Best type/make/model for 1-acre of residential lawn with hills - did I buy wrong?

[NoTrespassing]

The Walker is interesting to me. Wonder why it's so difficult to find the MSRP? How much would I expect to pay for the 42"?

jack vines

New are very pricey, about 15K. Check the prices on Ebay for used. There are usually several on there with hours listed. Mine has almost 1000 hours and still going very strong. I've seen ads for them with 2k or 3k hours.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

My lawn is an acre, has hills, fence corners and half of it has trees/flower beds. For thirty years I mowed it with an 8hp Wards/Yard Machine rider, then the next eleven years with a Cub Cadet 2135. I didn't realize it at the time, but the Cub was nearly perfect for my application.

When the Cub went missing, I thought zero turn would be faster and give a better cut. I found a decent deal on a like-new Toro TimeCutter SS 4235. The learning curve has been much steeper than I expected, but I may just have bought the wrong machine for my layout.

There is one fenced corner which slopes downhill from both directions. I haven't found any combination of steer which will work. The Toro just flat won't turn or back up on the slope. Not sure the fence will survive another tangle.

There's another steep slope which the mower won't climb up and slides when mowing sideways. That hill required some skill on the Cub (steep enough so the rear wheels slid going down under compression) but I mowed down/across it every week.

Right now, I'm considering selling the Toro and buying another Cub Cadet.

Questions:

If I give the Toro another chance, how can should I be steering in the downhill corner?

The Toro has only two wheels on the deck and it scalps worse than the Cub which had five anti-scalp wheels on the deck. Anyone ever added a front roller and two rear wheels to the Toro deck?

If I decide to go back to the tractor style, what's the best ever made in a 36"-42" deck? I was happy with the Cub Cadet 2135 and it seemed better made than the current models. The old Kohler single shakes like a dog ****tin' a peach pit, but it seemingly runs forever and 13hp was enough.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

jack vines

Jack, I have that same mower, the original one with the skinny tires. On hills it stinks. I haver the bagging attachment and its frame is left on my mower to weight the rear tires better. I then welded a length of round stock between where the two dress clipping bags hang on the frame and added two 25 pound weight plates from my used sports equipment store with a clip to hold them on. The weights don't interfere with using the bagger stuff and the traction immediately improved.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Another advantage to the Walker is that the discharge is out the rear of the deck under the operator so you can trim with both sides of the mower deck. The deck flips up for easy blade removal and the mower can be parked in a smaller area with the deck up.


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The link addresses Walkers on hills and slopes

 

[murphy1244]

Ok even still.

Better than a Case... and less money too

 

[Jack Vines]

Budget?

Mowers today cost more than the first couple dozen cars and trucks I owned. What's the best 42" for <$5K?

For the lawn I described, would you go with a tractor such as the Simplicity or a front mower such as the Walker?

jack vines

 

[Yamaha2112]

You could actually get pretty fancy for roughly 5K.

Kubota Tractor Corporation - Build My Kubota

EDIT: I thought link would post build, but didn't.

MSRP $3,598.00 for smallest model with 42".

Also, John*Deere X300 with 42-in. Deck Lawn Tractor | JohnDeere.com for slightly less.

If you said 8K-ish I would go for the GR Kubotas. MUCH better traction than anything described somewhat within budget thus far (all wheel drive). Smallest deck for it is 48" though.
Residential and Commercial Mowers | GR20 Series | Kubota Tractor Corporation

My favorite for under 10K is this: John*Deere X710 Signature Series Tractor JohnDeere.com That thing is REALLY nice for the price. EDIT: Nevermind. I thought it was 4wd. I was thinking of this model which is $11,799 MSRP: John*Deere X750 Signature Series Tractor JohnDeere.com EDIT: That one is 2wd as well. I give up. One or two of the x signature series is 4wd.

Anyway. You'll end up with this Mid-Size Tractors | MX Series | Kubota Tractor Corporation by the time I'm done thinking about it.

But the 5k range can at least keep you away from the box stores. It's definitely a good start.


- My vote, by large margin and within a reasonable (guessing) budget range, is a Kubota GR Series if you could easily swing the extra 2k and don't mind a slightly larger deck. -


The Walkers are really nice, but I believe they are all in the 15k range and up.

 

[LD1]

I've spent hours reading about different tires. Seems to be a lose/lose situation. Tires with more grip/lugs chew up the lawn when zero turned. That's why the OEMs equip their machines with the turf tires.

jack vines

You need AT101 tires. I have no issues backing up and turning on pretty steep, and damp grass.

I find they actually tear up the yard LESS. Because you do less spinning and slipping when turning. They bite well enough to move you instead of spin. But the key is not to do a zero point turn. Do a three point turn (K-turn). Even with turf tires, doing a zero turn will tear up the lawn.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Walker Model MS with 42" Cut 13HP Kawasaki New CLOSEOUT | eBay

Brand new 42" Walker, buy it now $7,500. There is also a year 2000 with over 4,000 hours just to prove the longevity of these machines.

 

[Jack Vines]

Brand new 42" Walker, buy it now $7,500.

Thanks, now I know the price range. That one on eBay is local pickup only. I do like that Walker supports local business, so I'll call the 'dealer' here in town. He doesn't have a storefront, so my guess is he doesn't stock machines, but will order one at full list price and assemble it and maybe support it for parts.

jack vines