3302 Vs. 2501 (first tractor)
- Thread starter Quadzilla32
- Start date
Grumpy brings up a good point. You can always slow down or take a smaller bite if you're overloading, but the terrain roughness may prevent you from speeding up when the load is light. These things don't have suspensions.
I recently got an MX, 52hp. That's a good size for mowing fields. I got a 2m (6 foot) flail, which does a good job of taking the top out of it. A flail is a bit easier on the machine than a rotary cutter. Another option is a batwing.
To my mind, width is king in this kind of mowing. I'd rather mow 5mph with a 6 foot mower than 6mph with a 5 foot mower - much easier on the body.
An L will do the job, an MX is quite a bit more tractor for not much more money.
DPF I don't think is a major issue. Even with light duty tasks, there's no real reason not to run high RPM. I'm lucky in NZ that we don't have DPF on our MXs, conversely we don't get a whole lot of the fruit that you guys get - we basically have a 10 year old model with manual clutch (even on the HST), and pretty basic appointment.
Anyway, a long way of saying you probably can't go wrong here, but I'd look at a bigger machine if I were you. And look at a flail rather than a rotary cutter - they don't stick out as far as a brush hog, and so they don't push the machine around as much.
To my mind, width is king in this kind of mowing. I'd rather mow 5mph with a 6 foot mower than 6mph with a 5 foot mower - much easier on the body.
An L will do the job, an MX is quite a bit more tractor for not much more money.
DPF I don't think is a major issue. Even with light duty tasks, there's no real reason not to run high RPM. I'm lucky in NZ that we don't have DPF on our MXs, conversely we don't get a whole lot of the fruit that you guys get - we basically have a 10 year old model with manual clutch (even on the HST), and pretty basic appointment.
Anyway, a long way of saying you probably can't go wrong here, but I'd look at a bigger machine if I were you. And look at a flail rather than a rotary cutter - they don't stick out as far as a brush hog, and so they don't push the machine around as much.
Here is a mowing chart ...
Big tires, low air pressure, long wheel base makes for a better ride ... A suspension or air seat also helps!
Big tires, low air pressure, long wheel base makes for a better ride ... A suspension or air seat also helps!
With RFM's at a comfortable pace it takes me 33 minutes with the 5' deck and 25 minutes with the 7-1/2' deck. That's doing neat alternating patterns. One time I did a speed run with the 7-1/2' deck and did our 3-1/2 acres in just a tad under 18 minute per acre. That was too fast and bordered on abuse.
I love my l2501, but it fit my old heavily wooded flat property a lot better than my hilly and open current one. It sounds like yours is flat and open, and with you wanting to mow, I’d recommend going with a bigger machine such as an mx if you have the extra money. I don’t know if that l3302 would be a huge upgrade from the l2501 in terms of power and feel, as they are both still compact tractors. I will say if you go l2501, the thing doesn’t use a lot of fuel.
On the hills the l2501 is noticeably slower, especially when using ground engagement implements or PTO implements. Even on flat land you will notice the lack of power while mowing, obviously this is personal preference though, depends how much time you want to spend on the machine.
On the hills the l2501 is noticeably slower, especially when using ground engagement implements or PTO implements. Even on flat land you will notice the lack of power while mowing, obviously this is personal preference though, depends how much time you want to spend on the machine.
And an M isn't much more than an MX. When I compare my MX and M6060, the M is so much more tractor for very similar money.
I have to agree with @JasonW and the suggestion to buy a reasonably low hour M such as an M6060/M7060 or the M6040/7040 models. They're so much more capable than even the MX/L60 models, and given the size of the property in question far more practical.
Dang Guys, we ran one guy off this week already
. I think Quad would be stylin', tilling his wife's garden on an M5.Looking good is all that matters, right?.... I appreciate the feedback and suggestions guys. I'm going to check out a couple tractors. I like the idea of a bigger machine in case i need more power later on.
Me being me, I checked their numbers.
If you had a long enough field that you didn't have overlap, a 5' cutter at 5 mph would mow 3 acres.(5mi/hr*5280ft/mi*5ft)/43,560sq ft/acre = 3.03ac vs 2.5 in their chart
They've apparently left an allowance for overlap. My point was, I think I tend to leave about the same overlap, not proportionately more with the wider mower. I know it felt noticeably slower with a 5' vs 6.