Weight / Ruts in lawn ratio of Kubota tractors

[Spring1898]

Hello all, just curious what everyone's experience is with ruts in the grass from tractors?
Where I live we get a lot of precipitation, not quite Hilo or Seattle, but the mowing yard can get soft which = yard ruts.
We are also on a hill and the neighbor's property drains down onto mine, so mowing only when everything has had time to completely dry out is not always possible.

As tractors get bigger the tires get bigger and the foot print gets larger to offset the weight, but eventually weight wins out. What is your experience with tractors in the 1100-1800lb range?

Has anyone put wider tires on the same rims to compensate (if they won't rub?)

 

[George2615]

Most any tractor (SCUT size and up) will leave ruts on a wet lawn. I plow the snow out of my drive onto the lawn but can't push it back till much later when the ground freezes or I will have deep ruts. My tractor weighs about 6K. For mowing I use a JD rider that weighs about 700 lb. Even that will create ruts if the lawn is really wet. I have to wait a few days till the lawn dries to mow. I never had a tractor with wider turf tires (excluding the rider) but I can see where they may help distribute the weight better on soggy ground. I think going to wider tires will require wider rims for the proper tread footprint.

 

[Spring1898]

Sometimes my problem is that waiting a few days means another rain shower. I was thinking of getting a larger tractor (big compact) if the price was right, but that is when I remembered the yard ruts

 

[GPintheMitten]

I have a B2620 with R4s, loaded rears. I have to wait in the spring when everything is soft. Then mow with a few ruts once in a while, but generally ok. If very soft I use 4wd to keep moving but you have to make wide turns or the fronts will dig in. Later when the ground gets firm I mow in 2 wd.

It works Ok for me.

It's all a compromise. Some folks like to have a tractor for all but lawn and dedicated mower but I didn't want to spend the money for separate machines.

 

[DHD]

I've tried to mow my lawn with my Kubota B7800 (about 1800 pounds with R4s not loaded) 6 foot rear mount finish mower.
Had to stay out of any damp areas, left very noticeable depressions, even in some of the dry parts of the lawn I would notice occasional depressions in the lawn. Only use my 570 pound Husqvarna R322T awd on my lawn now. I can still get slight depressions in the really damp areas, but the lighter machine is better choice for my lawn.

 

[Spring1898]

See I would love to get a B7800 or B2710, but it definitely sounds like it would be too heavy for my cutting area. Don't necessarily need one that big right now either, but it would be nice to have for down the road. Shaving a couple hundred pounds with the smaller B series might be the way to go

 

[GPintheMitten]

If you buy new you could skip the mmm which is about 2 grand and buy a garden tractor mower. But if you buy used it will probably have a mower.

 

[lostcreekranch]

See I would love to get a B7800 or B2710, but it definitely sounds like it would be too heavy for my cutting area. Don't necessarily need one that big right now either, but it would be nice to have for down the road. Shaving a couple hundred pounds with the smaller B series might be the way to go

Just sold our B2710 with turf tires and 72" MMM. Our soil is very sandy but, if I waited a day or two, after a big rain, it mowed well and no ruts.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[NewfieDan]

We did want GP suggested. Originally bought the bx2360 with MMM. But after a few times using it the wife was not happy with the look of the ruts. We sold the mower deck and bought a dedicated ride on mower. Now the kubota is used for snow clearing, tilling, clearing land. Pretty much everything except mowing