Tractor Sizing snowblowing, mowing, rototilling - smallish property

[rockandroller]

Hi all, new to rural living, and tractors!

We've just moved from apartment living in a European megalopolis into a small log home on 8 acres of "mostly treed" property. It comes with about 100 feet of gravel driveway plus another 500 feet of gravel private lane that we'll need to keep cleared in the winter. Winters here (New Brunswick, Canada) promise to be SNOWY, apparently they had 3+ feet of snow last year...

Anyway, around the house there is maybe a quarter-acre of lawn altogether and we'll want to keep this nicely mowed, along with some of the lane frontage. A good portion of this lawn is of course right over the septic tank and field, and I'm wondering how big a lawn tractor is safe to drive over this?

Parts of the yard are a little tight, with some shrubberies here and there, so I'm imagining we want a small "garden tractor" to maneuver easily. But one that can have a pretty hefty snow-blower attached in winter, and preferably a winter-cab as well, as it gets very windy here (I don't relish being out there exposed to the minus 30 wind-chill while snow-blowing for an hour!)

To be honest, I have no idea how long it takes to snow-blow 100 feet of lane. Any hints about this would be appreciated!

Finally, next year we're going to have a half acre or so of the forest cleared for some substantial home gardening. So it would be great to be able to use a tractor for some tilling and such. Again, I have no idea if a power roto-tiller attachment is really worthwhile compared to the ordinary tiller blades or discs that you just drag along behind the tractor. I don't expect we'd ever want or need to cultivate more than an acre of gardens all told... but available choice of attachments will certainly factor into the purchase - very open to advice about whats most useful for small gardening (vegetables, mostly).

Right now, I'm imagining one of the moderately heavy-duty garden tractors (with mower deck) plus a big snow-blower plus a tiller (of some kind) plus maybe a box scraper and a utility trailer (for hauling firewood, of which there is lots to harvest here!) is probably a worthwhile investment for a property like this....


Any and all advice is gratefully received!

 

[Gittyup]

Best mowing and snow blowing tractor: John deere X series. Short, powerful, very manueverable. They have loaders, but are limited. The tillers for these are good. It's really a CAT0 3ph. If used for tilling/loading, don't/can't get all-wheel steer option.

Best all purpose small tractor: Kubota BX series. Good mowers, fair loaders. Good at snowblowing and tilling. Some are CAT1s.

Me, I would get a cheap mower for the lawn and look for a slightly used 20 - 30 HP small, CAT1 tractor a little bigger than the BXs for the other stuff. Lots of choices here from all brands.

If only one for all your needs? Probably a BX, JD 1026R, or JD 2320.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I would go with the BX. :thumbsup:

 

[oldboyscout]

What kind of budget?
Also, what kind of soil and grades? (how steep)

 

[KU Gator]

If you truely only have a 1/4 acre or so to mow and stuff to mow around, I would get a good walk behind self propelled mower assuming you do not have physical limitations. You would likely need one anyway to trim. Then do as Gittyup suggests and get something in the small compact tractor size such as a Kubota B series (new or used) for the other jobs.

 

[Soundguy]

if you are worried about compaction, etc.. get turf tires.. the bigger the better for weight distribution..

soundguy

 

[rockandroller]

Budget - we were hoping on $6000 or less, if we could get away with it. We're new in town and don't have any idea where to go for reliable used gear (also I don't have a lot of spare time to be a tractor mechanic!) so probably we'll have to go with a brand new machine.

Soil - I really don't know, haven't had time to put a shovel in it. The property is mainly treed with firs and pines, with some maples and birches. It's "mostly level", one little raveen down the end where a stream cuts across. All the lawn (and potential lawn) is pretty level ground.

I took a close look at the map, and it looks like we actually have about 3/4 acres of lawns, including the lane frontage.

 

[Soundguy]

use a post hole digger to get a good core sample..

again.. if looking to savemoney, especially in order to get that new tractor.. 1000$ will likely get you that 700$ carport and a load of 57 stone you can pile up as flooring... use 1x6 fence boards as form boards to keep it contained on the sides.

cheap, easy, and you can change it any time you want to upgrade to concrete.. or you can move it.. etc.. etc.

