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 paddock) 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?
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. Could hire one on occasion if I had a tractor. If I had a tractor there's probably be other things I could use it for!
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 for any suggestions and advice.