Best Tool For 11 acres of maintenance and improvements

[Baylissfarms]

Initially purchased John Deere 4066r Cab and had horrible luck. Never going green again. Sold it after a year and Purchased a Bobcat T76 and really enjoyed that. Unfortunately the CTL’s tear up the ground too much. Now that the heavy clearing and dirt work is done I’m ready for a Swiss Army knife to maintain my 11 acres.
We have a lot of uneven ground and topo.
stability is a concern.
I have 3 sons. 6,3,1 years old. Would love them to join
I want the best machine y'all can recommend.
Cost is flexible.
Thanks so much.
Uses:

• Finish/groom mow 6 acres
• Dirt/gravel grading
• Seeding w/ no till drill
• Move brush/fire wood
• Till garden
• Maintain trails

Attachments:

• finish mower
• Loader
• Box blade
• Tiller
• Grapple
• Broadcast seeder
• Aerator/cultipacker

 

[Baylissfarms]

Machines I have considered are:
Kubota 4802
Kubota Mx 5400
Kubota 3902

I’ve driven the 25hp bobcat tractor. It seemed too small.

My 4066r seemed too big even though I enjoyed the kids in the cab. It was ver top heavy.

the John Deere 3046r seemed perfect for power to weight except for being green and John Deere.

 

[mcmxi]

Initially purchased John Deere 4066r Cab and had horrible luck. Never going green again. Sold it after a year and Purchased a Bobcat T76 and really enjoyed that. Unfortunately the CTL’s tear up the ground too much. Now that the heavy clearing and dirt work is done I’m ready for a Swiss Army knife to maintain my 11 acres.
We have a lot of uneven ground and topo.
stability is a concern.
I have 3 sons. 6,3,1 years old. Would love them to join
I want the best machine y'all can recommend.
Cost is flexible.
Thanks so much.
Uses:

• Finish/groom mow 6 acres
• Dirt/gravel grading
• Seeding w/ no till drill
• Move brush/fire wood
• Till garden
• Maintain trails

Attachments:

• finish mower
• Loader
• Box blade
• Tiller
• Grapple
• Broadcast seeder
• Aerator/cultipacker

I have an MX6000 which is a great tractor and will handle your list of tasks and attachments, but it's similar in size to your 4066R. I doubt you could fit one kid in the cab of an MX5400 let alone three! Are you looking for a tractor with a buddy seat?

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Machines I have considered are:
Kubota 4802
Kubota Mx 5400
Kubota 3902

I’ve driven the 25hp bobcat tractor. It seemed too small.

My 4066r seemed too big even though I enjoyed the kids in the cab. It was ver top heavy.

the John Deere 3046r seemed perfect for power to weight except for being green and John Deere.

If you want a cab like the JD had, from your list the MX is the only option. If no cab, I still say MX.

Where in GA are you? Come give my 6000 a spin if you want.

 

[Baylissfarms]

I have an MX6000 which is a great tractor and will handle your list of tasks and attachments, but it's similar in size to your 4066R. I doubt you could fit one kid in the cab of an MX5400 let alone three! Are you looking for a tractor with a buddy seat?

Just need to carry 1 kid at a time. A buddy seat would be great. Farm task #1 priority I love the kids to safely ride 1 at a time when they can. The Mx 6000 looks great and very capable. I was wondering if the weight would be too much for a finished yard? I will eventually get a zero turn as well. Would love to be able to finish mow.

 

[Baylissfarms]

If you want a cab like the JD had, from your list the MX is the only option. If no cab, I still say MX.

Where in GA are you? Come give my 6000 a spin if you want.

Milton Ga thank you.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

Milton Ga thank you.

We’re neighbors. I’m in Canton, free home/Macedonia area.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

You've got quite a list there. I've often thought the MX would be a good utility tractor. Till the garden?, hope you've got a big garden. Seems to me you need to widen the wheelbase, then enough power to drive a mower wide enough to cover that width.

Which tires? We've driven the Ford on my sister's yard when it's dry with R1's, but I wouldn't try mowing the yard with it. Maybe R4's? You could lower the air pressure when mowing. In any case don't load them, use weights as necessary.

For sure, get SSQA and 3rd function, maybe rear remotes.

 

[anomad]

I'm looking to upgrade a B2601 to something way bigger. If you want to come up to Jackson County NC and try it out to inform yourself feel free to reach out. My property is slightly larger than yours with lots of gravel driveways.

 

[PaulL]

Are two tractors / two machines an option? 6 acres of finish mowing needs a big machine or a dedicated mowing machine. But a tractor big enough to mow that would probably be too big for the pretty mowing close to the house.

