Mowing How heavy is "too heavy" for mowing?

[LSUalum]

I'm shopping for a 25-35 hp tractor right now, where first priority will be mowing. I'm probably going with the R4s, but not sure if I am going to be too heavy for my yard. My yard is a sandy mix with bermudagrass.

1. 
   
   What is the heaviest you would go? This tractor will also be used an all-purpose tractor for our small horse farm.
   
   FYI, the range of weights I have seen in the tractors I have been shopping have been 2500 - 3500 lbs.

 

[Raddad]

I have a Kubota B7610 with a mid mount mower and R4 tires. I think it's less than 2000 pounds and it chews up the thin grass in my yard on sharp turns. I began to spread compost, overseed and fertelize to thicken up the grass and as long as I go slow and don't make sharp turns the dammage is now minimal. Thin grass in sand is very fragile for any tractor. You may want to look at a suspended mower deck. Kubota calls it a turf special. Sometimes the rollers on the ground following decks tear up fragile grass also. Turf tires might be a better choice depending on the other uses for your tractor.

 

[johnk]

I think if you go with turf tires you might as well just buy it for mowing. He wants an all around tractor so I would at least go w/ R 4's..Check to see what your neighbors are using...

 

[LSUalum]

Just a little more info:

I have a Kubota L175 right now, which is super-light, but with narrow R1s it cuts up the yard unless it is bone-dry.
My neighbor has a John Deere 870 (2400 lbs) with a 6ft finishing mower and it does fairly well even with R1s (wider than mine).

 

[DK35vince]

Depends a lot on the soil.
I mow my 6 acre lawn with a Kioti DK 35 (3600 lbs) , loaded R-4's tires (600+ lbs fluid) and a 7' rear finish mower.
Works out fine for mowing my lawn..

 

[jcmseven]

I think the tires are more important than the weight. R4 tires on my JD 3720, which weighes 3500# with loaded rears (just the tractor) treads lightly even on my parents' nice lawn. It does not tread less lightly than their mower, unless it is really wet and even then not by much. With R1 tires, one will have to mow when it is quite dry to keep things from getting torn up badly. I would say you could safely go into a mid frame sized machine with R4's and be fine. I would not go with turfs as they really seem traction-limited in all but the most ideal situations.

John M

 

[Mahana79]

I have to agree with jcmseven. I chose R4's for mine because I live in a really sandy area. I needed the traction from a bar tread type tire but i wanted a wider tire for good flotation in the sand. R4 fit the bill nicely. when im in 2wd i dont notice them tearing up the ground too bad. R4's are generally wider and have wider tread bars, both combined give tham alot more surface contact area to spread the weight out and not dig in real bad. I think the R4's also tend to have a higer load rating i believe. I wanted a wider tire on the front so when i loaded down the loader it wouldnt just sink in the sand like the skinny pizza cutter R1's would likely do.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

Could someone give me a link to a site that shows the difference in tires. All I know is my 8N has ag-bar tires on it. All this R1 and R4 stuff means nothing to me. I would like to understand what y'all are talking about.

My 8N with loaded tires is about 3500 pounds and mows just fine.

Pooh Bear

 

[Mahana79]

R-1 is your traditional ag bar tire, and R-3 is a turf tire and a R-4 is an industrial type tread design.

This is an R4

An R-1

and a R-3

 

[LSUalum]

Basically, the R1 tire is what you would call a true Agriculture tire ( the type tires which came on any farm tractor). R4 are considered an Industrial tire ( almost the same tread style as the large skid steers, road graders, etc....., but larger.) R4s have a wider tread or "footprint" than R1s.
Turf tires are exactly what the name says,....made for turf or lawns. No deep tread, only a flat surface similiar to a very wide automobile tire.

Now, when you get into the larger farm tractors, there is even more options, like R2s, but the 3 mentioned above are the only options in compact tractors.

If you go to Kubota's website, I think they have all of the tires they offer.

Hope this helps...................

 

[Pooh_Bear]

Great. Thanks for the info.
So now I know I have R1 tires on my 8N tractor.

I know what turf tires are. I have seen those on a website
that had an N tractor and a belly mower.
Also my LT has turf tires on it. Albeit small ones.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

 

[john_bud]

I'm shopping for a 25-35 hp tractor right now, where first priority will be mowing. I'm probably going with the R4s, but not sure if I am going to be too heavy for my yard. My yard is a sandy mix with bermudagrass.

1. 
   
