buckthorn
Member
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 39
- Location
- Black Earth, WI
- Tractor
- New Holland TC33D, John Deere x590, John Deere 325, Kubota RTV 900
We've had a JD 325 for 13 years (~1000 hours) with a 54-inch deck, and have had more and more problems for the past 2-3 years. Nothing major in terms of components failing, but it's been one thing after another, and usually when we need it most: failed engine seal, replace oil filter housing, replace oil pressure sensor, replace idler arm assembly in the mowing deck....
So we're thinking that it's time that we bite the bullet and buy a new unit. And I'm looking for recommendations. Here's how we use the tractor:
- "regular" lawn mowing (uneven ground, sometime wet, heavy grass, slopes, ~2-3 acres. We don't really care about having a beautiful lawn; we just want to keep it from getting too long. We use a mulching kit so we don't have to pick up a ton of grass.
- mowing rows of 6-year-old tree plantings (uneven ground, slopes, taller grass and sometimes thick weeds, often wet). The plantings are roughly 12 acres, but we don't mow every row as the trees and shrubs have started to fill some rows in.
- mow some trails and paths, some in the woods, others similar to the tree row mowing
- rototill a 2500-foot vegetable garden, usually twice a year
Most of the work is now spent mowing the tree rows. We are sometimes out there for 2-3 hours at a time in mid-summer. The conditions are pretty tough: either it's hot and dusty, or it's cool and rather wet, all of which must make the tractor work pretty hard. Above all we need something that's sturdy and heavy-duty (not to mention easy to maintain and trouble-free); I'd say that the 325 has probably been at the top edge of its mowing capabilities and capacity, especially since we put in those tree plantings. It's done a beautiful job with tilling the garden; it would be nice to keep that rototiller, but I fear that it is incompatible with the newer tractors. We could possibly move down to a 48-inch deck; I'm not sure that the 54 is all that beneficial, and it makes the tractor work even harder.
So which models do people recommend for us to look at? We also have a New Holland T33D to handle the larger brushcutting jobs and maintaining our gravel driveway, so I think we want to stick with something in the lawn and garden category.
So we're thinking that it's time that we bite the bullet and buy a new unit. And I'm looking for recommendations. Here's how we use the tractor:
- "regular" lawn mowing (uneven ground, sometime wet, heavy grass, slopes, ~2-3 acres. We don't really care about having a beautiful lawn; we just want to keep it from getting too long. We use a mulching kit so we don't have to pick up a ton of grass.
- mowing rows of 6-year-old tree plantings (uneven ground, slopes, taller grass and sometimes thick weeds, often wet). The plantings are roughly 12 acres, but we don't mow every row as the trees and shrubs have started to fill some rows in.
- mow some trails and paths, some in the woods, others similar to the tree row mowing
- rototill a 2500-foot vegetable garden, usually twice a year
Most of the work is now spent mowing the tree rows. We are sometimes out there for 2-3 hours at a time in mid-summer. The conditions are pretty tough: either it's hot and dusty, or it's cool and rather wet, all of which must make the tractor work pretty hard. Above all we need something that's sturdy and heavy-duty (not to mention easy to maintain and trouble-free); I'd say that the 325 has probably been at the top edge of its mowing capabilities and capacity, especially since we put in those tree plantings. It's done a beautiful job with tilling the garden; it would be nice to keep that rototiller, but I fear that it is incompatible with the newer tractors. We could possibly move down to a 48-inch deck; I'm not sure that the 54 is all that beneficial, and it makes the tractor work even harder.
So which models do people recommend for us to look at? We also have a New Holland T33D to handle the larger brushcutting jobs and maintaining our gravel driveway, so I think we want to stick with something in the lawn and garden category.
