Do I really need a tractor on 1.5 acres?

[chim]

As others said, you may not NEED a tractor, but they sure are fun. And, it's easy to get into an "arms race" with yourself

I could live with the old Cub LoBoy 154 with a 5' belly mower and a front blade that we bought back around '91 when we first built here on 2-1/4 acres. There's a small stream and some trees on the property, as well as a couple sheds. Back then the 100 yard driveway was gravel that needed attention from time to time. To use the dozer blade on the Cub, it took a lot of effort to remove the belly mower and get the blade mounted. The decision was made to go with something that had a 3 point hitch.

That brought the Ford 1210. It was the only tractor from 1991 till 2002 (and we still have it). Again, that could have been the final tractor. However, the desire for a loader had us shopping and in 2002 we got a new [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] B7500. At first, that felt like overkill, but after 10 years it seemed like there were many times a couple more horses or a bit more loader capacity would be nice.

The new L3200 was next in early 2012. It filled the bill. It was also big enough to move snow at the church (1-1/2 mile road trip) and finally go with a 6' rear finish mower. It was then that we added an adjacent lot to make it 3-1/2 acres here. This tractor was purchased with the goal of building a cab:

DIY Cab - Finally decided it was time

Much of the time I enjoy the open air and nothing around me. Then there are those times when my feet and fingers are freezing and it isn't that much fun anymore. After reading about numerous homebrew cabs I decided it was probably something I could handle. What I need is some guidance /...

www.tractorbynet.com

In the early Summer of 2018 my (wonderful) Brother-in-law suggested to Wifey that at my age (69 then) it would be good to keep me out of all that dust and heat in the warmer months. That led to a lot of looking around for a tractor with A/C. Since the L3200 had adequate HP, I figured the cabbed tractor should have at least 5 more HP to run the A/C. At the end of 2018 we found a very clean used L4240HSTC. It was large enough to run a 7-1/2' rear mower, and 8' snow plow and whatever else asked of it.

I've had the fun of fabricating and modifying various attachments for all of these tractors. Good clean fun

 

[two_bit_score]

Need it or not, if you want it and can afford it, get it. YOLO.

 

[hornett22]

Yes, you need one! Because when you back is toast, it's pretty much toast.

 

[Yander]

Yes, you need one! Because when you back is toast, it's pretty much toast.

.... AND your back doesn't care how many acres you have!

 

[BenjiMac]

Not just the tractor, but also a trailer so you can take it other places since you don't have enough land to keep it busy!

 

[Martin Roper]

Hi everyone, forum newbie here. Recently I moved to a new property, much bigger than my last. However after seeing our neighbors down the street playing with their bx, I'm questioning if we need one (a subcompact)


We're only on 1.5 acres, it's mostly flat. There are some big dips and ruts down the rear end of the property, but nothing extrodinary. We do have a large garden just above that, and a rocky driveway that I'm considering levelling.

We do use a cub cadet xt2 46in, and this is more than adequate for mowing. However I've found it hard to turn with (seriously who in their right mind decided permanent difflock is good for a lawn mower???) And during the rainy season often times the mower will get stuck,or slide around tearing up the grass. Or most likely just bog down due to the water. Meaning mowing is a chore that will take 2+ hours


I'm planning to start a 120M x 20M garden, however this all clay soil so it's necessary to use a large tiller, of which is extremely expensive.


Preferably something to mow with during the wet, so 4wd is very much preffered.

And planning to modify the garden bed/generally move dirt ect.

I'm thinking of a sub compact but would this be the best choice? I have a Massey furgeson gc1705 with a midmount in mind, that's at a very nice price,and a loader is the cost of a new mower. Therefore I'll end up buying the loader for certain with the machine, and thankfully they are cross compatible.or should I just save my money and rent one when necessary? Hopefully with the tractor I'll sell the lawn mower, but I'm not certain yet

Of course you need a tractor, I would say preferably a small agricultural rather than a sub compact because that is my preference plus implements are easier to source and it is surprising how many of those you can't do without.

 

[sdef]

I don't think there is an accurate ratio of tractor size to home acreage. I make no apologies that I have a 40hp tractor with FEL on only 6 acres. My property maintenance and projects dictate a larger machine.

4.4 acres and 45HP with FEL here. I originally purchased this machine and lots of attachments for clearing our retirement property and building a long driveway for our new home build. We still need it a few times a year to work projects around here, especially ground engaging projects, in our heavy clay and rocky soil. It extends our useful lives a lot and allows projects to be completed that would not get done otherwise.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I guess you don't have too most garden equipment you can get size down for a four-wheeler and you could equip it with a FEL like lol

 

[repair1]

Hi everyone, forum newbie here. Recently I moved to a new property, much bigger than my last. However after seeing our neighbors down the street playing with their bx, I'm questioning if we need one (a subcompact)


We're only on 1.5 acres, it's mostly flat. There are some big dips and ruts down the rear end of the property, but nothing extrodinary. We do have a large garden just above that, and a rocky driveway that I'm considering levelling.

We do use a cub cadet xt2 46in, and this is more than adequate for mowing. However I've found it hard to turn with (seriously who in their right mind decided permanent difflock is good for a lawn mower???) And during the rainy season often times the mower will get stuck,or slide around tearing up the grass. Or most likely just bog down due to the water. Meaning mowing is a chore that will take 2+ hours


I'm planning to start a 120M x 20M garden, however this all clay soil so it's necessary to use a large tiller, of which is extremely expensive.


Preferably something to mow with during the wet, so 4wd is very much preffered.

And planning to modify the garden bed/generally move dirt ect.

I'm thinking of a sub compact but would this be the best choice? I have a Massey furgeson gc1705 with a midmount in mind, that's at a very nice price,and a loader is the cost of a new mower. Therefore I'll end up buying the loader for certain with the machine, and thankfully they are cross compatible.or should I just save my money and rent one when necessary? Hopefully with the tractor I'll sell the lawn mower, but I'm not certain yet

We are only on 2 Acres (all grass with 25x100 garden) but with a 300’ driveway that gets a lot of snow. I purchased a BX about 12 years ago and I am not sorry I did. I use the loader more than I thought I would and cut the mowing time in half compared to the old 42” lawn tractor. It is the perfect tool for me, limited for sure but as long as you’re not in a hurry it’s fine. I will tell you that if you want to mow in four wheel drive you will tear up the lawn when turning. Definitely get the loader if for no other reason it will be much easier to sell the tractor if need be.

 

[jonnmero]

Of course you need a tractor, like every good wife needs a sewing machine. But make it a Lanz Bulldog, and you'll also be invited to every county fair within reasonable distance (1000 miles!).