belly mower ability

I"m considering buying a tractor for moving manure & trimming trails. What size tractor do I need & can a belly mower work on unlevel areas or would a brush hog or pull behind be better? It"s basically a field that I would be using it on - it"s not graded.

Go with a tractor with a three point and then get a rotary cutter.

It all depends on your budget, but get something new enough for 3 pt, live PTO, live hydraulic and power steering.

Yes, the bush hog type would probably suit your needs best. I don't think you want or need anything very big. I'd look for a Ford 8N or similar. They are pretty well balanced and handy and sell quite reasonable any more. My choice would be a Ferguson 35. But I will warn you Lisa. Old tractors ain't like the faithful car you drive every day. They are temperamental and require maintenance (mothering) that you were not expecting. Lots of people get sick of it after a while. Then they buy some cheap import which is new and expensive and works pretty fair for a while and then pretty soon that's broke down too.

A belly mower is a finish mower. Just like your lawnmower. A belly mower will NOT handle tall weeds or grass.

I had an IHC A with a 48" Woods belly mower for fence rows. You had to use the PTO with a pulley. So if you wanted to use a spreader, you would have to get a wheel driven one.

Neighbor bought a new BX23 Kubota with loader. His loader can only lift a half scoop of dirt, very slowly and not very high.

So you may need a small compact tractor to get inside a barn may lift horse poo.

Belly mowers typically are for yards. Perhaps 3-4 inches high, not good for rocks, uneven ground.

If you want to move round bales of hay, you are going to need a large tractor, not a toy yard tractor.

Lifting heavy objects with front loaders puts a lot of stress on the front wheels, removing weight from rear wheels. Which requires a counter weight behind the rear wheels. Some farmers use a 3 pt brush hog for counter weight, ballast. Some put fluid in tires, some both.

It sounds to me that you have the typical mind set, one tractor to do many things, when buying 2 good old farm tractors may be cheaper and more pratical.

If you load manure on a spreader, you need a tractor to pull the spreader and one to load with.

I have many trails in an old gravel pit for riding. Actually it's driving a kawasaki mule and kids go-cart. I need more than a mower to keep my trails clean. Asian honey suckle needs cleaned out. I need to mow both vertically and horizontally. I also use a backhoe to remove the honey suckle my the roots.

The best money I've ever spent was buying a terramite T5C. It can out lift the toy yard tractors with add on loaders. It can dig brush out of my trails. Neighbor has 3 horses and no place to spread the poo. He has a 14k dump trailer. I loan him my backhoe. He brings me his horse poo. Even trade. I mix in grass, leafs, yard waste, wood chips, a little dirt and have tons of free fertilizer for garden and flower beds.

Everyone who see me work with the T5C is very impressed what it can do. Even the other neighbor who paid big bucks for his Kubota loader. It's a Little Big Man.

If you have honey suckle like most of us, you need a rear brush hog and backhoe. A T5C is a true backhoe, no 3 pt, no PTO, not a mower. I'm putting about 200 hours a year on the terramite. That's more than my 2 farm tractors with 72 inch mowers, 2 riding mowers with 48 inch mowers combined.

Just my experience. Get many tractors, not one to do everything.
george

A baby tractor is quite often the best tool for the job. I agree that a b series may be a size to small,but for what you say you want to do a sub compact is ideal.
Stay away from the belly mower. They do a real nice job,but they render the tractor almost useless for any other purpose, due to no ground clearance while they are installed.

Agree on the baby tractor.

Why not get a cheap riding mower lawn mower and use it to cut weeds only. Run it slow. So what if it hits rocks. Blades are cheap. By running it slow, you hit something serious, it will kill the engine or the mower belt will slip.

Be cheaper than a brush hog. Use loader to level thing.