Need Some advice on what to get...

[lukem]

OK, so I recently got a new place where I'm now burning wood (that's why i found this great site). Have a 3 acre yard...mostly open...100% flat. Woodshed/pole-barn is 150 yards from woodburner. Equipment storage is not an issue.

I currently have a 42" Troy-Built lawn tractor. By my calculations it will take about 3-4 hours to mow the yard (2x/week in spring and early summer) with this thing and it's useless for pulling the wood cart from the polebarn to the stove, especially in the snow.

Tried floating the idea of let's plant corn, have a x-mas tree farm, have a pasture, build a dirt-track for racing, etc., etc., etc. to cut down on mowing acreage but it's not going to fly.

In my mind, I've come up with 4 options:

1.) Compact tractor with finish mower. Tractors are cool and really hold their value. Don't really "need" a tractor though with only 3 acres. Not a kid/wife friendly mowing machine, but that's not a huge factor.

2.) Quad ATV with pull-behind mower. ATVs are fun and you can really do a lot with them these days. They loose value in a hurry and aren't quite as capable as a tractor...but I haven't use one of the newer super-huge quads though. Again, not kid/wife mowing friendly.

3.) ZTR mower...use pickup truck (2wd though) to move wood. ZTRs are fast, but single-purpose. Truck can handle the wood when loaded, but getting back to pole-barn may be challenging/impossible in snow. Kid/wife friendly mowing machine.

4.) Something I haven't though of yet. ???

With any of these options I'm looking at a decent amount of money. Wife gave the OK on any of them, but says whatever I do I can't spend a whole lot of time mowing the yard for that much $.

Anyone have any experience on acres/hour with a finish mower on tractor or pull-behind on a quad? I really don't know how fast I could expect to mow with one. Mowing season approaches and I need to be on the lookout for a good deal.

Open to any/all suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

[smokinj]

I would use a med frame tractor with 72 in. deck and can be use for a lot more. My neighbor has the zero turn its a great mower but he is borrowing mine often. I have a 48 in. deck on 1.75 acres just a little over two hrs. with straight lines.

 

[basswidow]

I have alittle more land and mine is hilly. So much so, that I fear turning a conventional ride on mower over. I bought a used 48 inch Skag walk behind and put a velke on it. Put that baby in 4th gear with mulching blades and fly. I can get it done in about an hour.

Guys that operate lawn crews - they want machines that cut fast. A tractor or ATV would give you a versitle machine, but if cutting the grass FAST is your goal, I'd get a fast ride on or walk behind like the lawn crews use. The ZTR mowers are fast. I'd go that route.

 

[timberr]

Personally, I would mow around the house weekly then let the rest go, mow it 2 times per year with a bush hog. It will make great wildlife cover. Plus life is short why waste it mowing grass.

Just a thought

 

[Jack Straw]

What do you use for snow removal?

 

[firefighterjake]

1) Spend more time enjoying life and less time mowing . . .

2) If option 1 doesn't work I would go with a small garden tractor with a decent sized mower deck . . . in my opinion going with an overly large tractor on only 3 acres is a bit of an overkill unless you want or need it for other purposes (i.e. hauling out wood) . . . and the ATVs with mowers don't really seem to do all that great a job mowing and the mowers are rather pricey for what you get . . . a side benefit of getting a half decent garden tractor is you could also outfit it with a snow blower if needed/wanted.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Be serious! Three acres? What you can't mow by hand in an hour a week (great exercise) plant with flower/vegetable beds and/or trees. Why do people want a bunch of lawn to mow? Go to the golf course if you like to look at a big lawn?

Three acres is also not enough to justify the 4-wheeler unless you have adjoining land that you can ride on.

 

[ironpony]

my opinion, i have 4.5 acres similar situation
ZTR cuts grass then what?? also expensive
i have a small 4wd diesel kubota with ag tires
finish mower and 5' blade
cuts grass, plows snow pulls anything you want
and doesnt get stuck
also have a 420 JD garden tractor with 60" deck
cuts nice, hauls some weight have to keep chains on for traction
plows ok, but doesnt do well in snow pulling
atv fun not practical
if i could only have one kubota, wife uses it no problem
find a clean used one, reasonably priced

 

[savageactor7]

These are times of financial uncertainty so don't buy anything you don't need. Use your 3 acres for golf and practice your short game...now you can recreate with family and friends and not spend a dime. Or learn how to grow and put up some tomatoes and potatoes. If you can do that well your family will never want for food.

 

[thinkxingu]

savage, I disagree--now's the best time to buy since there are so many good deals out there. That is, if you've got the $. A wise man once said, "it's best to save up your money when everyone is buying so when they start selling you have the money to buy!"

