Is the 3E series too large for 1 acre?

[southern83fire]

As the title states is say a 3025e or 3032e too big of a machine for 1 acre? The backstory to this question is my wife and I own a fixer upper house with just over an acre of flat open land. At first I was going to buy a 1025r but then the economy took a hit with Covid so we played it safe and bought an X380 for our immediate mowing needs. Its been a great machine and instead of trading it in for the 1025r, I'm thinking of keeping it for mowing and buying a 3e series machine for my tractor needs. This would include tilling a 900 to 1000 square foot garden, regrading front and back yards, grading and maintaining a 300 foot private road that sees a fair amount of vehicle traffic to include dump trucks. My thought process is for the price of a fully loaded 1025r I can buy a more capable (in terms of loader capacity and ground engaging activities) tractor like the 3e models.

 

[beenthere]

Nothing is ever "too big"..

 

[Redlands Okie]

Would be hard to do the things listed with a lawn mower. Tractor would be on the way. 1 acre is tight I agree. Tiller and box blade work would be my main concern.

 

[rademamj1]

The 1025R can do a lot more than you think. I have seriously considered purchasing a 1025R as a second tractor, and so i have been researching it the last 2 months. Its an extremely capable tractor. I have seen my neighbor use his 1025R to bush hog a 90 acre field....which took all day, and the same neighbor also maintains a 1200' gravel drive into his ranch. Everything is done slowly, and with patience. But the 3000 series tractor is not too big for 1 acre.

 

[southern83fire]

Would be hard to do the things listed with a lawn mower. Tractor would be on the way.

Thats why I'm thinking of keeping the lawn tractor for mowing and getting a 3e series for tractor stuff. Or would I be better of, for sake of size, trading in the lawn tractor for a 1025r and having a machine that does it all.

 

[southern83fire]

The 1025R can do a lot more than you think. I have seriously considered purchasing a 1025R as a second tractor, and so i have been researching it the last 2 months. Its an extremely capable tractor. I have seen my neighbor use his 1025R to bush hog a 90 acre field....which took all day, and the same neighbor also maintains a 1200' gravel drive into his ranch. Everything is done slowly, and with patience. But the 3000 series tractor is not too big for 1 acre.

Thank you, this is helpful. I agree that a 1025r is a very capable machine, just slow at some tasks. I'm a big fan of tractor time with time, so I've seen what a 1025r is capable of.

 

[rademamj1]

I would still keep the X380 for precision mowing around the house. Its gives a nice pleasing cut appearance. But I also see no need to go to a 3000 series tractor for one acre. The 1025R is more than capable of handling anything on a 1 acre property.

 

[dodge man]

You might look at a 2025r also. Same drive train and loader as a 1025r but on a bigger chassis and larger wheels and tires.

 

[beenthere]

Think I'd opt for the "R" rather than an "E", regardless of model. Too many corners cut with the "E" versions, IMO

And likely the R's will hold their value better in case you want to cash in for something bigger..

 

[Sleepy Holler John]

Here is my experience with the 3032E. We bought a 5 acre Christmas tree farm in NC. I designed and we built a house plus took down about 150 no good Frazer fir trees and about 200 White Pines but not with the 3032. I bought a Case 580SE backhoe to do all that and to build the house. We bought the JD after the house was finished but not all the earth moving and I moved thousands of yards of dirt. I am still moving dirt and making roads but with the backhoe. I have a bucket and a 6 foot mower plus a landscape rake with a plow on it. I also have a spiked roller and a bunch of other ground leveling equipment I made. Just yesterday I finished putting in two very large drains to drain off some springs and had to move more dirt. Where I can use the JD in all of this is more for finish work, not for rearranging the ground in any way. I can scoop up a little bit of dirt but the lift is just not there and the weight is not there to dig with the bucket. It is fine for disturbed soil. As far as mowing, I get better results with our Craftsman 52" garden tractor but it takes longer. The landscape rake works good and plow for what little snow we have had. Regrading the yard might be a lot to ask for depending on how much you plan to move. We have about 900 feet of gravel driveway and it is wonderful for taking care of that. If you are going to buy new for 1 acre and do light work, wow, the price tag. If I could do it over I would look for used at half the price, maybe even an older one without the nutty computer.