Need help from the OB. My 5 acres is proving a bit too much for my ZTR. Only 2 acres is actual lawn by definition. The rest is rocky pasture. So I'm in the market for a small tractor with shredder. Anyone have any advice or recommendations?

Craigslist..... Seriously lots of smaller tractors that may come with shredders for less than $10,000

35hp range, 4x4, get the brand that has a dealer and service near year. Deere, case, new holland, kubota...doesn't matter. And then a medium duty shredder to go with it.

I'm assuming you are cutting grass. Is it just grass or is it heavily wooded and you run over sticKS and hidden logs? That matters.

Good advice so far. Galvanized metal on the shredder if you aren't going to put it under a shed. Otherwise that deck will go a lot faster than you think.

Thanks for the replies. I'm just cutting grass over rough terrain.

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Good advice so far. Galvanized metal on the shredder if you aren't going to put it under a shed. Otherwise that deck will go a lot faster than you think.

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So true, although I'll admit that I haven't run across many shredders that have galvanized decks, but that would be a damn nice feature.

If possible, try to keep your tractor and shredder under cover, and always brush the dead grass off the deck before you put it up. That grass will trap moisture and will accelerate the deck rusting out, particularly since most shredders that I've seen don't have 'space age' paint jobs on them. You'll see new ones for sale that are already showing signs of rust just from sitting outdoors waiting to be sold.

Get a cheap grease gun and keep the U-Joints on the PTO shaft regularly greased and it will save you headaches down the road.

Finally, don't discount buying a tractor just because it's old. I still regularly shred a 20-acre tract that I'm parking with a 1961 Ford PowerMaster 941 Diesel, in fact. It works well, but if I put it up for sale, I doubt I'd get $3,000 for it, including the 6' shredder!

Good luck. You may even find that driving that thing around is a good stress-relieving diversion from your ordinary routine. I know I do.

Make sure the shredder is at least as wide as the tractor. I prefer a shredder wider than the back wheels of the tractor.

Go to tractorbynet.com. There you will find all the answers to your questions. Go there before you buy.

Please be aware of the fire danger that comes along with using a shredder in rocky areas, always keep an eye out.

I know price is always a factor and you already touched on this pont. But, I very rarely hear people say they wish they bought a smaller tractor they usually say they wish they would have bought a little bigger.

Good point Cuz. I'll be sure and prepare the wife for the budget increase.

Fence the lawn area and keep the ZTR for it. Hire out 3 times a year to shred other or get a cow.
Not worth fuel/maint/repair to buy a tractor for that small acreage.

Are you mowing it for ascetics, which there is nothing wrong with, or for a specific purpose?

If you are producing something with it, hay or pasture, consider spraying. It is much more economical by the acre. It will limit your need to shred to about once a year or less.

FortWorth,

You've received some solid advice here from the guys. I should mention one other thing, that you might already know --

No shredder is going to produce the kind of 'cut' on that acreage that your ZTR mower has been giving you.

If you need a 'nice' cut with a tractor-pulled implement, get a finish mower for it, instead of a shredder.

FTABDAD's suggestion about hiring the job out is good, and is certainly worth looking into based on dollars and cents, but I've had trouble in the past getting folks interested in doing relatively small jobs at all, and when I do find someone who shows an interest, getting them reliably to show up when I need them.

Things might be different in your area, of course, and if you throw enough money at somebody, you can melt away all problems, I guess.

Three acres is not much to shred at all. I would however get a tractor a little bigger than a 20 hp. With 20 hp you are only looking at around 16 pto hp. I once owned a small Mahindra 20 hp tractor with a 4 foot shredder. The cut was awful with that shredder. I don't know if it was the shredder (Howse) or just not enough tractor. I have a Kubota L4701 at my house that I shred about 12 acres with using a landpride shredder and it does great. I have an M series Kubota at my ranch with a Rhino shredder that works great also. I would definitely recommend a smaller Kubota. There is an L series Kubota that is 25 hp. I would look at that one for only mowing 3 acres. The nice thing about that tractor is that it is under the hp requirements for the new emission stuff. Or if go used, which is not a bad idea, then you wouldn't need to worry about the new emission stuff. I would recommend a front end loader if you are getting a tractor and have it be 4wd. Hydrostats are nice also. Good luck! It is good therapy.