S

 

[daveswoodhauler]

OK, so I recently got a new place where I'm now burning wood (that's why i found this great site). Have a 3 acre yard...mostly open...100% flat. Woodshed/pole-barn is 150 yards from woodburner. Equipment storage is not an issue..

3 acres of yard, mostly flat.....I'd be planting a nice garden, some fruit trees, blue berry bushes, etc..

Based on the size of your deck, I don't see it taking you 3 hours to mow your lawn.....you should be able to get it doen quicker than that.

Plant wildflowers and have a field of them......you can then mow paths through them...put up bird feeders, etc..

My choice would be to work with the land so you don't have to mow as much.....gardens take time and work, but they are more rewarding than a huge pile of grass clipping

 

[smokinj]

OK, so I recently got a new place where I'm now burning wood (that's why i found this great site). Have a 3 acre yard...mostly open...100% flat. Woodshed/pole-barn is 150 yards from woodburner. Equipment storage is not an issue..

3 acres of yard, mostly flat.....I'd be planting a nice garden, some fruit trees, blue berry bushes, etc..

Based on the size of your deck, I don't see it taking you 3 hours to mow your lawn.....you should be able to get it doen quicker than that.

Plant wildflowers and have a field of them......you can then mow paths through them...put up bird feeders, etc..

My choice would be to work with the land so you don't have to mow as much.....gardens take time and work, but they are more rewarding than a huge pile of grass clipping

42 in troy built will take 4+ hrs. and jumping to a 48 not worth it a 60-72 in deck will put him in the 2 hr range

 

[webie]

Just get your self a small b size kubota or the likes in a deehr 4 wheel drive with about a 48 - 60 inch deck or any other brand , these are very user friendly and not much bigger than your troy built . This will cut your mowing in half ( HOW )
Keep the troybilt and put the wife on that and you use the kubota !

 

[lukem]

Thanks all.

Part of the appeal for buying this place was the large yard. A lot of possibilities. Just want to minimize the time it takes mowing. Would much rather spend my time with family and home IMPROVEMENT projects...not home MAINTENANCE like mowing.

A garden is definitely in order. When had one at the last house, but the soil and shade limited our options. This one will be considerably larger. Ordered blueberry bushes and strawberries on Tuesday. Evergreen trees will be ordered next week.

Last yard was 1.0 acres and it took about and hour and fifteen to mow with my 42".

I've got 4 kids and a lab puppy who need plenty of room for baseball, etc so I want to try to keep some large areas mowed.

I used to work for a landscaper and he had a couple kubotas and I loved them...I'm looking into one but they are awful proud of even the used ones. Anyone know of a good online resource for locating used equipment?

Priced ZTRs yesterday. WOW. A lot of money for a piece of equipment only good for mowing grass.

 

[smokinj]

Thanks all.

Part of the appeal for buying this place was the large yard. A lot of possibilities. Just want to minimize the time it takes mowing. Would much rather spend my time with family and home IMPROVEMENT projects...not home MAINTENANCE like mowing.

A garden is definitely in order. When had one at the last house, but the soil and shade limited our options. This one will be considerably larger. Ordered blueberry bushes and strawberries on Tuesday. Evergreen trees will be ordered next week.

Last yard was 1.0 acres and it took about and hour and fifteen to mow with my 42".

I've got 4 kids and a lab puppy who need plenty of room for baseball, etc so I want to try to keep some large areas mowed.

I used to work for a landscaper and he had a couple kubotas and I loved them...I'm looking into one but they are awful proud of even the used ones. Anyone know of a good online resource for locating used equipment?

Priced ZTRs yesterday. WOW. A lot of money for a piece of equipment only good for mowing grass.

I am in some what the same boat mine is all grass and some trees and work for a landscape co. for 15 years I love the grass and live next to a sod farm love the long stright lines on a fresh cut.

 

[WoodMann]

Given the options presented, #2 all the way. I have ideas but this thread was not beckoning for recommendations on what to do with the land...............

 

[billb3]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/index.php
http://www.mytractorforum.com/


some decent resources there and there

 

[bogydave]

Plant some timothy, sell it twice a year to hay farmers.
Keep a section for your yard.
New 4-wheeler with pull behind mower: are pretty people friendly, automatic, power steering, & more "FUN" uses. Get 2 & family can go trail riding
Golf course idea I like but even more work.
Sounds like a great place.
pictures?

 

[ribs1]

Be serious! Three acres? What you can't mow by hand in an hour a week (great exercise) plant with flower/vegetable beds and/or trees. Why do people want a bunch of lawn to mow? Go to the golf course if you like to look at a big lawn?

Three acres is also not enough to justify the 4-wheeler unless you have adjoining land that you can ride on.

I agree with this 100%. I also had 3 acres of lawn when I bought my house 2 years ago. I am letting about 1 acre go to pasture. I planted another 1/4 acre with apple and cherry trees. I planted about 1/2 acre with 70 black locust trees. I am planning on planting trees until I have about only 1/2-3/4 acres of grass.
I don't know why anyone would want 3 acres of grass unless they were setting up there own private fairway and putting green.

