Best subcompact for the money

[TN8Man]

didn't mention # of acres you're cutting. suggest considering a diesel front mounted ZT mower. also go with bar rear wheels rather than turf for the hill sides. & get all tires fluid or foam filled. to be honest, never been impressed w/sub compacts belly mowers... (boy, that will draw some ire here) regards

I currently have 7 acres but plan on adding another 4.
I'm thinking a SCUT belly mower should be better than my cheap lawn tractor that keeps breaking plus its a 60" instead of 54".

 

[TN8Man]

LOL. Not all ZT’s are created equally.

I demo’d several ZT’s on my property before purchasing the commercial Cub Cadet which was the most capable mower on my hilly property, not to mention, the fastest. But, you’re right, most ZT’s were slipping and sliding down my hills and simply couldn’t accomplish the task. My Kubota B2601 w/ 60” MMM w/ wheel spacers wasn’t nearly as safe as the commercial Cub and struggled on the hills.

I’m all for the OP buying a tractor. Go for it! Diesel. 4WD. Hell yeah! It can do a lot more than a ZT.
But, if you’re mowing steep hills, tractor rollovers are a risk and there are better tools for the job.

Mike

The motivation for me getting a SCUT over a garden tractor is better quality, more rugged and the other capabilities it brings to the table. I just watched a video where a Kioti cs2520 was using the same stump grinder I have and use on my NX5010. I also have quick attach forks where the SCUT can drive it loaded into my garage, basement and barn but the NX5010 won't fit in the garage or basement. Also have a PTO finish mower and box blade I can use.

 

[Hughman]

If you already have a finish cutter (rear mount I assume), why would you want a MMM?

 

[dj1701]

LOL. Not all ZT’s are created equally.

I demo’d several ZT’s on my property before purchasing the commercial Cub Cadet which was the most capable mower on my hilly property, not to mention, the fastest. But, you’re right, most ZT’s were slipping and sliding down my hills and simply couldn’t accomplish the task. My Kubota B2601 w/ 60” MMM w/ wheel spacers wasn’t nearly as safe as the commercial Cub and struggled on the hills.

I’m all for the OP buying a tractor. Go for it! Diesel. 4WD. Hell yeah! It can do a lot more than a ZT.
But, if you’re mowing steep hills, tractor rollovers are a risk and there are better tools for the job.

Mike

When I mow a steeper hill, I only go straight up, and straight down. I never sidehill it gives me a little pucker. Thats God's way of saying, be careful stupid, your guardian angel called in today. I also have trails through the woods that I mow. Some mud, some ruts. I did get stuck temporarily a couple of times but was able to get out. I envisioned a ZT would have had me doing the walk of shame back to get the John Deere way more often than I would like.

Dave

 

[Rdrcr]

The motivation for me getting a SCUT over a garden tractor is better quality, more rugged and the other capabilities it brings to the table. I just watched a video where a Kioti cs2520 was using the same stump grinder I have and use on my NX5010. I also have quick attach forks where the SCUT can drive it loaded into my garage, basement and barn but the NX5010 won't fit in the garage or basement. Also have a PTO finish mower and box blade I can use.

I don’t know your budget. But, as I mentioned earlier, not all ZT’s are created equally and I would put the build quality and ruggedness of my commercial Cub Cadet ZT against any tractor from any manufacturer. However, if you’re looking at garden tractors, then yes, I wholeheartedly agree you should purchase a subcompact tractor. It a much better investment.

Mike

 

[Rdrcr]

When I mow a steeper hill, I only go straight up, and straight down. I never sidehill it gives me a little pucker. Thats God's way of saying, be careful stupid, your guardian angel called in today. I also have trails through the woods that I mow. Some mud, some ruts. I did get stuck temporarily a couple of times but was able to get out. I envisioned a ZT would have had me doing the walk of shame back to get the John Deere way more often than I would like.

Dave

Indeed. I have had plenty of ‘pucker’ moments while mowing on tractors…even trying to mow safely on my steep hills. With the commercial Cub, no more pucker moments and it saved me an hour and a half of my time. And yes, I nearly gave up on ZT’s for my property until I got to experience the heavy and remarkably capable commercial Cub.

Mike

 

[TN8Man]

If you already have a finish cutter (rear mount I assume), why would you want a MMM?

The overall length of the tractor and finish mower would be difficult to maneuver around the house plus I have a steep hillside with a wall at the top where I would have to drive up backwards with a PTO cutter.

 

[2manyrocks]

The topic of mowing hillsides comes up quite a bit here. There is a detailed post here about using a Kubota F3680 to mow a hillside where one of our members actually measured the slope he was cutting. That kind of specific detail was helpful to me in considering whether to buy that unit because that member took time to provide that very useful information. There are phone apps and digital levels aren't that expensive these days. Plus, it's a good thing to know how steep something really is before you try to mow it and find out the hard way that it is steeper than you think.

 

[newkiotiguy]

We bought a new place and brought our zero turn with from our previous house that had a completely level yard. It felt like a death trap at the new place with everything being hillside. Multiple times sliding down into the woods led me to look for a better way. Changing out the turf tires for bar tires was the answer. Now we can mow strait across side hills that I couldn't even drive up without sliding back down.

 

[TN8Man]

When I mow a steeper hill, I only go straight up, and straight down. I never sidehill it gives me a little pucker. Thats God's way of saying, be careful stupid, your guardian angel called in today. I also have trails through the woods that I mow. Some mud, some ruts. I did get stuck temporarily a couple of times but was able to get out. I envisioned a ZT would have had me doing the walk of shame back to get the John Deere way more often than I would like.

Dave

I used to sidehill using a Lev-o-gage Inclinometer thinking I would stop if I exceeded the worse case I previously made successfully but eventually I just switched to straight drive foreword up and backwards down. Living on the edge kinda goes away as I get older.