what do i need.

[shancooper]

I'm sure you fellows can give me some advice. I recently built a house on three acres of land. I've always cut grass with a push mower. But now I'm going to have to have something. Problem is I dont know what I need. The land is hilly in front with three ditches and out back it flattens out to a kudzu patch. I borrowed a husquvarna garden tractor but it got stuck in the ditches and spun on the hills. I was also afraid of turning it over. So I have the go ahead and get what I need.

so I decided to buy a kubota bx. then I decided to buy a used tractor and a zero-turn mower. Because everyone says that with a big yard get a zero turn, but Im not sure it would be any better than the borrowed mower. I also looked at a john deere x5 hundred and something- it had a locking differential, maybe thats all i need. but now im back to the kubota cause it has a three point hitch, maybe i should get a bushhog for the kudzu.

Help me out, its a lot of money, but I don't want to spend my weekends regretting my decision.

 

[Thomas]

4wd will come in handy for the hills.
Years to come you may want to re shape the land...garden...driveway maint. etc. and the 3pt hitch will come in handy for different attachments.

 

[whistlepig]

Zero turns are faster mowing than a tractor by a bunch. If mowing is all you are going to do the zero turn is the way to go. If you want to do other things the BX would be a better choice. With 4WD they are hard to get stuck. You can do so much more with a BX than a zero turn. There's always much more to do than just mowing the grass.

 

[shancooper]

But will I be able to cut grass on the hills with a zero turn? I read that that may be a problem. And how effective is a locking differential on a garden tractor?

 

[Gittyup]

The BX is the better option of those mentioned. ZTR's are good except on steep/rough terrain, and all than can do is mow. An in between option might be a tractor with all wheel steer (AWS). Deere makes some new one's. Or consider a more affordable used JD 425 or 455 with AWS. They will mow any slope that is mowable and something comparable new is the x700 series, which costs some big bucks. My uncle has a X500. He says it's not the tractor that my 425 is, and actually prefers his hold cub cadet the x500.
But, if you have wide open spaces, the BX is hard to beat and bit more tractor, whick will lend itself to more tasks down the road. In this class/price range, there are other manufacturers to consider as well: JD, MF, New Holland, CC, TYM T233/T273 (killer tractor). Either way, used will save you considerable money.

 

[whistlepig]

I have never owned a zero turn. I have seen many a zero turn stuck in ditches driving to work. Commercial mowers use them. The places that these zero turns were stuck I could idle through with my 2WD Gravely riding tractor. If getting stuck is a concern for sure a zero turn is not the way to go.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

zero turns do not like slopes.
the TYM 233 or 273 are great little machines, as is the kubota BX, but they cost a LOT less than that orange paint. Even so, a new 273 with loader will run you close to $12k, and the belly mower a chunk more. There's also the 15 series from Mahindra, which is another brand that sells good sub compact machines. Each of these can be purchased with loader (very handy) and all come with a cat 0 or cat 1 3 pt hitch, for which there are an abundance of attachments you can use to do a wide range of chores as the list grows over the years. (brush hog, tiller, rear blade, box blade, post hole digger, etc...)

on the flip side, a GOOD lawn tractor can be purchased that will not have a 3 pt hitch, but can still run a tiller, front grader blade, etc... for about half the cost of one of the above tractors - it just won't have the potential to be as versatile.

 

[dodge man]

I bought a BX2350 about a year ago. Best tool I ever bought. For 10 years I used riding mowers and it was a constant battle. I got stuck, slipped on the hills, and they wore out quickly. Like others have said, there is alot you can do with a BX, plus it makes a great mower. I have turf tires, which aren't very good in the mud, but I still have yet to get it stuck, and I've tried pretty hard a couple of times. Plus they have a roll bar(ROPS) and seat belt, which adds to the saftey factor. The downside is the cost, there aren't cheap. They are pretty common used.

 

[Soundguy]

But will I be able to cut grass on the hills with a zero turn? I read that that may be a problem. And how effective is a locking differential on a garden tractor?

I've seen ztr's slip and spin bad on hills and gullies..

soundguy

 

[/pine]

zero turns save the most time where there are a lot of trees/bushes etc. to mow around...
steeper hills and ditch slopes are best mowed with 2 stroke machines to ensure proper lubrication...

 

[LD1]

Based on my experience I don't think ztr's are as bad as everyone is making them out to be. I have 3 years experience on a Bobcat commercial ZTR with a 61" deck mowing about 7 acres a week before I move out of my parents house and got a place of my own. The 7 acres has two ditches that like to always be wet, and a pond with a very steep hillside to mow.

