At 14:14 12/03/04 -0500, you wrote:
>Howdy,
>
>Ok, the land where my shop will be currently has grass on it that needs to
>be mowed... :-)
>
>We're moving into our new house in April. Its a two acre lot, all grass
>that needs to be cut. The push mower I've currently got isn't going to
>cut it... :-)
Hi Mark,
As you've realised there's a mountain of grass cutting equipment out there.
Knowing how grass can easily get out of hand I'd recommend something well
on top of the job. Since it's a sizeable investment it's worthwhile looking
for something with more than one use, so a compact tractor could fill the
bill. A ride-on mower is great for cutting grass, particularly an out front
one, but they are dedicated machines and struggle when you ask them to do
more than tow a small trailer. You mention your future shop so some sort of
compact tractor could help out in the building and with lifting engines etc
in years to come.
Someone mentioned Kubota and they make some great machines. Pioneers in the
field. John Deere also, I had an 855 for a few years and found it a lovely
tractor to use with the hydrostatic shuttle transmission. Where most
compact tractors fall short is in the three point linkage lift capacity and
the hydraulic flow. For that I've found the Ford (New Holland) range to be
much better than the competition. As a contractor I've run several for
quite a while, the oldest is 16 years old, with no major problems. You can
assume that if they'll stand up to contract abuse you can expect to pass
one on to your grandchildren. The model we use is the 1920 4wd. The current
equivalent can be seen at
http://www.newholland.com/na/Products/TC30_tractor.html?Reg=NA&RL=ENNA
A 60 inch front mounted snowblower is offered as an option. There is a
more modern range also now that looks more consumer friendly with a sloping
bonnet (hood). There are smaller models that would probably be more suited
to your requirements.
It could be worth looking out for a used model. Unless it's been grossly
abused or damaged it should be more than up to your requirements. Direct
transmissions are easier to work on than the hydrostatics. We buy our
tractors with direct transmissions and creep boxes. That gives a useful
halfway house, low speed controllability with lower potential repair costs
than the hydrostatics. You are better off with turf tyres than ag tyres for
mowing use.
HTH.
Nick
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