TC24D

bear · Apr 20, 2004

I keep "hearing" people rave about their 24Ds. Does everyone really like them? What can't they do? I have about 4-8 acres that needs finish mowing. Would I regret something sub 30HP? I really need to buy something soon. Feedback would be great. Thanks.

Bob_Skurka · Apr 20, 2004

I think you need to give us a better description of the 4 to 8 acres that needs finish mowing if you want to compare a 24hp tractor to a 30hp unit. If you have big open fields, the 30hp unit will pull a 72" deck and mow the open land faster than a 24hp tractor with a 60" deck. If you have a lot of landscaping, or trees or buildings to mow against and around, then you might find the added manuverability and the smaller turning radius that the 24 has a big benifit and it might actually reduce your mowing time. It really depends on what you have. In all likelyhood, if you have a 30hp CUT you will end up with a garden tractor to mow around your home, trees, etc.

By the way, I do love my TC24D. I also like my B2910 a heck of a lot.

bear · Apr 20, 2004

Sorry. The acreage is all flat pasture but there is plenty of fence line to negotiate as well as mowing around trees and alongside a large barn. 80% of the mowing is on open flat terrain. By the way, how clean of a cut can I get with a bush hog? Can it pass for a finish mower?

AndyMA · Apr 21, 2004

( By the way, how clean of a cut can I get with a bush hog? Can it pass for a finish mower? )

No, hell it doesn't even do a "finish" job on a hay field. A flail mower can do a decent finish mowing job also.

Andy

Andy

OkeeDon · Apr 21, 2004

The brush hog tears and shreds rather than cutting like a finish mower. That being said, when the 48" Rhino brush hog on my TC18 was brand new, it did a fairly decent job of mowing 2 acres of grass on my son-in-law's land. It looked good from the road, but up close, you could see it wasn't as nice as the finish mower. Despite it being a lot faster, my s-i-l soon went back to his Craftsman lawn tractor. Now that the brush hog has been banged around a little doing the rougher stuff on my property next door, it would probably do a much worse job on the lawn.

That being said, we're not going to have much lawn, and I'm not getting a finish mower for the tractor. I have an old MTD lawn tractor that will do just fine for the lawn we will have. The rest of the property will be just fine with a field cut, maintained just enough to be able to walk through it. Now that I have the rough stuff under control, what is growing up in the property is Bahia field grass.

Golfgar4 · Apr 21, 2004

( The acreage is all flat pasture but there is plenty of fence line to negotiate as well as mowing around trees and alongside a large barn. )

Welcome to TBN Bear! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Here's a link Fence Runner to a site that I stumbled across one day for a pull behind mower designed to mow along fences and such. Can't say that I know anything about how well they work, but they certainly look interesting. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

jimg · Apr 21, 2004

All youre planning to do w/ the machine is mow?

jwstewar · Apr 21, 2004

I have a 24D. Had it about 10 months now with right at 150 hours. I still don't have many attachments for it, but I'm working on it. I've removed several debris piles that were left in the yard by dozer we had in doing work. Releved the ground as best I could with the FEL, I finish mow about 5 acres or so with the 60" mmm, and I bushhog an acre or 2 with the 4' KK bh. I've used my subsoiler to till up my garden. I borrowed a PHD to dig the holes for my pole barn. I've made an attachment to go on the FEL so that I could set the trusses for the pole barn as well as set the shingles on the roof. I've been real happy with my little blue beast. Can't wait till the $ become available to get scraper and box blades and long term a backhoe for it. I don't see me getting rid of this little tractor for a long time.

Trouser Bark · Dec 3, 2004

( I don't see me getting rid of this little tractor for a long time. )

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!

That comment sums up the TC24D perfectly for me. May not be the perfect tool in all instances but I can't picture getting rid of it. Does too much too well and I can't picture a machine I'd rather have.

jimg · Dec 15, 2004

Ive had my 24d for 2yrs this coming summer. For my 2+ac place its perfect. While I do use it for finish mowing its more used for other duties: building/repairing rock walls, clearing land etc. As for mowing my place isnt flat and it does a great job on the hillls...some rather steep. The loader is super and has saved me huge amts of time and effort dispensing materials like stone or moving rocks. While there have been a (very) few times Ive wished for a bigger machine most of the time Im glad its smaller b/c I can move in places a bigger machine couldnt go and/or would tear up. The price performance ratio is very high w/ the 24. For reference I use this machine for moving snow (snow blower), finish mowing, tilling, loading, pulling , grading and once for transportation. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Its alot of machine in a small pkg!