Zero turn mower for 5 acres?

[RichWentFishing]

I'm turning to the community for some help. A close friend of mine just bought 5 acres to retire on. I estimate that it's really 3.5 acres of grass to mow since it has trees and buildings and what not.

There is a Kubota dealership not 15 minutes away from his place so we have been looking at them so far. They seem to be nice machines.

What are your experiences with Kubota? Should we be looking at other manufacturers?

Since this is probably the first and last zero turn mower he will ever buy after retiring I wanna make sure he gets the best bang for his buck.

Thanks.


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[Todd.Brock]

I have been looking at the Kubota Kommander line. It's a HD residential, some commercial type qualities mower. I am looking at the z122. It's a 48" version. It's 4500 bucks.
They also have a 54 I think which I assume is more.
The commercial line goes from 6-7k on up. Budget has a lot to do with the recommendation. I am certain the Kubota will be my choice if I can convince myself to buy a ZTR. Support will be as I imagine like other Kubota products.
A few other threads as of recent. Hustler is popular, the Husquvarna 52" is a cost effective machine. Some swear by color, I try to look at parts used, type and gauge of materials, engine choice with Kubota is a little foggy. I think it's a Kohler or Briggs. The base 42" machine has a Kawasaki which ups the warranty on the machine to 3 years.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Exmark.

 

[Packard V8]

Are there hillsides, downhill corners, rough ground? The ZTs have their limitations. How adaptable is your friend? If he's never operated a skid steer, there's a huge learning curve.

jack vines

 

[gdocktor3]

Are there hillsides, downhill corners, rough ground? The ZTs have their limitations. How adaptable is your friend? If he's never operated a skid steer, there's a huge learning curve.

jack vines

What does a skid steer have to do with a zero turn?

 

[bobcatdan]

What does a skid steer have to do with a zero turn?

Drive basically the same way.

 

[B_Bimmer]

It took my three year old about thirty feet sitting on my lap to figure it out. No, I do not let him mow yet, too many hills.

 

[BoostAddiction]

I have a 5 acre lot, mostly in trees, but with a fair amount of regular lawn, and use a John Deere ZT mower. It's one of the Lowes-sold models, so no doubt a stripper in terms of features, but it does a great job for me. Itg has a 42" cut, which works well for my lawn and shed.

I have a small push mower for the steeps- you really can't use a ZT on much of a slope. In fact, I got mine stuck down a ravine once when I went a little too close to edge. Had to winch it out with a come-along.

 

[Professur]

Always a good idea to ask if they have a loaner he can test drive.

 

[xela456]

One mower for you.
Scag Cheetah 72 inch
Fastest zero turn around

 

[kwschumm]

I have been looking at the Kubota Kommander line. It's a HD residential, some commercial type qualities mower. I am looking at the z122. It's a 48" version. It's 4500 bucks.
They also have a 54 I think which I assume is more.
The commercial line goes from 6-7k on up. Budget has a lot to do with the recommendation. I am certain the Kubota will be my choice if I can convince myself to buy a ZTR. Support will be as I imagine like other Kubota products.
A few other threads as of recent. Hustler is popular, the Husquvarna 52" is a cost effective machine. Some swear by color, I try to look at parts used, type and gauge of materials, engine choice with Kubota is a little foggy. I think it's a Kohler or Briggs. The base 42" machine has a Kawasaki which ups the warranty on the machine to 3 years.

I have the Kubota Kommander with a 42" cut and mulching kit. The machine is easy to drive (after a 15 minute learning curve, steer it like a bicycle). It's a very nice mower and fun to use, my one complaint is that it seems I need to overlap each cut by up to 50% and still there are some uncut areas. Maybe one day I will figure that out.

 

[DonPowers]

I bought the Kubota Z 723 last fall, no complaints so far. This is the smallest of the Z 700 series at 48" to get into tighter places. For big open spaces, go for the 60 to 72" machines.

Currently have four Kubota products, mower, tractor, excavator and diesel generator. No serious issues with any of them, just do the regular scheduled maintenance.

 

[JimH74]

I have 3 acres and mow 2 with a Scag Tiger Cat 48 inch. Thought about a 60 inch deck, but have a number of trees/bushes that it wouldn't fit through. Previously I had a Deer X304, I think. Much too slow. This is the 7th season for the Scag and it's done a good job. Takes me about 1&1/2 hours to 2 hours depending on how fast/how much debris has to be picked up. The neighbor takes most of the day with his big box rider. I have done normal maintenance-fluids, filters and I have replaced the main blade drive belt twice and the pump belt once. I did add a suspension seat-if the ground is rough, it will jar your teeth. Be aware that you sit really low, and if you go over dusty areas, you will eat the dust! I think any of the professional grade mowers will be just fine; I just happened to get a great deal on the Scag.

