We bought a Ford 8N tractor for $1,100, and after my DH has worked on it several times and done a LOT of work on it, it finally runs pretty good. We've put at least another $400 into fixing it. It has been down more than it's been up. Meanwhile, we still had tall weeds, big fields, and brush that HAD to be mowed. The DR has NEVER been down, at all, not once, in 15 years. There are areas a person can't drive into with a tractor, and areas you might turn a tractor over in, that you can get into pretty easily with the DR mower. I'm not saying that you don't need a tractor, I'm just saying if you have narrow places, steep hills, slopes that may have hidden holes or soft spots, it's not a bad idea to have a mower you walk behind to deal with those areas. It's a lot less likely to turn over, and it you did manage to flip it over, unless you were really determined to operate it in an incredibly dangerous manner, you would not end up underneath it.
I'd really encourage you to just rent one once, and try it out. Then you'll have a much better idea just what they can do. Older tractors are cool, but they very often take a lot of money and work to keep running.
I'd really encourage you to just rent one once, and try it out. Then you'll have a much better idea just what they can do. Older tractors are cool, but they very often take a lot of money and work to keep running.