Help with choosing large lot mower. Lawn Tractor or Zero Turn?

[jbell1981]

We recently moved to a house with a 4 acres of which around 2.5 acres is mowed. This is full of obstacles and is also very hilly with several fairly steep slopes. I picked up a cheap Murray p.o.s. mower with a 42" deck as a stop gap measure until I figure out what to get. With the Murray it takes me around 4-5 hours to mow. It has a heck of a time with the slopes as well but could use new tires so that may be part of that problem.

I like the idea of getting a zero turn because it should cut my mowing time down significantly. I have heard they are not good with hilly terrain though. Any truth to that? Also they are spendy and don't have the option for other yard chores like a tractor would.

If I get another riding mower I could use it for snow removal and yard chores. But they seem to be slow and don't do so well with all of the trees and other obstacles.

Any other pros and cons or advice people experience with large hilly lawns can give?

I thinking I'm leaning toward a lawn tractor (possibly cub cadet) just because of the versatility but can't make up my mind.

[aanderud]

I can't say I've got any experience, but the guy where I store my boat got a new zeroturn last year, and he said he can cut the grass in something like 1/3 the time and less than 1/2 the fuel. His land is not hilly at all, though.

Just throwing it out there because you might save a couple hundred bucks a year on fuel with the more expensive mower, making it a little easier to swallow the higher initial cost.

[delcecchi]

Buddy of mine just got a new John Deer tractor with the 4 wheel steering. Cuts to a 12 inch radius. Also will take snow blower and other tools.

Not cheap, however.

[fishingstar]

A cub cadet will not last with the acreage. The front end is a stamped and welded axle. If you look at Toro or John Deer they have a cast iron axle. They make cheaper ones also. If you put a snow blower on one of them it will last even less.

[jbell1981]

I'm looking at the GT's which have the following:

Heavy-duty cast-iron w/ dual grease fittings (5-year limited warranty)

Edit - After looking at thier web site, even the cheaper ones have a cast axle.

Why does HSO block web site as one word?

[fishersofmen]

I wouldn't even consider anything other than a zero turn with that much turf. If you have never been on one you owe it to yourself to try one out, there is no comparison. As far as the hills I would say a tractor is more tippy than a zero turn which is built lower to the ground. They are more spendy but worth it. You will actually enjoy mowing your lawn and it will take half the time.

[PurpleFloyd]

I have had Craftsman(Husqvarna)yard tractors for the past decade. Our yard with the lot in back, my shop and another property we mow are well about 2 acres and I also blow a lot of snow in the winter between the driveway and the shop.The first one lasted 8 years before the Briggs gave out. I replaced it with a newer model that had a 54 inch deck and a 26hp Kohler. That one just had a warranty claim on the frame as it failed and now they decided it was too costly to replace so they are giving us full credit on a new one. I am looking at fixing up the old one to use to blow snow and getting a zero turn instead. Looked at all the options in my price range(Under 3k)and it looks like the Husqvarna with a Kawasaki engine is going to be the next pony in the stable. We will have to shell out some money to do the upgrade but at this point I think it will be worth it. If you have a yard that big I would certainly look at a 0 turn as well.

[MN Mike]

Take a look at a John Deere x724.

I picked one up last summer, 62" deck, All Wheel Steer, 2 wheel drive and 27 HP.

I mow about 3 acres with a few trees ( Ash, Walnut and Apple ) and some ditch bank and this mower handles all of it, no problem at all.

With that All Wheel Steer, it makes this mower very nimble and gets the job done faster than any mower I've had before.

Mike

[Jigging Joe]

I used to have a John Deere tractor with a 48" deck and it used to take me 4-5 hours to cut my lawn. I went to a hustler 52" zero turn and now it takes me 2 hours flat. The 2 advantages with a zero turn is the turning radius and the speed you can mow, I mow full speed and the lawn looks great. The disadvantage is they get stuck pretty easy, they leaves tracks/ mud rings around your trees, they are noisy (I wear ear muffs with the radio...) and they slow down on hills. I have 4 or 5 steep banks along the driveway and the walkout area of my house, when doing these banks by side hilling you really slow down because you have to feather the sticks so you can go straight, if you go straight up and down the hill there is no problem. Mine is not tippy at all.

[DOOM]

I have Dixon zero turn.....great mower so far!

[Bryce]

Have a cub gt model. 2005ish. Great bagger for fall clean up. Absolute rock star with the snow blower. Struggled mowing for over 5 years until we got a commercial model zero turn Toro.

[jbell1981]

Thanks for the advise so far. Sounds like I need to consider a zero turn and get a garden tractor for snow blowing and yard work.

[low277]

I mow just under 2 acres with somewhere around 15-20 trees and 200ft of deep ditch, about 8-10 feet deep and a 400 foot shallow ditch, about 2-3 feet deep.

