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[chim]

Our property is a bit over 2 acres, mostly grass and driveway (300'). I also finish mow another 5+ acres. This past season, one of my boys helped with the mowing on a second tractor, but previously I had been doing it all myself. Getting 10 or 20 tons of crushed stone and moving it around for projects, or spreading 25 yards of mulch was a snap with the FEL, a tool that I wouldn't want to be without. I have owned both MMM's an RFM's and prefer the RFM, but that's a Ford/Chevy thing that gets debated here frequently. The tractor I bought for this is a B7500HST w/ a 302 FEL and it has been great. The tractor & loader was $12.800, and the RFM was another $1,200 about 18 months ago......................chim

 

[viking65]

Some very recent price quotes...

Hydro, 60"MMM, FEL, 4x4, turfs:

BX2230...12,600
B7500...15,500
B7800...18,200
MF GC2300 Low...12,565 High...13,800
JD2210 Low...13,900 High...15,250

Manual trans, 4x4, 60"MMM, FEL, turfs

MF 1428v...16,300
AGCO ST30x Low...15,750 High...17,875
These are the same tractors, MF is red, AGCO is orange

I had fun shopping and driving these machines, the AGCO is my favorite...I like the size of the ST30x, I like gears, and I like orange /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ducati996]

I wish I had 10 acres but I dont I have 2 acres. I also share a common thing with Bob S. in that I mow my lawn with my Cub 3204. I love mowing on that thing, and get it done quick.
I have a 4100 and even if I had the MMM, it would be too big
in the tight areas...but it can do it all however !!
You might want to think about 2 machines, one dedicated for mowing and let the Compact do the rest...IMO

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Just a little plug for the durability and strength of the Cub Cadets, I have some hills that are steep. My Cub was purchased because it was the ONLY brand that I could find that would climb the worst of the hills while still operating the mower deck. Most of the brands would not climb the hill at all because of belt slippage (the Cub has a drive shaft so maybe that explains some of it) and none of the other tractors we tried could both climb the hill and keep the mower deck engaged. And the biggest meanest hill requires me to leave wheel weights and tire chains on the tractor so it will climb it (and people think Indiana is F-L-A-T)

As for using garden tractors to mow, first they are pretty fast, much faster than CUTs because they get right up to the tree trunks without knocking down the trees or having the branches take out your eyeballs, second becuase they turn much tighter than a CUT. I can get my Cub into spots that would tip my larger tractors, and into spots that I couldn't fit with the larger tractors.

IF it were not for Matt's desire to get the FEL and box blade, he could take care of the entire 10 acres with something like a Cub Cadet garden tractor.

Another option for Matt, if his land is reasonably flat, would be a CUT plus a GRASSHOPPER or similar zero turn mower. Those things are expensive, and mow faster than anything I've ever seen. A guy down the road, with almost flat land, has one of those and he zips around his 4 acres in record setting time.

But if it was me, and I was limited to ONE tractor, I would look at a NH TC24D, or a B7500/7510 or similar tractor. Something with a SMALL frame, but NOT a sub-compact. Small frame units will take full size implements, and while some jobs will take a little longer, in the long run, I think that size tractor will serve Matt well.

 

[GregJ]

Matt,
The discussion seems to be going in the direction of you needing 2 tractors..... I think we all like spending other peoples money... So, I might as well join in. I have a B7500 w/ FEL and BH. I also have a JD LX277 w/ mulching deck. Each serve a very distinct function for me. You didn't mention what the other 8 acres are like on your property. I only have 2.5 acres and roughly 1 acre of that is lawn. I can mow it in 30-45 minutes. There is no way I could mow it with my B7500 with all the curves, shrubs, buildings, trees, etc. The smaller mower really is much better for my 1 acre of lawn. My B7500 is primarily for landscaping and maintenance. The rest of my property is wooded. If it were up to me, I would invest in a used 48" riding mower that can easily be upgraded later and with the rest of my budget load the tractor with useful implements. I have used my tractor probably 4 times more than I ever dreamt I would (260 hours in the first year). I have used my backhoe at least a third of that time. They are useful. A B7500 w/ FEL and BH is around 18K - before taxes. As far as recommendations on which tractor..... I might be just a little biased, but I would go with the B7500 /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Greg

 

[Henro]

We have about 4 acres, 2 of which I am in the process of transforming from woods into something more park like [I hope].

