Tractor Sizing I'm a newbie

[Oiltech]

First post and a question. Just purchased 12.5 acres of flat land that has 50 fifty year old live oaks. I don't want to spend all of my time cutting grass but do enjoy the private time doing so, sort of like therapy and its all the better if inside an air conditioned cab. I currently have a Kubota L3540 with 160 hours. This machine has FEL, fork lift attachment, 72" box blade and 60" tiller.

I am thinking a 70-80 HP tractor with 15' bat wing for the large open areas and a 84" grooming mower for around the trees, home and toy box to be pulled with the Kubota.

Please offer me y'all's opinion on which tractor, batwing, grooming mower or if there is a better way to keep the grass cut

 

[murphy1244]

Welcome to TBN, Get a pack of Goats.

 

[2458n]

So let me get this right you enjoy relaxing for the hour that it takes to cut your grass. Get a 7 foot zero turn and run 13 miles ahour. You will not have time to sweat.

 

[Larro Darro]

Welcome from NW Florida. If mowing is your biggest job, save your money and add a 6' RFM and a 6' Bush Hog to the L3540. At 160 hours it is just getting broke in. I mow 6 1/2 acres with a RFM and with the trees I have, anything bigger than 6' would be PITA. I still have to trim around the trees with a smaller mower on my B7500 or use one of the riders.

 

[jenkinsph]

I don't see the need for a 70 to 80 hp tractor, a better choice would be the Kubota L5740 HSTC cab or the Deere 4520 cab both are 60 hp. Good manueverability with a hydro tranny and would match up well to an eight ft semi mount brush mower. I would use a zero turn to mow around the house and trees.

There are lots of other brands to choose from that would work well, just depends on what is available in your area.

 

[jinman]

First post and a question. Just purchased 12.5 acres of flat land that has 50 fifty year old live oaks.

Okay, I'm confused. Do you have 50 trees that are 1 year old or do you have many trees that are 50 years old? If the latter and you are mowing around 50 yr-old trees, then how high are the tree limbs. Liveoaks can have a huge canopy that could wreak havoc with a tractor's cab. I would think a small tractor with cab would be far better than a larger tractor for all the turns and to make sure the cab doesn't get damaged under the trees.

 

[Bluegill2]

Welcome.

I am thinking a 70-80 HP tractor with 15' bat wing for the large open areas and a 84" grooming mower for around the trees, home and toy box to be pulled with the Kubota.

That so much more overkill than I've ever seen! I'm using a L3800DT on 400 acres.

 

[Larro Darro]

Thanks Jinman for the question. I took it as several 50 year old trees, thus my suggestion of sticking with the smaller tractor. If it was fifty trees that are one year old, the larger tractor would work. {I still think it would be overkill for lot size}



Not a live oak, but about fifteen to twenty years old. Even if the trees are one year old, oaks grow like crazy.

 

[GManBart]

He said he'd use the cab tractor with the batwing in the open areas, and a smaller RFM behind the current L3540....makes sense.

My only thoughts are that 70-80hp tractors and 15' batwings are going to be pricey, and it sounds like overkill for that much land. But hey, if he can afford it, the economy can use folks buying expensive stuff, and it certainly will save him some time!

 

[GManBart]

Welcome to TBN, Get a pack of Goats.

Come on man, it's a herd, not a pack :laughing:

 

[Oiltech]

I don't see the need for a 70 to 80 hp tractor, a better choice would be the Kubota L5740 HSTC cab or the Deere 4520 cab both are 60 hp. Good manueverability with a hydro tranny and would match up well to an eight ft semi mount brush mower. I would use a zero turn to mow around the house and trees.

There are lots of other brands to choose from that would work well, just depends on what is available in your area.

Shopped this morning and since there is potential for the grass to get away from me time to time it seems a 50/60 HP tractor with 12'-15' Tri deck finishing mower may be the best way to go. The 72" ztr would struggle and/or take many hours to get it mowed if were to get tall.

My L3540 has 29 HP PTO, the woods brochure states 30 HP to run a Tri deck finish mower 12' wide. Do you think the L3540 would handle it?

 

[Oiltech]

Okay, I'm confused. Do you have 50 trees that are 1 year old or do you have many trees that are 50 years old? If the latter and you are mowing around 50 yr-old trees, then how high are the tree limbs. Liveoaks can have a huge canopy that could wreak havoc with a tractor's cab. I would think a small tractor with cab would be far better than a larger tractor for all the turns and to make sure the cab doesn't get damaged under the trees.

There are 50 live oak trees that were planted 50 years ago. The land was planned for a subdivision and the trees are in 4 rows, 75' center spacing and 50' in between where the streets were going to run. There are some low scrub branches and one of the first things I plan to do is groom each tree which would allow for the L3540 to pass under them now but I understand in the future clearance will be an issue especially since the trees will be nurtured.

 

[Oiltech]

Points I am considering:

Mow all the grass in 3 hours
Mow the grass in A/C cab
Smoothest possible ride
Spend what ever it takes once and getting the right tool for the job is more important than what it will cost
Good dependable equipment that will last
Have a machine that is capable of handling tall grass when it gets away from me and I know it will
Flexibility of knowing I can go fishing in lieu of cutting grass and be able to cut it later without struggling

Thanks to all for the welcoming

 

[jinman]

One other solution is paying someone else to mow for you. You can pay for lots of mowing with the price of a cabbed 70-80 hp tractor and 15' batwing. With someone else mowing, you can still sit on the lake fishing and have them call your cellphone if they have questions.

 

[jenkinsph]

Shopped this morning and since there is potential for the grass to get away from me time to time it seems a 50/60 HP tractor with 12'-15' Tri deck finishing mower may be the best way to go. The 72" ztr would struggle and/or take many hours to get it mowed if were to get tall.

My L3540 has 29 HP PTO, the woods brochure states 30 HP to run a Tri deck finish mower 12' wide. Do you think the L3540 would handle it?

I think your current tractor would struggle to mow if it were tall, forward progress would be slow. That mower is listed for 30 to 80 hp, to get the pto hp ratings recognize that the numbers reflect a parked tractor not with the tractor moving and dragging a heavy mower with it. I have a 4520 cab with the e pto and that would work if the grass wasn't too tall, taller grass and you would likely need to run the standard pto speeds. I looked at the Woods site and that mower looks pretty good to me.