The previous mower for the hillside was a 8n ford with a 60" 3ph mower. We had the tires set as wide as possible and when mowing, we were always off the seat, on the uphill side, with a foot on the downhill side break, just in case of a roll over. Fortunatally it never happened. The ZTR mows this slope with no problems at all. I felt way more comfortable on that machine, even with no rops. If it was a little wet, it would want to slide, as the tires arent very agressive, but I never had the feeling that it wanted to follover. The center of gravity is very low on them machines.

And they do get stuck if you try to mow ditches when it is very mucky, but you get to know what the machine can and cant do. I have been mowing my place fot the last 3-years with my parents old JD 240 garden tractor and it has bar tread tires. In my opinion, it will not go places a ZTR will in terms of slopes and mud. It doesn't take much slope to take enough weight off the uphill rear tire and make it spin, whereas a ZTR wouldn't be a problem. The pond slope mentioned earlier, I wouldn't even think of using a garden tractor on. And it doesn't take much mud to get a garden tractor stuck either.

To sum it all up, if you need a actual tractor with 4wd and a loader etc, then look at the BX or equivellent. But when it comes to mowing, I'd take a ZTR over a Garden tractor any day, regardless of condition. You may get stuck a few times learning it's limitations, but on slopes, I'd take a ZTR any day over a garden tractor.

 

[Soundguy]

IMHO.. that slope needed an up/down mow.. not a verticle one hanging off the side!

soundguy

 

[LD1]

My experience with a ZTR has lead me to believe it is safer it mow a steep slope with a ZTR sideways instead up and down. This may not be the case with all ZTR's but the Bobcat " that I have used it was almost impossible to roll. The deck stuck out about a foot on each side and kinda acted like training wheels and it would slide well before it felt like it wanted to tip. Same slop Mowing up and down, going up I would be worried about flipping backwards, as it is easy to "pop a wheelie" with a ZTR.

This is just my experience and probabally does not apply to all mowers in all circumstances. All the mowing equipment that I have operated(8n w/3ph mower, l3400 with same 3ph mower, John deere garden tractor, Bobcat ZTR, johndeere 318, and a few others) The ZTR felt the most stable on the slopes...sideways.

 

[Soundguy]

??I believe you said it was the tractor that you leaned out onto the side.. thus my comments about mowing up and down and not hanging onto the side were obviously aimed at the tractor...

soundguy

My experience with a ZTR has lead me to believe it is safer it mow a steep slope with a ZTR sideways instead up and down. This may not be the case with all ZTR's but the Bobcat " that I have used it was almost impossible to roll. The deck stuck out about a foot on each side and kinda acted like training wheels and it would slide well before it felt like it wanted to tip. Same slop Mowing up and down, going up I would be worried about flipping backwards, as it is easy to "pop a wheelie" with a ZTR.

This is just my experience and probabally does not apply to all mowers in all circumstances. All the mowing equipment that I have operated(8n w/3ph mower, l3400 with same 3ph mower, John deere garden tractor, Bobcat ZTR, johndeere 318, and a few others) The ZTR felt the most stable on the slopes...sideways.

 

[LD1]

Ahh...your comment makes sense now.

It that particular case, mowing up and down was not an option as the bank of the pond was not very wide and the tractor would be swimming before the mower was up the hill...so our only option would be to mow it sideways or not at all.

 

[Soundguy]

sounds like time for a ditchbank mower.. flail mower.. sickle bar mower that had the travel distance.. or a goat!

soundguy

 

[Gittyup]

How about a slopemaster. Claim to cut on slopes up to 45 degrees. The self leveling seat is really cool.

 

[Soundguy]

hey.. maybee one of them china-dozers with the pto and 3pt on the back.. now there's a good slope machine..

soundguy

 

[vtfx4]

A commercial walk behind may be the way to go. I have a 48" walker because I have alot of slops and I love it. I just got a Bobcat compact tractor, but I am going to mow with the walker still. It gives a great cut and leaves beutiful swipes, and is almost as fast as a zero turn for alot less money. You can mow banks with a reasonable to pretty serious slope and they won't tip over, they will slide down the bank first.

 

[Mustangous]

How about get a landscape company to mow it once with a ztr and see how they make out... I have a bx and love it, but i need it right now for alotof ground engagemet. If you have no use for a loader and all you want to do is mow, i would try the ztr first. 7 acres is a lot to cut and a ztr would cut 3 acres much faster than bx.