Right mower for the job?

Night Stalker

Fella's:

Any recommendations on a good mower to tackle a large yard (over 5 acres) on a weekly basis? I'd like to get a tractor which will have other uses such as snow removal, etc... with various attachments.





Thanks,

NS

jimdeere

What do you mow with now?

Night Stalker

I currently mow less than 1/2 acre lawn with a John Deere L100-series. This place would kick its *!

I found a nice John Deere 670 compact tractor with PTO-driven grooming mower, post-hole driller (9"), and a 5' blade for roughly $5,000. Tractor has approximately 4,800 hours on it.



Any feedback on that set-up?

NS

Oakie

I don't know where you are located, but I have a brand new mower deck with a 44" cut that can attach to a mower, quad or tractor like the one pictured. I bought it new for 1,400 and will let it go for 800 bucks.

EhlerDave

You know a 14 in reel style mower would sure keep you in good shape. [:D]

1911a1-fan

fordsix

dixie chopper

Ray B

A small herd of elk would keep it trimmed nicely and provide meat in the Autumn.

Ditch-Runner

I am sure countless modern versions and manufacture's I would go to google look at reviews compare talk to some dealers , get a good feel for what your comfortable with.

we have about 5 acres as for mowing I would guess 3.5 of it due to out buildings and house , but I am using a old ford 8n with a 5' finish mower have several other implements for it for gardening and snow so I use it for every thing . supplemented with a craftsman 42" mower for around the house and buildings .
let us know what you decide on and by the way great looking house and land [:p]

Tailgunner1954

NS
The trick to reducing mow time is to take out the maximum width per pass.

Pick up 1 (or 2) Swisher 60" tow behind finish mowers (Farm & Fleet carries them).
Set the first one up in the offset left position, and if you get 2, place the 2nd in the offset right position.

Your current mower (assuming a 42" cut), plus 1 Swisher will take out a 8' swath (13' with 2) on the straight runs.

You will still need your current rider to trim, along with a walk behind for smaller areas, and a string trimmer for detail work.

BikerBob

Yes, nice looking place!

I do between 3&4 acres with lots of obstacles, trees, walls, flower gardens, etc. we went with a Deere 1025R with a 60 inch deck, wanted the 72 inch using the same logic as Tailgunner, more width, less time, but got vetoed.

Also bought a snowblower as we get a lot of lake effect snow and I'd run out of placed to push snow in the past with a blade. I have a lot of big maples and need to pull a good sized leaf sucker in the fall. It works well for what I need.

Advice,
Diesel tractor that has more power than you think you need - less stress on the machine helping with longer life.
New ones have pretty tight turning radius - also cuts down quite a bit on time.
Start on snow with a back blade - cheaper to start with and quick to take on and off.
Widest deck you can get on it, 60" or better.
Make sure whatever kind you buy has a good local service center. No one could work on the older orange tractor I had, so went with Green and haven't looked back.

texaswildman

I don't like to mow, but I mow about 8 to 10 treed acres a week at my house, my parents farm, and our ranch house, from April until first frost in late October, and my time off is important to me. I use a BushHog zero-turn professional/commercial PZ3061 (61" cut). At the time I bought it, that was the widest deck they had. I measured between things in the yards and found I could get that mower anywhere the 48 would go, so I bought it. They have a 74" deck now available. I have never bogged down the 30 horse and I've cut some very thick stuff. Zero turns are fast, maneuverable and cut huge amounts of time off mowing in places where there are obstacles. If there aren't lots of obstacles, get a gang finishing mower. Whatever you do, buy a commercial grade mower. They cost 2-3 times as much as weekend mowers, but make a huge difference....

gjshaw

Zero turn mower with a big deck is what you need.

