9 Acres - ZTR or Tractor?

Trelease · Apr 8, 2005

Hi. I'm looking for a little help. We're planning on doing some shopping this weekend and are looking for honest opinions.

We own 10 acres and 9 of which or so we'd like to mow. It used to be farm land, so the land, while flat and clear of obstacles, isn't probably smooth. I currently more a couple of acres around the house with a Craftsman Lawn Tractor, but it takes forever.

Ideally, I would have preferred a tractor simply because I'd like to "move stuff" (dirt, stone, etc.) as well as plow the driveway in the winter (330 ft, stone).

We looked at some smaller tractors (Kubota B series), but the issue I have is time. I'm realistic and know that I won't spend 10 hours a week mowing. The best I'd like to do is 5 - 6 hours or so.

So, I ask you for help. Should I go with a ZTR and just deal with the mowing (everything else will have to wait for another solution)? Or should I look at a tractor with a finishing mower?

If I go with a ZTR, what issues will I have since the ground isn't perfectly smooth?

If I go with a tractor, what kind of mowing time (roughly) can I expect?

Thank you all for your help in advance.

Jimbrown · Apr 8, 2005

Well I do not mow but I would trade a little slower mowing for the a front end loader any day. Once you have one you will use the heck out of it. I would consider mine usless with out it.

wolfe1 · Apr 8, 2005

Thats a lot of mowing- a ZTR would be ideal but for more uses I would look at a X series Deere or a 2210 CUT with the 62 in deck. I mow 2 acres in a hour with my X485- less if I really push it-

tracdoc · Apr 8, 2005

Hi Trelease & welcome to TBN.

9 acres is quite a bunch of mowing, regardless of what implement one might use. Admittedly, ZTRs do the job a lot faster than tractor-driven mowers. However, with 9 acres to cut, I would definitely be looking for the biggest mowing swath my budget could handle.

Lots of good folks on TBN have addressed issues such as mowing time vs. mowing swath, etc. If you haven't tried yet, you might enjoy doing a "Search."

Just click on "Search" and then click on "All Forums." For 'search terms', try "ZTR, mowing, time" (w/o quotes) and then under "search options" select "and", and for the date range try 1 year. Guaranteed, you will get lots of informative reading relevant to your question.

GerardC · Apr 8, 2005

ZTR's work best on golf course like terrain (i.e. smooth). If you have ruts, bumps etc; you really don't gain much of an advantage with a ZTR.

JINMA224XR · Apr 8, 2005

<font color="blue"> Ideally, I would have preferred a tractor simply because I'd like to "move stuff" (dirt, stone, etc.) as well as plow the driveway in the winter (330 ft, stone).

We looked at some smaller tractors (Kubota B series), but the issue I have is time. I'm realistic and know that I won't spend 10 hours a week mowing. The best I'd like to do is 5 - 6 hours or so.
</font>

Hey TreLease,

You allready have answered your own question.

Just looking for reasurance.

Question: Mower or Tractor?

Mower: Can Mow........ /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Tractor: Can Mow, grade, disk, plow, dig, shovel, Till, run a generator, and a whole lot more that is only limited to your imagination. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

You offer in the factor of TIME ,, Time is always an issue with all of us,, as is MONEY ,, and I think that they may be one and the same.. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Look at the Jinma Tractors, before you lay down your cash for the Cabota. Power Steering, 4WD, Turf or Ag tires, Canopy, front end and rear wheel weights, Canopy, and by all means get the SPRING SEAT ADJUSTABLE TO BODY WEIGHT. I have a Jinma 224 and it would be fine for 10 acres. But so would a 254 or 284. Stay within your budget though. I got my little 224 for less than 5K(Brand New).

Have a nice day,
Joe /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Nasty135 · Apr 8, 2005

Hi and welcome to TBN /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif, I will tell you how my situation evolved which may help you make some decesions...
BUT First ,we have questions for you..

Of the 9 acres to be mowed is it currently in a mowed condition or in Tall grass (weed)condition if so sounds like bushog time. You will either need to rent , borrow ,hire or buy one in order to cut it the first time and then you will have big clumps of whatever laying around in the way for the next cutting.
If all is open space a tractor with a finish mower you will be able to cut rather quickly as long as your acres away from the house are in a cut condition and your talking about 6-7' mower on a 30-40 hp tractor. In this case we used to use a push mower for trimming around things close so you don't have to worry about hitting something with the tractor mower combo.

Now my story goes like this: Started out with old tractor and bushog , then finish mower 6', worked great for years still works fine but takes longer and longer , swinging it around and backing up, all of this with a geared trans ,hydro would definately have been better in time and frustration factor. Not to mention any thing you plant in the yard has to be mowed around /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Had a little rider for mowing close around things and a push mower for the tight trimming. Most of the big tractor jobs are slowing down now so why should I take 4hrs. to cut my 4 acres of grass(since diesel and gas are now priced equally)when I can eliminate the little rider and cut the hrs. on the bigger tractor and save 2hrs of my time and 2hrs of fuel cost form the bigger tractor on a ZTR . But don't think a Ztr will be perfect especially if the land is rough. If it is rough you will won't be able to use the speed of the ZTR anyhow and will need a steering wheel to hang on to.

Thats kind of where I am now ,and as for snow I use a 4WD 4 wheeler with a blade and it works great so-far with snow up to 10-12" over that you may need something else like a 4WD tractor /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Now there's your excuse to own BOTH!!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Trelease · Apr 8, 2005

tracdoc - thanks for the search help. Knowing the right search terms really helps. Heck I just figured out what CUT stood for. (I'm really not an idiot, I only play one on TV).

GerardC - That's what I was afraid of. The ruts could be a problem with the ZTR.

Nasty135 - most of it is in a tall weed condition. Of the past two times that the tall stuff's been mowed, I rented a brush hog & tractor once and the neighboring farmer mowed it the second time. My plan is to rent a brush hog to clear it and start mowing it regularly.

JINMA224XR - You're absolutely right, I would like something more that just a mower, but my wife thinks that if we can't improve on our (meaning mine) time spent on mowing then it's not worth it and thinks that for speed factors we should go with a ZTR. Me on the other hand, I'd prefer the "fun" of a tractor and my mind races with possibilities.

I'd rather not have to rent something everytime I want to do "non-mower" type stuff (need to fill in some spots around the house and the driveway could use some a little work and we need to do some overall landscaping).

One of the biggest problems I have is that I grew up in the city. So my experience with mowing, tractors and land is very limited.

After reading some of the posts, I'm kind of leaning back towards a tractor, but I guess my wife and I need to do some reading tonight and talk to the dealers in the area on Saturday.

Thank you all for your help.

Bob_Skurka · Apr 8, 2005

GerardC hit the nail on the head with the ZTR.

First, you probably won't be happy with anything under a 72" mower, regardless of whether it is tractor mounted or ZTR. You seem very concerned about mowing TIME so go for the bigger powered units and the bigger decks.

Second, going back to GeardC's point, my neighbor down the road has a Dixie Chopper, he runs it about 1/2 to 2/3rds its potential speed because his ground is just rough enough to rattle the fillings out of his teeth. It looks smooth, but it really isn't smooth enough for a ZTR to run at speed. So while the ZTR has the POTENTIAL to mow faster, it might actually mow slower. I can mow with my CUT at full speed, and while he might be able to outrun me in a drag race, I can easily keep up with him and do it a lot more comfortably.

Dozernut · Apr 8, 2005

With that much acreage you might want to go with a tractor and a gang mower. Attached is a link to a gang mower that requires a 30 - 50 hp. tractor. Plus you would have a tractor to do other work. Mower