Buying Advice What should I use to mow 5 acres?

[JCCinOhio]

Hello,

We just bought a 10 acre lot, about 5 acres is tall grass and we plan to let the deer & rabbits have that. So that leaves us a maximum of 5 to cut (there's a small pond, the house, a few barns, road). Assuming we are going to cut this 5 acres, what would be the best type to do the job? Terrain is somewhat hilly, maybe a 20-25 degree slope in areas. Would also like to be able to move snow in the winter, maybe light scraping to smooth out the driveway, and eventually some small gardening (say a 300 sqft garden or two). I was looking at the JD x530, but supposedly they only go up to 5 acres so I'd be maxing it out? Under $8000 is my goal.. also would like to minimize seat time.. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks. John

 

[gauthier]

My little 15 year old sears lawnmower will mow 5 acres[just take you awhile],,,so don't think you would be maxing out that super deere lawnmower,[figured one of them cost more than 8 grand].

What you need is a 20-30 hp desil 4wd tractor and a moderately priced lawn mower,but 8 grand won't buy that unless you get used,,,now if it was just mowing,but you want to move snow and till or plow so it gets harder for 8 grand.

 

[sweettractors]

Hello,

We just bought a 10 acre lot, about 5 acres is tall grass and we plan to let the deer & rabbits have that. So that leaves us a maximum of 5 to cut (there's a small pond, the house, a few barns, road). Assuming we are going to cut this 5 acres, what would be the best type to do the job? Terrain is somewhat hilly, maybe a 20-25 degree slope in areas. Would also like to be able to move snow in the winter, maybe light scraping to smooth out the driveway, and eventually some small gardening (say a 300 sqft garden or two). I was looking at the JD x530, but supposedly they only go up to 5 acres so I'd be maxing it out? Under $8000 is my goal.. also would like to minimize seat time.. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks. John

Have you considered a used Grey Market compact tractor with a rear finish mower? Ken Sweet

 

[beenthere]

:welcome:
The Deere X7xx in diesel and All-wheel-steer would be my choice if buying new.

But a used Deere 455 with around 500 hours, AWS for around $5500 give or take would be my ideal choice.

supposedly they only go up to 5 acres...

is only a suggestion and as mentioned a push mower will mow 5 acres (I'm glad those days are over and gone ).

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would say that a used 20-25 hp diesel 4WD with FEL would suit you fine. Something like a JD 750 (19 HP) or similar is plenty big for what you are needing. They can pull a 4 or 5 foot rotary mower or a 72" rear finish mower if you want a smoother cut. I have a larger yard and I bush hog part of it and mow the stuff closer to the house. While sitting on my porch from 100 feet or so out(which is where I start bushhogging ), you cant tell lawnmower yard from bushhogged yard. I dont cut it really close anyway due to those pesky rocks that rise up every winter. Bush hog busts them up pretty good, but I think they would bust the lawnmower instead of the othe way around.
Switch out the RFM for a back scraper blade or box blade and the FEL / blade combo should clear snow pretty well. I just looked at Tractorhouse.com and there are several listed 4 wd with FEL for less than $8000 lots of Kubotas for around $5000

 

[Porkie]

I suggest any small compact tractor of between 15 to 25 HP, with a loader and if possible, 4WD. I believe most are Auto trans (HST) which is great for someone new to tractors.

If you look carefully, you can probably find some in your price range. They may be 10 years old or so but there are a lot of them that are that old but have few hours on them.

Most of them will power a 4 to 5 ft brush cutter also, if you decide to cut the other part of your property.

Sam

 

[Yandaddy1110]

Have you considered a used Grey Market compact tractor with a rear finish mower? Ken Sweet

I 2nd this suggestion. You can find one of these for well under 8k or even under 5k in 2wd or 4wd. Later,getting to know your property and needs, you may "fine tune"your tractor needs and get something bigger or smaller.

 

[LD1]

For starters, where abouts in ohio are ya neighbor???

Second, welcome to TBN.

On to business. A compact tractor like those that have already been mentioned will indeed do what you need them to. But the question is how much time do you want to spend doing it???

The JD x500 series and x700 series that have already been metioned would not be my choice if I had to mow 5 acres. Neither would they be my choice to move snow. But the key is they CAN do both.

However, with an 8k budget, Id be looking for a used commercial grade ZTR. They can be had in the 3-4k range in decient shape and will mow that 5 acres about twice as fast as anything else you will find. Probabally about 1.5-2 hours vs 3-4 hrs for anything else. I know there is no way I would want to mow 5 acres with anything other than a ZTR, but then again I HATE mowing.

For plowing, you have several options. If you have a 4x4 truck, you can throw a used plow on it for 1-1.5K range. And you will be nice and toasty when plowing. And you will still be under budget and can hire someone to grade the drive. Of just let the irst plowing of the winter take care of that.

How familiar are you with tractors and mechanics. Used older tractors line N fords, MF 35 series, etc can be had well under 5K with a backblade. That would solve your plowing and grading issue there. The they are older and WILL reqire some mechanics ffom time to time.

And while it would be nice to have a FEL, you didn't mentioned anything that would require one. And with some pretty good slopes, a novice operator can roll a tractor pretty easily with a load in the FEL.

You will get pleanty of peoples opinions on here, this is just mine. ZTR and a 4x4 truck with plow. After that, get an older peice of iron and have fun.

 

[flusher]

Hello,

We just bought a 10 acre lot, about 5 acres is tall grass and we plan to let the deer & rabbits have that. So that leaves us a maximum of 5 to cut (there's a small pond, the house, a few barns, road). Assuming we are going to cut this 5 acres, what would be the best type to do the job? Terrain is somewhat hilly, maybe a 20-25 degree slope in areas. Would also like to be able to move snow in the winter, maybe light scraping to smooth out the driveway, and eventually some small gardening (say a 300 sqft garden or two). I was looking at the JD x530, but supposedly they only go up to 5 acres so I'd be maxing it out? Under $8000 is my goal.. also would like to minimize seat time.. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks. John

How do you want to move snow--rear scraper blade? Front end loader (FEL)? Snow blower?

If you want the FEL, then an $8K budget gets you into the grey market tractor with FEL market (Yanmar, Iseki, Bolens, etc). You can find these tractors with Koyker FELs for $8K. Check the TBN forum on these tractors to get some idea of what's out there.

Then get yourself a $600 4-ft wide brush hog for mowing.

Just be very careful with these little tractors on slopes--they're pretty tippy.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

A serviceable old 2WD tractor (Massey Ferguson 35) with live power take off will do 90% of the work you need to do, and for a little money. I have put 600 hours on one over the last seven years with no major repairs. It originally cost $3400 CDN.

Buy a decent riding lawn mower for the rest of the work.