Buying Advice 6 Acres - What to buy? Rider/ZTR/SCUT? Teach me wise ones!

[chim]

Everyone should get what THEY like. What suits me to a T won't work for some others. The flexibility of a small tractor is what appeals to me. I'd rather have two tractors than a tractor and a zero turn. A zero turn is only a big lawn mower to me. With my larger tractor and the 6' RFM I can mow our 3-1/2 acres in less than 1-1/2 hours without beating the equipment or me. Even if I could mow in half the time, I'd probably waste that 45 minutes a week on the computer The smaller tractor often has a different implement on it just because it's handy.

It would be helpful to include true and accurate, quantifiable information. "Freakin' Awesome", "Mows twice as fast as my tractor", "Goes three times as fast as yours", etc comments don't provide much useful information to questions.

 

[dodge man]

From what you describe, a SCUT or CUT sounds best. Do you know anyone that knows about tractors? A nice used one would fit your budget. I'd skip the backhoe, unless you really need it. Its an expensive option.

 

[jeff9366]

Tractor newbie here looking for advice.

My wife and I bought six acres of land outside DFW, Texas. We have started building a house on the land.

Design one garage door with enough height so your tractor will enter without folding the ROPS.

 

[Deere Dude]

Design one garage door with enough height so your tractor will enter without folding the ROPS.

I didn't, but is plenty high now.

 

[DK35vince]

It would be helpful to include true and accurate, quantifiable information. "Freakin' Awesome", "Mows twice as fast as my tractor", "Goes three times as fast as yours", etc comments don't provide much useful information to questions.

Let me see if I can make this info clear enough to be usefull.
My lawn is approx. 1040' x 345' (just over 8 acres) with dozens of trees and a few rough sections.
Mowing it with my 35 HP tractor with an 84" rear finish mower takes a little over 3 hours to mow it.
My zero turn (Hustler Super Z with 35HP Kawasaki and 72" deck) will mow the same lawn in 2 hours

 

[chim]

Let me see if I can make this info clear enough to be usefull.
My lawn is approx. 1040' x 345' (just over 8 acres) with dozens of trees and a few rough sections.
Mowing it with my 35 HP tractor with an 84" rear finish mower takes a little over 3 hours to mow it.
My zero turn (Hustler Super Z with 35HP Kawasaki and 72" deck) will mow the same lawn in 2 hours

Excellent report! I don't recall seeing another comparison like that. I can only say that it takes me the same amount of time to do 2-1/2 acres with a 5' RFM as it does to cut 3-1/2 acres with a 6' RFM. Just under 1.5 hours. Our property has various things like the LPG access handhole, posts, a number of trees, a couple sheds and a creek. It may or may not have the exact number of obstacles per acre, but neither of us has a big open square.

As a rough baseline, between the two of us, mowing times per acre are are approximately 15 mins. for your 6' ZT, 22.5 mins. for your 7' RFM, 25.7 mins. for my 6' RFM and 36 mins. for my 5' RFM.

My only experience with a ZT was a couple weeks at a laid-up relative's place using his. It didn't appeal to me so I hauled my Ford there for mowing that Summer.

 

[DK35vince]

Excellent report! I don't recall seeing another comparison like that. I can only say that it takes me the same amount of time to do 2-1/2 acres with a 5' RFM as it does to cut 3-1/2 acres with a 6' RFM. Just under 1.5 hours. Our property has various things like the LPG access handhole, posts, a number of trees, a couple sheds and a creek. It may or may not have the exact number of obstacles per acre, but neither of us has a big open square.

As a rough baseline, between the two of us, mowing times per acre are are approximately 15 mins. for your 6' ZT, 22.5 mins. for your 7' RFM, 25.7 mins. for my 6' RFM and 36 mins. for my 5' RFM.

My only experience with a ZT was a couple weeks at a laid-up relative's place using his. It didn't appeal to me so I hauled my Ford there for mowing that Summer.

Zero turns range anywhere from low end residential models thru upper end residential and lower end commercial thru upper end commercial models.
The differences in build quality, comfort, durability, speed, performance, Etc. is huge between the low end residential and the upper end commercial

 

[MossRoad]

So how much of this guy's money are we going to spend and how many machines is he going to end up purchasing and maintaining?

 

[DK35vince]

So how much of this guy's money are we going to spend and how many machines is he going to end up purchasing and maintaining?

I still stand by my original post (post #13)
For the OP's uses the versatility a SCUT is his best bet.

 

[rngrrymd]

If it is still available, here is a listing for a 2016 John Deere 1025R for $11,495 in Van Alstyne which is within an hour of DFW. Loader, Mid-mount mower and sun cover included. Perfect starter unit, easy to remove and attach the loader and mower deck. Plenty of money to get a pull-behind cart and other accessories.


https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...76009/2016-john-deere-1025r?ST=texas&CTRY=usa