Buy big or small?
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4570Man
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I'd way rather mow on my tractor dragging a RFM VS mowing on a POS box store mower. Not a fair comparison anyway. A RFM will way outlast and outperform a box store mower. I'd rather mow on my commercial grade mowers vs mowing on my tractor.
MossRoad
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I understand you want a 30hp tractor with FEL and the ability to blow snow and move stuff around in your shop. And I also understand that you want to plant 20 acres of crops eventually. And you have 1.5 acres to maintain, which is really less than 1.5 acres, once you subtract the footprint of the house, outbuildings, driveway, etc... its not that big.
Its not about cheaper, its about functionality.
What I'm getting at is this....
I was in the same boat. We had an 8000# 50HP tractor loader with a cab out on our 20 acre tree farm 9 miles away with a brush hog and box blade and we had a riding mower at our house with about 1 acre of lawn. Once I figured everything out, and the heavy excavation tasks were completed at the tree farm, we downsized and went with one machine to do everything, with the goal of eliminating as many machines to maintain as possible. We now have one machine that mows our house lawn, plows our snowy driveway, moves things around in our garage and on both properties, does FEL work, brush hogs trails, moves firewood out of the woods, etc.... The only difference between your situation and mine is that you eventually want to plant some field crops that will require a larger machine, and my crop was planted once and won't get harvested for another 20 years.
I'm telling you, in my experience, a lawn tractor on that small of a piece of property makes much more sense than a 30hp tractor with a belly mower. That belly mower will get in your way while doing your other tasks more often than not, it won't get into corners and tight spaces like a riding mower will, you won't be able to pick up grass clippings or leaves with it without very expensive attachments. The several thousand pound tractor will also compact your lawn, especially around flower beds, driveway edges, etc... My guess is you'll still need to purchase a walk-behind mower to get into the spaces the 30hp tractor won't fit in.
So, if it were me, I'd skip the 30hp machine all together. I'd buy a riding tractor and a tow-behind cart for $1500. I'd buy 2.5 ton pallet jack from harbor freight for $200 to move things around in my shop. I'd buy a good walk-behind snow blower for less than $1000. And then I'd worry about a larger tractor if and when I finally found a large piece of property to buy. Then, once I found my large piece of property, I'd buy a used utility tractor to do my planting. If I then decided to build a house on the larger property, that's when I'd go for the 20-30hp machine with FEL, snow blower, etc...
Its not about cheaper, its about functionality.
What I'm getting at is this....
I was in the same boat. We had an 8000# 50HP tractor loader with a cab out on our 20 acre tree farm 9 miles away with a brush hog and box blade and we had a riding mower at our house with about 1 acre of lawn. Once I figured everything out, and the heavy excavation tasks were completed at the tree farm, we downsized and went with one machine to do everything, with the goal of eliminating as many machines to maintain as possible. We now have one machine that mows our house lawn, plows our snowy driveway, moves things around in our garage and on both properties, does FEL work, brush hogs trails, moves firewood out of the woods, etc.... The only difference between your situation and mine is that you eventually want to plant some field crops that will require a larger machine, and my crop was planted once and won't get harvested for another 20 years.
I'm telling you, in my experience, a lawn tractor on that small of a piece of property makes much more sense than a 30hp tractor with a belly mower. That belly mower will get in your way while doing your other tasks more often than not, it won't get into corners and tight spaces like a riding mower will, you won't be able to pick up grass clippings or leaves with it without very expensive attachments. The several thousand pound tractor will also compact your lawn, especially around flower beds, driveway edges, etc... My guess is you'll still need to purchase a walk-behind mower to get into the spaces the 30hp tractor won't fit in.
So, if it were me, I'd skip the 30hp machine all together. I'd buy a riding tractor and a tow-behind cart for $1500. I'd buy 2.5 ton pallet jack from harbor freight for $200 to move things around in my shop. I'd buy a good walk-behind snow blower for less than $1000. And then I'd worry about a larger tractor if and when I finally found a large piece of property to buy. Then, once I found my large piece of property, I'd buy a used utility tractor to do my planting. If I then decided to build a house on the larger property, that's when I'd go for the 20-30hp machine with FEL, snow blower, etc...
I understand you want a 30hp tractor with FEL and the ability to blow snow and move stuff around in your shop. And I also understand that you want to plant 20 acres of crops eventually. And you have 1.5 acres to maintain, which is really less than 1.5 acres, once you subtract the footprint of the house, outbuildings, driveway, etc... its not that big.
Its not about cheaper, its about functionality.
What I'm getting at is this....
I was in the same boat. We had an 8000# 50HP tractor loader with a cab out on our 20 acre tree farm 9 miles away with a brush hog and box blade and we had a riding mower at our house with about 1 acre of lawn. Once I figured everything out, and the heavy excavation tasks were completed at the tree farm, we downsized and went with one machine to do everything, with the goal of eliminating as many machines to maintain as possible. We now have one machine that mows our house lawn, plows our snowy driveway, moves things around in our garage and on both properties, does FEL work, brush hogs trails, moves firewood out of the woods, etc.... The only difference between your situation and mine is that you eventually want to plant some field crops that will require a larger machine, and my crop was planted once and won't get harvested for another 20 years.
I'm telling you, in my experience, a lawn tractor on that small of a piece of property makes much more sense than a 30hp tractor with a belly mower. That belly mower will get in your way while doing your other tasks more often than not, it won't get into corners and tight spaces like a riding mower will, you won't be able to pick up grass clippings or leaves with it without very expensive attachments. The several thousand pound tractor will also compact your lawn, especially around flower beds, driveway edges, etc... My guess is you'll still need to purchase a walk-behind mower to get into the spaces the 30hp tractor won't fit in.
