Dave___in___CT
Gold Member
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- Oct 7, 2003
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- West-Central CT
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- Kubota L3130, LA723 Loader, BH90 Backhoe, Curtis Cab, || '82 Gravely 8199KT garden tractor
Newbie lookin for help on Sub CUT
- Thread starter DarylZ
- Start date
- Views: 1605
ByronBob
Veteran Member
Daryl,
What about a brush hog like a DR walk behind. Your interested in keeping a handle on the grass but want to keep it natual looking. The DR has implements like a blade which can assist in the driveway.
It seems to me a waste of money to go big like a tractor for what you want. Cost of a new DR is in your range and it's new vs a fix me upper special. The DR has a 13hp motor which can really mow. I have one for my fields which can't handle the MMM.
This is just a different spin on your situation but I thought I'd mention it.
What about a brush hog like a DR walk behind. Your interested in keeping a handle on the grass but want to keep it natual looking. The DR has implements like a blade which can assist in the driveway.
It seems to me a waste of money to go big like a tractor for what you want. Cost of a new DR is in your range and it's new vs a fix me upper special. The DR has a 13hp motor which can really mow. I have one for my fields which can't handle the MMM.
This is just a different spin on your situation but I thought I'd mention it.
Byron,
Different thype of area to keep cleaned out I think, not field type work, more like removing minor amounts of excess undergrowth. There may be some amount of use pulling fallen trees and brush., so something with four wheels seems more appropriate. Also , unless I am wrong the DR seems to be more of a purpose built machine and would still require having a regular mower fo the lawn.
I will not rule anything out yet though and am looking at the Power Tracs as a possibility. They seem to have the advantage that adding implements later may cost less since the major hydraulics and cyling\ders and arms are included in the initial purchase.
Does anyone know if there are older power tracs available. Some people must eventually upgrade to larger units.
Like the CUTs, Sub Cuts, Ventracs, and DRs the Power Tracs also seem to have their own champions and stalwart supporters. It bodes well, for any final purchase that I make, that whichever I get should last a long time and provide many years of service.
Daryl
Different thype of area to keep cleaned out I think, not field type work, more like removing minor amounts of excess undergrowth. There may be some amount of use pulling fallen trees and brush., so something with four wheels seems more appropriate. Also , unless I am wrong the DR seems to be more of a purpose built machine and would still require having a regular mower fo the lawn.
I will not rule anything out yet though and am looking at the Power Tracs as a possibility. They seem to have the advantage that adding implements later may cost less since the major hydraulics and cyling\ders and arms are included in the initial purchase.
Does anyone know if there are older power tracs available. Some people must eventually upgrade to larger units.
Like the CUTs, Sub Cuts, Ventracs, and DRs the Power Tracs also seem to have their own champions and stalwart supporters. It bodes well, for any final purchase that I make, that whichever I get should last a long time and provide many years of service.
Daryl
Bob_Skurka
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
- Messages
- 7,615
If you are thinking about a PowerTrac, you might want to post your question over in the PT Forum. They might be able to direct you to a possible used unit as well.
Tom_H
Veteran Member
Daryl,
First, some thoughts about types of grasses and mowers. I have tall fescue grass; it's delicate, tall, and is easily mashed down. For grass like this, a zero turn mower is best as the grass gets cut before the wheels can mash it down. My BX2200 does a pretty good job in that the front wheels do mash the grass down some, but the mid-mount mower deck cuts the grass before the heavier rear wheels touch it. If I had a rear 3-point hitch finish mower, the cutting deck would follow the heavy rear wheels and much of the grass would still be lying down when the deck crossed it, thus tall grass would soon spring back up, uncut.
You are in Florida. I grew up in south Georgia and I'm guessing you have the same grass I cut as a kid. Now I haven't lived there in 26 years so I apologize if some part of my memory fails me. If I remember correctly, you probably have Bermuda and Centipede grasses. Again, if memory serves me correctly, these grasses are "runner" type grasses, with a ground hugging running vine and blades that don't rise too awfully high-also blades that are tough & resilient and pop right back up after being mashed down. I'm thinking such grasses could be cut pretty well with a 3ph rear finish mower, eliminating your need for a proprietary MMM (mid-mount mower).
I think a small older tractor with a standard rear PTO, but no mid-PTO could serve you well. You can get rear rough cutters (brush hogs) as small as 36" up to, well, way bigger than you'd need; this could easily cut your rough stuff. My 42" GearMore rough cutter handles 6 ft. high dense material easily. A rear finish mower for your lawn could mount on the 3ph too, as well as all kinds of other attachments. I've seen old B series Kubotas as small as my BX and older Ford models even smaller than my BX. They have std. PTO & Cat. 1 3ph. If you have a flat concrete surface you can build wheeled dollies easily & cheaply to wheel these implements right up to the 3ph. (And with a small tractor & small implements, it's even easier.)
I have a DR line trimmer on bicycle wheels and a self-propelled Troy siclebar cutter. Stay away from that Dr. rough cutter. With the non self-propelled machines, you have to fight inertia and gravity. With the self-propelled ones, you have to fight the machine itself. Those handlebar controls are awful. It's like trying to hitch a plow to an alligator and make the thing go where you want it to as opposed to sitting on top of and having total control over, well, a REAL TRACTOR. The DR. costs way more than a 3ph rough cutter ($700 vs $3500) and the Dr. does only 1 function and you'll exhaust yourself walking behind it having to drive it (and I mean DRIVE in the very ACTIVE sense like it used to mean whipping and pushing uncooperative mules or oxen to go where you want them to go).
