DanThaTractorMan
New member
I am new to this forum (and subcompact tractors) - what an amazing resource!
I may be typical of the reason that SCUTs have a booming market. I am only on 2.3 acres, about 60% wooded and 40% landscaped with beds, curves, and short (but somewhat steep) hills. A garden tractor with rear differential lock (to get up the hills) would cost a good bit...and mow the grass...and not much else.
So - my goals with a SCUT include mowing grass, transporting mulch and rocks, dragging logs and trash out of the woods (left by previous owner), plowing over old landscaped beds, uprooting bushes, and transporting heavy items around the property.
Some of the heavier work (or trickier work for me as a beginner) could include creating short swales to manage drainage, regrading and renewing an old 100-120 ft. gravel drive that is now overgrown, clearing a walking path in the woods, and possibly creating a short gravel connector (40-50 ft.) through the lawn between the main asphalt drive and the old gravel drive.
I would say most the grading work is not overly involved - generally more like tweaking here and there and then putting down gravel on the drive. Taking an inch or two off the crown of a short hill and packing the dirt a few feet away at the bottom.
Implements I am putting into the budget: pallet forks, a tooth blade, box scraper, and a landscape rake.
Now the question: how much tractor do I need to accomplish the above? (Or, what might I not be able to do with a smaller SCUT?)
I have looked at everything from a BX1880 to a JD 1025r, focusing mostly on tractors in the 22-23hp range.
That said, the price is nicer for the BX1880 (!), and the threads on TBN from happy 1880 owners (and a few Yt videos) are promising...those seem like very capable machines. What I am not able to tell from driving a tractor around a dealer parking lot (!) is how a BX1880 would do with a box scraper on a gravel driveway...or smoothing a path through the woods. If it is sufficient, great. If not, what size SCUT would you be looking at? Would I be in the ballpark with a machine in the 22-23hp range?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
I may be typical of the reason that SCUTs have a booming market. I am only on 2.3 acres, about 60% wooded and 40% landscaped with beds, curves, and short (but somewhat steep) hills. A garden tractor with rear differential lock (to get up the hills) would cost a good bit...and mow the grass...and not much else.
So - my goals with a SCUT include mowing grass, transporting mulch and rocks, dragging logs and trash out of the woods (left by previous owner), plowing over old landscaped beds, uprooting bushes, and transporting heavy items around the property.
Some of the heavier work (or trickier work for me as a beginner) could include creating short swales to manage drainage, regrading and renewing an old 100-120 ft. gravel drive that is now overgrown, clearing a walking path in the woods, and possibly creating a short gravel connector (40-50 ft.) through the lawn between the main asphalt drive and the old gravel drive.
I would say most the grading work is not overly involved - generally more like tweaking here and there and then putting down gravel on the drive. Taking an inch or two off the crown of a short hill and packing the dirt a few feet away at the bottom.
Implements I am putting into the budget: pallet forks, a tooth blade, box scraper, and a landscape rake.
Now the question: how much tractor do I need to accomplish the above? (Or, what might I not be able to do with a smaller SCUT?)
I have looked at everything from a BX1880 to a JD 1025r, focusing mostly on tractors in the 22-23hp range.
That said, the price is nicer for the BX1880 (!), and the threads on TBN from happy 1880 owners (and a few Yt videos) are promising...those seem like very capable machines. What I am not able to tell from driving a tractor around a dealer parking lot (!) is how a BX1880 would do with a box scraper on a gravel driveway...or smoothing a path through the woods. If it is sufficient, great. If not, what size SCUT would you be looking at? Would I be in the ballpark with a machine in the 22-23hp range?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