perry shooter

OK zero turn gives better performance when it comes to time needed to
cut 5 acres look at the Z915B However I don't know anyone that makes a snow blower for a ZERO turn mower. To remove snow you need either a Locking DIFF or 4 wheel drive . My suggestion as a minimum is a John DEERE model X530 with 54 inch deck this will cut 2+ acres an hour has locking diff if any hills and great rear tires for traction with snow blower or blade
next step up would be a model X738 0r X739 this is a larger series and has 4 wheel drive and larger mower deck available. The 4wheel drive is like no other that I know of. It has a way to determine the speed each front wheel needs to turn in a curve to keep from damaging a nice lawn down side is cost, And then at more cost is a sub compact tractor model 1026 with a drive on drive off deck with auto connect This allows you to both install and remove up to a 60 inch mower deck while setting in the tractor seat . same with a front end loader zero % interest for payment in 5 years I guess by now you can guess I sell John Deere lawn & garden equipment. It is my fun job been retired since 1997 from another field but have worked on & collected lawn equipment since I was 10 years old

select-fire

Low hour 4x4Kubota tractor with bucket, scraper and a finish pull mower.6' 72" You will also need a cheap 42/48" to cut around obstacles. Zero turn would be the quickest but they are only good for mowing.

https://www.landscapecalculator.com/calculators/mow

select-fire

Picked this one up in 2006. It is a 2003 model. Had 19 hours on it. L3400 35HP. Bought it off fleabay, went to florida and classics ( former member ) went with me to get it. It was local for him. Bought it for 50% of what it cost new. If we move in a few years I will do the same to the next buyer, give them a bargain.. say 5K bucks as you see it. One little detail.. it is about worn out.. has 219 hours now. Roll over bar is down so I can drive it inside the enclosed trailer.

Junkballer

A small John Deere tractor and a flail mower would do you right, it would not depreciate either [;)]. 5 acres is a big yard, don't play with it.

shilowar

Very few of the suggestions made address your other uses such as snow removal etc. looks like the JD you pictured or SFs set up is what you'd be looking for, and use your riding mower for the trim work and close in areas where a tractor isn't so handy.

Bubba Jr.

I have over 6 acres to mow. This is what I bought new in 2001 and upgraded to the cab 3 years ago. It has a 72" mower deck, Front end loader, back blade, 5' tiller, and a host of other attachments. BTW it's a 2001 Kubota B2910 with over 1700 hours on and still going strong.



Here's what I've been thinking about trading for. [:D]

http://www.kubota.com/product/b50/b50.aspx

SCOUT5

I agree with Forgemonkey, you're going to want a bigger tractor. The 40hp range will probably do what you need. To small a tractor will just aggravate you, but one to large can be a hindrance at times on a small place like you describe.

I shopped and found a good used pto shaft driven 6' finish mower for the tractor I bought last winter. It takes a lot of time out of mowing when compared to the riding mower I had. The being said, I would like to have a dedicated mowing machine also (a commercial zero turn). Then I wouldn't need to change implements as often. But for now the tractor is handy and does things a mower can not and is big enough to be a real asset.

spasmcreek

i have a hustler super z 5' deck and do about 6 acres at home...AND just put a Grammer mechanical air suspension seat on it ...OH HAPPY BUNS an BACK...put one on the Bad Boy 42" at our lake place (like riding on a cloud)...bought one off of ebay out of Paris , tx and one from BB dealer near lake....best move i have made in a long time ...but ..you cannot afford to buy list price from a dealer )(over a grand)

wundudnee

I have had this old 8N Ford since 1964. I have just about every implement for it's three point hitch. That includes a 6' finish mower, snow blade, brushhog mower, sprayer, posthole digger and more. If I were looking now I would look hard at the Kubotas. I also have a couple John Deere riders for close to the house.

A finish mower will do a very nice job on large areas, but you can leave tire tracks on tight turns.

Dondo7

Scag Tiger 72" Zero Turn

MG1890

A zero turn to mow with, and an old 4x4 pickup to plow snow. Forget the compact tractors, they do nothing well except empty your wallet.

jltrent

LesWVa

quote:Originally posted by fordsix
dixie chopper


You buy a Dixie Chopper to mow 5 acres a week. You best set up a fund now to pay a Chiropractor to work on your back in 4 or 5 years. Those things are the most roughest riding over rated mowers on the market.
===

$5K for a John Deere 670 is not bad for the attachments that you also get. It does seem a little high for a tractor that has 4800 hour tho.

