Mowing Mowing lawn with a BX - Belly mower or Tow behind?

[penokee]

This may already be answered in the archives, if so appreciate a link.
Question: My sister is looking for a tractor for mowing her 21 acre ranch in Texas, and asked me for a recommendation. I'll be going down there in February and will look at them then. I'm thinking of recommending a Kubota BX with either the Suspended (Belly type) or the Finishing (Tow type) mower. I assume one would do a better job - any/all recommendations appreciated.
penokee /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ps: I have a L3130 w/Bush hog and have wacked down a few acres of brush/weeds/grass, but a newbie when it comes to finish mowing with a Kubota

 

[TresCrows]

NO, I cannot recommend that. I think you need to get her into something larger like a 7500 with 60 inch tow behind or even move up into the 7800 with a 72 inch tow behind. The BX is wonderful with it's belly mower on smoth lawns but mowing 20 acres that may or may not be smooth might be a bit much. The BX does a great job, great little machine, just that does not sound like a good match to me. For that much acerage if it is all going ot be mowed I would get something that can pull a 72 inch tow behind. J

 

[Volfandt]

Is she going to be finish mowing 21 acres?

If so then I'll agree with going with a larger tractor w/a minimum of a 72" MMM (belly mower). I'd also recommend a bush hog also. That way she can finish mow with the MMM where ahe wants a very nice cut and rough mow the far away acreerage where a lawn quality cut isn't necessary which will knock off mowing time considerably. Having both will not require changeing out the implements for the different mowing applications. Just leave the MMM on and hang what ever implements she'll use when needed.

The MMM will give a nicer finish cut and much more manuverability when mowing around obstacles.
A RFM also gives a nice finish cut but is good in wide open spaces.
A bush hog doesn't give a lawn mower quality cut but will knock down just about anything 3/4" or smaller. You can also run much faster when mowing with one of these beasts /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

re. the BX. The largest MMM available for the BX is a 60" MMM, but thats a fully suspended deck which means it'll not get beat up by a pasture or uneven terrain when mowing. I have a BX23 w/a 60" MMM and I finish mow about 2.5 acres in less than 2 hrs. An acre of it is former pasture and it handles it fine. I figure I could comfortably knock out about 6 to 7 acres on a tank and that would be about all I'd want to do on any single day. The drawback is that the BX23/2230 will only handle up to a 48" bush hog. At 21 acres you'll need 2.5 to 3 days to mow everything.

A 72" MMM along with a 72" bush hog will knock that time down considerably and a larger tractor will go further on it's larger tank of fuel.

As to what I'd go for, well the B3030 w/a an AC cab and 72" MMM to start and then add a 72" bush hog later would be my preference. And since it's not my money that's what I'd do /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It mainly depends on how much you want to spend and how much seat time you want to have.

Good luck
Volfandt

 

[rdsaustintx]

I have the same tractor as Volf, and mow the same area. Only difference is I am in Texas...

I totally agree with everything he said, although it's easy to double your budget /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

If the land is flat enough for a finish mower, the BX will do it, no doubt. The 60" MMM is not ground-engaging (floating) but I think mine cuts great. Although limited in brush hog width, I'm sure a BX could pull a really big finish mower with self-contained engine, golf course style. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

All of this is assuming it ever rains here again...

Russell in Texas (where it is bone dry)

 

[automech]

I like to cut grass, and I like my little BX, but I don't think I'd like cutting 21 acres with it. I think you need to go bigger too, although I'm not an expert. 21 acres with a BX sounds like a full work week to me. I'm sure it could be done though if you have the time. When I lived in a small neighborhood, we all had 1 to 2 acre lots to mow, I used to watch my neighbor cut his 2 acres with a self propelled 30 inch lawn mower. He and his family tag teamed that poor mower every night till it got dark. I like being over equipped rather than under. Buy the most Kubota you can afford would be my advice, then trade up to an even bigger one someday!

 

[Toolguy]

I agree that a BX would be too small for 21 acres. A bigger tractor will ride better. In order to cover those acres in a reasonable time you will need to go faster than a small wheeled tractor like a BX will allow. If the ground is golf course smooth that may be a different story. However, if it is natural grassland, chances are it will have a few rough spots. Those smaller wheels will drop into every hole and beat the driver up pretty bad at anything over walking speed. A B2630 or B7800 would be my minimum recommendation. An L2800 might not be a bad choice, either. It would be able to handle a larger RFM or brush hog as well. It also depends how often she wants to mow the property. If she does it 2 or 3 times a year and time is not an issue then a small tractor will do it but it will take more time. If she mows it more often then a bigger tractor and mower is the way to go in my opinion. Good Luck

 

[linpat]

penokee
r u only looking at the bota tractors or r u open to other brands?

 

[DmansPadge]

Is mowing all that needs to be done or will the tractor be used for other tasks?

The way I read your post is that if she wants to finish mow it... to me that means a nice smooth piece of land that she wants to keep looking good. That being the case it would be mowed quite often. And being from TX I know that around here the grass grows 8-9 months a year. That sounds like a lot of mowing! To regularly finish mow 21 acres I would want an L series with atleast a 6' mower. As mentioned by another poster.. an L2800 may be a good fit and still not carry a huge price tag. And I realize that this probably will not be the case... but, if it was a nice flat area... a commercial ZTR would work.

Now... if it is rough pasture... finish mowing probably wouldn't be the best. A brushhog can actually give a pretty good looking cut as long as the blades are kept up with. And with a hog she could go months at a time without mowing and still be able to cut it without trouble. That wouldn't be the case with a finish mower as they are not designed for cutting tall grass/weeds.

Either way she wants to go... the smallest I would look at would be maybe a B7800 but would more likely look for something like an L3400 with a 6-7' hog/finish mower.

Ofcoarse then again... that's just my input and there are a ton a other factors that could change that.

 

[Tom_H]

If you go to the main search page and enter both these terms "MMM" and "RFM" under {Kubota Owning and Operating} and the same thing under {Attachments}, you'll find many excellent threads which ran before regarding your question.

However, I do agree with the others. A BX is not large enough for your needs. 21 acres is a lot (no pun intended). The first thing we need to know from you is whether this is finished lawn or pasture. If all lawn with not many obstacles, you might consider a B or L series with a gang of reel mowers. If pasture, you need a rotary cutter, a.k.a. rough cutter, brush hog, either a very large one, or a ganged set up. You can find much info. on all these type mower/cutters by searching in {attachments}.

If you can tell us more about this 21 acres, we can help you better. Is it lawn, pasture, weeds and saplings, other? Is it hilly, flat, etc.? How many obstacles and what distance between them? Is it dry, marshy, etc.? All these factors make a difference and would play a part in making a good decision. If the conditions are right, the best buy for the money might be a 30-40 y.o. full sized utility tractor and 96" rotary cutter. If this is not fine lawn, but something between what golfers call "fairway" and "rough", Woods makes a hybrid that is in an RFM type housing, yet has "stump jumper" spindle pans like a rough cutter, except each pan has 3 free pivoting blades attached. There is info re. this in the archives and on Woods' web site.

Give us some more info. and we can advise you better.

 

[ByronBob]

I do 6.5 acres with a 60" MMM and it takes me about 5 hrs to do. So for her using this set up would be really long.