5 acres - Subcompact vs Compact & Suggestions

[dragoneggs]

Yep... CUT for higher ground clearance and more serious work. Just saying, one must take a hard look at present and future requirements.

 

[bdog]

ZTR for mowing. Skid steer for everything else. For what you describe I wouldn’t even get a tractor.

I have a tractor, a skid steer, and a ZTR. All my tractor gets used for is plowing and planting. Mowing is done with the ZTR and dirt work, snow, etc is done with the skid steer.

 

[finn1]

ZTR for mowing. Skid steer for everything else. For what you describe I wouldn’t even get a tractor.

I have a tractor, a skid steer, and a ZTR. All my tractor gets used for is plowing and planting. Mowing is done with the ZTR and dirt work, snow, etc is done with the skid steer.

I think you are correct. A skid steer is more useful than a
Tractor.

 

[doneill127]

I have 7 acres 5 wooded and 2 what some might call a lawn. I have a Mahindra Max which is a little bigger than a scut and a little smaller than a cut and after 350 hrs still happy with my choice and I think you’d be happy with either size. It’s a compromise between maneuverability and capacity.I have a mmm and not sure what all the bashing is about. Sure it would be nice to have another machine always ready to mow. But I have a drive over deck and it only takes me about 5-10 mins to get the FEL off and the same amount to get the mmm on. Worst part and I’m sure aging has something to do with it is getting the pull ring type pto shaft connected. It’s a 60 inch deck made for Mahindra by Ameriquip and I’m very happy with it. Built like a brick sh@#$& house weighs around 500 lbs

 

[Tractorable]

ZTR for mowing. Skid steer for everything else. For what you describe I wouldn’t even get a tractor.

I have a tractor, a skid steer, and a ZTR. All my tractor gets used for is plowing and planting. Mowing is done with the ZTR and dirt work, snow, etc is done with the skid steer.

How much does the skid steer tear up the ground? My uncle has a skid steer that he uses on his mountain side property full of rocks, but seems to me on my mostly open grass covered property it’d tear up the ground whenever I turned around.

 

[art]

I have seen plenty of people in your situation use a sub compact tractor. There is good caution in the decks being used in the woods but there are difference in the heights thee decks can be lifted under the tractor by several inches.
The handy easy connect decks sacrifice the height that a deck can be lifted off the ground from one make to another a couple of inches of clearance can be given away and from one brand to another with curbs and such you might increase your mowing times!!!!

I would figure that your wooded area would be more finished then the typical woods out in a farm field and you would have a path that is typically navigable.

The larger the the tires and tractor the less maneuverable you will be! This is where you might settle on a zero turn in the end as I have seen people remove the decks and go to the zero turn because of the maneuverability after they purchased.

 

[edgarrian]

I have a few more acres than you and its mostly wooded except for the areas we mow. We have 8 acres. About 2 acres of mowing. I have a 1705 with a MMM. It does fine. Its easy to take on and off. You simply drive over it, pin it at the three points and hook up the pto. Its very simple. I went this route as i didn't want a bunch of motors to take care of. Somebody said that it would be extra wear and tear on the tractor when mowing. Thats ridiculous. Thats what it's for. Its a diesel. It will last a long long time. I use mine for driveway, snow removal, cutting wood, landscaping, and all other small jobs.

 

[Ortimber]

5 acres - Subcompact vs Compact & Suggestions

Unless your property is 'pristine' having a belly mower on your tractor is a headache. The pretty commercials so a MMM on a tractor on a manicured yard. How many times do you see a MMM going through the woods? .... .... Never. Two dedicated machines. Don't try to compromise and do it with one. Just basing this on your terrain description which is similar to mine.

This is exactly my feeling as well. MMM looks good on paper and commercials, but my experience is that they are always in the way we you need to use your tractor as a tractor.
I also don’t care for the smallest sub compacts (BX, 1025, etc). Again, unless you have fairly flat, smooth ground, they just lack stability, ground clearance, and weight for loader work.

I now have a zero turn and love it. My land is not flat and the mower doesn’t care.

 

[nards444]

I have 7 acres 5 wooded and 2 what some might call a lawn. I have a Mahindra Max which is a little bigger than a scut and a little smaller than a cut and after 350 hrs still happy with my choice and I think you’d be happy with either size. It’s a compromise between maneuverability and capacity.I have a mmm and not sure what all the bashing is about. Sure it would be nice to have another machine always ready to mow. But I have a drive over deck and it only takes me about 5-10 mins to get the FEL off and the same amount to get the mmm on. Worst part and I’m sure aging has something to do with it is getting the pull ring type pto shaft connected. It’s a 60 inch deck made for Mahindra by Ameriquip and I’m very happy with it. Built like a brick sh@#$& house weighs around 500 lbs

I think the issue with the MMM is usability and efficiency. Im not saying they cant mow good, but in terms of speed and efficiency they simply dont beat other products specially a zero turn. I am currently shopping and have a zero turn and was thinking ditch the zero turn and get a MMM with the tractor, like others on paper it seemed to make sense, once less piece of equipment to store and maintain. But after thinking about the on and off of the MMM and have to store that too, and the fact after selling or trading my zero turn it would be a zero sum game, it really didnt make sense. Even if I didnt have a zero turn the cost of the MMM vs a low end zero turn or used one is about the same.

 

[LostMy65]

All I want to add is that you might want to consider the cost of wear and tear using the tractor for mowing when a mower would be much less. I'm only on an acre but have nearly 800 hours on my GC2610 tractor with loader and hoe after nine years. My tractor cost me just over $20,000.00 and has lots of life left. I bought my zero turn MZ 54" for $3900.00n with 30 hours on it and still had 2 years of warranty. I may need to replace the mower some day, but the tractor will last the rest of my life.

Now that's a point I hadn't thought about. Using up tractor hours to just mow doesn't make sense.