LONG STORY Need advice on a ZTR mower

[Sigarms]

Last 3 months looking for a tractor, budget was not to go over 20k.

Well, my "new house" (built in 1988) will need two new heat pump systems. This will set me back "some money".

My car, which I use for work to travel, will have to be replaced (it has over 190k on it).

So....

The grass is growing, and trying to mow 8 acres is getting old by push mower.

At this point, tractor is a no go.

Looking at somthing "temporary: to mow the 8 acres with.

Thinking of a ZTR due to the size oif lawn.

Have a total of 40 acres, but...as mentioned before, the tractor will have to be put on hold.

Would like the ZTR to last at least 3 years (I figure by this point, I can afford a tractor for the mowing).

What is the "cheapest" I can get by on?

5 acres is "pretty flat" the other 3 is on a hill. Trees are "included" in this acreage.

Any suggestions please?

Since I was only looking at tractors and trying to educate myself on that subject, I now have to "punt" and look at the most "cost effective" way to mow 8 acres that will last for at least 3 years.

Thanks

 

[Spiffy]

Options, options....

With the trees you mention, I'm pretty sure you're on the right track with a ZTR.

Quite a bit of bang for the buck in the midmounts, but I wonder just how steep and bumpy that hill is. If it's at all vicious, no doubt you'll need to "try before you buy"[a good idea regardless] on your own property. I'm betting that you could do alright with a mid, but may need a front [I'm doing gently rolling lawn/weeds, so opted for a mid]. If it's real nasty, Bob Skurka just made a great point on another thread about Steiner utilimax being great on hills. It will also have expandability to slightly ease your tractor withdrawal.

Anyway, to your original question almost any ZTR runs at least 3K, but even to get 3 good years on 8 acres, I'm thinking your looking at the 4K machines. Now the quandry, for 1 to 2K more [I recall someone buying a Lesco for about $5500] you can get a commerical machine that will likely last much longer. Then when you get your tractor in three years, you can get the brushhog for clearing and keep the ZTR for the close in work. Or if you don't want 2 machines, the commerical unit will have resale well over the orininal price of the "cheap ZTRs". Another angle on this, I think some of the commericial brands, [I'm postive on Snapper and CC] had 2 or 3 year 0 interest plans.

Anyway, your acres and "long term planning" say commercial machine, but thats IMHO. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Good Luck

 

[frank_f15]

HOW often do you intend to mow that whole 8 acres?

 

[Sigarms]

Frank

Right now, I'm mowing sections every day to get the "whole sum" done in a couple of weeks.

Honestly, the way it's growing, at least every other week, if not once a week.

I do not want to go this route (ZTR), but... the money that I was looking at spending on a tractor is going towards the A/C for the home and another car (I used to live in Watertown, NY, and at that time A/C wasn't a nessesity, but after 5 years in N.C, that's a different story!)

What I'm trying to figure out is the "most bang for the buck" for about 3 years. Honestly, would like to keep the ZTR under 5k (and that's 5k that I could of had gone towards a tractor)

Thanks

 

[Spiffy]

Good question Frank!

OK, it doesn't need to be hogged first [another question I forgot!], but you're looking a weekly or biweekly lawn type mowing.

Another option would be a say 1000 hours on a used commercial machine for several K, but you need be real careful....there's often a good reason these are traded. Also, if there are any 04s around your dealers yet, I got a great deal that way [still 5K though].

While your situation is most unforunate, I don't think the commerical Z would be a bad investment at that. As far as price; I think you're in the ballpark, but maybe will need to go anthother 10% or 20%; or to take advanage of a good finance plan maybe in the 6K area.

Actually, the 5K alone should get a great machine for the situation you propose, but I'm thinking the extra $1000 or so would pay huge dividends on resale or long-term use.

All confused yet?!!

 

[jwstewar]

Another thought here. Without know what grade your hills are, what about Old Iron? Buy an old 8n or 9n & a finish mower used for 2 - 3k use it for 3 years, buy your new tractor, and then sell the old Ford for 2 - 3k. Just a thought.

 

[Moon]

I know your just looking to get by 3 years, but once that 3 years is done, I'd bet you won't want to go back to mowing with whatever tractor you get. With 40 acres you will have plenty of uses for your tractor. The worst one, in my opinion, is mowing.

With 8 acres to mow, the very least I'd go would be a 60 /61 inch deck. I bought a Scag Wildcat, 61" deck, 27hp v-twin Kohler engine for 7500 last year. I mow 4 acres with some hills / slopes, my best time is 1 1/2 hours. I can easily mow it in 1 hr 45 min. every time. A large portion of what I call my yard is an old tomato field. I really have to go slow over this area so I don't rattle my teeth to much.

I have to agree with Chad (easy for us to spend your money, huh?). If your financing over 3 years an extra 1000 or 1500 could be the difference in you buying a something to just get by for 3 years or buying a mowing solution for the next 20 years. I also believe you'd make up in resale value the extra dollars spent, that is, if you decided to sell it after 3 years.

