Right tractor? Price check? Hilly sloped property...JD1025r, Kubota 2680

[nybirdman]

I would purchase a dedicated mower and forget the MMM(about the same cost) and difficult to use off the lawn.Look at the B2601 Kubota or slightly larger B2650.Very capable for their size(check YouTube).
Both are around 25 H.P.
We are also in the 315 Area Code,way up North on the border.We have three Kubota's in the family and have had great luck with them.

 

[Overtaxed]

I would purchase a dedicated mower and forget the MMM(about the same cost) and difficult to use off the lawn.Look at the B2601 Kubota or slightly larger B2650.Very capable for their size(check YouTube).
Both are around 25 H.P.
We are also in the 315 Area Code,way up North on the border.We have three Kubota's in the family and have had great luck with them.

I agree with that. That's a beautiful lawn, I wouldn't want to run a tractor across it. Get a zero turn and go at it for that particular task, it'll be faster, easier, and you'll get a better job with less ruts, IMHO, than running any tractor on it. I have a big mower and a big tractor, but when I want it to look good, I don't start up that setup, I get out the zero turn. I mow about 20 acres with my tractor and about 2 with my zero turn (around the house). The speed of the zero turn is just unbeatable around trees and it just does a better job, leaving me with a beautiful lawn. And my zero turn was about 3K, IIRC, a small John Deere 335, I think. A little more than a MMM, but, IMHO, of course, more capable, easier to use, with a better end result. And this is coming from someone who has a few tractors, even a smaller one that would be a good fit for a MMM or a rear finish mower. The zero turn is just better and not that much (if any) more expensive than getting a decent finish mower for a tractor.

 

[atsah]

If you do decide SCUT, I would consider turf tires.

 

[Upstate315]

Thank you for the “beautiful lawn” comment

I guess my concern is the hills. The pictures may not look steep but they are and there are 2 spots in particular that really are best mowed sideways at 30+ degrees possibly as much as 36 degrees! Can a 3000 zero turn mow that? The only zero turn I’ve seen pull it off was a real experienced guy on a Ferris 3200z...

Which would you recommend?

 

[atsah]

Personally I don't like zero turns on grades such as yours, some people do mow places I wouldn't with a zero turn.. The 4x4 with turfs and a little weight down low would be my choice, you can attack it at any angle you like with the added traction of the SCUT. Good luck getting what you need to complete the tasks you wish to complete..

 

[Rock Crawler]

Someone mentioned buying upper mid level garden tractors. That is what I do. I was bound and determined to mow 4 acres with a B2650, I had a BX25D prior to that and never considered it because it was joke.... it was so narrow and "tippy" that it was not funny at all. So I built a B2650 to be as wide as reasonably possible with offset wider wheels and wider tires, wheel spacers and essentially made a 54" wide B2650 into a 61" wide unit and added over 700 lbs of Rim Guard to the tires... This thing is SUPER stable and sure footed compared to that BX25D.

But at the end of the day, I realized that my 16ｰ general slope is just to steep, and that the large tractor pulling sideways on wet turn meant constant depressions from tire tracks and torn turf as the tractor is always sort of crabbing sideways and pulling the roots out.

A nice K66 or G720 equipped garden tractor can mow circles around the bigger tractor, not destroy the turn or create depressions and stability is a non issue. The new Husqvarna with the K66 and electronic locking rear axle means that even side slope mowing is pleasant because you hit the button and lock that rear axle so that the upper "light weight" tire doesn't just spin out on you.

To each their own, I know I spent a lot of money trying to use a compact tractor to mow.... I sold the mower off, bought a lousy Cub Cadet XT3 GSX (should be titled JSX... for JUNK SUX) and sold it off after putting 40 hours on it, and just bought a Husqvarna TS354XD KDD/Locker to work along with my trusty Craftsman (Husqvarna) with G730 and weights/chains.

I love my Kubota, and I brush hog my father in laws field and my brother in laws field with it and it does a splendid job with a 60" rotary behind it. But on steep slopes with wet turf that peels and slides away under you (even under your boots as you walk it while it is wet. I have fallen while walking my dogs in the yard because my feet slid out from under me before I could gain traction).... useless as teets on a bull.

