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Best Compact Tractor for Lawn and Pasture Maintenance?

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nigelfoster801

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm in the market for a compact tractor primarily for lawn and pasture maintenance. With so many options out there, I'm reaching out to this knowledgeable community for recommendations.
  • What compact tractor models or brands have you found to be particularly effective for lawn care and pasture upkeep?
  • Are there any specific features or attachments that you find indispensable for these tasks?
  • How do these tractors perform in terms of fuel efficiency, durability, and ease of maintenance?
I'm looking for something that's reliable and can handle both regular lawn mowing and the occasional heavier pasture work. Any insights, experiences, or advice you can share would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2 ·
Kubota, kioti, JD, and all the others
 
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#3 ·
I have a Yanmar LX490 with 49hp yanmar turbo-diesel for my horse farm. I have a 12 inch post hole digger, 6 foot bushog, 6 foot finish mower, front and rear hay spears, box blade, along with a 6 foot bucket. This tractor is perfect for my 45 acres even though the finish mower rarely gets used since I have a Gravely 672 now. Bushogging it burns about 1 gph. Sounds like you may be looking at a subcompact tractor and not a cut.
 
#5 ·
I have a 19 year old Kubota B7800 that is a great machine for my purposes and could serve you well if you could get your hands on one. I was initially skeptical about getting a tractor with a hydrostatic transmission, but have come to appreciate it. However, if you are in the U.K. it appears that the Kubota machines available to you are likely to be limited to much larger ag machines. I saw that Jeremy Clarkson has a very nice, and surprisingly affordable, Lamborghini tractor. Perhaps a bit large for your purposes.

As for implements/attachments --
  • Front end loader
  • Chain hooks on the FEL (probably the most cost effective addition)
  • Toothbar for the FEL (to change the loader into a digger, also very handy for dragging debris)
  • If you are limiting yourself to a single mower, pick a good flail
  • If the FEL has it as an option, a detachable bucket and pallet forks that can be used with the FEL
  • A 12 volt sprayer that you may strap in the FEL or carry on the rear using something like a 3 pt pallet mover
  • A box scraper can be handy, depending on what you might be doing
  • Consider a detachable backhoe, mine has paid for itself many times over, and has been especially appreciated when livestock need a burial
  • Post hole digger if you will be doing any fencing, or if you want to be able to auger lots of holes to plant an orchard or the like.
  • If your land is not quite level, fill the rear tires with beet juice or other ballast to increase stability.
 
#6 ·
I think soomone here who had tried a whole bunch of jd compact tractors found the 2038r was the best choice in terms of minimizing turf damage from excessive weight and still having sufficient power to be pretty productive.
 
#7 ·
Brucey said:
I think soomone here who had tried a whole bunch of jd compact tractors found the 2038r was the best choice in terms of minimizing turf damage from excessive weight and still having sufficient power to be pretty productive.
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Still waiting and my guess is I will be a very long time.

We can all recommend something but if he truly is from England, it doesn't matter what we recommend if it isn't available.

Just have a feeling about this guy.
 
#8 ·
One and doner?
Mark Oomkes said:
Still waiting and my guess is I will be a very long time.

We can all recommend something but if he truly is from England, it doesn't matter what we recommend if it isn't available.

Just have a feeling about this guy.
Click to expand...
 
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#10 ·
I have a John Deere 790 with a FEL, backhoe, 500 lb cyclone spreader, winch, and a mid mount mower. I can mow some rough ground as the mower deck can raise about 8" above ground level. I've been using this compact tractor in this manner for 24 years, still on the original blade spindles.....
The backhoe is really too small for stumping or serious digging but otherwise 30 horse power can accomplish a lot when one considers what early farmers had to work with.
Having used Kubota compact tractors at work I think the controls and construction of a Kubota is superior to an equivalent-sized John Deere.
 
