Ride on mower vs compact tractor?

[sandspider]

Hi all

 

Just wondering if it's possible to get a ride on mower with PTO and a decent towing capacity?

 

I'm tempted to get a compact tractor, but will only have an acre or so of grass (partly neat, partly rough) to cut. So I was wondering if a (cheaper but less versatile) ride on mower would do? As well as grass cutting, I'd like to be able to pull a trailer, maybe run a log splitter... I suppose a loader might be useful on occasion but not often.

 

Hmm, reading what I've put, I think the compact tractor probably would be the way to go! Would towing with a ride on mower kill the clutch / drive?

 

Thanks.

[wrsni]

The Kubota range have ride-ons and compact tractors. But get a really small compact with a deck and what is it, a ride-on or a compact???

 

Just remember than you never get something for nothing, go for a bigger compact and it'll be a lot more versatile and useful as a tractor but a lot less handy as a ride on, and vice versa.

 

We've both, a compact and a ride on. I wouldn't like to have to try and replace them both with one machine, but then we've a fair bit of grass to look after.

 

I think you'll probably have to decide what jobs you want to prioritise and go from there.

Edited July 26, 2016 by wrsni

[dent]

Hi all

 

Just wondering if it's possible to get a ride on mower with PTO and a decent towing capacity?

 

I'm tempted to get a compact tractor, but will only have an acre or so of grass (partly neat, partly rough) to cut. So I was wondering if a (cheaper but less versatile) ride on mower would do? As well as grass cutting, I'd like to be able to pull a trailer, maybe run a log splitter... I suppose a loader might be useful on occasion but not often.

 

Hmm, reading what I've put, I think the compact tractor probably would be the way to go! Would towing with a ride on mower kill the clutch / drive?

 

Thanks.

 

Compact tractors are avavailable down to the same size as a ride on and are available with mid mounted decks for mowing i think this is what ur looking for as they have rear pto and 3 point not sure on aux hydraulics obviously more expensive than the same size ride on but much better built and available with 4x4 iseki john deere and kubota would be a good place to start looking

[IVECOKID]

Get a Compact Tractor, the world is your Oyster then , you are limited with ride on mower for Rougher areas and probably pushing it to its limit on rougher grass meaning Belts getting hot etc .Small Compact tractor ie 20hp with a finishing mower which will tackle taller grass and much more reliable and better on fuel .I swear by my little Yanmar and finishing mower with very little issues in 6 years ,I ran r Small ride on mowers before and are a pain in the arse but saying that I have a Husky rider which is Phenomenal for tight jobs.

 

 

Ste

[spandit]

If you're keeping the acre as a lawn then a ride on mower will do. If it's a paddock that needs topping (and you haven't got livestock) then a tractor will be better. Does give you the option of PTO accessories but how many logs are you going to produce from one acre that will need splitting? My local hire place has a 20tonne petrol splitter that costs around £80 for a week - any logs we can scavenge in a year get processed in bulk and for the rest of the year it's someone else's problem!

 

We've got about 10 acres and haven't needed to by a tractor yet. Having a vehicle to lug stuff around is useful but we've got a Jimny for that (Kawasaki Mule was more useful but more expensive)

[wrsni]

The main issue is whether you want to collect or not. If you want to collect with a compact tractor you'll need to go with a deck, clamshell, and blower. Expensive, clumsy and pretty OTT for an acre. Whereas a decent ride on will collect when you want it tidy, but you can take the bag off and put a deflector on for the rougher bits.

 

A decent ride on will do you a long time as well, our GR1600 has over 700hrs on it and still runs as new. It needed a deck belt last year and so far that's been it.

 

If on the other hand you're sure and certain you'll not need to collect at anytime, a compact starts to make sense. Finishing mowers can be picked up pretty cheap, even better (but a bit more expensive) a roller mower.

[7610]

What's your budget?

[Treemover]

We have a kubota b6200hst. It's no spring chicken, but being diesel, it's a leap towards petrol.

I bought a 58 inch deck on eBay £400 and an as new blower collector for £200.

I have a John Deere blower collector for sale.

 

Having 3 point linkage and pto allows me to power Harrow and Rotovate small area; plus it will out pull the quad at timber; plus no need for petrol.

Wouldn't be without it, liked it so much I'm hoping to buy a 35 Hp kioti.

[sandspider]

Thanks all. Food for thought.

 

To answer some questions. Budget - not much! £2,000 maybe? Looking second hand, but wouldn't need to get log splitter immediately, if at all. (I actually split pretty well with a Fiskars, just thinking for the future - personal use only).

The ability to pick up grass would be useful sometimes, but not all the time. The plan is for a patch of neat lawn (though that could possibly be cut and picked up by a normal walk-behind mower). Some of it will be kept as rough ish (sloping) paddock, possibly with orchard trees. Paddock is currently pretty rough, too much for a ride on mower I think. I also want to extend a copse or two into the paddock area by planting trees, and I think a compact tractor could be useful for that, though probably not manoeuvrable enough to mow between orchard trees / new woodland. I'd prefer a pull-behind mower rather than belly mounted, as there's a bit of a rough ride to get to the paddock.

Rotovation would be useful from time to time (veg patch etc.) but probably not often enough to need to buy a rotavator.

I suppose realistically I could manage with a ride on mower once initial rough cutting of the paddock is done. But I would prefer a diesel tractor! (More versatile, better engineered, longer lasting...) There is a fair bit of wood about locally that I'd like to be able to drag home (with permission, of course) - and I think doing this on a regular basis would not be good for a ride on mower?

 

Thanks again for the suggestions and advice.

[spandit]

The problem I foresee is that to buy a second tractor for that sort of money means there's a reason it's being got rid of and unless you are really keen on maintaining old machinery, it's probably not going to be the reliable workhorse you desire