That is my opinion, based on my experience, based on my property/slopes. And in case you want to ask... I had a local company bring me a zero turn Cub Cadet over because he swore he would sell me one after he displayed it on my lawn. When he got here, he refused to unload it from the trailer and told me that sometimes a good garden tractor is simply the right tool for the job... and my yard is one of those situations.

 

[atsah]

Someone mentioned buying upper mid level garden tractors. That is what I do. I was bound and determined to mow 4 acres with a B2650, I had a BX25D prior to that and never considered it because it was joke.... it was so narrow and "tippy" that it was not funny at all. So I built a B2650 to be as wide as reasonably possible with offset wider wheels and wider tires, wheel spacers and essentially made a 54" wide B2650 into a 61" wide unit and added over 700 lbs of Rim Guard to the tires... This thing is SUPER stable and sure footed compared to that BX25D.

But at the end of the day, I realized that my 16ｰ general slope is just to steep, and that the large tractor pulling sideways on wet turn meant constant depressions from tire tracks and torn turf as the tractor is always sort of crabbing sideways and pulling the roots out.

A nice K66 or G720 equipped garden tractor can mow circles around the bigger tractor, not destroy the turn or create depressions and stability is a non issue. The new Husqvarna with the K66 and electronic locking rear axle means that even side slope mowing is pleasant because you hit the button and lock that rear axle so that the upper "light weight" tire doesn't just spin out on you.

To each their own, I know I spent a lot of money trying to use a compact tractor to mow.... I sold the mower off, bought a lousy Cub Cadet XT3 GSX (should be titled JSX... for JUNK SUX) and sold it off after putting 40 hours on it, and just bought a Husqvarna TS354XD KDD/Locker to work along with my trusty Craftsman (Husqvarna) with G730 and weights/chains.

I love my Kubota, and I brush hog my father in laws field and my brother in laws field with it and it does a splendid job with a 60" rotary behind it. But on steep slopes with wet turf that peels and slides away under you (even under your boots as you walk it while it is wet. I have fallen while walking my dogs in the yard because my feet slid out from under me before I could gain traction).... useless as teets on a bull.

That is my opinion, based on my experience, based on my property/slopes. And in case you want to ask... I had a local company bring me a zero turn Cub Cadet over because he swore he would sell me one after he displayed it on my lawn. When he got here, he refused to unload it from the trailer and told me that sometimes a good garden tractor is simply the right tool for the job... and my yard is one of those situations.

Great advise from someone that has already dealt with the slope issue..

 

[dodge man]

I would price out a JD 2025R or a Kubota B series in 25 hp also. Quite a bit bigger tractor for what might not be more money. I just bought a JD 2025R for less than your quote but I didn't get a tiller. My last tractor was a Kubota BX and so far I like the bigger tractor. I haven't mowed with it yet though but I'm hoping it does as good a job as the BX did.

As a rule home owners insurance will cover theft or fire loss of your tractor but not if you damage it while using it.

 

[Richard]

Either one you are considering will work for you, look closely at them, operate them and make you're decision based on which one you like best. Get some weight on the rear wheels, R4's should be fine..

I agree with this. I would go on to add which feels more natural to you??

I just bought a (used) JD 430 (diesel) lawn mower. It's fine & dandy and all those things but.... it's just a lawn mower.

Thing is... I have 50 years of muscle memory and will reach my left foot out to stab at the clutch/brake to only have it hit the foot rest with futility!!!

My last mower also had foot pedals on the right so I am constantly looking for the pedal with my right foot.... turns out this new (to me) mower has hand controls.

So it's all fine & dandy but in a sense, it doesn't "fit" me because I'm so ingrained with the foot pedals and I'm having to unlearn those natural habits to create new ones.

 

[Upstate315]

Yep, I read all your posts and followed that story because it sounded like my yard and situation! Thank you for commenting here rock crawler

I’m still figuring it all out. Darn hills