1. I eventually want to get one. Will have to save up for a while. Will make it a lot easier to do work in the garden and yard.

Been looking at Kubotas. Will probably buy used, but in good condition.

Would like to be able to :

- Till
- Have a small bucket on the front when needed.
- Mow

2. Looking for recommendations for a battery-powered chainsaw to use on small trees like Privet. I don't forsee needing to cut anything larger than 8-10", because I don't have a tree in the woods at the end of the property that is any larger than that.

Been looking mainly at Milwaukee brand, due to the reviews of long battery life and their general positive brand (I have mostly DeWalt power tools, but am looking to transition over to Milwaukee).

I always ask the OB's expert advice, and haven't gone wrong yet.

Milwaukee's chainsaw and other Fuel tools are fantastic. Home Depot has the saw w/a 5ah battery for $300. That should work for your needs. If you find you need longer run times, you can pick up a 12ah battery on ebay for <$200

This past winter I took a course on tree health and care and the arborist teaching it said that stihl had the best saw/battery on the market out of all the ones he had used. I've personally never used one of the saws but we do utilize a few other stihl battery operated tools and the battery life and power is pretty impressive.

I have a JD 1025R TLB with a mid mount 60" mower. I will admit to being John Deere biased, but the auto connect deck is unmatched in the class I believe. Also, removing the loader and backhoe is easy.

I have the greenworks 40v brushless chainsaw and highly recommend it.

I have a Greenworks 60v chainsaw and it's the bees knees. 16 inch bar will handle anything my old gas Husqvarna would. Really like how quiet and easy it is to use, especially for just general trimming where the saw is used intermittently (just set it down and forget about it).

Old Milwaukee is a beer, dude. Milwaukee makes tools.

I have the Stihl battery operated chainsaw and it does great,

When it comes to tractors, the location and quality of dealerships should play a large role in what you choose.

Kubota, JD, Mahindra - all make pretty solid compact tractors, each has some aspects that are better than the other, each has things that aren't nearly as good as they could be. But where the local dealerships are and what people say about those dealerships should play a big role in what you choose.

I have Kubota, bought it used, but have 3 dealers within easy driving distance. Looked hard at Deere, but when I decided to buy used that really limited my options on buying (mostly from a cost standpoint - green paint apparently costs more). But I have to admit, I really liked the couple of their units I drove around and the drive on deck was pretty cool.

I have been advised to stay away from New Holland, but that was one person's opinion (that I happen to value), others may have different opinions.

I will tell you this when it comes to tractors - they are like gun safes. Don't buy just the HP that you think you need. Mine is a 24HP tractor, which gets the job done for me - but man, it sure would be nicer if I had a 30 or 35HP tractor instead (could go up 1 size on implements). No matter what - and you are already doing this - get the front end loader. I just went through the headache of making one fit my tractor, and while it is absolutely nice to have, I wish I would have bought one with the right FEL already on it long ago. And get the quick attach bucket on your FEL so you can relatively easily take the bucket off or use other QA implements in the future - even if you don't need it now.

If you haven't found this yet he does a good job explaining different sizes, options and the pros and cons. I rented the sub compact from Home Depot a few times to do some things and realized it was a tad too small for my needs. Depending on what you are doing I found that tractors are the multi-tool of the equipment world for around the house. Not the best at any one thing but better than several different machines if you don't have the space or money.

I really wouldn't be doing anything more than tilling the garden, mowing, and occasionally moving dirt/rocks off a small trailer. Nothing really big. I only have 1.5 acres, so not a ton of trouble to get into tractor-wise.

A 1000 series JD would do more than you'd ever need. Not sure of other brands but a similar kubota would be good too.

But unless you are doing a lot of work, I decided I would be fine with a regular mower or zero turn then rent the other things (tiller, loader, etc) as needed. Then you have fewer things to maintain and store.

That being said I have a little over an acre and would like a small tractor but cant bring myself to buy one.

Greenworks 80v Pro has a pole saw that could work well and lots of other tools. Ego is also a more readily available brand.

zooguy96 said:

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I really wouldn't be doing anything more than tilling the garden, mowing, and occasionally moving dirt/rocks off a small trailer. Nothing really big. I only have 1.5 acres, so not a ton of trouble to get into tractor-wise.

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I have 2 acres. Started with a riding lawnmower, then got a compact tractor with a 5 foot finish mower. All that did was delay the inevitable of me getting a ZTR to mow with, and now there is no way I'd go back. Ended up selling the finish mower because I got tired of moving it to mow around it. Tractor is mostly relegated to deer lease work now, with occasional around the house projects. I won't get rid of it, because it is just a great tool to have.

Like another poster staid - the tractor is going to be good at a lot of things, but never great at what you'll use it the most for. Not trying to steer you away from getting a little 20-25hp tractor, because they are handy to have and you use them for more things than you think, but when it comes to mowing - a ZTR simply blows everything out of the water and second place is way, way, way back there.

For the cost of a zero turn and what I want a tractor to do, I simply will never get a zero turn mower. If it's between paying several thousand dollars for a zero turn mower or just using the riding mower I already have, I'll just use the riding mower I already have.