Buying Advice New member. I need a higher quality riding lawn mower. Only one acre to mow.

[bountybuddy]

Hello everyone. Last year my wife and I bought a new home that sits on just under
one acre of land. Our lot is flat. I foolishly bought a model 130 Snapper riding
mower. I read that after 3 or 4 years I will start having problems with it. The
mower I now have has a single blade and a 30" cut. Our house has an attached
two car garage with two cars in it, three bicycles, a snow blower, a walk
behind mower and a riding mower in it. I really like the Kubota riding mowers.
I don't think a need a tractor lawn mower. If some of you would please offer some
suggestions on which Kubota riding mower I should buy. I'm hoping to get a good
many years use out of it. Thank you for your help.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I think that is a bit of a tough call. Not a lot of high quality residential mowers these days. You have Big Box models and then you have $7000+ commercial models. You say you have a flat yard so you may not need a super strong tranny( weak spot in a lot of homeowner mowers). I would probably go for a Husqvarna or a Craftsman. They are for the most part, same mower, different paint. A John Deere 170 is not a bad choice either. John Deere makes a pretty good mower, but the good ones are not cheap. I have not had good luck with Cub Cadet, but others have, so you are on your own. Kubota makes good mowers but they would not be my first choice if I were going to pay that much money.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

As a tool to assist, you can compare specifications of the various manufacturers at this site (click on 'lawn tractor' & 'brand search' to bring them up): TractorData.com - information on all makes and models of tractors

Enjoy the site.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

What's your budget? Mowers can range from $2,000 to $20,000.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I have mowed with Craftsman lawn tractors for many years. They aren't fast, but for a 1 acre yard it won't take very long. I get 10-15 years of use before I decide its time for a new one. I keep the old one to haul carts etc. You can get decent lawn tractor for $1500-$2000.

If you want a zero turn, Hustler and Scag are good names, and you can get a Raptor SD or Liberty for $4000 or so. I just upgraded from my Craftsman tractor to a Hustler Raptor SD, and it cut my 5 acres of mowing from 5 hours to 2 hours. Been very happy with the Raptor SD.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

If it's flat and fairly smooth a zero turn will definitely cut the mowing time down. I would be looking at 48" or more. with the zero turn you may not need the walk behind mower.

 

[4570Man]

I think the Kubota mower lineup excluding the high dollar diesel rigs is pretty limited. Since that's not what you want ( or need ) I'd probably look for other brands. I'd definitely want something with a HST transmission. A ZTR would be my first choice for you yard. An old Kubota small tractor might not be bad though. They're definitely not the best at mowing but the versatility is hard to top. And they last forever and are nearly indestructible.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Why are you wanting to get rid of the snapper? Based of reviews? How old is it and how many hours?

My first suggestion if the snapper is paid for and newer is just to use it and keep up on the maintenance, make sure all the grease zerks are greased and oil changed regularly.

For less than an acre, is a self propelled push mower was too much work for you, any small zero turn will be just fine 36 or 42in decks.

 

[Tractorable]

I use a John Deere X590 for my 1.5 acre lawn. It was pricey at ~$7K, but I looked at it as a machine I'll be using for the next 20 years. The main reason I bought it was because it has the K72 transmission which is stronger than most lawn tractor transmissions. As a previous poster said, the transmissions are the weak point on riding lawn mowers.

The X590 is also fuel injected, has power steering, and hydraulic deck lift which all makes it super easy for the wife to use. No fiddling with the choke. Fires every time hot or cold.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[KennyG]

Your mower may be a little small for your yard size, but I wouldn't put too much stock in "start having problems in 3 or 4 years". If you actually take care of it and don't abuse it, given your property size and the fact that it is level, you could easily get 10 plus years with no major problems. If you buy another brand in the entry level (under $2500) class, you won't get any better components. Unless the time to mow is bothering you, I would use it for as long as the engine/drive train holds up and then move up to higher quality.