Hi love reading everybody's posts and comments. We have 4 acres on an island offshore from Brisbane, Qld, Australia. Old macadamia farm, not maintained for 30 years. Have an ancient [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] L1500DT with slasher (groundhog), and 4in1 FEL. Not used a lot these days as the slashing is pretty much under control. However also have a 42inch zero turn, and what a blast compared to rideons. Halved the mowing time and mowing is almost FUN!It's not a lawn mower, but I'm not sure that there is anything on the market to compare with the small old style Farmall tractor for doing large gardens. Especially in clay soil.
Luckily there are lots of used ones on the market and they are so simple they last forever.
If you go that route, get every attachment you can find.
rScotty
If you can afford a tractor (TLB) without stressing your finances, just buy one because they are fun to own and use!It's not a lawn mower, but I'm not sure that there is anything on the market to compare with the small old style Farmall tractor for doing large gardens. Especially in clay soil.
Luckily there are lots of used ones on the market and they are so simple they last forever.
If you go that route, get every attachment you can find.
rScotty
I had about the same when I bought my [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] BX25. I started with a Cub Cadet, then a zero turn, got both of them stuck multiple times. 4WD was the key, I’ve had the BX for over 10 years no problems getting stuck.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
I have a Cub XT1 46 inch, and the rear is definitely not locked. And we mow about 2 acres with it. It is NOT a tractor, and altlhough it has well over 200 hours on it, it has been a pain to maintain, clearly not designed for heavy use. Two head gasket replacements, one under warranty. We also have a Branson 2515R, which works fine with a shredder (bush hog) but as was intimated above, you don't take it out when the lawn or ground is really wet. The Massey mentioned above is an Iseki.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.
Unless you want to contract out, a gravel driveway alone would justify a scut and FEL (Imho). A BX (or similar machine) with a mid mount mower is a capable mowing machine that will likely do less turf damage than a poor traction lawn mower spinning its wheels. As an example, I got half way across my water soaked field in a golf cart before burying it. It stripped the turf down to bare mud while spinning (ughh). I drug it out of the field with my L4060 just leaving tire lug impressions in the turf... They're probably gone now.
I have never heard of a lawn mower with the rears permanently locked. That thing must be a pain to operate!