#16 ·
J. Baker said:
Well, it ought to last you forever then. You hardly use it at all. Surprised you can justify owning it for no more hours a year than you use it. Not even enough hours a year to need to change the oil.
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I have 400' of driveway and another 1,000 feet of access road that I plow with a pickup that requires occasional bucket work pushing back snow banks. The pickup plow alone wouldn't cut it. I use the winch to collect firewood, the mower now for rough areas or to serve as a backup mower if the ZTR fails. I use it to spread fertilizer or lime pellets, the FEL to build or maintain roads, and the backhoe for occasional digging. I also have a PTO generator I can run the whole shebang with if the power goes out. There's plenty of justification for owning it. I do change the oil and filter every year.
Before diesel particulate filters and other emission mandates I thought this 30 HP compact tractor to be too small. Now looking at what's available and the prices I'm happy with 30 horse power.
 
#17 ·
Greenie said:
I also have a PTO generator I can run the whole shebang with if the power goes out.
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Not with a 30hp tractor you can't. 30HP won't run a very big gen set at all. I'm guessing you have either never tried to run it at full capacity, or found out it doesn't make enough power to run a very big PTO generator. General rule of thumb on a PTO gen set is 2hp to 1kw of electricity. So you can maybe, maybe push your tractor to run a 15KW gen set at full capacity, which is about 20 amps. So, no. You can't run "the whole shebang" on it.

I have a PTO gen set. I don't remember the size, but we could run our whole farm on it, including the feed and grain mill. It puts out at least 100 amps at full power. It took a 100hp tractor to run it. And it loaded it pretty good. Sure, I can hook it up to the B3350 Kubota that puts out around 35hp and it will run it...... as long as I don't pull that many amps. Otherwise, it will kill the tractor engine dead. Last time I checked, 100 amp is about the minimum that the power company will feed to a house. Most modern houses are fed 200 amps. Obviously they don't pull all 100 or 200 amps at a time, and if you start appliances up one at a time you can load the gen set up. But you aren't going to run your whole house as if the power isn't off with a 30hp tractor and a gen set pushing 20 amps at full capacity.
 
#18 ·
J. Baker said:
General rule of thumb on a PTO gen set is 2hp to 1kw of electricity. So you can maybe, maybe push your tractor to run a 15KW gen set at full capacity, which is about 20 amps.
Click to expand...
Huh, I did some investigating into this and I thought it was More than that.

I wanted to try to run my shop or house off one and after some checking, I was going to need at minimum 50 PTO HP. More like 60.

My other problem is generally when the power goes out and I need a generator (winter) the tractors are out plowing or blowing.
 
#19 ·
Mark Oomkes said:
Huh, I did some investigating into this and I thought it was More than that.
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I honestly think it is. I needed a number so I googled it and that was a quick answer. That big gen set I have I think is a 25KVA. I'm telling you, running our feed mill it made a 100hp tractor smoke like it was pulling a 6 bottom plow.
 
#20 ·
J. Baker said:
Not with a 30hp tractor you can't. 30HP won't run a very big gen set at all. I'm guessing you have either never tried to run it at full capacity, or found out it doesn't make enough power to run a very big PTO generator. General rule of thumb on a PTO gen set is 2hp to 1kw of electricity. So you can maybe, maybe push your tractor to run a 15KW gen set at full capacity, which is about 20 amps. So, no. You can't run "the whole shebang" on it.

I have a PTO gen set. I don't remember the size, but we could run our whole farm on it, including the feed and grain mill. It puts out at least 100 amps at full power. It took a 100hp tractor to run it. And it loaded it pretty good. Sure, I can hook it up to the B3350 Kubota that puts out around 35hp and it will run it...... as long as I don't pull that many amps. Otherwise, it will kill the tractor engine dead. Last time I checked, 100 amp is about the minimum that the power company will feed to a house. Most modern houses are fed 200 amps. Obviously they don't pull all 100 or 200 amps at a time, and if you start appliances up one at a time you can load the gen set up. But you aren't going to run your whole house as if the power isn't off with a 30hp tractor and a gen set pushing 20 amps at full capacity.
Click to expand...
When discussing amps we need to also have the voltage. A 15kW PTO generator is likely delivering 120A (15000/120V) or 60A at 240V. Which is prob plenty to support his house when the grid is down, especially if high demand loads are powered by propane or nat gas. You might have been dealing with much higher voltages or 3 phase output with your "100A" PTO genset.
 
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