3520 too heavy to finish mow?

[thespaugh]

I found a good deal on a low hour Deere 3520 with 300cx loader and I'm considering buying it for use on my 4 acres on which I'm about to begin building my house. Heavy equipment will clear and log the fur trees, take the stumps and knock down the blackberry vines. I'll be cleaning the roots/debris, removing smaller 20' alders/furs, grading and doing FEL work for the first year. Afterward I'll have to keep the garden tilled, make flower beds, grade the 700' driveway, do general landscaping and finish mow the remaining yard (~3 acres).

I have no doubts of the 3520 meeting and exceeding my needs...except when it comes to long term finish mowing.

I live outside of Seattle and the ground is wet in the spring. Is the 3520 going to trash my lawn if I try to finish mow with it long term? Would switching to turfs solve this? Am I better off with a 2520/2720 given my needs and land size?

Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[Killer_B]

I live outside of Seattle and the ground is wet in the spring. Is the 3520 going to trash my lawn if I try to finish mow with it long term?

Hi Chris,

Welcome to TBN.

I have a 3320 with turf tires that I use to finish mow about 3 acres. I have seen no ill effects from the weight of the tractor, and have been quite pleased with the quality of the cut from the 72" 7 Iron mower. I would also add that this thing is positively luxurious to mow with. The large tires, long wheelbase, cruise control, suspended seat, etc. make it very nice to spend long hours on.

Hopefully someone in your area will be able to give better advice with respect to the wet ground. Or it may have to be a trial and error thing.

Best of luck,

KB

 

[Spudland_Dave]

PERSONALLY, and this is my opnion....I LOVE my 3520 Cab, but I would never use it to cut the Grass. I mean it doesnt trash my lawn or anything (Large R4's) but my F935 is the Cats "Rear End" when it comes to grass cutting...fast, Powerful, EXCELLENT Cut Quality.

IMO, MMM's are just a selling point to SWMBO that your 1 tractor can do it all....jack of all trades, master of none.

If I were starting from scratch, Id buy a new tractor equipped as you wish, and get a mower of some sort to cut the grass. Local Mahindra dealer actually had that exact deal goin on...buy whatever model tractor with a FEL and get a free riding mower...

From a Financial perspective its all the same...the MMM's cost what, 3k for a 3x20? 3x Buys you a pretty decent riding mower.

 

[nmu98]

Welcome to TBN Chris. I have a 3720 Cab model and I use it to mow some of my yard. I stay awAy from the septic area, and I try now to mow at all when its wet. I have R4's and I do not tear up my yard at all. I use a rear mower, not a belly mower.

With that said, I do think the tractor compacts the soil a bit. but its worth it

 

[JN4310]

I had a 4310 on R4's (about the same size as the 3520) but sold it because it it was too heavy for our really wet, soggy ground in the summer. We get standing water for days on end, and our ground is very soft sand.

I now have a 2520 with R4's, but I mow with an X595 (1100 lbs) and even it will leave ruts when it is wet. The 2520 is better than the the 4310, but I would think turfs on the 3520 would be pretty good if your soil is well drained. It is only my low-lying areas that I have a problem with. I now have a long list of grading projects to get my entire 5 acres to drain. Even an inch or two can make a huge difference.

Grading a large area with a 4 foot box blade is proving to be a time consuming process. I'm really hoping I can get back into a mid-frame size tractor some day to get back to a 5 foot box blade. I love my X595 but I would think mowing with a 3520 would be awesome...

 

[Nuru]

Well, I have a 3520 and I use it to mow and I have mowed the lawn when it was still wet from the previous night's rain, no issue for me, HOWEVER, i mow with the R3 Turf Specials which are designed for golf course mowing and so they spread the downforce of the tractor over a wider area than regular R3's and a lot more than R4's.). I also have a set of small R4's for heavy dirt work and loader work.

My Galaxy Turf Specials are:
25-10.50 LLx15
41 LLx18-16.1

 

[thespaugh]

PERSONALLY, and this is my opnion....I LOVE my 3520 Cab, but I would never use it to cut the Grass. I mean it doesnt trash my lawn or anything (Large R4's) but my F935 is the Cats "Rear End" when it comes to grass cutting...fast, Powerful, EXCELLENT Cut Quality.

IMO, MMM's are just a selling point to SWMBO that your 1 tractor can do it all....jack of all trades, master of none.

If I were starting from scratch, Id buy a new tractor equipped as you wish, and get a mower of some sort to cut the grass. Local Mahindra dealer actually had that exact deal goin on...buy whatever model tractor with a FEL and get a free riding mower...

From a Financial perspective its all the same...the MMM's cost what, 3k for a 3x20? 3x Buys you a pretty decent riding mower.

I had to look it up and man, that F935 is one fancy ride, definitely the Cat's "Rear End"

The 3520 is for sale does not come with a mowing deck. I've poked around and I've routinely found great-condition, name-brand rear 60" PTO finish mowers for $700 - 1000 while 72" have been running $1000-1500. My thought was to go with something like this rather than the MMM (or a separate lawn mower). I know this makes the tractor long but fortunately I will not have many obstacles to avoid.

 

[thespaugh]

Well, I have a 3520 and I use it to mow and I have mowed the lawn when it was still wet from the previous night's rain, no issue for me, HOWEVER, i mow with the R3 Turf Specials which are designed for golf course mowing and so they spread the downforce of the tractor over a wider area than regular R3's and a lot more than R4's.). I also have a set of small R4's for heavy dirt work and loader work.

My Galaxy Turf Specials are:
25-10.50 LLx15
41 LLx18-16.1

Nuru,

Did you get these from the JD Dealer? I take it they require special rims too?

 

[sunnyside360]

I use my 3720 cab with loaded R4 tires and 72" 7 Iron MMM to mow about 6 acres including a large sand mound for septic system. It replaced a JD X485 with 62D MMM which weighed around 1000 lbs and I see no difference in grass cutting quality. If soil is being more compacted I can't see it.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

I see no ill effects on lawn from mowing on flat with 3320 / 72" MMM, Turfs even with the extra weight of FEL and BH which I usually don't bother to remove. There is sometimes minor damage to turf on county ROW with reasonably steep slope when going down hill in 4WD.