Mower recommendation?

[Innovate1]

Have about 3 acres to mow and need something better than the rider we now have. Looking for recommendations. Don't need top of the line and don't want to go for the cheapest. Just something that's decent quality that I won't have to work on and tinker with constantly.

 

[Jackfre]

A zero turn will be best and fastest. Currently I have a Kubota BX with the 60” deck. I have other implements for it so it is useful year round other than the short period I have to mow here in dry land.

 

[exmaxima1]

The OP should indicate a budget. I know nothing about tractors, but a quick search lists the Kubota BX with deck at over $14K. Is that what the OP is looking to spend?

 

[nadogail]

Sheep have been used to keep lawns presentable for many years.

 

[loganb]

Zero turn for sure, my roughly 2 to 3 acre of mowable grass on my old Iowa house was approx 2.5 hours to mow and for most of it was full speed, sticks to the stops. 54" zero turn John Deere, think it's 445 or 455 model, 25 HP kawasaki gas engine

Did it a couple times with a conventional rider and it was 2x the time due to slower speed and turning time

If I was doing it again for that same yard, I would look at a used Grasshopper front deck. Just got one on the farm and it will mow circles around that green zero turn. More power, far smoother ride and center discharge makes it a far more enjoyable mow...plus it's probably 75% faster. used to be a 6 hour mow on a Deere riding mowing with 48" deck growing up and its now a 2 hour mow with thay grasshopper. Couple friends had a Dixie Chopper which claimed at the time was the only single handed joystick drive mower...makes keeping hydrated much easier!

 

[jrsavoie]

I like the older Toro 223D, 325D, 328D. They can be had anywhere from $500 to $7000. 4x4 or 2x4.

The little diesels are very economical to run.

I have had to do a little deck repair over the years. But the decks are heavy duty and repairable.

Had to do lift arm and rear axle bushings. Cheap, but time consuming - it would not have been near so much of a job, if I had read that page in the manual and inspected the bushings every few years.

When you wait until the shaft has worn through the bushing and into the surrounding material, it is a little more expensive and time consuming.

Properly maintained, you would probably never have to replace anything but the brass bushings.

Lot's of a ttachments available and cozy cabs for snowblowing.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Sheep have been used to keep lawns presentable for many years.

Baa

 

[exmaxima1]

Sheep have been used to keep lawns presentable for many years.

But that's not without its own set of issues:

 

[Markromeo]

I have a Toro Titan 54" w/My Ride. I absolutely love it. The My Ride system creates an incredibly smooth ride over my not so smooth yard. I was tired of fighting my older 3 cylinder compact tractor and belly mower, parts and availability were horrible and huge $$. This thing just goes, relatively fuel efficient, although I'm not sure really how to rate that.

54" MyRIDE® TITAN® Zero Turn Lawn Mower | Toro

The Toro TITAN MyRIDE 54-inch zero turn riding mower features a powerful 24.5 hp commercial V-Twin engine.

www.toro.com

 

[tester19]

Really need a budget number? Zero turn is the best.
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[haveissues]

I have a ferris is2100 60" and mow 5 acres in 1:45 to 2 hours depending on what direction I mow. Try to buy something that is fuel injected if you can-i'm really glad I did

 

[Innovate1]

Sheep have been used to keep lawns presentable for many years.

We had sheep growing up. They work well and provide fertilizer too! But they don't pass the "don't have to tinker with constantly" criteria. Whenever I visited it seemed like I had to help give shots or help with them somehow. And they aren't allowed here so that's not an option.

 

[Innovate1]

I thought I included that I was looking at a zero turn but see I didn't. That's what I am looking at.

A small tractor would be nice and useful for other stuff but probably not.

Budget? I don't really have a number in mind and budget isn't really an issue. I usually try to go with good, reliable but not top of the line stuff. I need to do some looking around. The smooth ride model sounds nice as it's not the smoothest but not terrible rough either.

 

[gmyers]

I have an Ariens Apex. It is a beast!!! Love it to cut our 1 ac. lawn. Cutting time went from 2 hours to 45 mins. Ordered online and was delivered to the house for around 5k. Worth every penny.

 

[Firebrick43]

Most all major brands of zero turns are a sum of their parts. They all use the same 3 engine manufactures, and either parker or hydrogear drive trains.

I would suggest a briggs vangaurd or kawasaki FX motor. And either parker pumps/wheel motors or a hydrogear 3400 or higher drive units.

