Howdy all,
I think I have caught the "orange bug"!..ha. We have a place with 10 acres, been there 14 years. Started off with a Craftsman rider mower - still have it! A year or so later I bought a 1949 Ford 8N, brush-cutter, disc, harrow. The 8N has been a source of great joy and major frustration over the years as can be expected with a 60+ year old tractor. Bought a Cub Cadet 50" RZT 6 years ago to cut down on mowing time.
Mostly I do a lot of mowing, disc work in the spring & fall for gardening, use the bush-hog for about 3 acres where it's too scrubby for the mower. The RZT has been ok, more and more repairs the last couple of years, but my goodness I can barely walk when I get off of that thing. A typical day mowing the grass on it is 6 hours not including weed-eater trimwork (bush-hog is a separate day and less often).
This was fine the first few years after getting the RZT but now I'm getting close to 50, and I'd like to be able to feel my arms and legs and have my all teeth intact after mowing. I really, really, hate riding the RZT for long periods. Last year I started looking at Scag Cheetah-s to cut down on the mowing time and fewer repairs (they use them where I work and the grounds crew there recommended them). $10,800 for a new one.
So I went to the Kubota dealer to look at their RZT's to compare but got waylaid to the tractors. One thing that keeps nagging at the back of my mind is that the mower would sit idle for at least 7 months of the year and I've had a need for a FEL many, many times at our place, and I really don't like going out to use the 8N or even the Cub Cadet and crossing my fingers that it will run that day...
So now I'm looking at the 4WD L3200 with FEL and a 72" finish mower. Of course this would not cut down on my mowing time at all but the tractor would hopefully be more reliable and easier on the joints.
Is this a bad plan? I still need to be able to use a disc and bush-hog. I know I won't get around bushes and trees as tight as with the RZT so I'll have to keep that.
Any recommendations here? Also I'm not clear on the "jerky 3 point hitch" and live PTO, or if those are even issues and if they are, worth worrying about.
Glad to find this forum, been reading it a lot the past week or so!
Dukester
I think I have caught the "orange bug"!..ha. We have a place with 10 acres, been there 14 years. Started off with a Craftsman rider mower - still have it! A year or so later I bought a 1949 Ford 8N, brush-cutter, disc, harrow. The 8N has been a source of great joy and major frustration over the years as can be expected with a 60+ year old tractor. Bought a Cub Cadet 50" RZT 6 years ago to cut down on mowing time.
Mostly I do a lot of mowing, disc work in the spring & fall for gardening, use the bush-hog for about 3 acres where it's too scrubby for the mower. The RZT has been ok, more and more repairs the last couple of years, but my goodness I can barely walk when I get off of that thing. A typical day mowing the grass on it is 6 hours not including weed-eater trimwork (bush-hog is a separate day and less often).
This was fine the first few years after getting the RZT but now I'm getting close to 50, and I'd like to be able to feel my arms and legs and have my all teeth intact after mowing. I really, really, hate riding the RZT for long periods. Last year I started looking at Scag Cheetah-s to cut down on the mowing time and fewer repairs (they use them where I work and the grounds crew there recommended them). $10,800 for a new one.
So I went to the Kubota dealer to look at their RZT's to compare but got waylaid to the tractors. One thing that keeps nagging at the back of my mind is that the mower would sit idle for at least 7 months of the year and I've had a need for a FEL many, many times at our place, and I really don't like going out to use the 8N or even the Cub Cadet and crossing my fingers that it will run that day...
So now I'm looking at the 4WD L3200 with FEL and a 72" finish mower. Of course this would not cut down on my mowing time at all but the tractor would hopefully be more reliable and easier on the joints.
Is this a bad plan? I still need to be able to use a disc and bush-hog. I know I won't get around bushes and trees as tight as with the RZT so I'll have to keep that.
Any recommendations here? Also I'm not clear on the "jerky 3 point hitch" and live PTO, or if those are even issues and if they are, worth worrying about.
Glad to find this forum, been reading it a lot the past week or so!
Dukester
