al3
Silver Member
Always a dilemma----where to stop in the Deere line-up. Certainly seems like their pricing structure was made to inflict as much anxiety as possible with respects to moving up to the next unit.
Tires----R4 can leave more pronounced marks in some lawns than turfs. I drive across sandy grass and the R4s will lift grass in 2wd, particularly if more than one pass is made. Can minimize it by being careful about turns, but it still happens. Unit was delivered with turfs & used them for several weeks before dealer got R4s. Didn’t give up as much traction in dry conditions & FEL work as I thought they would. If I were using it primarily for mowing finished lawn, turfs would be preferred, with a set of chains for winter snow removal. This is very sandy soil; don’t think it would be as pronounced in clay/hardpan.
Size. What sort of terrain will you be brush hogging? The ground clearance is different on the models you listed, so slide under each and take a look at exposed components and decide what will work for you. Do you plan to transport you future tractor? Weight can make a difference, depending on the type of tow vehicle you now own (or plan to own). Driving across a leach field often?
I sometimes wish I had more HP----loader capacity and rotary cutter size. Then again, I paid for all my implement (BB, cutter, forks, ballast) with the dollars not spent in upsizing. So it now takes a few more trips to move the class 5 and time to mow the fire breaks. One thing it can’t do is move fully loaded pallets of some items. If this were a recurring requirement additional FEL capacity would be a must.
Good luck---BTW, consider adding your geographical location to your profile; might make answers more relevant.
Tires----R4 can leave more pronounced marks in some lawns than turfs. I drive across sandy grass and the R4s will lift grass in 2wd, particularly if more than one pass is made. Can minimize it by being careful about turns, but it still happens. Unit was delivered with turfs & used them for several weeks before dealer got R4s. Didn’t give up as much traction in dry conditions & FEL work as I thought they would. If I were using it primarily for mowing finished lawn, turfs would be preferred, with a set of chains for winter snow removal. This is very sandy soil; don’t think it would be as pronounced in clay/hardpan.
Size. What sort of terrain will you be brush hogging? The ground clearance is different on the models you listed, so slide under each and take a look at exposed components and decide what will work for you. Do you plan to transport you future tractor? Weight can make a difference, depending on the type of tow vehicle you now own (or plan to own). Driving across a leach field often?
I sometimes wish I had more HP----loader capacity and rotary cutter size. Then again, I paid for all my implement (BB, cutter, forks, ballast) with the dollars not spent in upsizing. So it now takes a few more trips to move the class 5 and time to mow the fire breaks. One thing it can’t do is move fully loaded pallets of some items. If this were a recurring requirement additional FEL capacity would be a must.
Good luck---BTW, consider adding your geographical location to your profile; might make answers more relevant.