If mowing wasn't a factor

[ispan1]

Don't know about the condition of the Case 480 but these were used as landscape loaders and could be fitted with a TPH with several hydraulic circuits for top and tilt and more. Definately worth looking into.

That's a no on the pto option for the case, though it had everything else, and the guy reposted the craigslist ad after raising his price from 4800 to 7800.

 

[Ford tractor]

Great thread! Now you've got me thinking twice about the Kubota l3700 that was my compromise tractor. Should I buy instead an older industrial loader (there's a case 480 I've been thinking about for about $5000) and a ZTR for mowing instead? I'd still be at about half the Kubota price, I think. I mow about 3 acres but it's bumpy and weedy.

Sounds like a good path to me -- as long as the 480 is running well and the bushings & pins are reasonably tight.

 

[jenkinsph]

Well you have to make sure you don't pay too much for a used tractor but that said a 480 with a good rear box blade and a landplane/grader scraper could be just the ticket to smooth out the rough and bumpy lawn area. I used my 110tlb to smooth out my rear lot which had erosion ditches and lots of crappy trees to remove. Then used the boxblade and landplane/grader to smooth everything out. After completing the lawn area with sprinklers and grass I can mow it quickly. I could use any good mower for my lawn but have the X749 with TPH and 540 pto to use in my landscape business so it will be used to mow this summer.

What I am getting at is that with 5 acres of which 4 of these you wan't to mow it would seem logical to focus on the best mower for your needs. I would fix the problem areas and get it smooth then there is limited need for a tractor. A good ztr might be a good fit.

Here is a picture of the lawn area I smoothed out mentioned above.

 

[ispan1]

That is a beautiful lawn! The 480 is a bust without the pto, but I did find a Ford 545 with a 3 pt backhoe and a 3 point set up with pto. That's about a 60 horse tractor. Though it's 2wd, I imagine it would do all a Kubota a third of its size and half its horsepower would do. I wouldn't be able to drive it anywhere on the property without regrading the ruts it made except for in August when my clay becomes hard as stone. I suppose I could get rid of it though after I did my grading, though.

 

[TripleR]

Well you have to make sure you don't pay too much for a used tractor but that said a 480 with a good rear box blade and a landplane/grader scraper could be just the ticket to smooth out the rough and bumpy lawn area. I used my 110tlb to smooth out my rear lot which had erosion ditches and lots of crappy trees to remove. Then used the boxblade and landplane/grader to smooth everything out. After completing the lawn area with sprinklers and grass I can mow it quickly. I could use any good mower for my lawn but have the X749 with TPH and 540 pto to use in my landscape business so it will be used to mow this summer.

What I am getting at is that with 5 acres of which 4 of these you wan't to mow it would seem logical to focus on the best mower for your needs. I would fix the problem areas and get it smooth then there is limited need for a tractor. A good ztr might be a good fit.

Here is a picture of the lawn area I smoothed out mentioned above.

Very nice looking property.

 

[jenkinsph]

Very nice looking property.

Thanks for the compliment.


ispan1,
Maybe I should be more clear that once the lawn area is completed there isn't alot of need for a larger tractor. A rental landscape loader to do the prep work might be a better way to go. Getting the lawn area fixed up and smooth makes all future mowing so much easier.