I was able to get my tractor first. I mowed with it for 3 years, until our 2nd GT broke down. We used the GT to mow close to the house and buildings ....it was the wifes mower. When it broke I was planning to get just another GT, but the wife wanted one of the ZTR's. All it took was the nudge in that direction. We could have bought 3 GT's for the price of one ZTR ....but once you mow with a ZTR, you'll never want to mow with a GT or CUT. The ZTR is so much more efficient at mowing.

One last point. If you buy a ZTR which will go way past 3 years it will save you a few bucks when you go to buy your tractor. A MMM will cost in the neighborhood of 2500. A RFM will be around 1800. You'll be able to put that money into the FEL or other implements for your tractor if you don't have to use it for mowing.

I think Scag and ExMark are at the top of the commercial lines. Check them out as well as other brands and I think you'll see the difference. It's worth spending the extra bucks if you can swing it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hope this helps,
Moon of Ohio

 

[Dargo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I think Scag and ExMark are at the top of the commercial lines. Check them out as well as other brands and I think you'll see the difference. It's worth spending the extra bucks if you can swing it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)</font>

Good point. I test drove nearly all of the popular commercial units and didn't find any of them that I would consider poorly made. Some did certain things better than others, but it was not due to their quality; it was due to their design for my particular needs. Having said that, I did find quite a few poor quality "homeowner" ZTR's. There are some out there that would be a complete waste of money in my opinion. If you wanted to sell in 3 years or so, the commercial units will still bring a premium, whereas some of the "homeowner" units will simply be used up and shot.

 

[Sigarms]

Thanks for the input guys.

Talking with a guy doing work at a gas station this morning. Guy had an Exmark (sp?) mower, and he spoke highly of it.

How is the Kubota in gas?

Guy that has been working with me on a tractor gave me a decent price on a ZG23 (I think, can't remember exactly). Price seemed good. Are these decent?

Whole thing about this "process" is that I finally made up my mind to get a tractor, and although I could still finance one for the "long term", there is no way I want to go that deep in the hole after buying this house so soon.

Will have to see if any dealers will let me "test drive" a mower on my property.

I have to wonder, is there any difference between a residential and commercial wrty? With 8 acres to mow on a regular basis, would that still be residential?

How is the Ferris line?

Made up my mind that I'm going to stay away from the 2k units from Lowes or Home depot, but would like to make sure that I "maximize" the money I spend.

Again, thanks.

Oh, forgot to mention that I have been to a couple of auctions, but people are crazy on what they are paying for a 20-30 yr old tractor (4 to 6 k!, and I figure I could put that money towards a new ZTR). There are a couple of decent 15 year old kubotas that I've seen for sale, but I also refuse to pay close to 70% of what it sold for new at the time (heck, I I might as just buy a new one).

 

[Dargo]

If you are going to be mowing 8 acres you will want a commercial unit. My regular mowing is 12 acres each week and I have 2 commercial ZTR units to do that. One ZTR cut my mowing time in half over using a tractor. Two of them (with my wife helping) cut that time in half again. With 5 kids, I don't want to spend any more time mowing than I have to, but I love a nice looking lawn.

The most recent ZTR mower I bought was my first departure from diesel. Being a 2nd ZTR, I thought gas should last just fine. It is powered by a 3 cylinder gas Kubota engine. That is about the smoothest gas engine I've ever heard. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And, it has plenty of power; which I was concerned about after having only mowed with diesel powered mowers all these years.

In the commercial units, I was surprised to find that the Kubota ZTR units were some of the least expensive ones. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif As I mentioned before, with all the ZTR's I test drove this spring, I didn't see a commercial ZTR that wasn't built really tough. You mention the Ferris. I actually bought one of those at first this spring. They have a stellar reputation for commercial mowers, and they had the only mid mount mower with suspension. Your yard may be smooth and it won't be an issue, but my yard has a lot more bumps than what it appears to have. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif As other people have noticed, the one characteristic in common with the mid mount ZTR's is that they will beat the snot out of you on rough ground. I think they all will have suspension in a few years. I can't be the only guy who doens't care to have the snot beaten out of me every week. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif I think all the commercial ZTR's can take the beating weekly; I can't.

Because of the layout of my land and about 1000 feet of lake short to mow around, I only kept my Ferris about a week and traded it for another front mount ZTR. The front mount ZTR's cost more and only give you an advantage in ride and where you can reach. I put my Ferris in the lake 3 times trying to mow close to the edge like I've been used to doing with a front mount. That was it for me. No mid mount will reach out over the water (especially on a slope) and keep me from having to trim any around my lake.

Good luck! I don't intend to offend anyone with a "homeowner" model, but they just won't hold up for what you need. Well, I take that back. My dad mows at about 2 mph, and slower over bumps, and his homeowner brand lasts just fine. When I mow, I mow as fast as I can. I'm not out for a pleasure ride, I want to get the job done so I can do other things.