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 | harley
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 4 Louisiana 
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2003-11-30 69965
I am starting to build a home on 5 acres of land, 4 of which is cleared with some hardwood trees. I live in South Louisiana so the property is essentially flat. Snow will not be an issue and the tractor will be used primarily to cut grass, skid an occasional tree and possibly use a blade on my 250' of gravel drive way. I intend to have a lawn and will be cutting grass once a week. I am looking at both Kubota and John Deere with MMM. A few questions I have are as follows: How nice of a cut do you get with a 60" MMM? Would the JD 4110 with 20hp (17PTO) be adequate for my needs or should I move up to around 25hp? Would it be better to get the 4WD or move up to say a JD790 (2WD) with more hp? Many people seem to like the Hydro Tranny given my needs would that be the way to go. It appears the JD790 has narrower tires than the 4110 would these have a tendency to cause ruts in the lawn? My main concern is I do not want to be underpowered. I do not want to pay for more than I need but I will have to live with this purchase for some time. I guess I am really confused about the 4WD versus 2WD issue. My knowlegde regarding tractors is virtually nothing. Therefore any advice, comments, recommendations would be appreciated. Thanking everyone in advance.
Sincerely,
Harley
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 | harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY 
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2003-11-30 69978
How much lawn are you planning to mow? I would base my needs around that and size accordingly. I'd be thinking 72" mmm and 2wd should be ok given the flatness. BUT 4WD is always going to get used more than you might think.
Big MMM work good if your ground is resonably level/smmoth. ....
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| CraigC
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 83 Hebron, IN
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2003-11-30 69979
Just my opinion but I would not cut grass without having hydro, it allows you to travel at the exact speed you want wher a gear tractor you are usually going to fast or to slow. I also think all compact tractors should have FWD, they do not have enough wheight to use all their power without FWD. ....
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| harley
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 4 Louisiana
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2003-11-30 69980
Thank-you Harvey for your response. I plan on mowing 4 acres of lawn. Mowing a finished lawn will be the primary function of the tractor. The property is smooth (level). ....
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| harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY
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2003-11-30 69982
I'd really look at the 72" MMM and like Graig says the 4wd is a real good thing to have, even if you do not use it but a couple of times a year.
Hydro some people can not operate with out that feature. Me I have no use for it. I like gears and clutches. (basically because I understand them and how they work)
Others like the varaiable speed selection and the ease of use, cruise control etc. ....
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 | treeman
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 251 Wisconsin
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2003-11-30 69983
I mowed 6 acres with a 60 inch deck and then moved up to a 72 inch. The larger deck saves me lots of time. One thing to look for in a tractor, especially for mowing, is make sure the front tires don't scrub when turning. Some tractors scrub more than others. Test drive all the tractors that you are thinking of buying before you decide. ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2003-11-30 69984
I try to sell the smallest physical size tractor with the largest deck possible as it makes trimming while mowing a breeze. ....
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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-11-30 69988
I agree with Art. I this instance, the primary use is mowing. The Kubota BX series, John Deere 2210, and X series are probably sized to the application you are looking at. The wild card here is the size of the occasion tree you may want to skid. Here the 4110 or 4115 may be what is called for but the 4115 comes with a hefty price increase. Hydro is the way to go for mowing. I have found that a big MMM can work for you or against you. Is the area you are mowing filled with obstacles which preclude a 72" MMM from passing between or have several tight spaces? Will you want to trailer your tractor with the mower on it? A 72" MMM is a pain in tight spaces, more than minimal trimming, and will not fit on most standard trailers due to width. You may want to consider a 60" or similar MMM. On the other hand the 72" MMM can definitely save you time and cover a larger area faster. A wider mower is more prone to scalping in lumpy terrain as well, however if you have the MMM properly adjusted this should be minimized. You want the MMM to be wider than the actual tire width to enable the best ability to cut close to objects in my opinion so in some cases the 72" MMM may be your best choice reguardless. Both brands make a good mower but if you want the strongest build MMM in the industry, go with John Deere. They stamp their mower decks out of 7 guage steel. Most other brands use 10 guage steel of which some are stamped and others are welded.
