Need guidance in selecting Mower vs Yard Tractor

[cford36]

You mentioned a couple of dealers, I'm not sure if you have looked at other manufacturers. I recently went from a John Deere to a LS. You will find John Deere is consistantly significantly more $$.

A 2017 LS MT125 is $12,333 with loader. Belly mower $1888.

Otherwise look at used.

 

[airbiscuit]

It sounds like you want to stay on the smaller side of the tractor spectrum - preferably garden tractor size. None of the tractors I showed from craigslist will be too large for your needs or comfort. I would recommend doing several test drives (new or used) to see where your comfort level lies. It's not a matter of if, but when you buy a SCUT or CUT, but it's your journey.

 

[cford36]

Back to your original question, considering the size of your property I would bump up from a mower to at least a sub-compact tractor. You will find plenty of uses for it and will be happier with it.

And for that long of a driveway for snow removal your going to want either a plow or a 3pt blower. I just don't see you being happy with any garden tractor.

 

[rekees4300]

So, describe to the OP your experience with the JD X500 vs the JD 4300.

I understand your 2 machine approach but I was hoping to find a machine that I can do both.

The two tractor approach makes sense for me since I have 42 acres. The 500 is a garden tractor used for lawn mowing and the 4300 is a compact tractor used for brushhogging, logging, 900" driveway snow removal. No comparison between the 2. The OP could try a X500 size machine for a year then decide if a big brother is needed. He might be able to get by with only X500 if he gets snowblower and tire chains.

 

[dnmccoy]

• looking at driveway, it looks like you have some pot holes already, and looks like the rock been there a few years and compacted were tires normally run down the driveway.
• it looks like there some additional "low spots" were water runs through driveway (on heavy sudden rains)
• no ditches to speak of for driveway.
• you need to deal with snow.
• you need to mow regular lawn
• you need to deal with pasture area
• with your driveway, fence line and trees. not sure how the snow drifts will be. and going to assume. you will have a couple drifts some place in driveway, that will need to be removed. so you can actually get a car up and down the driveway.
• looking at the fence posts, and wire on it. looks like in a couple years or so, fence will need to be put in new posts and wire for it, if you plan to put any sort of animals in it.
• if you get animals to put in the fence area, that may predict a given size tractor, pending on how you feed them (small square bales, to larger round bales)
• if you pull fence out, and just mow what you want, then most likely you will want to re smooth the pasture out to make it less bumpy for mowing.
• looks like some low spot in yard around the home. as in standing water after it rains. and ground being soggy / muddy.

i would say you need a SCUT (sub compact utilty tractor) at min. so you can get a FEL (front end loader), and a 3pt hitch to run attachments on the rear. to deal with driveway, fence, garden.

you will have to simply wait longer after each rain, before you get out on the lawn/grass to mow it. resulting in most likely taking half passes (1/2 width of mower deck) due to grass gotten to tall. and need to make 2 to 3 times running across grass to get it all mowed down. you might find a 3pt hitch finishing mower regular mower, with rear discharge more to your liking. due to less likely leave "wind rows" large row of clump of grass behind you, unlike side discharge finishing mowers.

with a SCUT, the ground clearance is not that much. and you may have issues with a 3pt hitch rear blade, and running through snow drifts, result is you will most likely need to use the FEL to remove snow drifts, and/or get a snow blower.

a CUT (compact utilty tractor) has higher ground clearance and is heavier, and more likely to deal with the snow drifts better and be able to take the driveway in 2 passes vs 2 to 4 times with a SCUT when speaking use of 3pt hitch rear blade.

mowing takes up majorty of the time if using it for both mowing and everything else. i have been tempted a couple times to buy a *meh* forgot the name, finshing mower with engine on it, that you can pull behind another mower or UTV / ATV. to get a wider mowing path. to reduce time spent mowing. 7 acres if you mow the entire pasture as regular lawn. is going to take you good portion of a day. (check oil, get gas, grease machine, mow, take a break, mow some more, fill up with gas, etc...) zero turn mowers, tend to more excel at moving quicker while actually cutting grass vs a riding lawn mower. riding lawn mowers tend to bog down. the smaller cheaper zero turns may have issues with taller grass. (undersized for what you need) double check how high mower deck can be raised, and if it is easy to access the belt and clean the deck both top and bottom. so if you do use regular mower to cut down taller grass / weeds you might be able to get away with it.

if you just cut the pasture a 2 to 4 times a year, a rotatory mower (bush hog) be better choice, and keep the finishing mower belt and blades in better condition. they do sale ATV / UTV pull behind rotatory mowers, but additional engine to take care of. and suggest a 3pt hitch version for a tractor.

to note it. i am not a fan of riding lawn mowers. after mowing for even for a few minutes, when you hope off, your entire body feels like it is still vibrating. zero turns and larger tractors tend to get away from this.

Thank you. This is extremely helpful answer

 

[dnmccoy]

You mentioned a couple of dealers, I'm not sure if you have looked at other manufacturers. I recently went from a John Deere to a LS. You will find John Deere is consistantly significantly more $$.

A 2017 LS MT125 is $12,333 with loader. Belly mower $1888.

Otherwise look at used.

Im not married to any brand, I just know there is a JD dealer 10 minutes down the road. The only LS dealer in Ohio is almost 80 miles away

Kubota dealers are 15 and 28 miles away

Name some other brands and Ill be more than happy to check em out

 

[rekees4300]

I just know there is a JD dealer 10 minutes down the road.

And that's a big factor. My JD dealer has an annual "Winter service special". He picks up the tractor, does all maintenance, then returns it looking like new. I don't do anything except write the check for $200-$300. Maybe your dealer does something similar?

 

[airbiscuit]

Name some other brands and Ill be more than happy to check em out

New Holland
Kioti
Massey Ferguson
Yanmar

 

[boggen]

Im not married to any brand, I just know there is a JD dealer 10 minutes down the road. The only LS dealer in Ohio is almost 80 miles away

Kubota dealers are 15 and 28 miles away

Name some other brands and Ill be more than happy to check em out

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/ scroll down the list of all the sub forums here on TBN

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't think the brand really makes too big of a difference, so if you have on that is close and you are happy with them, then go with them. I currently have a 35 hp tractor with a 6 foot rotary cutter and a 7 foot finish mower. I also have a 5 foot Scag zero turn mower. I use them both for different things, but I didn't start out that way. It's taken years to build up to this, and I completely understand your situation in what to choose with a given budget.

If you go used, you will save a lot of money, but with used, there is Murphys Law to keep in mind. You don't know what will go wrong or when it will fail. Most dealers are offering really good financing options, and in my opinion, if you get a new tractor, you will save money in the long term if you keep it for a decade or longer.

With a tractor, you can buy the best one you can afford and then add to it over time. A loader is super handy. You will use it for things you never imagined, like just getting heavy stuff into your truck, or from the house to the burn pile. The list goes on and on. You can get a finish mower to pull behind it that will be a pleasure maintaining your pasture land. Zero turns are faster, but they beat you up, and they are only faster if the grass is cut regularly. With the tractor, you can cut the grass less often in areas that you do not need to maintain.

A walk behind push mower might be an option for around the house and trees. Or a riding mower. They are slower then a zero turn, but for small areas, you will never notice the difference in cut.

Get the tractor, you will never regret it.