I guess I have about 1.5 acres or less of grass to cut. My B2910 did OK with a RFM, but for what I had to deal with it was really too much tractor for the job. For my needs the RFM was cumbersome as I was cutting around and close to too many things...but still, the B2910/rfm did a nicer cutting job than my little Yardman garden tractor, and did it faster too. My GUESS is that had I purchased a MMM for the B2910 I would probably still be cutting the grass with the B2910 and not with the BX2200 I bought this summer... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As far as my grass cutting goes, the little BX is great and runs rings around both the B2910 AND the Yardman garden tractor. The BX performs better than the garden tractor all around in my opinion. My garden tractor is a gear transmission, so maybe comparing the bx hst to it may be unfair. The bx is both faster and slower than the yardman, a pleasure rather than a chore to use...I think it turns about as sharp and I know because of the hst I can cut closer to things since I can change speed from rabbit to hare without changing the cutting speed of the deck.

I find myself dissatisfied with the bx 3ph. It is more like a cat 1.5 than a true cat2. The ground clearance of the bx is not that great. If I were planning on doing things in the woods in the future I would not buy a subcompact as my only tractor.

The B2910 looked HUGE to me when I was tractor shopping last year. The more I use it the SMALLER it gets...I suppose this is normal.

If it were me, and I was moving onto 10 acres, like Bob [and others] recommended, I would buy no less than a B7500 size tractor. I would want something that could cut the grass and still have enough 3PH to use normal implements without having to worry if they will work or not [right out of the box, so to speak] The extra lift of the loader does not hurt either.

If I had to live with one tractor [keeping in mind that I only have 3.7 acres to deal with] it would be the B2910. Now that I have it, and am used to it, it does not seem that much bigger than a B7500 to me...But that is just me.

Now that I got the little bx to do the small jobs...l keep thinking it would not hurt to have a tractor a little bigger than the B2910...those L3430s sure are powerful and are not that much bigger... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Evolution of the tractor mind...first the tractor looks big.. then it grows smaller...you see you could use even more...you realize that going bigger than you thought you needed at first was the right thing to do...you consider using the expiration of the warrenty as an excuse to buy something new [and bigger...] /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif


Few trade down, many trade up is the message often repeated here at TBN.

Good luck in your decision. What ever you end up with will be a wonderful tool. Be sure to get a loader...

 

[frank_f15]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM: all of the machines u mentioned will do fine, do u intend to do your lawn with the tractor?if not you might want to go with a rear finish mower, not as nice a cut but a tad less expensive.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Matt, is the drive paved or gravel?

If it is paved, you could go with a subcompact easily. If it is gravel, then you will be grooming the drive and I would stick with your first two choices as solid choices to consider. Both will be good mowing tractors, which is probably what they will be used for about 85% of the time. It sounds like you have bare ground, so if you do a lot of landscaping you will be able to choose where to put it and how to lay it out. Just make sure that you map out your tractors turning radius so that your landscaping has sweeping shapes that match the ability your tractors abiltiy to turn while mowing and you will get your jobs done a lot faster in the long run.

 

[Bob_In_MN]

Matt,

I can't comment on the Kubota regarding just how nimble it is, but I am very happy with the 4010.

I have around 15 mature trees concentrated in one part of my yard and the 4010 zips around very nicely. The 4110 is not much longer (a couple of inches I believe) so I would think you'd be very happy with this machine.

Good Luck

Bob

 

[Dieter]

Matt,

Godfrey's in Jonesville MI. Doug Everline was my sales guy 517-849-9966. They treated me well before, during and after the sale.