Is a 2 wheel tractor right for me?

[saxnbees]

I have a Grillo 1017D with a 33" Zanon mower, and use it to mow about an acre. I got it because I am getting old and fat, and need exercise. On open ground and steep hills it works, I feel myself loosing weight every time I use it. Mowing around stuff can be a bear, but gets slightly easier as you get used to maneuvering the tractor. I can mow about 90% of my yard with the Grillo. The rest are spots too tight to maneuver it, so my kids use a small push mower for them. I will agree with people who say a cheap rider is better though.

I also use it to till my garden, it is great for tilling. I also use it as a chipper, snowblower and I have a front plow (the type for pushing dirt) for it. I have not tried the plow with weights on the tractor, but without them it does not get enough traction. Everything else I have tried, it works good for. I also bought just the hitch for the tractor and converted a 4 wheel wagon to a 2 wheel wagon to pull with it. It is pretty fast in the transport gear.

Before moving to less land (From about 5-1/2 to 1-1/2 acres), I have had both a old garden tractor and a new SCUT TLB, and it really just depends on how much capacity you need as to how large you need to go. The GT worked fine, and was not bad to turn with the front tires inflated pretty well. It could lift about 500lbs and I could mow it it. There was a tiller available for it. As for brush, if it was small enough I just mowed it. If it was too large, I plowed it with the FEL, or dug it up with the backhoe.

I ended up selling the GT because I needed more capacity to clear downed trees (most of my pine trees died in about 6 years). I got a SCUT with a grapple on it, it could lift 1,000 lbs. The backhoe on it also dug faster, and had more pulling force to rip out roots. I did not get a mower for it, because a mid mount mower on a SCUT is expensive, and I only had a little less than an acre to mow there (the rest was woods.)

That covers my experience with all three. The biggest problem that it sounds like your land has, is the hills. It really depends on how bad they are, and if they can justify basing the decision around them. If they are not too steep, or else not too large; I would get an older GT with a loader, mower deck, and a three point hitch. Some GTs have tillers available for them, and if not you can use a plow, cultivator and/or discs. Then, if the hills are too steep for the GT (and not too large), I would do the hills with a push mower or weed-eater.

The most import point, I think, is that if you feel you need a FEL and get a two wheel tractor, there is a good chance you will regret it.

With an older GT, accessories are hard to find, so try to get a good package or choose one based on what else you can get in your area for it. Even if you have it re-powered when you get it, you will spend about the same on everything for it, as you will for a new 2-wheeled tractor with one or two accessories. Even if you clear some of the land, a SCUT would probably be more expensive than it is worth. It will get the larger jobs done quicker (like if you clear a lot of trees) but otherwise the GT should have the capacity for most chores.

I agree. I have a Grillo G110 and love it. But I also have a Kioti NX4510 to do the heavy lifting and work in more open flat areas, hauling wood, digging rocks, etc. My original reason for buying the G110 was to cut the hill behind our house once a year. I deemed it too steep to safely cut with a riding tractor and was getting tired of using a weed wacker and scythe. So, I bought the G110 along with a 28" Bellon brush mower and a Caravaggi Bio-90 high speed chipper to chip up fallen branches, etc. I use it to cut the hill and to work around field edges and small areas where the larger tractor does not fit well. I have now added a Grillo 27" tiller and Rescia Guiliano 28 Snow Blower. From the beginning I had the quick hitch added to my G110 and implements. As stated, I love the machine and all of the implements work better than we hoped and Joel at Earthtoolsbcs.com has been extremely helpful and responsive to all of my questions. I would suggest you give him a call and talk about your requirements. When I dealt with him, there was never a push to buy more than I needed and I believe he will steer you away from two wheel tractors if they will not serve your needs. As far as cutting an acre of open grass goes, I can't really say. My hill is probably an acre but I am not just cutting an open field. I am working up and down the hill and working around rocks and fruit trees. If you have hills and get a 2 wheel tractor, I would highly recommend one of the more advanced models that have a differential and steering brakes. That helps alot on the hill. Using the steering brakes, you can essentially spin the tractor around on the inside wheel but you had better be ready to be whipped around with the handle bars! The steering brakes also help keep the tractor from wanting to turn down hill. As stated in the previous quote, the 2 wheel tractors and implements are not cheap. However, they are heavy duty and will probably last a life time if they are maintained properly. Think hard about everything you want to do with your land now and into the future so you can make an informed decision that you will not regret a year from now.