slus
New member
I have a bit of a dilemma picking a new mower for my rural property. I currently have a Husqvarna TS348, which I am not happy with, and a Kubota B2301. I want to ditch the Husky this spring and replace it with something, probably Kubota, as I have had very good luck with reliability, parts and local service support with my B2301. Current mowing situation is about 2 acres around the house that I keep green and looking nice but it is far from a manicured lawn, just mowed pasture grass and semi rough ground from roots and squirrel holes. This area is what the new mower will be in charge of. I mow the front pasture with a WoodMaxx flail on the B2301, back pasture with a Land Pride brush hog, and the hills the tractor can't safely do with a DR walk behind brush mower. I replaced my 20 year old DR with a new XD30 last year, it's a beast. All together the outer property is well covered with what I have.
I haven't really used the Husqvarna for a few years, it only has about 60 hours on it, because it is a waste of time for me. I simply don't have the time it takes to mow weekly with that thing, my wife is the only one with the patience to use it. I have to mow at a crawl because it does not have the torque to mow my thick grass. What I have been doing for the last few years is borrowing my dads Kubota BX2360 with MMM. His BX does not even bog down on grass that would stall the Husqvarna even with a half bite pass, but getting it over to my house takes about 30 min. Still way faster than mowing with the Husky.
My dream option would be a 4x4 Kubota F series, but I need to keep this somewhere around 10k, maybe 15k for something that would last many years. So a new F is out of my price range, and I haven't been able to snag a used one in my area for a decent price.
Realistic cheapest Option 1 is a MMM for my current B2301. I'm confident that would work very well, but I'd almost certainly have to remove the MMM to mow the outer property with the flail and brush hog, and probably take the loader off to mow the inner property with the MMM. That's a lot of time switching things around when I'm trying to speed things up, but I only mow the outer property once a month or so. RFM would be much easier to switch, but I'd still need something else to mow around the house and trees if I wanted to keep the loader on.
Option 2 would be buying my own BX with MMM. Used would be preferable but I could swing a new BX1880 and mower. With how easy the BX2360 mows, I think the lower power 1880 would be fine. Seems silly to have a small B and BX at the same time since they are so similar, but my B2301 doesn't take much to maintain so I'm not opposed to it. My wife would probably still mow with a BX too when she has time.
Option 3 would be a Kubota zero turn. There is a TON of different models! I have no idea where to start. Some of the lower end sub 10k models, I'm worried won't have much more cutting power than the 26hp Husqvarna I already have, but diesel options are a bit spendy. I've never driven a zero turn, but I have always heard they are much faster. My wife flat out says she won't learn it after seeing my neighbor zip around on theirs. With how fast they go, I think I could mow more often and keep the grass under control better, and get away with a lower power machine.
I haven't heard much good about the G series Kubotas? I sat on one at the dealer when I bought my tractor, it seemed very dated, I wasn't too impressed. It was only a few grand less than a BX with MMM would be too, and the BX felt much higher quality.
I am very open to your perspectives and if a Kubota doesn't fit the bill, I'd certainly consider something else quality that will last. I despise the part prices I paid for years at the Deere store, but I will say I was mowing with a early 90s LX178 for years and it ran and cut better at 30 years old than the Husqvarna did brand new, I was just spending more than the value of the mower on parts every few years so I ditched it.
I haven't really used the Husqvarna for a few years, it only has about 60 hours on it, because it is a waste of time for me. I simply don't have the time it takes to mow weekly with that thing, my wife is the only one with the patience to use it. I have to mow at a crawl because it does not have the torque to mow my thick grass. What I have been doing for the last few years is borrowing my dads Kubota BX2360 with MMM. His BX does not even bog down on grass that would stall the Husqvarna even with a half bite pass, but getting it over to my house takes about 30 min. Still way faster than mowing with the Husky.
My dream option would be a 4x4 Kubota F series, but I need to keep this somewhere around 10k, maybe 15k for something that would last many years. So a new F is out of my price range, and I haven't been able to snag a used one in my area for a decent price.
Realistic cheapest Option 1 is a MMM for my current B2301. I'm confident that would work very well, but I'd almost certainly have to remove the MMM to mow the outer property with the flail and brush hog, and probably take the loader off to mow the inner property with the MMM. That's a lot of time switching things around when I'm trying to speed things up, but I only mow the outer property once a month or so. RFM would be much easier to switch, but I'd still need something else to mow around the house and trees if I wanted to keep the loader on.
Option 2 would be buying my own BX with MMM. Used would be preferable but I could swing a new BX1880 and mower. With how easy the BX2360 mows, I think the lower power 1880 would be fine. Seems silly to have a small B and BX at the same time since they are so similar, but my B2301 doesn't take much to maintain so I'm not opposed to it. My wife would probably still mow with a BX too when she has time.
Option 3 would be a Kubota zero turn. There is a TON of different models! I have no idea where to start. Some of the lower end sub 10k models, I'm worried won't have much more cutting power than the 26hp Husqvarna I already have, but diesel options are a bit spendy. I've never driven a zero turn, but I have always heard they are much faster. My wife flat out says she won't learn it after seeing my neighbor zip around on theirs. With how fast they go, I think I could mow more often and keep the grass under control better, and get away with a lower power machine.
I haven't heard much good about the G series Kubotas? I sat on one at the dealer when I bought my tractor, it seemed very dated, I wasn't too impressed. It was only a few grand less than a BX with MMM would be too, and the BX felt much higher quality.
I am very open to your perspectives and if a Kubota doesn't fit the bill, I'd certainly consider something else quality that will last. I despise the part prices I paid for years at the Deere store, but I will say I was mowing with a early 90s LX178 for years and it ran and cut better at 30 years old than the Husqvarna did brand new, I was just spending more than the value of the mower on parts every few years so I ditched it.
They truly are fun to use.
