Do I really need a tractor on 1.5 acres?

[shouldibuy]

Hi everyone, forum newbie here. Recently I moved to a new property, much bigger than my last. However after seeing our neighbors down the street playing with their bx, I'm questioning if we need one (a subcompact)


We're only on 1.5 acres, it's mostly flat. There are some big dips and ruts down the rear end of the property, but nothing extrodinary. We do have a large garden just above that, and a rocky driveway that I'm considering levelling.

We do use a cub cadet xt2 46in, and this is more than adequate for mowing. However I've found it hard to turn with (seriously who in their right mind decided permanent difflock is good for a lawn mower???) And during the rainy season often times the mower will get stuck,or slide around tearing up the grass. Or most likely just bog down due to the water. Meaning mowing is a chore that will take 2+ hours


I'm planning to start a 120M x 20M garden, however this all clay soil so it's necessary to use a large tiller, of which is extremely expensive.


Preferably something to mow with during the wet, so 4wd is very much preffered.

And planning to modify the garden bed/generally move dirt ect.

I'm thinking of a sub compact but would this be the best choice? I have a Massey furgeson gc1705 with a midmount in mind, that's at a very nice price,and a loader is the cost of a new mower. Therefore I'll end up buying the loader for certain with the machine, and thankfully they are cross compatible.or should I just save my money and rent one when necessary? Hopefully with the tractor I'll sell the lawn mower, but I'm not certain yet

 

[Rockbadchild]

Sound like you would keep that tractor busy if you do buy one... renting is throwing money away especially if its more than one shot deal, buy it and you will put it to work essentially saving money in rent and when you sell it you will get most of your money back and that will be much more cost effective the accumulation of rent fee, and once you have one you will find other use for it as you go along.

 

[sea2summit]

Well you're concerned about damaging your lawn when it's wet with a ~600lb mower....you don't want to see what a ~1,500lb tractor is gonna do to it when it's moist!

I got my BX when I had about 1.6 acres with less than an acre usable. I absolutely used the crap out of it landscaping from bulldozed woods to a yard with several raised beds over the course of two years. That being said, the BX does not handle rough terrain or inclines well. So depending on your yard, you may need to prep it with another machine if you intened to work that area with big dips and ruts.

If you have the funds, I think every man should own a tractor.

 

[RjCorazza]

Hi everyone, forum newbie here. Recently I moved to a new property, much bigger than my last. However after seeing our neighbors down the street playing with their bx, I'm questioning if we need one (a subcompact)


We're only on 1.5 acres, it's mostly flat. There are some big dips and ruts down the rear end of the property, but nothing extrodinary. We do have a large garden just above that, and a rocky driveway that I'm considering levelling.

We do use a cub cadet xt2 46in, and this is more than adequate for mowing. However I've found it hard to turn with (seriously who in their right mind decided permanent difflock is good for a lawn mower???) And during the rainy season often times the mower will get stuck,or slide around tearing up the grass. Or most likely just bog down due to the water. Meaning mowing is a chore that will take 2+ hours


I'm planning to start a 120M x 20M garden, however this all clay soil so it's necessary to use a large tiller, of which is extremely expensive.


Preferably something to mow with during the wet, so 4wd is very much preffered.

And planning to modify the garden bed/generally move dirt ect.

I'm thinking of a sub compact but would this be the best choice? I have a Massey furgeson gc1705 with a midmount in mind, that's at a very nice price,and a loader is the cost of a new mower. Therefore I'll end up buying the loader for certain with the machine, and thankfully they are cross compatible.or should I just save my money and rent one when necessary? Hopefully with the tractor I'll sell the lawn mower, but I'm not certain yet

I don't think there is an accurate ratio of tractor size to home acreage. I make no apologies that I have a 40hp tractor with FEL on only 6 acres. My property maintenance and projects dictate a larger machine.

Unless you want to contract out, a gravel driveway alone would justify a scut and FEL (Imho). A BX (or similar machine) with a mid mount mower is a capable mowing machine that will likely do less turf damage than a poor traction lawn mower spinning its wheels. As an example, I got half way across my water soaked field in a golf cart before burying it. It stripped the turf down to bare mud while spinning (ughh). I drug it out of the field with my L4060 just leaving tire lug impressions in the turf... They're probably gone now.

I have never heard of a lawn mower with the rears permanently locked. That thing must be a pain to operate!

 

[shouldibuy]

I don't think there is an accurate ratio of tractor size to home acreage. I make no apologies that I have a 40hp tractor with FEL on only 6 acres. My property maintenance and projects dictate a larger machine.