So, if it were me, I'd skip the 30hp machine all together. I'd buy a riding tractor and a tow-behind cart for $1500. I'd buy 2.5 ton pallet jack from harbor freight for $200 to move things around in my shop. I'd buy a good walk-behind snow blower for less than $1000. And then I'd worry about a larger tractor if and when I finally found a large piece of property to buy. Then, once I found my large piece of property, I'd buy a used utility tractor to do my planting. If I then decided to build a house on the larger property, that's when I'd go for the 20-30hp machine with FEL, snow blower, etc...
You make some great points. I forget about the MMM's being a pain to remove or put back on. I can plow snow with my old jeep. Little mower would probably be a good bet.
My Jeep has a 3 pt hitch going on the back so I could always do the fields with that ;-)
4570Man
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I don't like a MMM especially on a machine that does real work. They are too much trouble to remove and put back on. For about what a MMM is going to set you back I bought a used F2560 and I can mow circles around a 30 HP tractor with a MMM. You could also run a snow blower with it, but I have no need for such a tool.
George2615
Super Member
Not sure if dealers have any older models left but a front mount snowblower is available for the 3000/4000 series. Not sure why they don't offer on new models.
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
I understand you want a 30hp tractor with FEL and the ability to blow snow and move stuff around in your shop. And I also understand that you want to plant 20 acres of crops eventually. And you have 1.5 acres to maintain, which is really less than 1.5 acres, once you subtract the footprint of the house, outbuildings, driveway, etc... its not that big.
Its not about cheaper, its about functionality.
What I'm getting at is this....
I was in the same boat. We had an 8000# 50HP tractor loader with a cab out on our 20 acre tree farm 9 miles away with a brush hog and box blade and we had a riding mower at our house with about 1 acre of lawn. Once I figured everything out, and the heavy excavation tasks were completed at the tree farm, we downsized and went with one machine to do everything, with the goal of eliminating as many machines to maintain as possible. We now have one machine that mows our house lawn, plows our snowy driveway, moves things around in our garage and on both properties, does FEL work, brush hogs trails, moves firewood out of the woods, etc.... The only difference between your situation and mine is that you eventually want to plant some field crops that will require a larger machine, and my crop was planted once and won't get harvested for another 20 years.
I'm telling you, in my experience, a lawn tractor on that small of a piece of property makes much more sense than a 30hp tractor with a belly mower. That belly mower will get in your way while doing your other tasks more often than not, it won't get into corners and tight spaces like a riding mower will, you won't be able to pick up grass clippings or leaves with it without very expensive attachments. The several thousand pound tractor will also compact your lawn, especially around flower beds, driveway edges, etc... My guess is you'll still need to purchase a walk-behind mower to get into the spaces the 30hp tractor won't fit in.
So, if it were me, I'd skip the 30hp machine all together. I'd buy a riding tractor and a tow-behind cart for $1500. I'd buy 2.5 ton pallet jack from harbor freight for $200 to move things around in my shop. I'd buy a good walk-behind snow blower for less than $1000. And then I'd worry about a larger tractor if and when I finally found a large piece of property to buy. Then, once I found my large piece of property, I'd buy a used utility tractor to do my planting. If I then decided to build a house on the larger property, that's when I'd go for the 20-30hp machine with FEL, snow blower, etc...
I would buy a good mower capable of most of the needs for home use first. Pay that off. Then buy a larger tractor for the acreage if needed next.
My reasoning for buying the mower first is that it is the primary need for mowing, snow blowing and lawn maintenance. Being less costly it can be paid off in less time. The larger tractor and the acreage is more likely to be considered an option. If the desire is there and the money is there then this could be done in the near future, just a little good budgeting and patience.
I agree with Moss Road in that a smaller machine may be all that is needed once the larger jobs are done.
mike69440
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Makes no sense to have a small tractor on the 1-1/2 acres, UNLESS you have plans to keep it busy. I'm not referring to mowing and snow plowing, I mean tractor busy.
Your larger property, depends if you have rough work or general farm work to do, a small tractor can handle general farm stuff, a big tractor still struggles doing heavy work.
Your larger property, depends if you have rough work or general farm work to do, a small tractor can handle general farm stuff, a big tractor still struggles doing heavy work.
MF283
Platinum Member
I've had 30, 85 & now a 65 HP(DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU READ), i'd never go any smaller/ much bigger on our 35 acres, it seems to be at the sweet spot for me.
Mowing the yard equals a ZTR, fields & loader work goes to the tractor & general knock around work goes to the Gator, which could be used as snow removal if needed, fortunately not in our area.
Tractors are happy being under a load, doing little chores is hard on an diesel engine, gas not quite as bad. After having an injector pump rebuilt years ago, mechanic told me to run it like i stole it, not pittle around like i had been doing or i'd be back to see him again.
It's hard to get everything done with one machine & be happy, good luck with your decision.
Ronnie
Mowing the yard equals a ZTR, fields & loader work goes to the tractor & general knock around work goes to the Gator, which could be used as snow removal if needed, fortunately not in our area.
Tractors are happy being under a load, doing little chores is hard on an diesel engine, gas not quite as bad. After having an injector pump rebuilt years ago, mechanic told me to run it like i stole it, not pittle around like i had been doing or i'd be back to see him again.
It's hard to get everything done with one machine & be happy, good luck with your decision.
Ronnie
