Old question, new scenario, 72" vs 60" deck

[zzvyb6]

I solved the same problem with a Land Pride FDR2584. That's a 7' rear discharge mower. First time thru brush, grass, weeds, small trees and ant hills I set the deck up as high as possible. From then on it's just a rear discharge grass cutter. E = Mc^2 means time is money. Reduced hours. Your tractor may not be able to fully lift it off the ground, but you don't have to. It rides around on 4 gauge wheels. Hook and go. I don't even hook on a top link. No need to.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

My two cents... Is get the tractor, perhaps even a small Kubota L and a nice pto 6ft finish mower. Now you have the whole package. I did that for 4 years and then thought it would be cool to have a zero turn. So, I bought a 60" deck Kubota zd331. It mows my 7 acres in like 2 and 1/2 hours taking my time. It is the Tasmanian Devil of mowing machines. The down side... I only put 25 hours on it in a year and it takes up a ton of room in my shop. Now I'm seriously thinking of selling it and buying another finish mower for my L3301. :confused3:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I have discovered ideas and plans change after one gets a tractor and has a few acres. I started with a BX2200 FEL MMM tobe my lifetime mower with a super expensive wheelbarrow on the front. After a year of doing so much more than I had planned to do and discovering how much I liked shifting my landscaping around and having a few ground clearance issues I traded my BX to a B FEL and 6'RFM and bought a smaller BX1500 MMM for mowing around the house and trees and close areas.
I suspect you will come up with more ideas of what to do with your additional 4 acres when you start working it. Yes, one can always trade again to a different machine but it's best to try and get as close as one can at the first shot but always realize they are tradeable just like cars, trucks and knives.
My recommendation is a B which will not cost much more than a BX and go new with 0% down and 0% financing. A 6' RFM can be bought at the same time from your Kubota dealer. A good weed killer or cheap riding mower or even push mower can be used for trimming and use the tractor with the 6' RFM for mowing all the acres and open areas. In time you may want to add a small Z for that trim work. Implements and attachments can be added as needed when needs are determined. Needs and interests and situations change for most of us but not for everyone. I've bought and sold a lot of attachments and yeah even tractors as I've discovered the highest and best use of each one often and also thrown in several property buys and sells which has also changed my needs, wants and affordability factors. Yours to will probably change.

 

[jives]

I think the consensus is that either one will work, but in particular, don't be afraid to go big. As JohnThomas said, I know I will find more things to do, and already have a to do list. One thing I don't do is trim -- if I can't mow it, it does not get cut. Landscaping set up to eliminate trim mowing.

Thanks, all. Good stuff.

 

[chim]

Just like some others on here, I belong to the bigger is better group. When we built here, it was obvious that my pride and joy (Ranch King riding mower) wouldn't do the job. Working up through some nice tractors, it seems like the L4240 HSTC with the 91" RFM just might be big enough.

 

[sandman2234]

Mowing with a zero turn seems to be what everyone thinks is the fastest way of mowing, but I don't always agree. Horsepower is what makes the world go round, along with blades. The more horsepower you can put to the ground, the more width of cut, and thickness of grass you can mow. I have an old Ford 1100 that I pull a five foot finish mower with. My sister in law was mowing my mother in laws property and I jumped on it to go help. I started with the backyard which includes the heaviest grass over the drain fields. She told me that the zero turn has a lot of issues mowing that, because it is so thick. Open discharge of the finish deck helps!! Zero turns are great for mowing faster and turning fast but unless you have a larger deck and plenty of horsepower, your not mowing any faster than a tractor with a rear finish mower. I mow a field up at our Church of about 10 acres, done mainly because the guy that does the landscaped part of the churchyard wants no part of it. Most of it is flat open field, which he says beats him up for about 4 hours, while I mow it in 3 with my tractor. Difference is...HORSEPOWER and width of cut. He has 25 hp, I have 70. He cuts with 54 inch deck, I cut with 96. No way is a zero turn going to keep up with me, argue all you want. If it were a race, I would probably put the batwing on and see if the operator can hang on up to a max of about what (?) ten mph? The only way a zero turn is going to outperform a larger tractor is on the turns like Nascar. Plan out your mowing on large open areas and enjoy mowing with a larger tractor. Mow around a lot of trees and bushes, etc and you are going to need a lawn mower like a zero turn. (been pricing them, good ones aren't cheap!!) I also haven't seen a FEL on a zero turn yet, or any of the other items you mentioned.
David from jax

 

[ovrszd]

A zero turn is a specialty tool. A tractor is a general purpose tool. Neither can replace the other.

 

[lilranch2001]

Agreed, and each task is different.
Sandy may be able to mow a plain open area faster, but I will go up against him with my eXmark in the same area with trees and landscape features and be finished, inside and showered, drinking a beer, eating dinner :licking:before he has his equipment put away.

 

[lilranch2001]

Ooo and
My finished job will be much more visually aesthetically pleasing as well

 

[CobyRupert]

I don't have a ton of experience with tractors so I don't feel competent to make a judgement on what machines to recommend to you. However, in reading your original question, it appears that you may be open to the possibility of using part of the acreage for a more natural area for pollinators and wildlife. You don't indicate your location but I am assuming you get some cold months due to the fact you only expect to mow 7 months of the year. I have some fields at my place in Maine that used to be used for haying. Now, I leave those fields to wild flowers like goldenrod and milkweed. I bush hog the fields once a year after the wild flowers have died for the year. Cutting once a year keeps the trees and bushes from getting a start but provides forage for pollinators like bumble and honey bees, monarch butterflies, etc. that we need so badly. Cutting once a year would greatly reduce the number of hours needed on an annual basis for field maintenance and might allow you to get a smaller, less expensive machine. Personally, I think we should rethink the idea of having such huge expanses of perfectly manicured lawns. It may look nice but it is time and resource consuming and provides no usable habitat for the insects and animals that share this Earth with us.

:thumbsup:
98% agree.

The 2% I (sort of) take issue with: ".....the idea of having such huge expanses of perfectly manicured lawns. It may look nice..." - I don't think a house plopped in the middle of once productive land where 5-9 acres are now an unused, mowed & manicured lawn looks nice. It looks ridiculous and wasteful and a testament to people's stupid conformance with social norms.
"Cheese and rice! Why are you out there with a 52" Cub Cadet lawn mower mowing a 9 acre hayfield?"

Then again, I think people are free to do what they want, no matter how stupid if it's their land and harms* no one else. (*: We'll ignore how the tons of chemicals (poisons) and fuel burnt, CO2 generated may (or may not) harm other people to avoid argument.)


....but on the other hand....