Do you want gas or diesel power? Gas is much cheaper in the X series tractors. I prefer diesel due to the torque of the diesel engine, longevity, and better reliability. The best resale value is usually with a diesel. The BX and 2210 are subcompact tractors with hp in the 22 - 23 hp range. With the 4110 & 4115 you move up in size somewhat and these are in the compact class. They add more weight a beefier frame and offer more utility with respect to impliments and FEL capacity. If you like a solid reliable gear shift tractor you can't go wrong with a JD 790. Lawn mower is not the strong suit for this tractor if you have a lot of direction changes and obstacles do to constant shifting and clutching. Some don't mind this at all. You will have to try and decide. In ANY case 4WD is STRONGLY advised, especially if you decide to install a FEL down the line and turf tires to minimize turf damage.
It sounds like you have narrowed your choice down to John Deere and Kubota. If you have not gotten there yet; I would suggest you look at and demo as many brands and color tractors in this size and capacity category as is within reason with respect to the uses you will put them to and go with the tractor that suits you best. The Kub BX 2350 and JD 2210 & smaller 4000 series tractors seem to be the most popular on the market right now. It IS very important to shop and compare carefully as well as demo'ing. Try the bigger tractors......sometimes bigger is too big for what you want but other times it seems to fit better once tried out. Sometimes smaller works better getting into tight areas and manueverability but then again is sometimes too small and you wish you had gone bigger.
If you look in my profile; to give you an idea of how equipment at opposite ends of the spectrum can perform, you will see that I use a F525 for mowing the lawn with. It can cut circles around my 4410 and 72" MMM due to its compact size, manueverability, and VERY low center of gravity. Cutting the wide open pasture area the opposite is true. The 4410 is a must for maintaining my nearly 1/4 mile long drive way. In some cases my 4410 has had problems pulling logs due to loosing traction so you will have to cut the logs down to size for your tractor's ability which is what I have found works best.
Lastly, take a hard look at the dealer and how they will support and service your AFTER the sale. Hopefully you will never need him, but it is good to have a dealer who takes very good care of the customer after the sale. Price is a BIG consideration but NOT everything.
Good luck on your quest for a CUT!
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| edward_dugas
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 24 ohio
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2003-11-30 69998
Consider the purchase of a 19 to 20 hp lawn mower and a 60" to 70" 4 wheel offset pull behind mower with its own motor. If the lawn mower cuts 40+" you will be able to make 100" in a pass. The pull behind also goes under trees with no problem. Total cost will be 1/3 or more of the way you are now thinking. ....
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 | itsgottobegreen
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 329 Mt. Airy, MD
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2003-12-02 70152
I hate to have to say this, but coming from a guy who cuts grass for living. If you not going to move snow, and all the other work on the house is done. I would go with a GrassHopper or Walker front mount mower. Both have a lot of attachment, but are faster at mowing. Get the diesel in both, the hopper and walker machine can smoke a gas motor in a couple hundred hours. The hopper can have up to a 72" deck and the walker a 74" deck. Get a hopper 721d or 928d and the walker the D model. Plus a gravel blade for the driveway. ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-12-02 70156
itsgottobegreen, I just don't see harley skidding many logs with a grasshopper or any other walk behind mower. I think he has in mind a smaller CUT to cover a variety of uses. You are right about the front mower walk behinds. I used my F525 for mow all summer on my lawn and 4 others. Its not exactly a commercial grade front mower like a F737 or F687 but for this season it got the job done. ....
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| kubotaguy
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 360 Shepherdstown, WV
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2003-12-03 70213
I think I would go with the 60" deck for trailering reasons as well as versatility getting around things. Hydrostat is a given as it reduces mowing time. I think 4wd would be a nice addition since you are going to use it for things other than mowing. I had a B-7200 and tried to pull a tree in 2wd and it would just spin with the turfs, but put it in 4wd and it didn't even break traction. I think I would stick with diesel too as the mileage seems to be much better.
Good luck ....
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| itsgottobegreen
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 329 Mt. Airy, MD
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2003-12-04 70298
cheif i have skidded logs with my walkbehine. Down logs no saw, just move it. I use my standers caster wheels frames to push down limbs all the time. It to much work to move them by hand. The grasshopper has a lot of attachments. Plus the walkers now have a front bucktet attachment. ....
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