Well, that's my 2 cents worth (might be worth even less), but hope they're some thoughts that might help.
Good luck,
Tom
First, some thoughts about types of grasses and mowers. I have tall fescue grass; it's delicate, tall, and is easily mashed down. For grass like this, a zero turn mower is best as the grass gets cut before the wheels can mash it down. My BX2200 does a pretty good job in that the front wheels do mash the grass down some, but the mid-mount mower deck cuts the grass before the heavier rear wheels touch it. If I had a rear 3-point hitch finish mower, the cutting deck would follow the heavy rear wheels and much of the grass would still be lying down when the deck crossed it, thus tall grass would soon spring back up, uncut.
You are in Florida. I grew up in south Georgia and I'm guessing you have the same grass I cut as a kid. Now I haven't lived there in 26 years so I apologize if some part of my memory fails me. If I remember correctly, you probably have Bermuda and Centipede grasses. Again, if memory serves me correctly, these grasses are "runner" type grasses, with a ground hugging running vine and blades that don't rise too awfully high-also blades that are tough & resilient and pop right back up after being mashed down. I'm thinking such grasses could be cut pretty well with a 3ph rear finish mower, eliminating your need for a proprietary MMM (mid-mount mower).
I think a small older tractor with a standard rear PTO, but no mid-PTO could serve you well. You can get rear rough cutters (brush hogs) as small as 36" up to, well, way bigger than you'd need; this could easily cut your rough stuff. My 42" GearMore rough cutter handles 6 ft. high dense material easily. A rear finish mower for your lawn could mount on the 3ph too, as well as all kinds of other attachments. I've seen old B series Kubotas as small as my BX and older Ford models even smaller than my BX. They have std. PTO & Cat. 1 3ph. If you have a flat concrete surface you can build wheeled dollies easily & cheaply to wheel these implements right up to the 3ph. (And with a small tractor & small implements, it's even easier.)
I have a DR line trimmer on bicycle wheels and a self-propelled Troy siclebar cutter. Stay away from that Dr. rough cutter. With the non self-propelled machines, you have to fight inertia and gravity. With the self-propelled ones, you have to fight the machine itself. Those handlebar controls are awful. It's like trying to hitch a plow to an alligator and make the thing go where you want it to as opposed to sitting on top of and having total control over, well, a REAL TRACTOR. The DR. costs way more than a 3ph rough cutter ($700 vs $3500) and the Dr. does only 1 function and you'll exhaust yourself walking behind it having to drive it (and I mean DRIVE in the very ACTIVE sense like it used to mean whipping and pushing uncooperative mules or oxen to go where you want them to go).
Well, that's my 2 cents worth (might be worth even less), but hope they're some thoughts that might help.
Good luck,
Tom
Tom,
I agree with all you said with one clarification. The grass I have is mostly bahia with a little St. Augustine thrown where they replaced the drain field before I bought the place. I still believe a RFM would work but would prefer a MMM if I can find one.
Does anyone know if Kubota or others still make MMMs for older Kubotas like the B7100, or where used MMMs may be available?
Daryl
I agree with all you said with one clarification. The grass I have is mostly bahia with a little St. Augustine thrown where they replaced the drain field before I bought the place. I still believe a RFM would work but would prefer a MMM if I can find one.
Does anyone know if Kubota or others still make MMMs for older Kubotas like the B7100, or where used MMMs may be available?
Daryl
TresCrows
Elite Member
The 4,000 dollars is not a very large budget for a tractor like you are asking about. Rather than wasteing 4,000 dollars on junk, continue to save until you can afford something better.
You might be able to pick up a Ford 8N for the blading and hogging and use a cheaper garden/lawn tractor for the mowing. Still, 4,000 is a small amount of money. J
You might be able to pick up a Ford 8N for the blading and hogging and use a cheaper garden/lawn tractor for the mowing. Still, 4,000 is a small amount of money. J
jim_wilson
Veteran Member
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I am in a situation that is sort of similar to the one you are in. I have a number of projects I want to complete and did not have huge amounts of money to spend on a tractor. Eating up all my cash reserves on a piece of equipment would leave me with not enough money to get the projects going. Basically what I did was look at all the jobs I wanted to get done and all of the options out there to do them. I looked at rentals, paying contractors, and buying equipment, both new and used. Basically it boiled down to I needed a loader to move stuff and an excavator or backhoe to dig stuff out. After going over all the options I came to conclusion that buying a tractor - New - came out as the best option, and this is why- most of the manufacturers currently have 0% financing. This allowed me to put some money down on the tractor - pay more in a montly basis, and still have money left over to get the projects done. The reason why I mention all of this is because you said in your post that you have a bunch of work that you were going to contract out, you should factor in the costs of that work into your buying decision. The $4000 you spend now and the $$ you spend later should all count towards the final costs of getting this work done. You may find if you go at the costs this way you may be able to financially justify much more tractor than you think because you will saving money by doing the work yourself with the tractor. Just a thought ...... then again maybe it is just an excuse to buy a better tractor /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif