Old question, new scenario, 72" vs 60" deck

[zzvyb6]

I solved the same problem with a Land Pride FDR2584. That's a 7' rear discharge mower. First time thru brush, grass, weeds, small trees and ant hills I set the deck up as high as possible. From then on it's just a rear discharge grass cutter. E = Mc^2 means time is money. Reduced hours. Your tractor may not be able to fully lift it off the ground, but you don't have to. It rides around on 4 gauge wheels. Hook and go. I don't even hook on a top link. No need to.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

My two cents... Is get the tractor, perhaps even a small Kubota L and a nice pto 6ft finish mower. Now you have the whole package. I did that for 4 years and then thought it would be cool to have a zero turn. So, I bought a 60" deck Kubota zd331. It mows my 7 acres in like 2 and 1/2 hours taking my time. It is the Tasmanian Devil of mowing machines. The down side... I only put 25 hours on it in a year and it takes up a ton of room in my shop. Now I'm seriously thinking of selling it and buying another finish mower for my L3301. :confused3:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I have discovered ideas and plans change after one gets a tractor and has a few acres. I started with a BX2200 FEL MMM tobe my lifetime mower with a super expensive wheelbarrow on the front. After a year of doing so much more than I had planned to do and discovering how much I liked shifting my landscaping around and having a few ground clearance issues I traded my BX to a B FEL and 6'RFM and bought a smaller BX1500 MMM for mowing around the house and trees and close areas.
I suspect you will come up with more ideas of what to do with your additional 4 acres when you start working it. Yes, one can always trade again to a different machine but it's best to try and get as close as one can at the first shot but always realize they are tradeable just like cars, trucks and knives.
My recommendation is a B which will not cost much more than a BX and go new with 0% down and 0% financing. A 6' RFM can be bought at the same time from your Kubota dealer. A good weed killer or cheap riding mower or even push mower can be used for trimming and use the tractor with the 6' RFM for mowing all the acres and open areas. In time you may want to add a small Z for that trim work. Implements and attachments can be added as needed when needs are determined. Needs and interests and situations change for most of us but not for everyone. I've bought and sold a lot of attachments and yeah even tractors as I've discovered the highest and best use of each one often and also thrown in several property buys and sells which has also changed my needs, wants and affordability factors. Yours to will probably change.

 

[jives]

I think the consensus is that either one will work, but in particular, don't be afraid to go big. As JohnThomas said, I know I will find more things to do, and already have a to do list. One thing I don't do is trim -- if I can't mow it, it does not get cut. Landscaping set up to eliminate trim mowing.

Thanks, all. Good stuff.

 

[chim]

Just like some others on here, I belong to the bigger is better group. When we built here, it was obvious that my pride and joy (Ranch King riding mower) wouldn't do the job. Working up through some nice tractors, it seems like the L4240 HSTC with the 91" RFM just might be big enough.

 

[sandman2234]

Mowing with a zero turn seems to be what everyone thinks is the fastest way of mowing, but I don't always agree. Horsepower is what makes the world go round, along with blades. The more horsepower you can put to the ground, the more width of cut, and thickness of grass you can mow. I have an old Ford 1100 that I pull a five foot finish mower with. My sister in law was mowing my mother in laws property and I jumped on it to go help. I started with the backyard which includes the heaviest grass over the drain fields. She told me that the zero turn has a lot of issues mowing that, because it is so thick. Open discharge of the finish deck helps!! Zero turns are great for mowing faster and turning fast but unless you have a larger deck and plenty of horsepower, your not mowing any faster than a tractor with a rear finish mower. I mow a field up at our Church of about 10 acres, done mainly because the guy that does the landscaped part of the churchyard wants no part of it. Most of it is flat open field, which he says beats him up for about 4 hours, while I mow it in 3 with my tractor. Difference is...HORSEPOWER and width of cut. He has 25 hp, I have 70. He cuts with 54 inch deck, I cut with 96. No way is a zero turn going to keep up with me, argue all you want. If it were a race, I would probably put the batwing on and see if the operator can hang on up to a max of about what (?) ten mph? The only way a zero turn is going to outperform a larger tractor is on the turns like Nascar. Plan out your mowing on large open areas and enjoy mowing with a larger tractor. Mow around a lot of trees and bushes, etc and you are going to need a lawn mower like a zero turn. (been pricing them, good ones aren't cheap!!) I also haven't seen a FEL on a zero turn yet, or any of the other items you mentioned.
David from jax

 

[ovrszd]

A zero turn is a specialty tool. A tractor is a general purpose tool. Neither can replace the other.

 

[lilranch2001]

Agreed, and each task is different.
Sandy may be able to mow a plain open area faster, but I will go up against him with my eXmark in the same area with trees and landscape features and be finished, inside and showered, drinking a beer, eating dinner :licking:before he has his equipment put away.

