New mower time, what to get?

[hunt4570]

Been mowing for years with a troybuilt 33" wide cut walk behind, it finally bit the dust the other day so I'm looking. I was all set to get another big walk behind, but the wife reminded me I wasn't getting any younger. I'll be 60 this fall and seeing as I've been using this last mower for 15 years, maybe its time to think about a sit down. The walker is ok for now but 5 years from now, who knows.. gotta think about this stuff now.
I dont like the little lawn tractor jobs and was pretty set on a zero turn mower. (just thought , budget around $2000-2500 ish). Then I was reading about the front deck mowers.. very useful for reaching under stuff like bushes and stuff, just like a brush hog behind the tractor..so I'm thinking about those too.
My place is mostly woods, with about 2 1/2 acre yard around the house, but I have lots of road frontage, almost a mile of it with your normal roadside ditch to mow so what are your thoughts??

Note: I just came across a John Deere F710 48" front deck mower that looks like its in pretty good shape for $2200, but I know absolutly nothing about them.. any advice on this guy? Looks like some pretty substantial equipment.

Thanks..

 

[DHD]

I whole heartily agree, a front mount riding mower is the way to go.
I like the front mount mower because they are so easy to place the mower deck in the service position (flip up) to clean out grass clippings and to change blades.
Having the mower deck out front and the engine behind the operator, insures less heat flowing onto the operator from the engine, not driving through engine exhaust, and there's a sense of less engine noise too.
Maneuverability is usually pretty good with front mount mowers too.

I'm not familiar with the John Deere F170 front deck mower you are asking about, but I assume it's 2wd.
You could possibly have traction loss issues depending on how steep your roadside ditches are.

I have a couple of Husqvarna R322T AWD front mount mowers and mow 2.4 acres. I needed the all wheel drive because of some steep slopes.
The R322T is beyond your $2500 budget unless maybe you could find a used one.
Before the R322T, I had the typical 2wd garden tractor mid mount mower that I used for more than 20 years, but after using the front mount mower, I would never go back to the typical mid mount mower design. My old 2wd garden tractor also had some pretty bad traction loss issues on my steep slopes.

Edit 8:13am
You could still look at a 2 wheeled walk behind mower with the optional sulky when your felt like riding

 

[check]

I whole heartily agree, a front mount riding mower is the way to go. I like the front mount mower because they are so easy to place the mower deck in the service position (flip up) to clean out grass clippings and to change blades. Having the mower deck out front and the engine behind the operator, insures less heat flowing onto the operator from the engine, not driving through engine exhaust, and there's a sense of less engine noise too. Maneuverability is usually pretty good with front mount mowers too. I'm not familiar with the John Deere F170 front deck mower you are asking about, but I assume it's 2wd. You could possibly have traction loss issues depending on how steep your roadside ditches are. I have a couple of Husqvarna R322T AWD front mount mowers and mow 2.4 acres. I needed the all wheel drive because of some steep slopes. The R322T is beyond your $2500 budget unless maybe you could find a used one. Before the R322T, I had the typical 2wd garden tractor mid mount mower that I used for more than 20 years, but after using the front mount mower, I would never go back to the typical mid mount mower design. My old 2wd garden tractor also had some pretty bad traction loss issues on my steep slopes. Edit 8:13am You could still look at a 2 wheeled walk behind mower with the optional sulky when your felt like riding

Wow - what an amazing machine! How much do they cost, and how reliable is thst brand?

 

[hunt4570]

Unfortunetly they sold that Deere yesterday (not sure my Kubota tractor would have liked it anyway! :laughing. I found this on sale though.. Trying to figure out the modle number of it.

Husqvarna Articulating Lawn Mower — 19 1/2 HP Briggs & Stratton Professional Series Engine, 42in. Deck, Model# R120S | Riding Mowers| Northern Tool + Equipment

HA!! , just went to the Husqvarna web sight, that $1995 "sale price" above is the suggested retail!!

 

[DHD]

Unfortunetly they sold that Deere yesterday (not sure my Kubota tractor would have liked it anyway! :laughing. I found this on sale though.. Trying to figure out the modle number of it.

Husqvarna Articulating Lawn Mower 19 1/2 HP Briggs & Stratton Professional Series Engine, 42in. Deck, Model# R120S | Riding Mowers| Northern Tool + Equipment

HA!! , just went to the Husqvarna web sight, that $1995 "sale price" above is the suggested retail!!

Don't have any experience with the R120S.
It was being sold at Lowes last year but I believe it's only available at Husqvarna dealers now.
The R220T and R322T AWD were always only found at Husqvarna dealerships.
I know the R120S is noticeably smaller than either the R220T or R322T AWD and I believe the mower deck on the R120S does not flip up to the service position like it does on the R220T and R322T AWD.
The R120s only offers the 42" side discharge deck and it's a two blade deck.
The R220T and R322T AWD offer a 48" side discharge 3 blade deck or a Combi 103 (41") 3 blade deck, the Combi deck can be used as either a reardischarge or mulching deck, a mulching plug and 3 mulching blades comes with the Combi 103. The Combi deck is made of 9 ga or 2.8mm steel and the 48" side discharge is 12 ga or 2.7mm steel.
I have the Combi 103 deck on my R322T and use it as a mulching deck, it 's the best cutting deck I've ever had on any riding lawn mower I've owned.

 

[DHD]

Wow - what an amazing machine! How much do they cost, and how reliable is thst brand?

As far as reliability, the r322T has only been available since 2011, there have been other all wheel drive models with the same transmissions as the R322T but there is very little documented history of these machines in North America. I can't point to any data to support any long term reliability of the AWD riders but there is a thread of a guy who has had really good service from a 2wd version of the Husqvarna articulating riding lawn owner.
Here is a link to that thread
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/husqvarna/296991-sorry-rider-155-a.html

Retail price for the Husqvarna R322T AWD
The R322T with 48" side discharge deck is $5299.95
The R322t with Combi 103 deck is $5399.95

 

[hunt4570]

I found a R322T used, $3800.. probably a great price but out of my budget right now

 

[4570Man]

I would look for a grasshopper front deck. You can probably find a used gas one for your budget. If you add $1000-1500, you could probably find a used diesel.

 

[hunt4570]

I would look for a grasshopper front deck. You can probably find a used gas one for your budget. If you add $1000-1500, you could probably find a used diesel.

Yeah, if I could add $1000-&1500 I'd probably buy that Husqvarna above.

 

[4570Man]

You can find a grasshopper front deck for your budget, but most will be gasoline.