Looking for advice

[cook4army]

Ok fellow Ingoers.....I have a dilemma.....the lovely Mrs Cook4army and I recently purchased a plot of land to call our own that's about 9 acres big, about 5 acres of which is wooded and the rest mowable lawn (minus the buildings and driveway), and we're in a bind as to what kind of equipment would be sufficient to do the things we wanted. Those things include: plow a 500 foot gravel driveway, mow the remaining acreage of grass, move deadfall wood from the back wooded lot, and other things that come up. We're torn between the following options: John Deere E1025R series tractor with loader and mower deck/towable mower, cabelas LM25H series tractor with the same equipment, a UTV with 60" snow blade and a lawn tractor with 60" mower deck, or something else we haven't thought of yet. The main issue were running into is the cost (of course).


I'm looking for suggestions, maybe some reviews of equipment you have/use that would help us out.


Thank you

 

[fastwally]

I don't know about the deadfall wood, (maybe a trailer) but a Grasshopper will push a lot of snow. I plow my drive the neighbors 400' driveway and the road. It will push 8/10" pretty easy and is fast. As far as mowing goes, it's one of the best.

Here is mine with the blade on.

 

[cook4army]

Now that's an option I had never thought of.

 

[RustyHornet]

I will second the Grasshopper for mowing, we have an older 1991 model 60" deck that I do 2.5 acres in just under 2 hours. It's not a race car, but the front hanging deck is the best thing ever. Got ours second hand from a friend who's brother used it for his landscaping business, has 8500 hrs on it, been through 3 engines, deck spindles have been replaced and just last year I replaced the original PTO clutch. Some people don't like them and they are expensive, but I wouldn't own anything else.

As far as plowing, get yourself a 4x4 4 wheeler and a plow for it. It will come in handy more than just plowing snow. With that much land, you'll find a lot of uses for it. They are fun too. We've got a small Yamaha 350 that I've used to drag whole trees across the yard after cutting them down. Plows the snow perfectly, winch mounted to the front allows the plow to be lifted and lowered with switches on the bars.

 

[Hardscrable]

I will second the Grasshopper for mowing, we have an older 1991 model 60" deck that I do 2.5 acres in just under 2 hours. It's not a race car, but the front hanging deck is the best thing ever. Got ours second hand from a friend who's brother used it for his landscaping business, has 8500 hrs on it, been through 3 engines, deck spindles have been replaced and just last year I replaced the original PTO clutch. Some people don't like them and they are expensive, but I wouldn't own anything else.

As far as plowing, get yourself a 4x4 4 wheeler and a plow for it. It will come in handy more than just plowing snow. With that much land, you'll find a lot of uses for it. They are fun too. We've got a small Yamaha 350 that I've used to drag whole trees across the yard after cutting them down. Plows the snow perfectly, winch mounted to the front allows the plow to be lifted and lowered with switches on the bars.

My vote goes to name brand ( JD, NH, Kubota,, Case IH, etc. ) compact diesel tractor with 4 WD, mower, loader, 3 pt. hitch, pto IF you want to do as much as possible with 1 unit. Can add a snow blower, blade...many, many options. You would be surprised how many uses you will find for the loader/bucket. I even run a PTO powered generator large enough to run entire house ( including central A/C ) & shop ( including A/C ) with mine when power is out. You can find good used ones at decent price point.

 

[RustyHornet]

My vote goes to name brand ( JD, NH, Kubota,, Case IH, etc. ) compact diesel tractor with 4 WD, mower, loader, 3 pt. hitch, pto IF you want to do as much as possible with 1 unit. Can add a snow blower, blade...many, many options. You would be surprised how many uses you will find for the loader/bucket. I even run a PTO powered generator large enough to run entire house ( including central A/C ) & shop ( including A/C ) with mine when power is out. You can find good used ones at decent price point.

That's another good option too, if you're wanting one unit to do it all. A good friend of mine went that route at first, until he got tired of mowing 4.5 acres all day with his Kubota, he bought a Grasshopper and hasn't looked back. Kept the Kubota around and uses its bucket to plow snow.

 

[fastwally]

I have a neighbor that has a JD with a front loader and a rear mounted plow. I can plow my driveway, the neighbors driveway and the county road befor he can clean his 200' driveway. I don't think you will want to use a snow blower on that gravel driveway unless your really good at sharpening your mower blades. With 4 acres to mow the emphases should be on mowing for a one unit do all buy anyway. I average 1-2 hrs of snow removal a yr with mine.