Pick the best local dealer with a mower with the above specs and you won't go wrong. These would include toro, JD, kabota, hustler, wright, gravely, exmark, and grasshopper.

Compact tractors with lots of trees are terrible to mow with. A neighbor have over 70 trees was taking 7 hours to mow with their JD compact tractor with 72" deck. Their 60" deck grasshopper takes 2.75 hours.

 

[FMB4]

I too would consider a Toro that falls within your budget.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Zero turns are tough to beat for mowing, especially if you have a lot of trees. Not so good on hills.
I bought a used Kubota BX. With 60" deck, loader, tiller a few other implements and trailer for about the same as a new fairly high end zero turn. I do a lot more than mow with it. BTW: My neighbor has a Cub Cadet zero turn with a slightly smaller deck (54"?). Mowing time is about the same.

 

[flan]

Bob-cat 52” CRZ is a nice homeowner grade machine. I have been running one for 4 seasons now and am pleased with its performance.

 

[The Frisco Kid]

With a lawn that size, I would only consider zero turn options.

 

[StinkinNinja]

We have about 2.5 acres to mow. Two years ago we made the jump into a John Deere 535 zero turn from an old conventional lawn tractor. Mowing time is 1/2 and so much easier. It was $5400 and seemed pricey but I would do it over in a heartbeat. Bonus is that my wife loves it and my mowing time moved to zero, she's a keeper.

 

[iajonesy]

Try a Hustler Super Z Hyper Drive. They are great mowers that are made in the USA. There are Hustler dealers near you and they can tell you all the advantages of owning a Hustler. I know they come with a 5 year warranty the deck has a lifetime warranty.

Mike

 

[KenC]

Try a Hustler Super Z Hyper Drive. They are great mowers that are made in the USA. There are Hustler dealers near you and they can tell you all the advantages of owning a Hustler. I know they come with a 5 year warranty the deck has a lifetime warranty.

Mike

I second the Hustler brand. I have one that is finishing up it's 4th season. Center deck spindle bearings failed during 2nd year. Obviously under-greased by the bearing maker. Dealer replaced entire spindle under warranty. They come with a full 4 year warranty. I can't speak to your specific model, mine is a Fastrac with a Kawaski and HydroGear 3200 series transmissions.

 

[klindstedt]

I second the recommendation for a Grasshopper with a front mount deck. Bought a used one three years ago and have not regretted it a day since.

 

[GreenIron]

It's hard to beat a Zero Turn.

 

[GreenIron]

Oops!!

 

[smackey05]

Zero turn.... or a good landscaper

 

[denis4x4]

I have a Husqvarna 54" zero turn I bought 6 years ago. I mow almost five acres, an all day job. Engine is a B&S 24HP Vanguard. Was having engine issues including a leaking main seal. Went to buy a new mower, nada out there and earliest new stock would be late spring early summer 2022. For $930, bought a new engine and belts. Better than original as the leaking oil was causing belt slippage.

 

[rjacobs]

For 3 acres I would likely be getting a Gravely PT200 with 60" deck and Kawasaki motor...might pop for the EFI Yamaha depending on cost.

Gravely Mach One would also be worth a look. Deck design is different from the Pro Turn decks, but the motor is a big Kawasaki(bigger than the PT200 Kawasaki). Its a beastly mower.

My PT100 with 48" deck with Kawi has been a FANTASTIC machine on my 1 acre.


But as was said above all the big ZT's use the same components so find what your local dealers sell, go into them and get a feel for the dealer.

JD is pretty highly regarded...I think their machines are probably really nice. The local dealer network here is a big conglomerate(united ag and turf) and they treated me like they didnt give a **** if I bought a machine or not. Went in 4 times to 3 different locations. All the same. Guess what... they didnt give a **** if I bought a machine from them so I didnt give a **** to buy a machine from them.

My buddy in St. Louis owns a large landscaping company. He runs Scag and another, maybe Ferris. He has ~40-50 ZT's at any given time, runs them 2 years and trades them. I asked what he thought about Gravely(before I bought mine) and he said "oh they make a great mower, but the local dealer is an ******* so I wont buy one".

 

[glentre]

I looked at both the zero turn and conventional mowers for my approx 2+ acre lot with steep slopes and culverts. Because of the danger running the zero turns on steep slopes and my need to tow a trailer for debris pickup, I settled on a combination of the two. It's a Cub Cadet 42" zero turn with a steering wheel instead of levers. Had two John Deers before both with stamped metal decks that needed constant repair of holes blown through the decks from walnuts and sweet gum nuts. The Cub is better built than the Deere with a welded plate steel deck.

