, but they are very expensive, and hard to justify unless you have many tasks for it. I would just rent a stump grinder.

The JD2520 you're looking at is a small CUT, the Kubota B series would be similar in size/capability.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Separate one time work from regular work. Size and buy to meet you regular work. Then rent or be content to take longer on one time work.

The used tractors you are looking at in the first.post seem to be the right size. But research carefully the costs of adding a midpoint mower to a used tractor. It might be more than you think. I would think you could find a used tractor with about 300 hours with loader and mower.

 

[mstyer]

Thank you for all of the suggestions so far. I'm still leaning towards the JD 2520, but keeping my eye out in case a nice JD 855 or Kubota B2630 pops up. I'm also researching MMM vs. RFM for my mowing needs. That decision could push me one way or another with my purchase. Storage space is a limitation, so I won't be pursuing the zero turn mower plus tractor / loader option.

To Fiziksgeek's concern about a smaller bucket for my 30 yards of dirt, that shouldn't be a problem. It'll actually be a benefit as I try to place the dirt. Here's something like what I plan to build.

 

[GManBart]

A tractor with a RFM will be the slowest, least maneuverable solution. A tractor with a MMM will likely be even slower than your current riding mower....and even slower in total time if you have to stop and remove the FEL every time you need to mow.

I had a 90" cut RFM for a while and the only thing it could do faster than a 48" ZTR was an open field with no obstacles. I thought the extra width would save so much on the open areas that it would make up for the lack of agility around obstacles...didn't work out that way.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

if your going used your narrowing your search way too much. There are scads of models in that size that could work for you. In Kubota land. B7510, B7610, B2510, any BX series, B7800, B3030, B2400, gosh the list goes on and on. That's scratching the surface.

 

[flusher]

For such a small property, something like my 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, hydrostatic tranny, 4WD, power steering) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 850 lb lift) would be the right side. You can attach a mid mount mower for your landscape work. Turf tires or ag tires--your choice.

You can find one like this with a few hundred hours showing for well under $10K.

Good luck

 

[roadhunter]

Get a Zero turn. It"s is perfectly designed for mowing.

Then get as big of a tractor as your wife will let you have. LOL.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Get a Zero turn. It"s is perfectly designed for mowing.

Then get as big of a tractor as your wife will let you have. LOL.

Which could be zero tractor.

It's easy to spend other people's money. Get a ZTR, a tractor with a cab and trade in that VW for a 4wd truck. Then get a flat bed trailer to haul them.