Best tractor for 5 acres?

tractornewbie · Jul 23, 2002

We're soon to be in our new house on 5 flat, unwooded acres. It's in pretty rough shape now, very sandy(Florida), it's been bushhogged, but we'll be disking/leveling it and planting grass. What would be the best Kubota for mowing, and doing some light work, landscaping type stuff? I know I'll be clearing a pad to build a extra building on the lot, and moving dirt/gravel to build a driveway to it, fencing the land, other than that, just keeping the grass cut. Any suggestions recomendation? I'd rather get some unbiased advice about my needs before talking to a dealer trying to sell what he happens to have in stock.

Thanks,
DH

JimC · Jul 23, 2002

I went from a John Deere 2955 (75 hp) on 70 acres to a BX2200 on 1.4 acres plus two rent houses on another 2 acres about a mile away.
I looked at a lot of tractors and my choice was the BX2200.
I's sure you will get a lot of advise and a larger one might be handy, but if you are not farming, the little BX2200 is a hard one to beat.
The group here had some of the best advise you will find anywhere.

RoyJackson · Jul 23, 2002

Definitely concur with the BX2200 for mowing. As far as the rest of the work,,,might be worthwhile renting a bigger machine for a few days (as you need it).

Or, you could look for a used tractor a bit bigger...probably for less $'s too.

tractornewbie · Jul 23, 2002

Why's the BX2200 better than the B7400? Looks like I can get a 72 inch MMM for the 7400, vs 60 inch for the BX2200. I'm not sure the practical differences between the two, but I know we have deep sugar sand with some slight inclines and that 5 acres SURE LOOKS BIG compared to the 2/3 acre I'm on now. I don't want something that's going to take me 2 days to cut the grass. I appreciate you guys experience with this, I'm probably going to buy new, and I sure don't want to have to do any 'trading' in year if I make a mistake.

Dave H

jphipps · Jul 23, 2002

I have 3.5 acres, and my expierence with the dealers are thay they steer you toward a small tractor and then you find out a year from now that it was to small and have to trade up... I bought a BX2200 with FEL,BB, and RB. It mows very well, and is very good on hills due to it's low center of gravety. The FEL is a must. I spent weeks debating over it and finally got it. I use it more than I do the mowing deck. My neighbor has 5 acres with a 54" craftsman and he very happy with it, but he only uses his tractor to mow and it works for him.

Hootie · Jul 23, 2002

I too am a newbie to tractors. I bought 5 acres and am about 3 weeks from moving in to the new house. I searched long and hard, did alot of shopping and landed on the BX2200 with FEL, 60" MMM & 4' BB. In about two months (as of tonight) I have 74 hrs. on this baby and I look forward to getting on it at every opportunity (obviously)! My wife thinks it is great, she mowed about 3 acres Sunday afternoon in what seemed like 1 hr. This is a cutting machine and will do the job. It is a great asset in the driveway. I have spread about 50 tons of commercial base with it, mow every week, stack logs and brush for burning, keep the fire pushed-up and the list goes on and on.
From my experience the 2200 should be considered very highly. I am absolutely sold on my 'Bota

Hootie

cchoate · Jul 23, 2002

I can mow 3 aces+ in just over 1 hour with my b7500hst. Costs a little more than the bx2200 but has more power if you need it down the road. I also use a 6' rear blade for snow removal (I know you don't have that problem). If you're looking to attach a back hoe later the bx2200 can't, but the bx22, b7400 and b7500 can. I have yet to see anyone post a question about a b7400 here.

tractornewbie · Jul 23, 2002

Thanks for the discussion. I mentioned the B7400 in an above post questioning it. Looks like it might be able to mow faster (with the 72 inch MMM at least) but I don't know for sure. 3 acres in an hour sounds pretty good to me. Sounds like a lot of people really like their BX2200's and that Hootie is doing a lot of work with his. But the 7400/7500 looks like a bigger machine. My neighbor mowed his 5 acres with a Sears Craftsman Lawn Tractor for a year, but it would take him all weekend to do it. I sure don't want to spend my complete weekends mowing.

crown · Jul 23, 2002

I would certianly get the B-7500 over the 7400, the 7400 has no power steering and is a little weak in the PTO dept. I own a 7500 with 5 acres and no you will not have to spend the whole week-end mowing, that said I think with the flat acreage you have the BX 2200 may be the best choice. Read the post by Tres Crows he owns a 2200 and a 2410 similar size to the 7500 he can't say enough good things about the 2200/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

RobertN · Jul 23, 2002

My B8200 works great on my 5 acres. It is an older mid 80's model, with 19hp. It is larger than the BX, basically the size of the B2710.

I would go out on a limb, and say that any brand tractor in the 20-30hp range would work well for the 5 acre range. That is pretty much any Kubota, Deer, Cub Cadet, New Holland, ect.

In my particular case, if I were to fess up the bucks to replace my B8200, I would have a hard time picking between the brands. I think I may even look at the New Holland and Deere first. It is such a level playing field for the manufacturers right now, that it would be hard for you to go wrong with any manufacturer in the 20-30hp range. It comes down to personal preferences in layout and ergonomics more than anything else.

Don't get me wrong; I like my Orange machine. But, they are all pretty dang good...