I first used a borrowed Dixon zero turn with a 60 inch deck and a 22hp Kohler, it did fine on the main lawn but when mowing the ditches length way it wanted to slid down into the ditch, I had to counter steer to keep it straight. It also did not now heavy thick grass in one pass, it would leave some strips. It may have been due to the age of the mower, it was about 10 years old.

10-11 years ago I decided to buy a new mower, looked at 60 inch zero turns and was quoted 7-8 thousand dollars by a few dealers, I ended up with a John Deere GT245 with a 54 inch deck and a 18hp Kawasaki. I have been very happy with it,I have just over 300 hours on it and it cuts great, i have only done the annual oil change kit,and blades yearly, and I replaced the front side wheels on the deck last year.

I am thinking that I should replace the original belts on the deck this year and start looking for a replacement for the original battery.

I believe that I paid just over 5200 dollars for it.

I also hear good things about a new zero turn http://www.altoz.com/ they are built just a few miles from where I live, maybe I will have to check them out.

[CANOPY SAM]

jbell. My family and I own 9 acres of mowable land. I have a fleet of mowers. Not because I want several mowers, but because I need several people mowing with me (Wife and kids) to get it all wrapped up in a reasonable amount of time. I'm no expert, but I know a little bit about mower applications. With three of our big mowers going simultaneously we can get our place all mowed and cleaned up in 3 1/2 - 4 hours.

We have some hillside mowing, buildings, large tracts of flat ground, and a pretty fair amount of trees.

I own a New Holland MC28 diesel commercial tractor with a 70-inch front floating deck mower (also have a 70 snow thrower implement for this as well). I also own a Craftsman 25 hp lawn tractor with 52-inch belly mower and bagger system, a JD G110 25 hp lawn tractor with a 52-inch belly mower, and finally a little Ranch King rider also with a bagger system. I also have a walk behind front-tine garden tiller, and a high end walk behind Craftsmen snow thrower. Anyone want a job doing yard care machine maintenance?

By the sounds of it, what you have to mow, you might do well with a zero turn system, but as stated above, you'll need to slow down a little bit when rounding trees. Not only do they tend to leave marks in the lawn when sharp turning around objects, but they tend to "miss" some grass, or minimally don't cut completely while spinning tightly around objects. But this can also be said about most mowers.

The one thing I think is important to point out is the use (and cost) of certain attachments.

Buying a lawn tractor primarily for mowing, but secondarily for the available options such as tilling, snow throwing, thatching, etc., is smart, but please keep in mind that those available attachments are priced WAY higher then their stand alone individual counterparts.

When looking at snow thrower implements (attachments) for my yard tractors I found that the snow removal implements were priced almost three times more expensive then a simple, but very powerful walk behind snow thrower. In other words, I could purchase a snow thrower attachment for my Craftsmen rider for around $1300.00. This implement is a fairly flimsy "stamped" add on that operates off the same belt drive on the belly of the mower. Or I could purchase a really heavy duty 36" wide, 20 hp. self-propelled walk behind snow thrower capable of cutting thru pretty much anything at a price of around $650-$750.00 brand new.

I could purchase a garden tiller attachment for any of my tractors that are compatible with rear end hook up, and/or a rear end PTO for upwards of $1000-$1200.00, or I can purchase a powerful front-tine walk behind tiller for about $400, or even a great quality rear-tine walk behind tiller for around $800.00.

The add on implements are convenient, but be prepared to pay for them.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is....I don't think you're sacrificing anything by purchasing a zero turn mower (which would be best suited for your mowing needs) that doesn't have additional add on attachments, simply because it's much cheaper to buy the individual stand-alone tillers, snow throwers, etc., apart from your tractor or mower itself. I'm pretty sure that buying these individual machines offers you much better quality and reliability as well vs. the tractor implements.

If initial buy-in is a barrier with a new machine take a look at the used market. There are lots and lots of great used machines out there, and the price is a lot more palatable on these used machines.

[jbell1981]

The one thing I think is important to point out is the use (and cost) of certain attachments.

Buying a lawn tractor primarily for mowing, but secondarily for the available options such as tilling, snow throwing, thatching, etc., is smart, but please keep in mind that those available attachments are priced WAY higher then their stand alone individual counterparts.

When looking at snow thrower implements (attachments) for my yard tractors I found that the snow removal implements were priced almost three times more expensive then a simple, but very powerful walk behind snow thrower. In other words, I could purchase a snow thrower attachment for my Craftsmen rider for around $1300.00. This implement is a fairly flimsy "stamped" add on that operates off the same belt drive on the belly of the mower. Or I could purchase a really heavy duty 36" wide, 20 hp. self-propelled walk behind snow thrower capable of cutting thru pretty much anything at a price of around $650-$750.00 brand new.

I could purchase a garden tiller attachment for any of my tractors that are compatible with rear end hook up, and/or a rear end PTO for upwards of $1000-$1200.00, or I can purchase a powerful front-tine walk behind tiller for about $400, or even a great quality rear-tine walk behind tiller for around $800.00.