 

[lilranch2001]

Ooo and
My finished job will be much more visually aesthetically pleasing as well

 

[CobyRupert]

I don't have a ton of experience with tractors so I don't feel competent to make a judgement on what machines to recommend to you. However, in reading your original question, it appears that you may be open to the possibility of using part of the acreage for a more natural area for pollinators and wildlife. You don't indicate your location but I am assuming you get some cold months due to the fact you only expect to mow 7 months of the year. I have some fields at my place in Maine that used to be used for haying. Now, I leave those fields to wild flowers like goldenrod and milkweed. I bush hog the fields once a year after the wild flowers have died for the year. Cutting once a year keeps the trees and bushes from getting a start but provides forage for pollinators like bumble and honey bees, monarch butterflies, etc. that we need so badly. Cutting once a year would greatly reduce the number of hours needed on an annual basis for field maintenance and might allow you to get a smaller, less expensive machine. Personally, I think we should rethink the idea of having such huge expanses of perfectly manicured lawns. It may look nice but it is time and resource consuming and provides no usable habitat for the insects and animals that share this Earth with us.

:thumbsup:
98% agree.

The 2% I (sort of) take issue with: ".....the idea of having such huge expanses of perfectly manicured lawns. It may look nice..." - I don't think a house plopped in the middle of once productive land where 5-9 acres are now an unused, mowed & manicured lawn looks nice. It looks ridiculous and wasteful and a testament to people's stupid conformance with social norms.
"Cheese and rice! Why are you out there with a 52" Cub Cadet lawn mower mowing a 9 acre hayfield?"

Then again, I think people are free to do what they want, no matter how stupid if it's their land and harms* no one else. (*: We'll ignore how the tons of chemicals (poisons) and fuel burnt, CO2 generated may (or may not) harm other people to avoid argument.)


....but on the other hand....

 

[lilranch2001]

Well we do need to get rid of the farting cows as well!

 

[SARG]

If you're talking about a 4 acre "field" with the expected lumps and bumps ...... I would give consideration to the tractor size ( think tires) because I started with a T1030 and the small diameter tires associated. My kidneys & back appreciated my acquiring a bigger tractor (T1530) with the much larger tires. It made cutting my 7 acres much more enjoyable.

 

[jjp8182]

Just for some additional consideration: I have just under 3 acres, ~2/3rds of which is fenced in as pasture, the other 1/3rd is yard with >8 trees to mow around. I've had riding mowers, a zero-turn ....and eventually I bought my current tractor (L3560 with 3pt 72" rear discharge finish mower) primarily to use for mowing my entire property (the riding mowers, and zero-turn had a hard-enough time surviving mowing just the yard, no way I'd have used them to mow the pasture). The time I spend mowing my yard hasn't really changed significantly across those different methods of mowing, there was an initial 15 minute increase in time best case mowing time when I moved to the L3560 (when compared to the zero-turn) though that quickly disappeared once I became used to the size of the machine, and figured out the best mowing patterns for that tractor/mower.

So my general thoughts/observations are:
- mid-mount mowers are only as nimble as the turn-radius of the machine they are mounted on, a 3pt (or front mount) can be use in a manner somewhat similar to a string trimmer in that it can be swung/cantilevered into places the machine doesn't fit or turn around so isn't as limited in maneuvering as a mid-mounted mower
- 3pt mowers seem to become the more economical choice the larger the mower gets with the break point seeming to be around 60"/72" (for example looking at the kubota website a 60" mid-mount mower for a current B-series costs roughly as much as my 3pt 72" finish mower)
- it's worth looking at the narrowest places that need to be mowed, as they may limit the deck width - or drive the need for additional methods of trimming/mowing. For example my propane tank is <60" from a fence line, and a county speed limit sign is less than 72" from another part of the fence both of those spots I maintain with string trimmer (or other tools)
- no matter how nimble the machine, or how close you can get to an object the thickness of a mower deck (and the stand-off the blade tips have from the mower deck) means there will almost always need to be some post mowing clean-up
- mowing speed is often limited by the roughness of the mowing area (even if the suspension permits a quality ride over rough terrain, at some point the stability of the mowing deck also needs to be considered)
- ground clearance can be an asset for more than just avoiding crop damage (having a 3pt mower that can be lifted has allowed me to take an entirely different approach to mowing some parts of my property, to include some spots that end up being under an inch or so of water for a few months out of the year)
- a rear-discharge mower means having to deal with far less clumping or even changing the lawn topography via the decomposition of discharged grass clippings (as much mowing as I need to do every year, and as long as I was using side-discharge mowers it was actually creating high spots in the yard) however, a rear-discharge mower does precludes bagging
- when mowing around things like trees with a larger/less maneuverable mower it's far easier to mow around it by mimicking the way water flows around an obstacle rather than driving a circle around it (doing so also sets up a nice situation to do a three-point turn to clean up the uncut wedge once the mower gets next to the tree - just need to be careful not to slam the mower into the tree when doing that)

With regards to your specific situation, I think it might be one of the few times where I'd personally consider buying used (despite not being a fan of inheriting other people's potenial problems/abused equipment) as it would permit getting a larger/more capable tractor. While I obviously don't know the entire situation, I think that (depending on how long your mowing season is and the frequency of mowing, and other tasks you want to perform) you may eventually find that you want to move into something in the size range of either the standard or grand L-series of tractors even if that's not something currently in the budget.