I can tell you.. you will probably eventually want bigger.. so going small and mobile / non permanent may be an advantage right now.. plus it's cheaper..

on my property i built a horse barn with 3 bay storage.. then added a detached garage with a tack room and 2 more bay storage. then added a leantoo with another 3 bays of storage.. then another leantoo with another 4 bays of storage, and finally built a metal building 53x31' and it's now full... ( 1 bay storage = approximately 1 tractor storage )

and now I got another tractor the other day... need to add on to the leantoo's i guess..

soundguy

 

[oldboyscout]

a Kubota t2080 gas lawn tractor with snowblower and 42" deck is $6400 new. IMHO this is not nearly enough tractor for the work you have to do. $6000 will get a decent small 2wd used tractor that would run a 3pth snowblower, tiller, mower etc. The 2wd is fine if you don't have any steep grades or heavy loader use.

 

[oldboyscout]

do you know how deeply the septic is buried? Someone else here may have an idea of how much load they can carry.

 

[rockandroller]

Thanks for all the ideas and info! I've been perusing these immense forums diligently.

I'm thinking that this machine needs to do SNOWBLOWER duty first and foremost, afterwards the second priority would be gardening work, and then finally lawn-mowing. A close look at the lawns revealed only 1/10th of an acre around the house - and the septic field area (one corner near the house) could be managed reasonably with a push mower. Dunno how deep it is buried, but I'd just as soon not be driving any tractors over it.

The majority of the lawns (0.64 acres) are just the frontage on the private lane (15 feet other side of the ditch) and i think we won't be too fussy with how they are mowed (pretty much any kind of cutting should do the trick).

The rest of the property is heavily treed, with a few very small open areas existing here and there that we would probably like to drive the tractor in, for collecting wood as well as gardening. Most of it, I dunno yet if we'll be able to force more than a foot path through easily (projects for next spring...)

Most likely we'll call someone in with an excavator to clear a couple of big garden patches. (once we figure out where to put them). One big priority is to leave all of the trees that are close to the house (for privacy and ambience...) so our garden clearings will be somewhere down the property a ways.

So I guess I'm modifying the quest slightly: on our limited budget (can't imagine stretching it much past $8K) can you steer me towards the sort of machine that will yield the best bang-for-buck as a SnowBlower/garden tractor ??

Right now the first thing I've seen around our price range are the bigger (26hp) Sears 'Craftsman GT' items, and I'm concerned that they may prove to be a poor investment - only a 2 year warranty... Mind you I haven't yet checked out the warranties on any other brands, maybe they are all the same for 'consumer grade' garden tractors?

Anyway - about $6K will get us 26 HP, 23 inch wheels, a 48" 2-stage snowblower w/electric lift - anybody actually use these kind of garden tractors for snow-clearing, or do we need to spend a lot more money to get something decent? The lane being flat (along with our driveway and 90% of the property) leads me to believe that a 4WD tractor is really not needed...

 

[bp fick]

My advice is simple. Hire the plowing this winter. Watch what your neighbors own, how big, what they do with their equipment. Get to know the folks at church, in the area and you'll find more than one with tractors doing similar tasks. You have enough on your plate.

With $6K, you CAN find a solid used tractor. If want an acre garden, have 500 ft of drive to maintain and snow to remove, you'll need something substantial, not just a glorified riding lawn mower. But, rushing always means buying the wrong thing, nine times out of ten. Do some research and think it through. You've got the long winter to think things through, imo.

Pick up anything to mow 1/4 acre of fine lawn. Shoot, you could use a walk behind, self propelled mower and do it in an hour.

Take your time. Talk to folks. Watch and see what these various tractors can do. We here mostly know what we'd buy because we have all been at this awhile. Just our throwing out suggestion after suggestion can just confuse. Go to some dealerships. Sit on a few. Ask lots of questions. Take your time.