Thanks for the in-depth response. I'm not sure that a walk behind tiller and snow blower is a great option for me but I may need to re-think that.

We started a 50x50 garden this year and will probably double that next year. Not sure how well a walk behind tiller would handle that. I was going to rent one to see, however I hired it out this year to break the new ground and till it up was only 150. At that price (less than renting a walk behind for a weekend) I may just have them do it each year.

I have a 350ft gravel driveway. Not sure a walk behind snow blower would do with that. Don't want to be having to get up at 2am each day it snows to still be to work on time. I am guessing (no experience with one) that a good garden tractor blower should be able to handle that much better and more time efficient. Possibly a blade may be the way to go, haven't researched it much yet. Also with the garden tractor I can keep up the summer maintenance of the gravel driveway with a pull behind grader and or blade.

I still have some thinking to do, but am leaning toward the zero turn for mowing and figuring something else out for the other things. Another thing I need to consider is storage for everything. If I get a ZT and a GT with attachments I'm not sure where it would all go. I pole barn is in my future but that is a few years off so for now I have to deal with a small garage and shed.

[CANOPY SAM]

We do "truck" gardening on our property, jbell. I'd estimate we have about 1/2 acre in gardens right now. What we have is essentially a hobby farm. I have it registered as an LLC, which helps us tax shelter the purchases of virtually all of our equipment.

My wife and I have been gardeners since we were married 25 years ago. I purchased a walk behind Craftsmen front tine tiller 23 ago, and it's all I've used to date. Yes, it's quite a lot of work, but I figure it's good for me health wise, and it does a great job of turning up the soil. Laid out properly with all our veggies, I can have our gardens cultivated in a couple hours every month.

I'd love to upgrade to something more easy and efficient, but that old Craftsmen just keeps on chugging along. When it dies I'll upgrade.

Storage is a HUGE issue! We're fortunate to have a pretty good sized quanset on our place, so come wintertime that building is filled with equipment and toys! I could actually build another one!

[CANOPY SAM]

Oh, and we also have about 200 feet of gravel driveway to snow blow all winter.

I've told others here, and I'll share it with you as well, we're really in a situation where "plowing" snow isn't an option. Creating berms alongside our driveway would only result in deeper and deeper snow on the drive as winter progresses.

That 70-inch New Holland snow thrower implement is a life-saver! I can open up our driveway, no matter what the snow depth, in 30 minutes, and I leave no snow berms. I have the other walk behind snow blower as a back up if the primary blower has any issues, which has happened. But clearing the driveway with a walk behind is terribly slow and tedious, especially in the middle of a good snow storm! I agree that a "walk behind" isn't a great option in many "rural" situations, but it's a decent back up machine.

[jbell1981]

I'd till your 100 X 100 garden for $150. I would have done your 50 x 50 for $100. I have a 4ft KingKutter 3pt tiller and till all the neighbors for free. I never realized it cost that much to have someone till a garden. Maybe I should look into this. Even typing this that seems high.

I thought it was cheap considering it was unbroken ground with no idea of any rocks or anything and considering what it would cost to rent one and the time it would have taken me. I didn't look around and found this guy on a whim who does it as side work with a similar tractor to yours. Maybe I could have gotten someone to do it cheaper but not sure.

[Down2Earth]

That might be the honest going rate as I have never looked into it either. But when you mentioned it I started thinking that maybe I should get into the tilling business on the side.

[Tom7227]

I had a zero turn mower about 20 years ago. The tires were small and riding it was like riding a bronco. I got rid of it.

I bought a blade for the GT and it worked well with up to 6 inches of snow and great for the slush. But it did require future snow storage planning.

Recently I bought a new rig and learned that if you want to add a blower you have to upgrade in order to buy something that will last. Be sure to talk to the dealer you are working with and make sure that you get the setup that will work for a long time. I ended up spending an additional $500 but I suspect this rig will last as long as I want to cut grass or blow snow.

[fishersofmen]

Keep in mind ALL (99%) commercial mowing companies use zero turn mowers for a reason and that is because they dominate mowing grass in every aspect. Figure out the other stuff separately but don't spend your summer putzing around on a tractor with visions of zero turn mowers in your head.

[delcecchi]

Keep in mind ALL (99%) commercial mowing companies use zero turn mowers for a reason and that is because they dominate mowing grass in every aspect. Figure out the other stuff separately but don't spend your summer putzing around on a tractor with visions of zero turn mowers in your head.

I was watching the guy mow the soccer field at a park in Vadnais Heights. He had a rig, guess you could call it a zero turn. Pretty good sized tractor with the deck mounted off the back only it ran backwards with the driver facing backwards. I thing there must have been a wheel for steering rather than the classic two levers for the drive wheels.

Looked like it took about a 15 foot cut.