So personally I think think best thing I could advise would be to look at what you want to do longer-term decide what might be the optimum equipment for that, and then solve the current problems in a way that reduces the (potential) future costs (one of the other nice things about 3pt implements vs. mid-mount mowers is the portability between different tractors).

Just my :2cents: ...which might very well be worth less than that as ultimately you'll be the one writing the check for your equipment

 

[4570Man]

Mowing with a zero turn seems to be what everyone thinks is the fastest way of mowing, but I don't always agree. Horsepower is what makes the world go round, along with blades. The more horsepower you can put to the ground, the more width of cut, and thickness of grass you can mow. I have an old Ford 1100 that I pull a five foot finish mower with. My sister in law was mowing my mother in laws property and I jumped on it to go help. I started with the backyard which includes the heaviest grass over the drain fields. She told me that the zero turn has a lot of issues mowing that, because it is so thick. Open discharge of the finish deck helps!! Zero turns are great for mowing faster and turning fast but unless you have a larger deck and plenty of horsepower, your not mowing any faster than a tractor with a rear finish mower. I mow a field up at our Church of about 10 acres, done mainly because the guy that does the landscaped part of the churchyard wants no part of it. Most of it is flat open field, which he says beats him up for about 4 hours, while I mow it in 3 with my tractor. Difference is...HORSEPOWER and width of cut. He has 25 hp, I have 70. He cuts with 54 inch deck, I cut with 96. No way is a zero turn going to keep up with me, argue all you want. If it were a race, I would probably put the batwing on and see if the operator can hang on up to a max of about what (?) ten mph? The only way a zero turn is going to outperform a larger tractor is on the turns like Nascar. Plan out your mowing on large open areas and enjoy mowing with a larger tractor. Mow around a lot of trees and bushes, etc and you are going to need a lawn mower like a zero turn. (been pricing them, good ones aren't cheap!!) I also haven't seen a FEL on a zero turn yet, or any of the other items you mentioned.
David from jax

Because that’s totally a fair comparison. In the fair comparison a high end zero turn will destroy a BX or B tractor. The fact that you put nearly double the deck on the ground and only beat the ZTR by 25 percent proved it. Imagine what would have happened if you were running against a comparable width zero turn.

 

[lilranch2001]

We all have our bias's, some fair, some not so fair.

Anyone with any reasonable knowledge of how a ZTR works will know that one will out work a similar tractor mowing a lawn.

Also in the world I have been living in this spring, there is not a CUT in the world that would not have left my lawn mangled with ruts, let alone probably not been able to make a single pass without getting stuck in the mud.

I love my tractor, but as I have stated over and over to people, the best purchase of my life was my eXmark 20 years ago.

 

[Turbys_1700]

When deciding between 5' and 6' think undulations and obstacles versus area. If you have a lot of undulations and obstacles smaller is better. If you have a lot of acreage deck size is your friend. I've always tended towards larger decks. I started out with a 5 foot finish mower, later got a 6 foot finish mower, and now have a front mounted 6 foot front mounted dedicated mower. I don't have a lot of obstacles but do have undulations in the yard and just deal with the cut quality. Some of that is mitigated by mowing high which I do to reduce weed growth in the summer. A belly mower on a B series will float better than a RFM so that may be a non issue. I would opt for the 6 footer.

 

[toy1]

I would try to find a Kubota F series mower, you can put other attachments on it if needed, and you can put a cab on it.
they are comfortable to drive, and everything is out in front. Just a suggestion.

 

[duffer]

I've got 10 acres that I mow with a finish mower. You'll be approaching that when you clear your "wooded" acreage.

GO BIG. In fact, if the larger Kubota will handle it, get an 84" finish mower. Not that much more in price, and just as nimble as the 6 footer. Mine does a great job. And I only have 38 hp. I could actually have gone up to a 96" and would have knowing what I know now. I would think your 3 pt hitch would handle the weight of the 84". Mine only weighs 400+ lbs. Rear discharge is a real plus as well.

If you're going to bush-hog for a while, I'd get the higher hp tractor just to handle that. The Finish Mower will be a piece of cake compared to the bush-hog.

 

[DK35vince]

If I could only have 1. Tractor or zero turn it would have to be the tractor. (tills, brush mows, finish mows, loader work, plows the driveway, landscapes, Etc. Etc. ) (zero turn mows.)
But I can tell you my 72", 35 HP zero turn will mow circles around my 35 HP tractor with 84" rear mount finish mower.
Our 8 acre lawn takes just over 3 hours with the tractor/84" mower to mow. Zero turn will mow it in 2 hours.

 

[ovrszd]

Ooo and
My finished job will be much more visually aesthetically pleasing as well

What brand rear blade are you using? What snow blower? Where did you find a tote box to fit or did you build it. How does the 3pt work on those, I've heard it's really slow. How is it in mud?

Get my point yet?