Do I really need a tractor on 1.5 acres?

[scaredychicken]

EVERYBODY needs a tractor

 

[alexpops]

To the OP. For a smaller lot, you can get away without a tractor. (I'd put myself in that category with only 5 acres) Given this IS a tractor forum, most answers will say "YES ... YOU NEED ONE AND BIGGER IS USUALLY BETTER & SAFER." Realistically, it will make life easier for you ... IF you have tasks a tractor is best suited for, and the cost won't put you up a creek on other areas of life. I'm not convinced a mid-mount mower is one of those tasks, I prefer my ZT, but to each his own. The garden tilling on the other hand will definitely benefit (you need to figure out how big a tiller you need/want & size the tractor PTO HP to the tiller & your soil ... or do multiple passes with a smaller tiller & deal with the tire ruts afterwards), as will moving heavy stuff/deliveries/and lifting supplies (I've used my FEL and Forks to get supplies up so I could repair a roof after Storm damage, and I've used them as "non-OSHA approved" man-lifts for tree trimming). The tractor will do your tilling faster than a walk behind tiller, just not sure it'll be the most economic option unless you have other uses for the tractor. Driveway maintenance is another thing that will benefit, but the tractor you mentioned is a bit light IMO to pull much gravel, but definitely better than a shovel. FEL is very convenient, but a wheelbarrow or garden tractor dump trailer are ALMOST as convenient & a lot cheaper. I grew up on 8 acres --half wooded/half lawn with a 500 ft steep driveway we needed to snowblow all winter in the snow belt & we did everything with a Jacobsen garden tractor. Everything is a trade-off. Smaller tractor/more affordable but less capable (more time required). Bigger tractor/more expensive and more capable. (attachment costs grow with the tractor costs as well if you want to take full advantage of the capabilities) You know your current needs, & if the 1705 meets all those needs, fine go for it. One thing to keep in mind is your future needs. Is this the biggest property you will ever own? Any plans for wood lots/hunting properties/or more acreage? Do you have a barn/shed for storage/work area? will you want to build one? Will your car/SUV/PU be able to tow whatever you buy should service be needed or are you going to pay for hauling as well? I would rather be too big than too small, but I do push limits on everything I own AND my truck/trailer can handle pretty much any towing needs I have unless I upgrade my license to a class A ... YMMV. Granted, the tractor you buy now may very well hold its value if you maintain and store it right, but you don't know what the cost (or availability) of upgrade tractors will do. (I'll bet there are lots of guys on here that traded/sold pre-emissions tractors for early Tier 4 that are ruing that decision after the fact. Later Tier 4 isn't as problematic, but definitely not as easy to work on as the older stuff.) If you wind up needing something bigger in the next few years, going bigger now may make more sense ... even if it is too big for current needs & costs you a nice gift/doghouse time on the wife front. Worse comes to worse, do what the rest of us do & lie to her about the actual cost while upselling the uses. Works for me on all the expensive tools & toys I've ever bought, BUT, I'm also the one handling all the bills at the same time.

 

[Williy]

I don't think if you get a tractor you will
ever say gee I wish I didn't get it!

way too many thinks you can do with a
tractor with the attachments that a lawn
mower can't handle!!!

willy

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

OP,

Chalk it up to a bit of each, cabin fever, winter doldrums, etc. The guy might have a lot on his own plate right now, not really anything to do with you. Winter (off season) around here gets a lot of people cranky as they're all cooped up and waiting for the season change so they can get back out there in the fields again, get projects done, etc.

I think a tractor with a front end loader and a set of pallet forks can be worth it's weight in gold. I can't tell you how many times I've used them for "not tractor" stuff. I think the last time was setting an old washer and dryer in the bed of my truck (by myself, didn't need to ask anyone for help) so I could then haul them to the dump. You'll find once you have them that they are extremely useful to you in ways you hadn't yet thought of.

 

[dj1701]

I purchased my BX2680 for mowing my lawn. I already had a bigger JD for everything else. I have 13 acres and could probably make do with the smaller tractor. They are very impressive little tractors. Make sure you get the loader. If you never had a front-end loader, you are going to fall in love all over again. Everyone I have talked to say they don't know how they lived without one.

Dave

 

[shouldibuy]

OP,

Chalk it up to a bit of each, cabin fever, winter doldrums, etc. The guy might have a lot on his own plate right now, not really anything to do with you. Winter (off season) around here gets a lot of people cranky as they're all cooped up and waiting for the season change so they can get back out there in the fields again, get projects done, etc.

I think a tractor with a front end loader and a set of pallet forks can be worth it's weight in gold. I can't tell you how many times I've used them for "not tractor" stuff. I think the last time was setting an old washer and dryer in the bed of my truck (by myself, didn't need to ask anyone for help) so I could then haul them to the dump. You'll find once you have them that they are extremely useful to you in ways you hadn't yet thought of.

Just hope I wasn't too hard on the fella lol,

As for the tractor most definitely, I'm currently going around and writing a list of things that it could be used for, aswell as price justifications. Mainly to convince my wife haha.

After today however, I really understand the use, as we ordered a contractor to smooth out the lawn (a month or two ago) and specifically paid more to get no rocks nor debris as it was the lawn. Que getting rocks, and smashing the deck of our lawn mower up when I ran over a piece of concrete. Best part is said lawn isn't even level, so I really am focused on getting a bucket, just for the usefulness of not having to deal with all that again.

