Is a subcompact under 25hp enough power?

[CloverKnollFarms]

Also, as far as fuel economy goes... If it takes you 2x as long to do the work, are you really saving anything? I can till an acre of clay on a gallon of diesel with 48hp. I can break open 5000sqft of virgin clay sod in 12 minutes. Time has a lot of value for me, because I spend so many days away from home. For some, time is of little value.

I love mowing and tractoring... But I also have real time constraints with work and weather. So, I have a 72" ZTR, a 72" tiller, and a 12" boom sprayer for the property.

 

[TN8Man]

25hp on 15 acres. There are some smaller frame 48hp units on the market that would be powerful and not too large.

Is a mid mount mower a requirement? That would be limiting. Is that to mow the lawn, or just acreage? If lawn, then, yeah, you'd need a subcompact to not destroy the lawn.

HP is nice for PTO or ground engaging work, and 25hp seems too little. Other work like box blading could benefit from weight, which you only find in a couple large frame 25hp units. But, weight while nice for some work, would be a real negative for other work. This is why I stick to a ZTR for the lawn, and a tractor for the field.

I'd feel really limited with a 25hp unit, and I only have 8 acres we "farm". But I really like to swing a 72" tiller, and soon flail.

The mid mount mower is not a requirement now to replace the riding lawn mower. The only way that would work is if I could use it for all my tractor needs and I no longer think that can be done.

I'm going to continue to mow certain restricted areas with the lawnmower and the rest with a 35hp or more cab tractor.

 

[shooterdon]

Yes it is. l did all that with 22 hp. Even cut, raked and baled hay. Some are uneasy about the weight effect on loader work. That's why they make weight boxes. I'd forget about a mid-mount mower. Hard to put on & off, in the way for ground clearance, blade changing is a pain unless you remove it. Ever wonder why so many are for sale on F.B. ?

I recommend a separate grass/lawn cutter: front mount or zero turn diesel and your 25 h.p. diesel will do the rest, including a sufficient pto house generator. Only 1 fuel source type. Chances are the 25 hp machine will fit in your garage.

Echo getting a ZT over a MMM. ZT will be twice as fast and not much more costly than a MMM.

IMO the issue with going smaller is some of your current attachments may be too large. I have brush hogged with a tractor that size but not stuff like larger saplings.

I have a 40 HP tractor and looking at a TYM 2515. The issue I have is loader lift capacity as I need to lift bulk bags that weigh 1600 lbs. I fear the smaller unit will be marginal.

 

[Rdrcr]

I'm now leaning towards the same thoughts. I don't think I would be happy trying to do everything with a subcompact even though it can be done but with smaller implements/attachments and longer work time.

As they say ... buying a tractor can be a journey.

I’ve previously owned a 25HP Kubota B2601. It was great for my property and did most everything I needed, however, it was too light for stump removal and heavier ground engagement work that needed to be done. I moved up to the largest frame 25HP in the Kubota brand, the L2501. This tractor has been fantastic. It has been able to perform every task the smaller B couldn’t. And, for my hills and due to my impatience and eagerness to get things done quicker, I added a Turbo which increased output by 45%. The tractor now produces 44HP and 35PTO.

I’m not advocating for you or anyone to modify their tractor but, it was certainly part of my journey.

Mike

 

[2manyrocks]

I've owned 25hp, 35hp, and 52hp tractors. The 25hp was fine for light duty work, but struggled with my 6' rotary cutter in tall vegetation, and the 6' cutter was too heavy for it anyway. The 35hp was somewhat better at running the 6' cutter, not ideal, but the 6' cutter does so much better with 52hp and the 52hp tractor is wayyy more stable on hillsides.

If you have a lot of area to mow, cutting width matters because your ground speed is probably effectively limited by the roughness of your fields and hills. You can only travel so fast. I tend to think 4-5mph is about the top travel speed you can put up with. At that point, the only way to speed up your cutting is to use a wider cutter which requires more HP and a larger tractor depending on the weight of the cutter. Your available time to mow is also a factor to consider.

I'd suggest that you look at how much area you have to mow and calculate how long it will take to mow it at a ground speed of no more than 5 mph with cutters that are between 4-7' and then evaluate how much HP you really need. Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour

 

[dieselscout80]

I don't think I have seen the OP list the number of acres he will be mowing rather he just stated a total of 15 acres. If he is mowing five and the other ten are wooded/house/structures or the inverse of that they requirement may/will change.

We must know the facts as the devel is in the details.

 

[dodge man]

I’ve owned a subcompact and now own a small compact. It’s not just the horsepower it’s also the physical size, the big one being larger tires. I owned a Kubota BX and now own a JD 2025r. It’s only 2 hp more but the larger tires and frame size is nice. The end loader bucket was also small on the BX Kubota.

 

[WVH1977]

I looked really hard at downsizing my tractor years ago on a 6 acre property. Liked the idea of the smaller 25HP tractor for working around the yard. I went over to my neighbor who was a lont time farmer and asked his honest opinion. He bascially said in a nice way that would not be a wise choice. He was right.

If you plan on keeping the bigger tractor and having this one as an extra, I say go for it. But if you are planning on getting rid of the big tractor to buy smaller, I think you will regret it.

 

[5030]

The only 'compact' on this farm is my Ford Focus RS. I don't do compact anything here, not enough balls and too light to be useful.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

My grandma runs a 25 hp JD with hydrostat with 72in deck

I run a 50HP gear drive with an 84 inch deck

She burns twice and much fuel and almost the same amount of acrage

She has to run here wide open loaded down heavy the whole time

Mines barely trying most the time