 

[larry_g]

What does a skid steer have to do with a zero turn?

Two sticks and no brakes.

For 5 acres I would suggest that you get a trial unit and try it out. Make sure it does what you expect it to do. I have lots of obsticals and turning about when I mow my place and the ZTR excels at the quick turns and maneuvering. If few obsticals and long runs then a 4 wheeled conventional may be the better rig.

Me I have a 54" Toro that serves me.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Bluejoe]

Yes how much of that property is actually around his house that he is going to landscape maintain ? I guess parts are just wooded areas. I would op for commercial line. You can get other attachments to help with bigger property. Sickle bar , plow , front loader, along with rear pro. You can get deals on smaller units that have these capabilities. John Deere is a nice unit. Just make purchase at a regular lawn equipment dealer. Not big box store. You can look at and test it out and then go shopping online for a better price. Some dealers offer free shipping on good deals. Good Luck

 

[gdocktor3]

One thing to consider is obstacles. Trees, walkways, lamp posts, walls, decks, garden, patio, etc etc. A 61" mower sounds good until you're spending an hour having to weedwack small 3' sections all around the house. Or buy a small push mower. I have a 48" Scag walk behind, 52" Toro walk behind and a 61" Scag 3 wheel. Most of my bigger 2+ acre lawns require the 61" and the small 48" for the immediate front/back yard to get around all the "lawn ornaments" if you will.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I'm turning to the community for some help. A close friend of mine just bought 5 acres to retire on. I estimate that it's really 3.5 acres of grass to mow since it has trees and buildings and what not.

There is a Kubota dealership not 15 minutes away from his place so we have been looking at them so far. They seem to be nice machines.

What are your experiences with Kubota? Should we be looking at other manufacturers?

Since this is probably the first and last zero turn mower he will ever buy after retiring I wanna make sure he gets the best bang for his buck.

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Zero turn is the fastest way to cut grass, but with the area size and obstacles, I would suggest you DON"T want to buy the huge 72" deck like you would for a wide open baseball field kinda yard. Think small and agile. I do roughly half of our 7 acres that is grass with a 48" deck - I can do roughly 3 1/2 acres around many trees, buildings, different fence lines and whatnot and be done in just about 1:15 - A little more if I go more detailed into each little nook and crannies along the tree line - and I weed-whack / trim nearly nothing. The mower gets 99% and weed killer in the spring does the rest......

 

[bobadame]

I mow about 3 acres with a Scag Wildcat 61" deck. I bought it used from an equipment rental place for under a grand. Best money I ever spent.

 

[Eric DC5]

I have a 2003 Kubota ZD21 with a 60" deck. It's built for punishment, and I've had no problems. Oil changes and greasing.

 

[Siteman25]

For that size acreage, unless you have a lot of gates, close shrubs & planting beds, the 60" is probably your best best on deck size, to keep mowing time down & scalping to a minimum, the 72" is much more prone to scalping. If you want a last mower scenario, go the commercial 60" route, higher price but the deck construction alone is worth it. I've have about 1.5 acres to mow with Hustler super Z with 60" had since 2004, replaced a couple of belts & batteries & change oil, hydraulic fluid & grease it, maintenance is very easy on it. I like my Hustler Mower, and the Scag Turf Tiger and/or wildcat is really nice too.

 

[RichWentFishing]

It's fairly flat land. Gotta go around a bunch oftrees so we were thinking 48".

What makes the deck so special that it needs to be so heavy duty? Keep in mind Not familiar with zero turns.


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[kabinenroller]

I have been cutting with a front deck Grasshopper for over 20 years and would not trade it for anything except another Grasshopper. My current mower is 52", 23 hp. and has a power fold deck which makes it easy to clean under the deck, change blades, or store it for the winter.
I plan to ad a power vac unit to this mower,,I had one on my last unit and it makes clean up and leaf removal easy.

 

[Roddyo]

This is Bad Boy country. I use to have a 54 inch and the deck is built like a tank.

