Hi folks:
Long time member, minimal contributor. This question has been asked a million times before, but each scenario is different, and I'm looking for folks who have been there and can say they made the right decision, or the wrong one.
Essentially, given the scenario outlined below, would you choose a nimble tractor with a 60" mower, or a less nimble tractor with a 72" deck? I've chosen the Kubota forum because it is really only Kubota and Deere that offer reasonable used choices here.
Here is the situation. About 2.2 acres mowed and cared for with a couple of Wheel Horse garden tractors. Driveway plowing, garden tilling (not recently), cart pulling, etc. This is the left side of the property below. Mostly open, but you can see the trees and obstacles. Takes about 3 hrs mowing, mostly because the grass is so lush that I cannot mow in 3rd gear. 3.3 mph in 2nd gear with my tired Wheel Horse 416-8. Mostly flat, some wet spots, slight grade from lower left of picture to upper right. Raised septic leach field and separate drain field to mow over. These fields are not deep, in fact, grass won't grow over the distribution boxes because they are so shallow. I don't drive the tires over the d-boxes.
We want to open up the undeveloped side of the property, about 4 ac. This will be after cutting and killing the invading buckthorn trees (greener looking brush on lower right side of photo). Most of this is by hand (cordless Makita recip saw with pruning blade - best tool ever!), and after that is done it will need to be mowed regularly to keep the buckthorn and other invasive plants at bay. The first couple of mows will likely be a guy (or gal) with a brush hog, but after that, we'll finish mow it. Pretty rutted, many gopher holes, hasn't been farmed in 15-20 years. Eventually, we will be mowing the 4 ac with a finish mower 2 times a month for 7 months of the year. We also hope to eventually prep the soil -- disking, seeding, planting at least a cover crop. Will need to do some land leveling. We are experimenting with other options, from growing a forest to a wildflower meadow.
Other needs will be a loader, 3 pt hitch capacity for a box blade and other implements, and so forth.
So, here is the question. A subcompact, like a Kubota BX with a 60" MMM will handle the 2.2 ac finish mowing sufficiently, but how well can it handle the chores of the 4 ac? Is it too small to work efficiently? On the other hand, a small compact, like a Kubota B (got my eyes on a B7800) with a 72" MMM should be just the ticket for the 4 ac, but it it too cumbersome for the 2.2 ac?
No fair saying that a zero turn plus a tractor is the best option. One tractor only.
Thanks.
Long time member, minimal contributor. This question has been asked a million times before, but each scenario is different, and I'm looking for folks who have been there and can say they made the right decision, or the wrong one.
Essentially, given the scenario outlined below, would you choose a nimble tractor with a 60" mower, or a less nimble tractor with a 72" deck? I've chosen the Kubota forum because it is really only Kubota and Deere that offer reasonable used choices here.
Here is the situation. About 2.2 acres mowed and cared for with a couple of Wheel Horse garden tractors. Driveway plowing, garden tilling (not recently), cart pulling, etc. This is the left side of the property below. Mostly open, but you can see the trees and obstacles. Takes about 3 hrs mowing, mostly because the grass is so lush that I cannot mow in 3rd gear. 3.3 mph in 2nd gear with my tired Wheel Horse 416-8. Mostly flat, some wet spots, slight grade from lower left of picture to upper right. Raised septic leach field and separate drain field to mow over. These fields are not deep, in fact, grass won't grow over the distribution boxes because they are so shallow. I don't drive the tires over the d-boxes.
We want to open up the undeveloped side of the property, about 4 ac. This will be after cutting and killing the invading buckthorn trees (greener looking brush on lower right side of photo). Most of this is by hand (cordless Makita recip saw with pruning blade - best tool ever!), and after that is done it will need to be mowed regularly to keep the buckthorn and other invasive plants at bay. The first couple of mows will likely be a guy (or gal) with a brush hog, but after that, we'll finish mow it. Pretty rutted, many gopher holes, hasn't been farmed in 15-20 years. Eventually, we will be mowing the 4 ac with a finish mower 2 times a month for 7 months of the year. We also hope to eventually prep the soil -- disking, seeding, planting at least a cover crop. Will need to do some land leveling. We are experimenting with other options, from growing a forest to a wildflower meadow.
Other needs will be a loader, 3 pt hitch capacity for a box blade and other implements, and so forth.
So, here is the question. A subcompact, like a Kubota BX with a 60" MMM will handle the 2.2 ac finish mowing sufficiently, but how well can it handle the chores of the 4 ac? Is it too small to work efficiently? On the other hand, a small compact, like a Kubota B (got my eyes on a B7800) with a 72" MMM should be just the ticket for the 4 ac, but it it too cumbersome for the 2.2 ac?
No fair saying that a zero turn plus a tractor is the best option. One tractor only.
Thanks.
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