Buying Advice Best dedicated mower for hills and rough terrain

[sjgieson]

Hello,

I have 9 acres with about 4-5 acres that I currently mow, I have owned the property for about 4 years now. I purchased a Ford 4400 FEL and a 2013 Craftsman (Huscvarna) GT6000 w/ a 54 deck and modified with rear ag tires. I also have a 60 3pt finishing mower that I can hook up to my Ford 4400 FEL. In the last 3 years I have rarely mowed with the FEL since the it always has something else on the 3pt (box blade, wood chipper, etc.) and my wife usually does the mowing so the 54 garden tractor has done 99% of mowing. While it can supposedly can go about 8mph (probably only about 6 when mowing), my property is rough and is due to previous owner neglecting it will be that way for a few more years until I get it squared away. The consumer garden tractor beats you to death when mowing, and gets stuck pretty much every time my wife mows. Our property has some serious hills and the garden tractor struggles maintaining traction going straight up.

So to summarize I am looking for a better way to mow my rough acres that has serious hills, gets wet(muddy) and would prefer to not have to keep to he current lawn tractor for getting into tight spaces (pretty open areas, just typical trees, around house, etc.) The current Craftsman has a tight turning capabilities (no where close to a zero turn but front wheels can turn 90 degrees and of course slide most of the time in the damp grass).

I am keeping my FEL for the big work, but don稚 want to plan on mowing with it. I am looking at used 20+ year old equipment as that is what I can budget. Here are the items I am considering, since I am not in a hurry I am OK waiting for the perfect choice but right now I am not even sure what would be, given the rough terrain and hills guessing any zero turn is out of the question.

International/Cub 154/184/284 with a 60 Woods Belly Mowers I seem to find this fairly often and my father has a 184 without a mower. I drove around my property, rode like a luxury sedan compared to the GT6000. Down sides, is not 4x4, only 60 deck, probably huge turning radius, etc.

Kubota B7100 (maybe 7200?) - I find these fairly regularly in my area from the late 80s/early 90s. 60 deck again not a big deck size upgrade but 4x4 is big win for me since I think I it prevent from getting stuck, plus hydro static is friendlier for my wife. Fuel savings with the diesel is another big win, that GT takes almost 5 gallons to do the yard once.

John Deere 455 Again 60 decks, I can find them if I am willing to travel a few hours. The All Wheel Steering seems like a big benefit for getting around obstacles and is a big pro from the Kubota B7100. Down side is looks like I lose 4x4, so a wash?

I have been interested in a 72 decks options but they have been few and far between. I have a really nice good condition Ford 3000 with a 72 Woods Belly Mower attached, I have considered it but that is probably just too big for getting up near the house around obstacles etc.

My budget is the really the cheapest I get the right mower, but much more than 5K and my wife will just make due with the rough ride, and having me come get her unstuck when needed...until the terrain beats that GT to an early grave and we are forced to make a decision.

I think John Deere X749 might be the ideal choice but prices are pretty steep on those, not sure if there is another option made earlier than that I am missing out on.

Thanks for reading and any insight you could provide.

 

[4570Man]

A commercial zero turn with a suspension seat and bar tires. A used one can be had for $5000 or less. A zero turn would do the work in a fraction of the time as a riding tractor. They have a bad rap on hills but a properly setup one will blow away a riding tractor on hills.

 

[Wolfy]

Pretty hard to beat the first generation Kubota G series.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Get a front mounted Kubota, Deere, Toro Groundsmaster, or Grasshopper. I have a Groundsmaster with a 6' front deck. Best hill mower I've ever owned. The long wheel base and low center of gravity makes it almost impossible to flip. I mow areas you can't hardly walk up and I mow it side hill.

 

[chim]

The first (non-lawn) tractor I had was a Cub 154 LoBoy (2WD and turfs)with a belly mower. It worked OK IF the grass was dry or it was on fairly level ground.

 

[Diggin It]

Anybody familiar with older Steiners or similar machines for hills that might fit his budget?

 

[LouNY]

Turbys_1700

    Re: Best dedicated mower for hills and rough terrain
    Get a front mounted Kubota, Deere, Toro Groundsmaster, or Grasshopper. I have a Groundsmaster with a 6' front deck. Best hill mower I've ever owned. The long wheel base and low center of gravity makes it almost impossible to flip. I mow areas you can't hardly walk up and I mow it side hill.

I have an old Kubota F2000 with a 72" deck, it does an excellent job on a rough and steep yard. It does so faster and easier then any conventional lawn tractor or mower would.

The old cubs and such will ride better and go better because of the much larger tires.

Diggin It

    Re: Best dedicated mower for hills and rough terrain
    Anybody familiar with older Steiners or similar machines for hills that might fit his budget?

The AWD Steiners and Ventracs are also very good choices,
compact, low center of gravity, articulated steering and multiple available attachments.

 

[rbstern]

The least expensive short term answer would be upgrading the Craftsman with better rear tires (and maybe some wheel weights) and putting a suspension seat on it.

 

[art]

The new cadet pro series with the steering wheel might be a good choice for you. They do go up to a 72" deck and hold on hills!

 

[TractorGuy]

For a dedicated mower I too would look into one of the front deck machines. 4WD and a diff lock would be desirable for your property.

Here is an old ad for a John Deere F1145 in the under five grand price.

I added a generic suspension seat to a John Deere F725 to use around the house and trees. Maneuverability and comfort is great. I don't have many hills but I have a couple of irregular areas I can get it stuck. It has a diff lock pedal and that has worked to get it unstuck the couple of times I needed it. I can't really recommend the JD unless you find a really good one. The F725 has crappy plastic bodywork around the sides and pedals and finding a used one with a good deck would be a challenge. I ended up welding all the mounts from mine onto a heavier gauge zero turn deck to resurrect the machine.

That said if I found a good condition F935 with the diesel I would entertain buying one of those.