With our recent bathroom renovation coming up, I have a feeling a tractor that's able to move those said tiles will be of extrodinary use. Especially when you factor in that moving them will be hell

 

[shouldibuy]

I purchased my BX2680 for mowing my lawn. I already had a bigger JD for everything else. I have 13 acres and could probably make do with the smaller tractor. They are very impressive little tractors. Make sure you get the loader. If you never had a front-end loader, you are going to fall in love all over again. Everyone I have talked to say they don't know how they lived without one.

Dave

FEL is most definitely a buy, and I'm probably going to add a backhoe onto it too. Alot of my friends/people on other forums have advised me to buy new,and where I am it's 30% deposit and 24months, so in reality it's somewhat similar price really. Especially with warranty ect, biggest part is convincing my wife now.

Bit I imagine once it's delivered, it'll prove it's worth. But first is to get the 10K in funds haha

 

[JohnnyMX]

We will only be mad if you buy one and don't post a picture

 

[DK35vince]

I get what GeneV is saying, but I have seen threads where the OP replies to each comment, and it gets very awkward (and even annoying) to read.

Yes it does.

 

[MossRoad]

Thread pruned. Please continue with the original discussion.

 

[MossRoad]

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

Welcome to TBN.

 

[MossRoad]

Do you 'NEED' a tractor? No.




We live on 1+ acre, but we have 20 acres several miles away.

I wanted a machine to do these tasks in order of most to least...

- Mow the lawn
- Clear our snow (not nearly as much as we had 20 years ago).
- Brush cut trails on our remote property several times a year.
- Move loose materials for landscaping.
- Dig holes.
- Lift things.

Our garden and flower beds are small, and I already had a decent walk-behind tiller. If I didn't, I'd get one for the machine.

Once I found out how useful it was, I started rehabbing, maintaining and mowing my wife's church ball diamond, and then our kids' Little League park. I also do occasional work for friends and family for root beer.

I chose a PowerTrac PT425, like this, to replace my small riding mower, snow blowers, shovels, rakes, and wheelbarrows. It has worked well for our needs.

T8 Class

Compact Tractors, Slope Mowers, Articulated Tractors, Tractor Attachments, Trailer Packages

www.power-trac.com

Good luck in your search.

 

[fatjay]

I have about 2 acres. I have 8 tractors. I hoe and plow and dig and mow and till and trench and hoe again and a bit more digging.

I like to buy older machines because they're cheap and simpler to work on, and if they break I'm not using them to make my living, so I can gradually learn to fix them and make repairs. I like tinkering on the weekends.

 

[PJRAM]

I have 2-1/2 acres, mostly wooded, with a 400 foot long gravel driveway. The little grass I have I mow with a Cub Cadet XT1 with a 46" deck. I bought a Massey GC1723TLB with the backhoe and loader and use it almost every day, to grade areas of my property, dress up the gravel driveway, remove tree stumps, move brush, help my neighbors with projects, to move topsoil and mulch into my garden, spread gravel on the driveway, etc., etc., etc. It's the best investment I have made for maintaining my property. I stay off my grass with the tractor when it's wet. Otherwise I leave tire tracks all over the place. I've had the tractor for 1 year now and in addition to the backhoe and loader I have added a box scraper, pallet forks, a landscape rake, a post hole digger with three augers, a third function kit, a grapple and a quick hitch. My wife said, That's enough already"!!! lol

 

[repete]

I thoroughly believe everyone should own a tractor just to know what it is like for someone to ask to borrow their tractor.

 

[MossRoad]

I thoroughly believe everyone should own a tractor just to know what it is like for someone to ask to borrow their tractor.

The standard answer:

"Liability prevents me from doing work on other people's property."

That usually gets you out of that with understanding and head nod.

 

[MossRoad]

Although I do mow my neighbor's lawn and leaves if it needs it and neighbor does the same for me if he's out first. We get along pretty well.

 

[rScotty]

We use our tractor for heavy jobs that we used to do with muscle power. Lifting, carrying, digging holes, moving snow - chores like that.
For an acre or so of mowing grass a tractor is debateable. I find it easier to simply use a self-propelled lawnmower. Some people prefer a mower on the tractor.
rScotty

 

[MossRoad]

A football field less endzones is pretty close to an acre. I don't want to mow a football field size yard with a self propelled lawnmower ever again. Been there. Done that.

We live on a little more than 1 acre. However, after I factor in the footprints of the house, shed, large garage, driveway, parking spaces, swimming pool, deck, garden, flower beds, etc., I am left with about 3/5 of an acre to mow. I have a 60" deck for the PT425. Many times I've left work at lunch, driven home, mowed the yard quickly (no trimming), ate a sandwich, and got back to work in less than an hour.

If I go fast, it takes about 20 minutes to mow. If I take my time, about 30. It's more than twice as fast as our old Simplicity riding lawnmower with the 32" deck. And that was way more than twice as fast as the walk behind mower that we had before that.

So, what used to take a couple hours with a walk behind mower now takes 20-30 minutes.

 

[hornett22]

Only thing I would recommend is you not get a sub compact. To me, they don't really do anything well. For the price of a [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] or JD sub compact, you could get a nice compact from another brand like Kioti or Mahindra for the same or probably even less $ and have A LOT more bang for your buck. You might even save enough to get a backhoe or other attachments like a third function and grapple.