   What is the heaviest you would go? This tractor will also be used an all-purpose tractor for our small horse farm.
   
   FYI, the range of weights I have seen in the tractors I have been shopping have been 2500 - 3500 lbs.

1. 
   
   
   Go with a L3400 or L3130 or L3430 or an L4400. All will be good for your use. Do get 4x4 if you are going to use a FEL.
   
   
   Also get turf tires. There are many many many tread styles. Some are super dooper wide and some are fairly agressive. Check them all out. Most dealers are willing to help you get the tire you need. R4's will mark and rut your soft sandy soil. R1's will simply rip it apart. Most landscape companies use turf tires and they drag heavy stuff around, use the FEL and mow. Hmmm, sounds like your application....
   
   jb

 

[bigdeer2000]

i cut the grass at home with a 6ft finish mower until last year.started out with a L3600 kept it just under 3 years traded it for 3710 kept it for about 3 years traded it for 4330 cab. all 3 had r4 tires. never really had any lawn damage,would leave tire imprints when very wet but lawn allways looked good after mowing.soil here has quite a bit of clay in it. i'd say type of soil would be a factor.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I would also think your expectations would have a lot to do with your choice.
My yard was originally a cow field. I just started mowing it.
I don't fertilize, I don't do weed control, I don't water it. I just mow it.
Last summer I fenced about half of it off and let the cows back on it.
Hoping to do that again this summer. (family didn't like the idea).
Mowing with the 8N and R1 tires won't hurt my yard. Or I don't notice.
And I have one of the best looking yards in the neighborhood.
Pooh Bear's Place

But I also know there are people out there that wouldn't think of letting
my tractor on their lawn. They would mow with a hovercraft if they could.
Myself, I love the smell of that first cut of the year
when I go out to mow the onions.
If I take a divot out the yard when I make a turn I simply don't care.

I don't mow the lawn. I do battle with the vegetation.

Pooh Bear

 

[Soundguy]

My tractor is about 12k# with the mower.. seems to work fine in my yard and pasture...

soundguy

I'm shopping for a 25-35 hp tractor right now, where first priority will be mowing. I'm probably going with the R4s, but not sure if I am going to be too heavy for my yard. My yard is a sandy mix with bermudagrass.

1. 
   
   What is the heaviest you would go? This tractor will also be used an all-purpose tractor for our small horse farm.
   
   FYI, the range of weights I have seen in the tractors I have been shopping have been 2500 - 3500 lbs.

 

[LBrown59]

Just a little more info:

I have a Kubota L175 right now, which is super-light, but with narrow R1s it cuts up the yard unless it is bone-dry.
My neighbor has a John Deere 870 (2400 lbs) with a 6ft finishing mower and it does fairly well even with R1s (wider than mine).

Seems any tire can scuff up the yard so why forfeit the much superior traction of R1s for little if any gain on minimizing turf disturbance?

 

[schmism]

i mow my lawn (~2 acers) with my TC33 wit hR4's. In fact i sought out one with a MMM for that exact reason.

on dry ground the lawn shows no sign the tractor was there... on moist ground (say a day after a hard rain, or a few hrs after a little rain) You can see tracts but they arnt impressions in the ground.

when its wet and soft expect to leave tracks. not that you have tore up the lawn but youve left noticable imprints. hard turns you can expect to tare up some turf, 4x4 (engaged) makes it a LOT worse.

I've mowed with both the FEL on and off... its a lot smooth ride with it off, but adds 20 -30 min to the job to pull it off/on. The addtional weight doesnt seem to affect tracks/no tracks.... (no loaded tires)

 

[LBrown59]

Pooh Bear

Do you ever get any flooding in your house from that river?

 

[Bob_Young]

LSU,
Seems like you already have the lawn tractor; that super-light L175. What you need is a set of turf tires for it. With a larger tractor on hand, you can dedicate the turf-tired L175 to lawn duties and spec. out the large tractor for the heavy, horse farm work. You can then go as heavy as you want without worrying about the lawn. Maybe even get an M7040 like Glowplug ;-).

A fella' NEEDS more than one tractor. Right, LBrown?
Bob

 

[TrippleT]

I have a TC33D with fel and never take it off. I have the R4 tires on it and have no troubles on the soil here. One thing is to not mow with the FWD on. It bites in somewhat if your turning short. Another thing is to make longer turns if mowing with a tractor. I would guess the weight close the 3 with mower and loader. The mower itself is 625 lbs. I mow about 10 acres of yard with this.