Perhaps an F series for the mowing, freeing you up to get a bigger machine for the land maintenance?

If it's one machine to do it all, probably a Grand-L or an MX, get enough HP to pull a big finish mower - maybe a batwing or a gang mower. If your terrain is rough (sounds like it is) you can't run the machine fast (too rough on your back), so you need a nice wide mower to cut a lot of grass even going slow.

You could look into these sorts of mower:

TDC Tri-Deck Finishing Mower - Bush Hog

bushhog.com

Rhino Flex Finish Mowers

Come check out our Rhino Flex Finish Mowers at Farmers Equipment Company.

www.farmersequip.com

If you want a really nice finish, you could look at this kind of thing (it's NZ made, no idea where you'd get something similar in the USA, but they must exist):

NZ Mowers makes of gang mowers for over 40 years

NZ Mowers, based in Kawakawa in Northland's Bay of Islands, has been specialising in the manufacture of reel lawn mowers for over 40 years.

www.nzmowers.co.nz

The other tasks you describe I think you could do with anything from an LX -> MX. Depends how fast you want to do it.

The L4802 and L3902 would be good buying. The Grand-L is more expensive, but with many more features. Perhaps features you don't need though. The MX is a step up in size and capability. You probably don't need it for your acreage, but need is a vague concept.

 

[jaxs]

You will never mow the yard with a tractor suitable for those other implements. If finances allow get a z-turn for yard and go big with tractor. If you can't swing a z-turn buy a 18-25 horse riding mower and go big with tractor. I'm not a fan of 3 point finish mowers. You'll need a heavy duty 3 point rotary mower to handle grass,weeds,brush and saplings on majority of property. If you want more area near house to look nice than z-turn or rider can easily handle,invest in a flail mower in addition to the 3 point rotary.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Good day.

Sounds like a lot of fun ahead of you.

To me you sort of have three types of task…1. general tree trail and driveway maintenance. (Lifting and loader work). 2. Gardening / hobby farm…but the acreage planning to garden? 3. Mowing. In general i think figure out frequency of those three general tasks and which machine you like for each.

It’s not my money, but if someone else paying, I’d keep the CTL for number 1. If not keeping the CTL then I’d lean towards a larger tractor in general (how mowing around building and house currently?). Have any future plans for animals (hauling water or feed)?

For number 2, I am assuming larger than you want to use a walk behind? If it’s more of a garden a smaller machine is easier IMO…if it’s a larger garden larger machine. One thing to think about I think is which implements and size you want to use and how they fit the width of your tractor.

For Number 3 how frequently do you plan to mow? Keeping 6 acres like a yard / weekly mow or couple times a year with a cutter or flail? For regular mowing, if only one machine, if planning to have the boys help, when one is mowing 6 acres that means for your other work back to manual unless you have another machine. 6 acres on a small tractor is going to kill some time and prevent other uses while one person mowing…something to think about.

To me there issort of two things that would give me a hard time deciding…keeping the CTL and frequency / quality of the mow.

I think it will be difficult to find one machine that is perfect. There is a lot of overlap between machines/sizes and it’s not one better than the other…they each are better at something than the other. To me the machine that is the best in the garden is not the best at mowing 6 acres. If finish mowing, I think a dedicated mower, or a larger tractor with 3pt finish mower.

I have a B and MX and use them both in the garden(s), mowing, and in the woods. They are very very different…for the most part a B is handy in the garden and up close around the house. But it is no replacement for the MX. in the garden with cat one implements, spacing can become a thing depending on what you are doing.

If just want one machine, I think L47/4802 or an MX. if want bells and whistles, grand L of similar size. (I’d think real hard about something dedicated to mow and then whichever tractor makes sense).

Good luck and Happy New Year.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

sigh, I must be old..couldn't get over 'finish mowing 6 ACRES'. That's a LOT of lawn to cut,every week !! That would be a dedicated cutter,maybe a FAST zeroturn..even then maybe 4 hours of seat time ? That'l be most of a Saturday afternoon gone... Faster machine gets it done quicker but costs more of course.
That leave a tractor for tilling and grading and such....just get one that's small enough to go where it needs to but big enough to handle the tasks.
I'd keep the CTL unless you can get BIG bucks for it. You've proven it's a valuable machine, you KNOW it, and well more is better, give you 'options'.
Having 'one tractor for all' means when it's down for ANY reasons, YOU don't get ANY work done....a day or two isn't bad but....3-4 weeks waiting for a part, hmm...grass keeps growing....

options, gotta look at options.

