One tractor, or tractor and rider?

[tree farmer]

I'm currently in more or less the "same boat". I have 38+ acres of timber/pasture/lawn. In my barn I have a TD-14 IH dozer (Cat D-6 size) that hasn't been used in about 5 years, a 3414 IH industrial TLB, that's getting old and tired like me, a Sears 22 HP garden tractor with a 50" mower, and a 3 week old 2740 Montana. I've come to the conclusion that the 27 horse Montana will do everything I have to do anymore, so I probably will sell the dozer and the 3414 this summer. The point I am making is, the bigger equipment served its need here several years ago, but now it's taking up space and costing me time and money to have for an occasional use. Don't buy something too much bigger than you may need down the road a few years. It's cheaper, but not as much fun, to hire someone to do the bigger jobs for you. I still fondly remember how much fun it was to get a track back on my dozer in the mud by myself!

 

[kwolfe]

I have had my bx1500 for about a year now. I have to say that I would not to use a regular riding mower anymore. I like the seat time Mowing with it just gives me another reason to sit on it.

That being said, the BX series does have less ground clearance. However I have noticed that I have become very aware of where I tread to ensure that I am not taking the tractor somewhere it should not go.

Also, the finish cut the BX gives is very good, and it does ont take up that much garage space (I don't have much of).

Good luck with your search. Post those pictures what ever you do!

 

[Fjord]

I also kept my rider with 42" deck when I got my B7800. There's just too many obstacles and "ornaments" in our yard to get around with anything bigger. I've never had a MMM, but do you have to take it off when you're working in the woods? Also, if you kept the rider, could your wife or kids could be doing the lawn while you were working (playing ) in the woods on your new tractor?

 

[al3]

Putting a deck on and off a CUT gets old real quick. They aren’t light---even though many can be attached in 5 or so minutes, it’s not something you'll look forward to.

So analyze your off-turf needs carefully. If your tree skidding/hogging will take you into areas where the deck would get in the way, and you'll be doing that kind of work frequently, by all means look at the 2 tractor option.

I have 5 ac of woods with some swale ridden low area. Front axle gets real elevated in the humps----not a place to take a deck. Also nice not to have the various hangers and stuff needed to mount the deck in the way too. Because I get into the woods often, it's easier to leave it off…….. less back aches. I mow with a 1989 Craftsman 11HP. Jackshafts are (relatively) cheap; makes those rock hits easier to take.

 

[Offy]

Keeping the lawn tractor seems to make sense. How much would you expect to sell it for? It is now an asset and upkeep shouldn't be much of an issue if you practice good PM. The addition of a CUT in the future would allow the tackling of things that would be awfully hard to do without one, if not impossible. I kept my John Deere lawn tractor and recently purchased a Mahindra CUT that I really could no longer do without. I also have an old Ford 9N that I use with a box blade or bush hog to complete the lineup. I'm just getting too darn old not to have the assistance of equipment to get the old manual labor jobs done anymore.

 

[daTeacha]

I used to live on 7.5 acres just down the road from my present 6.5 acres. Both places are hillside, both have about 1 acre to mow. I have the old Cadet that I've had for years to mow and also plow some snow. I had a B7100 at the old place, but there is enough difference in the terrain that it felt pretty unstable at the new one so I upgraded to a Case DX29, which weighs about 3 times as much. Most of my work for the tractor is woods and pasture stuff, plus cleaning the sheep barn and hauling tree pieces for firewood -- not real logs, but pretty close. Neither tractor would function very well mowing the lawn due to trees and other obstacles. It's enough work with the Cadet or the JD 240!

IMHO, keep the mower for the yard, get about 25 to 30 hp of conventional tractor for the rest. Get a loader, a grapple on the bucket, a back blade or box blade, a Stihl chainsaw, and a bush hog. The loader will be something you'll wonder how you got through life without after about a week. The grapple will make it twice as handy to have. You can use the saw on any big things in your future trail, then bush hog your way through the woods. If you're fussy about it, you can run the box blade over the same path to keep it smooth.

Then you can bush hog the pasture into submission and keep it mowed with lawn machine pretty easily. It's not like you'll be competing for lawn of the month or something, all you want is something short enough so the kids don't get lost in it.