 

[EdT]

One consideration is, I think, a ZTM is just that, a mower. It's not a tractor or a snow blower or a puller of garden carts full of grand children, it's only a mower. W/O knowing anything about your friend's activities or plans for retirement, it might be worth while to at least consider something less task specific. That way, he may be able to get more bang for the bucks. In any case, KUBOTA stuff seems to be first class and built to last. I have G-1800 tractor with a 54" deck that is 20 years old and has received so-so maintenance. The tractor part is a fair tractor (no locking diff) and a great mower . The deck is built like a tank. After 20 years, I just did a major rebuild due to some rust out issues on the shell, and replaced all the spindle bearings while I had it apart. The spindles are twice the size of those on the average big box machine. 25mm shafts, iron pulleys, spline drive hubs, double wide belt and shaft drive from the engine. Thumbs up on Kubota, but it's spendy.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

When we moved to our current house on 6.9 acres (mow around 3.5) I purchased a used Hustler from a dealer. I couldn't swing a new one and it has served me very well, now 8 years later and I have only had to replace one spindle for the blades/mowing deck and service it regularly.

It is a 60" deck and with hills and lots of trees it does well and isn't too big.

The worst thing about a ZT is that they have no suspension, if I had onething that I would upgrade is to a suspension seat. (wish my current seat would fall apart so the wife saw the need)

Also fast isn't always best, my Hustler can do 9+ miles an hour, but my yard is nowhere smooth enough to go that fast. And yes I roll it 2-3 times a year.

 

[wkndwarrior29]

I'm not familiar with the Kubota but my father has owned a scag tiger and currently has an exmark. The scag was built better and cut finer but was design to collect the grass and performed poorly when mulching or blowing. The exmark is nice enough but has no practical means to bag the grass and cleaning the deck is a real pita. My uncle's toro had an engine failure just out of warranty that turned out to be a common problem (23 horse Briggs I believe). My recommendation would be to demo a few and ask for demonstrations of cleaning and regular maintenance, you friend probably wouldn't enjoy removing the deck every couple of weeks for cleaning.

 

[larry_g]

- and I weed-whack / trim nearly nothing. The mower gets 99% and weed killer in the spring does the rest......

I agree with all HMD said in his post but the quoted part is the best. Mow what you can and kill the rest.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[firebox40dash5]

The tractor part is a fair tractor (no locking diff) and a great mower . The deck is built like a tank. After 20 years, I just did a major rebuild due to some rust out issues on the shell, and replaced all the spindle bearings while I had it apart. The spindles are twice the size of those on the average big box machine. 25mm shafts, iron pulleys, spline drive hubs, double wide belt and shaft drive from the engine. Thumbs up on Kubota, but it's spendy.

Um, what? I also have a G1800, and it's a terrible tractor... I tried backing up to a box blade, and there was nowhere to hook the damn thing up to. Couldn't find the mounting points for the loader or the PTO shaft for the post hole digger either.

Point being unless you spend the bucks for a subcompact *actual* tractor, like a BX, your "tractor" is also just a mower, which happens to be shaped like tractor and has all the drawbacks of mowing with a tractor. A ZTR can tow a cart just fine, and if you feel like spending huge $$$ you can even get a snowblower for it.

Also, my G1800 cut like smashed ***. Granted it's 25 years old, but even with fresh blades and rebuilt spindles it left a worse finish cut than a bush hog. I was also in the boat of overlapping half the deck to not leave uncut stripes, meaning I might as well stand on a self propelled 21" mower. Kubota's pressed decks are mediocre on a good day.

I've heard good rumblings about their newest high-end ZTR (700 or 1200 series) but that's about it... I know they now have fabricated decks, and have heard they cut pretty nice. Whatever he gets I would advise not to skimp, 3-4 acres would put a hurting on most consumer grade machines pretty fast. Exmark Lazer is a good choice, and I'm sure a Scag would do great as well. 52-54" is a good size, and also opens up more pro machines, where 48" ones are often lower end models.

 

[PeterT]

Xmark (made in Nebraska) or Snapper Pro (Made in NY State) - both welded decks, both Kawasaki engine,, both awesome mowers - skip all the extras and you can get a great machine that would last a homeowner 30 years for under $8k

 

[Keelhauled]

I use a John Deere ZTR (Z830A) commercially part time. I'm very satisfied, it's needed only fluid changes and spark plugs in 700 hours. Newer models have improved transmissions too. Deere's 7-Iron deck is IMO the best all around deck made, cuts extremely well in all conditions and turf. Doesn't stripe quite as well as an Exmark, but can mow a much wider variety of stuff cleanly.