Glen

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Don’t overlook the Ferris 400s. Serviceable hydro drives, available with choice of Briggs or Kawasaki engine, front and rear suspension, and hopefully still under $5k.

 

[crepr12]

May be because I have less than a acre to mow but speed is never a issue for me I kinda enjoy the process...Zero turns seem to be the speed demons OP....so if time critical Zero turn is a no brainer...

 

[58Yeoman]

I'll be the lone dissenter here; I will never have another zt. Both my JD's (S120 and X738) will turn on a dime and not ruin the yard doing it. Two handed steering gets old very quickly, especially when something gets in your eye, etc. BTW, I'll be using the X738 this afternoon dragging a 20' long 12" tree trunk down to where it'll be easier to cut than on the side of the hill. YMMV.

 

[tez929rr]

I replaced a Toro ZT with a Gravely a few years ago and I’m very happy with it. I mow about 2 1/2 acres around the house and about 1/4 of road frontage with it. I do the rest with a compact Kubota with a shredder.

 

[ar2stp48]

I'll add another vote for a Hustler zero turn I've had a 42" Raptor and a 54" Raptor Both gave great service and never a problem; only expense was a yearly maintenance Service from the local dealer was excellent. I sold the 42 Raptor and bought a 54" Fastrak Excellent mower It was a bit more than the Raptor but affordable on sale We probably mow just a bit over 3 acres of the 10 but are expanding the yard

 

[Innovate1]

I'll be the lone dissenter here; I will never have another zt. Both my JD's (S120 and X738) will turn on a dime and not ruin the yard doing it. Two handed steering gets old very quickly, especially when something gets in your eye, etc. BTW, I'll be using the X738 this afternoon dragging a 20' long 12" tree trunk down to where it'll be easier to cut than on the side of the hill. YMMV.

Not tearing up the grass with a zero turn is definately possibly from what I have read. But many don't know how or don't care from what I have seen. You have to keep both wheels turning in a turn. If you just stop one and spin around you will really damage the grass under the wheel that is skidding. Any way you do it seems like tight turns would be hard on the grass but at least not leave bare spots.

 

[KenC]

Not tearing up the grass with a zero turn is definately possibly from what I have read. But many don't know how or don't care from what I have seen. You have to keep both wheels turning in a turn. If you just stop one and spin around you will really damage the grass under the wheel that is skidding. Any way you do it seems like tight turns would be hard on the grass but at least not leave bare spots.

There is definitely a touch to it! If one wheel is used as the pivot, there will be damage for sure. Doesn't work on turns around an obstacle, but for 90 degree corners, I stop with both wheels in line with the desired directional line. Then move one control in reverse and the other forward. Results in a true zero radius turn, pivoting around the rear axle center, not a tire. Works perfectly when executed correctly. And sometimes I do it right. Takes practice to stop, turn and continue without hesitation though.

 

[Crabman]

I have never owned a zero turn. My BIL has a big yard maybe 3-4 acres down in Somerville, TN.

He has a Bad Boy Maverick, which is I think a commercial machine, and he loves it.

 

[Firebrick43]

I'll be the lone dissenter here; I will never have another zt. Both my JD's (S120 and X738) will turn on a dime and not ruin the yard doing it. Two handed steering gets old very quickly, especially when something gets in your eye, etc. BTW, I'll be using the X738 this afternoon dragging a 20' long 12" tree trunk down to where it'll be easier to cut than on the side of the hill. YMMV.

Very hard to hold your beer on a ZT mower. Drunk at work kept asking for advice about new mowers when he moved out to the country. He kept getting pissed that every one suggested a ZT and blew up finally and stated he couldn't drink beer and mow on one.

We suggested getting one of those hats with two beer cans and a hose.

I have never owned a zero turn. My BIL has a big yard maybe 3-4 acres down in Somerville, TN.

He has a Bad Boy Maverick, which is I think a commercial machine, and he loves it.

They are more of a Prosumer mower than a commercial machine.

 

[sixty4]

Kubota for a well made long lasting zero turn. Yes you will pay up front but excellent quality build! I do 2.5 acres a week on a

ZG227​

 

[Badgerstate]

Have about 3 acres to mow and need something better than the rider we now have. Looking for recommendations. Don't need top of the line and don't want to go for the cheapest. Just something that's decent quality that I won't have to work on and tinker with constantly.

Lowes has some nice Craftsman riders that appear to be fairly well made. They have zero turns too.