 

[grsthegreat]

I would recommend a simple riding mower for 1/10 acre of lawn (way less chance of damage or compaction issues ... and there pretty cheap.

then a small 30 hp range tractor for the rest. I had a 28 HP JD870 that could have handled everything your talking about. The problem with going too small on the tractor...is that as your place continues to expand and new areas open up, you may fina a 20 HP tractor is too small. If you go too big, you have turning issues and other size related issues. And snowblowers are a god given right:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: and definately get a front end loader.

 

[DennisFolsom]

I second the suggestion to take your time in deciding what to buy, even though it means hiring your snow removal this winter.

For much of my life, I've enjoyed the independence of having my own snow removal gear and not having to wait for the plow guy. Due to breakdowns on my generally rugged old Cub Cadet (from using it way beyond what it was designed for), I have had to depend on the plow guy sometimes. I actually have a good, reasonably priced, plow man within a mile of me. I now have a John Deere 4600 and enjoyed plowing our pre-Halloween 1 ft snowstorm with it. Like you, my ideal is to do it myself, but I can get by with hired plowing when necessary.

Having owned garden tractors - 3 of the older, ruggeder Cub Cadets over the years, and having seen friends and relatives use things like a Husqvarna lawn tractor with a snowblower, I recommend you hold out for at least a Kubota BX series, or perhaps the equivalent size in another brand. These tractors are much more substantial than a "garden tractor" and will serve you well for many years.

A "subcompact" tractor with a cab and a front-mounted snowblower sounds like just the ticket. You can put aside a bit of money toward it, while you watch the used market for a good deal. If you are patient and shop hard, you may find something that is just right for you.

Good luck! Enjoy your new home!

 

[oldboyscout]

The first year I was on our 2+ acres with 500 foot drive I had a Cub Cadet garden tractor. It was a complete waste of time and money for snow removal, and we don't get the kind of snow you're talking about. The suggestions to hire out snow removal at least this year are good ones.
Otherwise I highly recommend looking for a used Ford 600(or similar) or a smaller 4WD compact 14xx , and a snowblower (+chains and wheel weight) . This will fit in your budget, or consider the Kubota BX for a lot more money but good financing.

 

[dmay]

I think with your $6000 budget and desire for new, you need to look at a lawn tractor. Try visiting johndeere.com and select the Build your own link to price various lawn tractors. I suggest you look at the X300 series and snowblower.

 

[RalphVa]

You need to know what kind of septic tank you have. It's likely a concrete one. We have such in our back yard here in Virginia. I've driven my tractor and cars and pickup over it. Not so with the metal one in Baton Rouge. It rusted and caved in.

I've and JD 4010 on 8.5 acres of very hilly terrain. It has worked great to do my garden and plow snow off our approx. 300 foot driveway for 7 years now. If you have very uneven ground or drive over tree remains, etc., you'll need a compact like the 4010 (like the JD 2320/2520 now or Kubota B series). Otherwise, something like the BX Kubota or a 2305 JD would do (these have cooling fans below decks that can get damaged by uneven ground and debris on the ground). The 18.5 hp on my 4010 is PLENTY of power.

I have a 50x75 ft veggie garden that I feed my bowling and church groups (and others) from. Don't need an acre unless you plan to go into the business of selling veggies.

Our lawn totals about 1/2 acre. I use walk behind mowers for it.

Ralph

 

[Don87]

I used a Cub Cadet 2160 for about 13 years to blow snow, and till my garden.

They biggest snow I cleared with it was level with the roof of the Pontiac I had. The belts had to be replaced after that snowfall:laughing: , but I got er done:thumbsup:

But I agree with others, buy a pushmower for now........hire out the driveway..........and use your time over the winter to study, and ask questions.

As to the other question that wasn't answered, it will take 20 to 30 minutes to blow the snow from a 100 foot straight driveway. A cab would be nice, but may not be necessary.

I have a little ove 18, 000 invested in the stuff you see in my 'tag line'(all but the plow was purchased new). Think carefully before you buy.