A lot of people here have gone to a New Holland T1110 subcompact mainly due to their small size, 4x4 and prices for good low hour machines with a belly mower selling for around $4000 to $4500 with a few attachments.

TrinityScrimshaw

Night Stalker,

I cut about the same amount of acreage.

I just bought a Hustler 54" zero turn with a 23hp Kawasaki engine. It now cut the grass in half the time it used to take me, and the yard looks like a golf course.

The mower new cost $4100.

I was leaning towards a Country Clipper zero turn mower. They are rated real high for quality, but I personally didn't like using the Joy Stick.

You on the other hand might take to a Joy Stick like a duck to water...[^]

Every man needs a tractor with a bucket. A tractor the size of one you speak of would make some serious ruts in that yard. Buy yourself a nice zero turn for cutting the grass, and also get a good used diesel tractor with a bucket, back blade, Brush Hog, and Auger. That should do you well in most jobs your will need it for.

Good luck.

Trinity +++

FEENIX

quote:Originally posted by jltrent



+1!

Captplaid

I mow 3 places. Probably the equivalent to 5 acres. Use a Deere x748 at one. Diesel and 4wd. Also have a snow blower and tiller for it. At my place, I use a DeereX534 All Wheel Steer.

I prefer the AWS over a zero turn. You can get a snow blower for it, but I am guessing AWS and a blower wouldn't be a good combination.

Captplaid

Maybe a Deere 4200 or 4300

Night Stalker

Thanks fella's. I think I can use my John Deere L-100 series for the detail mowing near the home and out-buildings. I'll look for a diesel-powered tractor/mower with low hours. LesWVa: I entered the wrong amount of hours on the John Deere 670. It has nearly 480 hours, not 4,800 hours.

Based on your comments I need to consider buying a mower dedicated to simply mowing the lawn and worry about the other farm work for another purchase. I've heard good reports regarding: John Deere mid-mounted mowers, Dixie-Choppers, Kubota, Hustlers, Scag Tiger, Bad Boy, etc.. I'm researching the John Deere 1025R, the 4200/4300, as well as Kubota to see if they can help pull double duty, but if not, I will probably move toward a zero-turn such as a John Deere 757, Z997 (diesel), or Z920M.

I've also noticed several used commercial "golf course" mowers such as JD F735 (new 20hp diesel with 8 hours on engine and 700 hours on machine, approximately $3,500 to buy), a Toro "Ground Master" (25hp diesel, 72" cut, 389 hours, approximately $3,500 to buy), a Toro "Groundmaster Sidewinder" (turbo-diesel, 72" cut, three mower-heads, all-wheel drive, with quite a few hours (over 4,000) for asking price of $3,500 ), and a Toro "reelmaster" S400D ( diesel with low hours, in great shape with asking price of $5,200).

Thanks again for helping me narrow my search. I truly appreciate the sage advice.

NS

drobs

Jerry mow a couple acres around the house set out some salt licks and call that yer huntin area

LesWVa

Stalker.. I paid $10K for my 2009 model Kubota F2880 with a 60" deck. 4WD, 28 HP 3 cylinder diesel mower back in 2010 with just 470 hours on it. It came from a golf course equipment auction. The F2880's have attachments made for them such as a snow blower, blades and others. I have been happy as all get out with it and have only had to replace a gear case that the rear drive shaft connects to and it contains the valve body that routes hydro fluid to operate the deck. It got busted by a guy that did not know to leave it alone when the blades would not engage and he took a hammer to the case and busted it. You would drop $10K on a new GOOD z-turn mower anyway. so why waste that much on something that is going to beat you to death?





But if you are looking at Z turn mowers. Look closely at the Gravely (floating front axle models) and Ferris ISO series (4 wheel Independent suspension). You will not find another Z turn mower that rides as smooth or mows as good as a Ferris.