Getting started: 23 vs 30 HP

[keef_tx]

Hi everyone,

First time poster here. Wife and I are moving to 27-acre ranch, which has about 3 acres in lawn, an acre in house and out-buildings, and about 23 acres in pasture. Just a handful of trees.

Our primary purpose for buying a tractor is mowing the 3 acres of lawn, front-end loader moving of bales, dirt, etc., and occasional (maybe twice a year) cutting of the back pasture. There is some talk of a tiller as well, though that is not a major part of the plan. (Can they be rented?)

We had been looking at the B2320 but friends are concerned that's not enough horsepower. They suggested we think at least 30.

One other consideration: We live in Texas where it's been over 95 for weeks now and it will only get hotter. We would probably benefit from getting a cab and AC, so that might be a limiting factor in terms of which models to buy.

I've learned a lot from reading the multitude of posts here already. Any insights you folks could offer on my situation would be sincerely appreciated.

--Keef_tx

 

[ChuckinNH]

The B2320 would work fine around the house, but cutting 23 acres with a 4' cutter is going to take a lot of hours in the hot sun. You wouldn't be cutting more than 40" or so at a time, so hold a yard stick up, and see how many trips around it would take to cover that pasture. I'm not being critical at all here, just realisitic. It takes me nearly 5 hours to cut 3+ acres with a 4' deck, but there are many obstacles to trim around. I have mowed much more than 23 acres with a 6' sickle bar mower, and doubt you would want something much narrower than that for your pasture. It's not so much about horsepower in a tractor as it is sizing the implements you need to do your work, and fit your spaces, and then finding a suitable tractor to run them. I would look at a cabbed Grand L series for mowing that much land. Might as well enjoy life!

 

[Charlesaf3]

Second chuck - I think a grand L with cab is the way to go. Horsepower is not nearly as important as a lot of other things, though marketing plays it up

 

[john_bud]

B3030 with a cab.

Small frame and 30 hp - good reviews here.

jb

 

[EastTexFrank]

At 27 acres you are moving into 2 tractor territory. It's going to be difficult to get one machine that will do both jobs well or even reasonably well. I would suggest you get a grass cutting machine for around the house, say a lawn tractor or zero turn, and a used bigger tractor, about 50 hp, with a cab and a 6' mower for all the grunt work.

In my own case, I cut a 4 acre yard and an 8 acre pasture with a B2400 for years. It was more than enough tractor for the yard and just enough machine for the pasture with a 4' bush hog. Cutting and 8 acre pasture with a 4' mower takes a long time, especially since mine is rough and steep. Cutting 20 odd acres with a 4' mower will take a long, long, long time. At the end of last year I got a Grand L4740 with a cab for the pasture work and that thing is a joy to use. It has well over 50 hours on it now and it was warm in the winter and sheer magic over the past couple of weeks with the A/C blowing more cold air than I needed.

If I was starting all over again and knowing what I know now, I'd get a front mounted mowing machine for around the house and probably the L4740 again for everything else. The difference between cutting with a 6' bush hog as opposed to a 4' is tremendous apart from sitting in air conditioned comfort with no dust or bugs. I hope that helps.

 

[LBrown59]

At 27 acres you are moving into 2 tractor territory. .

I'm all ready at 3 tractors and i only have 2.33 acres.

 

[Egon]

What size bales might you have to move. That may be a deciding factor.

I've got 68 acres and only a very small toy tractor to work with!

 

[EastTexFrank]

I'm all ready at 3 tractors and i only have 2.33 acres.

Yea, but you are one of my heroes.

 

[Mike_Kanzer]

I second the idea of two machines. I mow about two acres of lawn around the house and barn with an exmark ZTR mower and I have an L3830 with a 5 foot bushhog to do about 12 acres of pasture. I have industral tires on the tractor which I like when mowing the pasture, doing FEL work or plowing snow. That is another reason to consider seperate machines. If you used R1's on the lawn with a finish mower you would probably rip up the turf. My L3830 has about 30 hp at the PTO and could run a 6ft bushhog probably as well. You would want at least a 6 foot mower for the pasture so that you could cut it in a reasonable amount of time. - Mike

 

[Slade]

Keef,

I'm out in Texarkana and got an L5740 with a cab a few weeks ago and cutting my pasture is now fun. At first I thought the money for the cab was nuts, but after all the wasps and mosquitos I avoided Saturday, I'm sold.

Kubota has 0% 42 month financing, which convinced me to go the extra and get the 5740 over something smaller since I wanted a 7 ft bush hog. I had originally planned to go with an L4740 and no cab.

I got R4 tires and haven't caused any damage driving over my zoyziagrass lawn, although I make sure it's real dry and I make slow turns. I don't use it to mow though, a little too big for my hilly tree covered lawn areas. They had plenty of traction out in the muddy field in 4WD pulling the bush hog too.