2 properties

[jimfuel100]

I'm still torn over which tractor to purchase. The more I think about it the more "what if's" I have.

I have about 6 acres...located 1.75 miles from my house. The plan is to "tame" the land and build there in about 5 years. Land needs brush hogged and smoothed out. The land has some fairly steep areas.

We live comfortably in our neighborhood ( 2 kids )...we have about .40 acres to mow. I currently use a 12 year old sears lawn tractor (purchased new).

The longer I think about my situation...I'm thinking about mowing my house with the same tractor I purchase to tame the land. In no particular order: BX25 / GC2410 / MAX25/ CK20 / B2320 / 1026R

Questions:
1) Would you do this???

2) Would you drive down the street between the properties???

I will not trailer it - would have to purchase one.

Thank you.

 

[tractchores]

Driving for me would depend on the specific roads If they're low speed rural roads without much traffic I'd do it, if they're busy suburban roads or have high speed traffic I wouldn't do it. In terms of the tractor 'taming' the land and mowing are tasks that really are opposite ends of the spectrum, so you would be looking at a compromise. i personally would go with the kubota B series (or your favorite color in that size range). The smaller BX and JD 1 series are going to have ground clearance issues for 'taming' tasks and you'll want plenty of power for a big brush hog and earth moving. With that said you could always hire out the first mowing / clearing and leveling then use a smaller tractor to finish and maintain as well as for mowing.

 

[Soundguy]

yer .4ac is great for a rider lawnmower.

yer 6ac.. is gonna take a while to mow with a tractor sized for .4ac

the 6ac tractor.. I'd think you'd wany to be in the upper 20hp range and use 5' rough mower.. thus 25pto hp or so.. or at least real close.. 24 maybee..e tc.

while that machine may fit on the .4ac.. the brush mower won't make a good looking 'finish' lawn.. it will be slightly shaggy, and you will have to push mow up next to walls.. or you will need to buy a 900-1200$ finish mower in addition to t he 600-800$ rough mower in order to cut .35 of your .4ac as lawn, and then still hand trim up next to house.. etc. better to invest in a 800$ economy rider and keep mowing the house with it... and get the right tractor for the larger property.

soundguy

I'm still torn over which tractor to purchase. The more I think about it the more "what if's" I have.

I have about 6 acres...located 1.75 miles from my house. The plan is to "tame" the land and build there in about 5 years. Land needs brush hogged and smoothed out. The land has some fairly steep areas.

We live comfortably in our neighborhood ( 2 kids )...we have about .40 acres to mow. I currently use a 12 year old sears lawn tractor (purchased new).

The longer I think about my situation...I'm thinking about mowing my house with the same tractor I purchase to tame the land. In no particular order: BX25 / GC2410 / MAX25/ CK20 / B2320 / 1026R

Questions:
1) Would you do this???

2) Would you drive down the street between the properties???

I will not trailer it - would have to purchase one.

Thank you.

 

[TripleR]

What they said, I really like my BX and the 1026R is really nice, but whatever you pick for one property is going to be a compromise on the other.

We run our BX on the county road about that distance as some of our property is inaccessible otherwise.

 

[Martian]

I would go that distance, do it all the time. Once you start to get 3+ miles I start to trailer.

I don't think you'd be happy with a SCUT, though. I think you'd want a Kubota B or a JD 2x20 size. They are much more tractor for the size of the land. There's not much choice for brush hogs behind SCUT's, but shouldn't have as much trouble with the latter. Of course, if this land is already nurtured, you might not need a tractor at all and just a nice mower. The way it sounds, though, I'd get something with a little more power and size to handle some bigger tasks.

 

[aczlan]

At very least, go to a B size Kubota...
We have a BX2660 and a B7500 and the BX is painfully slow going down the road...
If bushhogging, the B series has a much tougher underbelly and more ground clearance than the BX.

Aaron Z

 

[Soundguy]

my 4600, 5000, or 7610s ford/NH's get roaded 8m round trip each time I mow.

Faster than getting the gooseneck hitched tot he dually, loading, binding, traveling, un binding, unloading.. .. mowing, loading, binding, travel, unbinding, unloading, and then dropping the trailer...

soundguy

 

[mattbfw]

Larger Kubota B series - I agree, plus Kubota is offering some excellent financing

 

[jimfuel100]

Thanks for the advice. Additional details.

The road is 30mph - 2 lane or 25mph - single lane through neighborhoods to go from house to lot.

I plan to only brush hog a few times then immediately begin pulling a box blade accross the areas that need "smoothed out". There are no stumps to remove or heavy work. The previous owner installed a driveway, well, perk tested and cleared the lot to build a house then "got into some trouble" and had to get out from the property. The property took about 2 years to get to me. I have 6' briars and 1" - 2" saplings to brush hog or pull up.

I have several dead tree limbs to drag to a burn pile...but that is really all.

I have an area that looks as if someone began digging a pond...I plan to scrape the edges to fill in the center and make it "rolling" terrain.

My goal is to have grass ASAP and mow it every 2 or 3 weeks during the season with a MMM.

I'm trying to reduce the number of vehicles / tools / toys to maintain. I believe the MAX 25 or 28 would be the best comprimise.

 

[High Brook Hills]

do not forget a front end loader! You will not regret it!

What kind of turning radius do you have? Is the property mainly clear or wooded or something else? Is is mainly flat? Will you need to fence? Snow removal?

That distance on those roads I would drive back and forth in the tractor. Make sure you have lights, flashers, etc. The tractor could also be used to pull a small trailer!

 

[jimfuel100]

do not forget a front end loader! You will not regret it!

What kind of turning radius do you have? Is the property mainly clear or wooded or something else? Is is mainly flat? Will you need to fence? Snow removal?