I would recommend finding a lightly used (<300 hrs) commercial mower to buy, you'll get a lot more machine for the money compared to a residential model and still have a lot of life left in it. I bought mine used with 200 hours for $6k (27 hp Kawasaki engine, 60 inch deck and bagging system). I got it for a very good price, but it shouldn't be hard to find a ZTR with a 48 or 54 inch deck for $5k or so.

 

[brownbagg]

kubota are very good machines, I have a friend that has about twenty of them, he trades them in every two years and almost get his money back, he claims its cheaper to trade in than change the oil in them, they really hold their resale value.

 

[kkroger]

I have 5 Acres with a house and a pond, I use a 60" Commercial Cub Cadet M60 Tank (Lesco 60") with 27 HP Kohler Command V-Twin... I Like it a lot... I only have 3 Trees to mow around right now. Works quite WELL...

 

[rhandwor]

Make sure the spindle for the mower blades have grease fittings. Grease after every 4 times mowing the lawn.

 

[Sco Deac]

This is Bad Boy country. I use to have a 54 inch and the deck is built like a tank.

I second the Bad Boy suggestion. Their national distribution is getting better. Worst case Tractor Supply is a distributor.

 

[Tarnished]

Rich, I have used a Kubota zd21 and a zd326 for about 15 years now, and have to say IMHO, they are the best zero turn out there. Pricey, but I had the zd21 for about 13yr and over 900 hr. with 0 trouble or repair. Just routine maintenance. After looking at all the others again, I replaced the zd21 with a new zd326 2 years ago (neighbor has the old one & still going strong) and expect the same reliability from this one. Both had the 60" side discharge deck. (dealer warned of 72" scalping)
The diesel is a sweet machine, using the Kubota engine. I believe the same engine as used in there RTV. The engine will probably outlast me. Can mow 16a using about 6gal fuel. They are a priority machine for mowing grass only, but they do that exceptional well.
The only negatives I have for either of these machines are:
1) They don't like wet ground. Can get stuck in muddy ground in a heartbeat, so if your mowing around a pond or ditch be careful.
2) They are not fan's of rough ground. Can and will mow it just fine, but you might need a seat belt to stay on machine at any kind of speed.

That being said, they are one hell of a mower, and will mow all kinds of grass (tall & wet) as fast as you can ride it. Kubota has a great owner satisfaction history also so check with your Bota dealter. Your friend won't go wrong with any of the Kubota line of zero turns for a lifetime of mowing.

 

[Packard V8]

. A close friend of mine just bought 5 acres to retire on. I estimate that it's really 3.5 acres of grass to mow since it has trees and buildings and what not.

FWIW, homeowners who've been mowing a small lot with a walk-behind $300 Honda, move to the country or deep suburbs with several acres to keep up get some rude awakenings when they first experience the time and equipment needed.

The Kubota ZD326 is a 1700# machine and MSRP is $14,600. If that's in the budget, they're as good as most anything out there.

jack vines

 

[G-ManBart]

I have the Kubota Kommander with a 42" cut and mulching kit. The machine is easy to drive (after a 15 minute learning curve, steer it like a bicycle). It's a very nice mower and fun to use, my one complaint is that it seems I need to overlap each cut by up to 50% and still there are some uncut areas. Maybe one day I will figure that out.

A bent blade, dull blade, or slipping blade can cause the uncut areas. It's also possible that improper belt tension or an issue with the pulley for one of the spindles/blades can also cause this, but is less likely.

I've even seen it where a blade seemed secure, and would spin when the deck was raised, but as soon as the blade hit grass it started to slip. A quick hit with the impact wrench fixed it

 

[G-ManBart]

The worst thing about a ZT is that they have no suspension, if I had onething that I would upgrade is to a suspension seat. (wish my current seat would fall apart so the wife saw the need)

Ferris and Toro offer models with suspension systems...pricey, but nice.

 

[Duckfarmer27]

As you can see the terrain of the place and people's personal preferences impact decisions a lot. Nobody has mentioned the solution I ended up with. At a fall auction - annual event for many area government agencies - I bought a ten year old John Deere commercial mower, front deck (72"). Unit had a little over 900 hours on it. It has it's share of dings but nothing major. Changed every fluid and filter (even though as I went through it the shape it is in reflected pretty good maintenance. Paid a bit more than a homeowner zero turn from one of the big box stores. After running it one season it should last 20 years at least - and that would have me 87 driving it around.

Just one more of the many options out there.

Dale

 

[DonPowers]

Stumbled across this site on mowers so just passing it along.

http://todaysmower.com/best-residential-prosumer-zero-turns-2014/
http://todaysmower.com/2014-zero-turn-mower-preview/