Unless you want to contract out, a gravel driveway alone would justify a scut and FEL (Imho). A BX (or similar machine) with a mid mount mower is a capable mowing machine that will likely do less turf damage than a poor traction lawn mower spinning its wheels. As an example, I got half way across my water soaked field in a golf cart before burying it. It stripped the turf down to bare mud while spinning (ughh). I drug it out of the field with my L4060 just leaving tire lug impressions in the turf... They're probably gone now.

I have never heard of a lawn mower with the rears permanently locked. That thing must be a pain to operate!

As for the mower comment, I have nearly snapped the axle twice, both times running into stuff since it tends to "jump" ie has delay and shoots forward, which with the back wheels forcing it straight is. Well let's just say many curse words have been had.

For the wet ground that was my thought, sure the tractors far heavier, but with the wheels spinning and digging ground/stripping grass I still have deep ruts and bare ground. Atleast with a tractor I should avoid slipping, which does get scary when the wheels decide to gain traction and you find yourself hurtling towards whatever you didn't want to goto.

I was actually looking at some Chinese tractors the other day, but the min ratings of 30-40 HP and size turned me off them lol, but I definitely understand why people would want a machine that size

 

[shouldibuy]

Well you're concerned about damaging your lawn when it's wet with a ~600lb mower....you don't want to see what a ~1,500lb tractor is gonna do to it when it's moist!

I got my BX when I had about 1.6 acres with less than an acre usable. I absolutely used the crap out of it landscaping from bulldozed woods to a yard with several raised beds over the course of two years. That being said, the BX does not handle rough terrain or inclines well. So depending on your yard, you may need to prep it with another machine if you intened to work that area with big dips and ruts.

If you have the funds, I think every man should own a tractor.

Yeah my primary concern is just the sheer weight, but I figure the tractor will create ruts (maybe) but atleast leave the ground okay, however the mower is worse than a skid steer half the time. Since it's spinning so much all it does is dig in and tear up the grass. I'll definitely look into it however


Yeah,I definitely think I'll be using it like no tomorrow, especially with now it taking potentially 3 weekends to move much of anything (waiting for the grass to dry so it's safe, then it dries to quickly and nothing short of dynamite will move that dirt) having mechanical force will be a welcome difference

And what man wouldn't love a 72inch deck instead of a 46 inch one.
As for inclines and ruts, mostly the worst area is just dips, which to my knowledge I haven't bottomed out on. But I have come close and shaved dirt once or twice on the mower when going slightly too fast. But as long as the tractor deck isn't lower, or the frame is longer I should be okay

 

[Citydude]

I have a neighbor who has a bx that has maybe 1/4 acre. As far as mowing his small lawn, it looks just as good as mine with my expensive zero turn. Plus, I have a wheel borrow. He doesn't. Lol

 

[shouldibuy]

Sound like you would keep that tractor busy if you do buy one... renting is throwing money away especially if its more than one shot deal, buy it and you will put it to work essentially saving money in rent and when you sell it you will get most of your money back and that will be much more cost effective the accumulation of rent fee, and once you have one you will find other use for it as you go along.

Exactly what I was thinking, we did rent a zero turn for Abit to try, but discovered when it's wet. Well let's just say I learnt that "drifting" a lawnmower is possible. The main reasoning is once I rent a tiller 5-10x a year, plus digger to level and move dirt atleast 1-2times I'm quickly coming up to the price of a semi decent used tractor. Let alone our mower just not being usable for 1/4 of the year. The biggest expense will be adding a loaded, but the gc05 model and 23/25 model all have cross compatible loaders and mowers, so worst case it's still somewhat cheaper. (However they want 30'000 for a new one, and even I can't justify that ontop of house repayments)

 

[shouldibuy]

I have a neighbor who has a bx that has maybe 1/4 acre. As far as mowing his small lawn, it looks just as good as mine with my expensive zero turn. Plus, I have a wheel borrow. He doesn't. Lol

Haha yeah, when we tried out a rented zero turn, I was shocked at how good it cut. And even though it was 60', I really did appreciate the larger deck size. Granted when it rained it was a different story, and in the tropics it rains ALOT lol

 

[rScotty]

It's not a lawn mower, but I'm not sure that there is anything on the market to compare with the small old style Farmall tractor for doing large gardens. Especially in clay soil.
Luckily there are lots of used ones on the market and they are so simple they last forever.
If you go that route, get every attachment you can find.
rScotty