That distance on those roads I would drive back and forth in the tractor. Make sure you have lights, flashers, etc. The tractor could also be used to pull a small trailer!

90% clear, some fence line.

I will have a FEL on whatever I get.

25% flat, 50% easy slope and 25% hillside. There are .50 acres of creek and woods that I will not touch.

Trying to look at used equipment...but the asking prices are very close to new. Will probably go with a new tractor.



Thanks for your questions.

 

[High Brook Hills]

I am NOT an expert but:

You will want to ensure what you get has a wide stance, stable on sloping ground.

Make sure you have enough PTO power to operate the mower. With the slope you might not be safe with a 5' mower and a light tractor. You might be looking at a 4' mower with the smaller tractors. My 60hp is too small (read as light) on our sloping land to safely handle a 7' mower though I read of others using them for 10' or so mowers.

Make sure you have enough HP to run an auger.

Will you want to borrow/rent/buy a tiller? How much HP is necessary? Running a plow?

Just so much to think about...

I wonder if 35HP might be enough for you? As I read it, you are mowing, some light work and maintenance. Will you raise animals? foodplot? plow for corn/soy/other? A friend of mine runs a 40 acre farm with an old 30HP Massey and a 17HP Massey. Old ones. He rents most of the land to another farmer to plant so he is just mowing and doing light work around stall cleaning and such.

 

[TripleR]

Thanks for the advice. Additional details.

The road is 30mph - 2 lane or 25mph - single lane through neighborhoods to go from house to lot.

I plan to only brush hog a few times then immediately begin pulling a box blade accross the areas that need "smoothed out". There are no stumps to remove or heavy work. The previous owner installed a driveway, well, perk tested and cleared the lot to build a house then "got into some trouble" and had to get out from the property. The property took about 2 years to get to me. I have 6' briars and 1" - 2" saplings to brush hog or pull up.

I have several dead tree limbs to drag to a burn pile...but that is really all.

I have an area that looks as if someone began digging a pond...I plan to scrape the edges to fill in the center and make it "rolling" terrain.

My goal is to have grass ASAP and mow it every 2 or 3 weeks during the season with a MMM.

I'm trying to reduce the number of vehicles / tools / toys to maintain. I believe the MAX 25 or 28 would be the best compromise.

Based on that, I would second azclan and Martian as per the Kubota B or JD 2000; not ideal, but acceptable though you will need a push mower at least.

I know a compromise is often necessary due to finances, space etc.; been there done that, but now have bitten the bullet and gone with more equipment.

 

[aczlan]

Based on that, I would second azclan and Martian as per the Kubota B or JD 2000; not ideal, but acceptable though you will need a push mower at least.
I know a compromise is often necessary due to finances, space etc.; been there done that, but now have bitten the bullet and gone with more equipment.

On the finance end, by the time you get them optioned the same way, a B is generally pretty close to a BX in price.

Aaron Z

 

[TripleR]

On the finance end, by the time you get them optioned the same way, a B is generally pretty close to a BX in price.

Aaron Z

Yeah, depending on which model, I would not pick one of the Bxx20 Series myself as I hate the quarter inching 3PH and the higher end JD2000 cost a bit more, but the 1026R price is pretty steep too; decisions, decisions.

 

[mjw357]

Is there something wrong with the mower you are using now for your lawn? Why not just keep it until you move down the road? Sell it with the house if it lives that long. Not understanding why you would want/need to drive a larger tractor 2-3 miles to mow less than a half acre.

 

[jimfuel100]

On the finance end, by the time you get them optioned the same way, a B is generally pretty close to a BX in price.

Aaron Z

Thanks again for the advice.

I've reached out to and received "B" pricing from a few popular TBN sources.

This area will stay grass...I do not expect to grow crops or animals unless it would be profitable. Between work, wife and kids (sports) - I stay very busy.

Hope to look at the Mahindra MAX 28 and Koiti ck20 soon. Powerfull yet small enough for my needs.

 

[KU Gator]

Since you are considering roading the tractor between properties, I would suggest you take top speed into consideration. I don't know any of the lines except Kubota, but with Kubota BX with a 2 speed HST, its top speed is a few MPH less than the B line. I occasionally drive my 2920 to my daughters house because it is about the same time as loading it on the trailer and the trip seems pretty slow so it would be all the more painful on a BX.

Also it would be good if you had a place to store a Brush hog on the property or maybe at a neighbor's property. They are big and heavy and when I drive our little tractor across our other property with the mower up in the air, it really makes the tractor light in the front and want to bounce. When using that mower, I keep my FEL on for ballast plus knocking down spiders that hang from the trees in the early morning.

We have the 3 acres we live on which is basicly a big yard and another 12 that is more recreational for now and is a mix of woods, brush, and about 6 acres of field grass. I would call the B2x20 a perfect tractor for where we live, but a bit undersized for "taming" the other property. I would prefer a little heavier tractor, but I trailer it about 25 miles, so that was a factor in the decision.

You may want to think about a rear finish mower vs the MMM. It would not be as good on the .4 acre you live on because it swings wider on the turns and is not as easy to cut around things as the MMM. But it is cheaper, even for a good quality, lots of choice of manufacturers, and easier to put on and take off than the MMM.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Quick rule of thumb for tractor size.

1 hp per acre.

 

[Mark Page]

I think you are going to be disappointed with what can be accomplished with a box blade.
Hire a pro with a dozer for a couple days to do your grading and create your burn pile. Now you'll have smooth soil to plant what will ultimately be your lawn. I was in a similar situation and when we got around to building the house my lawn was established and full after 3 years of mowing and fertilizer and lime. Still had to reseed around the house site.
If you're going to eventually mow all six acres I would'nt go with less than a 6' bush hog or finish mower and a tractor no less than 30 hp. Especially if you need to deal with snow.