 

[mikester]

Your top 3 tools required:

 

[chim]

I didn't compare specs between my tractor and what you're looking at, so I can only offer experience on a couple things.

Finish mowing 6 acres with my 7-1/2' RFM would be a two-ish hour job. We have 3-1/2 acres with some trees, a creek and a couple small buildings and misc. equipment to mow around. Going like a moron, it's a few minutes under an hour. Normal time required is 1-1/4 hours. A leisurely pace enjoying the A/C on a hot day making cute stripes is 1-1/2 hours. All mowing is done without the FEL and its frame, and in 2WD.

R4's have served very well for mowing. The R1's on my little Ford 1210 mark the yard much more than the R4's on the L4240. I can run on the ground near the creek a couple days after it floods and not mess it up. I've grooved the tires and it made a difference for plowing snow.

 

[Xtra PSI]

Initially purchased John Deere 4066r Cab and had horrible luck. Never going green again. Sold it after a year and Purchased a Bobcat T76 and really enjoyed that. Unfortunately the CTL’s tear up the ground too much. Now that the heavy clearing and dirt work is done I’m ready for a Swiss Army knife to maintain my 11 acres.
We have a lot of uneven ground and topo.
stability is a concern.
I have 3 sons. 6,3,1 years old. Would love them to join
I want the best machine y'all can recommend.
Cost is flexible.
Thanks so much.
Uses:

• Finish/groom mow 6 acres
• Dirt/gravel grading
• Seeding w/ no till drill
• Move brush/fire wood
• Till garden
• Maintain trails

Attachments:

• finish mower
• Loader
• Box blade
• Tiller
• Grapple
• Broadcast seeder
• Aerator/cultipacker

Just recently bought a new Grand L4760 HSTC cab tractor with the LA1055 loader. so far im SUPER impressed with it! the loader is really strong. itll lift the back of a grand cherokee off the ground 3ft (cant go higher without damaging bumper or gas tank) and it did this without even idling up! i do have rim guard and a roughly 700lb grader scraper on the back for extra ballast. i feel itll be a great swiss army knife for my property. it did drive into a settled dirt pile in 2wd and filled the whole 72 bucket full without a sweat either. admittedly my other tractor is a BX2670 so this machine as far far more capable. good luck with your decision. the MX series could be a bit less but i like the joystick on the grand L better and the Grand L has more 3 point lifting capacity than the MX due to the rear cylinder lift design.

 

[Baylissfarms]

Great feedback! Thank you for sharing.

 

[mcmxi]

the MX series could be a bit less but i like the joystick on the grand L better and the Grand L has more 3 point lifting capacity than the MX due to the rear cylinder lift design.

The Grand L60 series tractors are certainly the flagship models of the compact tractor lineup, and the MX is the entry level utility model, but "a bit less" is misleading. Base price for an MX6000 is $47,094 whereas the comparable L6060 has a base price of $57,098. As you add on the nice to have features the price differential remains close to $10,000.

The rear lift capacity is essentially irrelevant to me, but the layout of the Grand L60 series cab and the transmission are vastly superior. Are those differences worth $10k in the real world? To some yes, to others no. I like the simplicity of the MX6000 cab and controls and also the M6060 cab and controls, but I wouldn't complain if the MX cab was laid out like the Grand L. You get a lot of tractor with the MX for considerably less money, but that cost savings comes at the expense of some really nice features.

 

[Donystoy]

I would definitely go with a zero turn for grass cutting. Best thing that I did after dealing with a MMM.
I have about 88 acres with 60 acres rented out so I am mostly maintaining around 25 acres mostly wooded with about 5 acres of mowing.
Only you know how much use you will ultimately be doing with the tractor. I frequently see tractors on the market with super low hours and wonder why it was purchased in the first place.

 

[GrizBota]

I think HST and 4WD nearly go without saying. An LX to an MX will work, except the finish mowing of a lawn. That should probably be done with a dedicated machine or if this new tractor needs to do it, a MMM. Which means a mid PTO putting you in the LX and Grand L territory. Not sure if you have to have a cab, but notice your two prior machines do. I think that’s LX, Grand L and MX territory.

I have a Grand L for most tasks and a little B with a MMM for mowing. But I don’t mow 6 acres every week. Maybe a 1/2 acre every week and 8ish acres once or three times a season. All of it non-irrigated.

Not sure if budget is a consideration. If not or you have $70-80k, two nice machines will do it, Otherwise you might like at the Grand L LE units if one machine, a cab and budget are concerns.