 

[Highbeam]

I would love three acres of grass, but my current lot is only 1 acre so I mow with a normal rider. Some of these items like gardens and fruit treese, especially fruit trees, only make mowing take longer since you now need to mow around the trees and bushes. I have a row of siz trees that caused me this problem. Going around the chicken coop takes longer than mowing right through it.

So if, and thats a big if, you want to reduce the mowed area then fence off the "yard" area around the house and then mow the "pasture" area only when you see a need but be warned that a seldom mowed pasture will not mow into a ball field. It will mow into a chunky oddly colored pasture. If you want that dense turf for playing in or running or whatever then you need to keep it mowed.

Folks have said, "if you want a ballfield/park/golfcourse, then go to one" well I say I want the ballfield/park/golfcourse so people will come to my backyard. This includes my kids, my family, friends, their family, etc. Without my smaller one acre lawn we would not have the same quality of life. Mowing to me is actually fun and great therapy. Almost like cutting firewood.

To do it quicker means a bigger mower deck IF you don't have obstacles. How big can you go depends on the HP available. I would like a small tractor with HST and a belly mower. Essentially a lawn mower on sterroids but you could remove the mower in the winter (or anytime) and use it for other maintenance needs on your three acres. Even my 30 HP 3500# tractor can be equipped with a belly mower though I would think it would leave ruts if used for mower work. The smaller/lighter machines in the 20-25HP range would be better.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Uh, 3 acres is a pretty nice chunk of land. I have 4.5 and I'm ALWAYS using the Ford 1620.

It has a nice front end loader for haulin' all sort and manner of stuff, not to mention snow removal.

It has a 3pt. hitch for the snowblade in the rear, and whatever other implement I want to put on there.

I also run my splitter off the hydraulics of this tractor.

Not to mention a 6 ft. finish mower to boot

Mines a Ford 1620 and it's 27hp. I pull logs, mow, dig, haul, split, grade, push, pull, rip out, tear down, lift, stand on, and who know's what else with the thing.

So I say, Diesel, 4 wheel drive, hydrostatic, with at least a front end loader and finish mower, 25+ horsepower, and you'll never regret it!

 

[ironpony]

while reading this i noticed you have 4 kids and a wife
time to put them to work helping you
3 acres will be a breeze with a little help
and they will enjoy it also
might gripe at first but will learn to like it

 

[lukem]

while reading this i noticed you have 4 kids and a wife
time to put them to work helping you
3 acres will be a breeze with a little help
and they will enjoy it also
might gripe at first but will learn to like it

Oldest boy is 4...not much help on a tractor yet. Wife is busy tending to the kids...I have a future landscape crew in the making, but not much help as of now.

I have a lead on a 35HP Massey for a good deal. Might be a little too big...but may buy it anyway since it is such a good deal. It has a loader which is a big bonus. Could use it for a lot of stuff. Will probably need to find something else to mow with...

Borrowed my FIL's quad this weekend to plow snow. That is a tough machine. Makes me want one.

Still not sure what to do.

 

[lukem]

Be serious! Three acres? What you can't mow by hand in an hour a week (great exercise) plant with flower/vegetable beds and/or trees. Why do people want a bunch of lawn to mow? Go to the golf course if you like to look at a big lawn?

Three acres is also not enough to justify the 4-wheeler unless you have adjoining land that you can ride on.

I agree with this 100%. I also had 3 acres of lawn when I bought my house 2 years ago. I am letting about 1 acre go to pasture. I planted another 1/4 acre with apple and cherry trees. I planted about 1/2 acre with 70 black locust trees. I am planning on planting trees until I have about only 1/2-3/4 acres of grass.
I don't know why anyone would want 3 acres of grass unless they were setting up there own private fairway and putting green.

I wish I could, but the way everything is situated doesn't really work well for letting an area grow up. There's about 3/4 acre of flat/open area that I may...but the rest has a couple out-buildings, fruit trees, kids swingset/playground, garden, etc. that are all spaced far apart, but close enough together that I don't want to let the area between them grow up.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I have two choices for snow plowing: 1) 4WD pickup 2)4WD tractor with FEL

Trust me, I will take the truck EVERY time (5 times as fast, 3 times as warm listen to the radio, drink your coffee, yada,yada,yada)

If you do everything 'by hand' now a/k/a wheelbarrow, you are going to LOVE the FEL :cheese: Whoever invented hydraulics was a genius!

But if you take the tractor in the woods, yer gonna want ag tires. Unfortunatly Ag tires will destroy yer lawn.

IMO, there is no perfect multi-use tool here. But there is one that is really just a toy. The 4-wheeler :long: