Can a Zero Turn mow high weeds in a bumpy pasture?

[riptides]

The time you spend trying to beat down 5 foot weeds with a ZTR would have been better spent on the tractor.

Maybe don't let it get that high to begin with and then use the ZTR, after attempting to smooth the rough spots with the tractor.

 

[YanmarFever]

Its purring like a kitten in our shop. I still haven't had to add def fluid, that's how little I drive it, hope it doesn't get old in the tank.
However The service antilock brake system light has been flashing on and off....

There should e a recall on those, I hear a lot of them are failing.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

HP aside, the deck isn’t made for that sort of capacity. I have a 27hp trail mower and a 29HP ZTR… the decks are similar in size, but the trail mower deck is made for that sort of capacity, the ZTR is not. The trail mower doesn’t labor with 3’ tall grass. The ZTR can barely handle it. It’s the deck design. You cannot push that sort of tonnage across a deck made for a lawn. Great tool, wrong job though.

 

[FPGT72]

I bought this in may of 22 according to the date on the photo.

It was expensive enough, I just could not get my head around the diesel prices.

I mow roughly 13ac with it. Before this it was a 5' woods finish mower pulled behind an 8n. Then a few smaller mowers for the up around the house and the "tight stuff". I have basically a flat, no hills land.

Mine is bumpy as all hell, moles voles and groundhogs just love my area. I can take care of the ground hogs but I have just given up on the other two. Their mounds are everywhere.

So far the only issue I have had is one bent blade on the deck. I know I hit tunnel mounds every time, I guess one just got it. There is just no getting around running over a mound.

Before the mowing would take the better part of two days, with this thing, and only this thing we are done in about 6 hours. I never in my life would have figured it would have taken that much time off. And that two days is with two people mowing.

Now I don't "get" to use it much you can not pry my wife off of this thing, in fact she gets mad if I do mow. She loves this thing. And she will drive it flat out.....as fast as the thing will go, and it cuts like a champ.

On the old ford, you MIGHT get in 2nd gear, if you got in third you would likely bog down in the thicker stuff. You could not go all out in 3rd as it was so bumpy you would get flung off the thing. Forget about sitting, and we had a nice new suspension seat for the thing, it was just not enough.

I was, and am really shocked at just how fast this thing works. It was pretty expensive, and I can't say it was worth it, it is just too damn much money, but I would buy it again in a heart beat.

 

[FPGT72]

Oh and currently with all the rain we have had my field is roughly 6-8" high. You can't cut it at the "normal" depth, you must raise it up, but no issues. I have seen no issues aside from that one blade with the machine.

 

[plowhog]

What does the dealer say about it ?

That turns out to be an interesting question.

I looked at every YouTube video about the mower. All of the demonstrations were operating it on short grass-- not quite like a pool table flat but pretty close. I did not see anything where it was put up against some rough terrain or high weeds.

Yesterday I called the six closest Ferris dealers listed on their website dealer page. One dealer in Nevada and about 5 in California.

The one in Nevada no longer carries Ferris. Several dealers in CA said they are now "battery power only" mower shops. The sole dealer in CA who said he could get one said: "its been really tough to get a Ferris mower into CA for several years." I don't know if he meant Ferris is reluctant to ship, or if there were import restrictions due to diesel engine or emissions. Not sure.

If it was a worthwhile direction I'd purchase one in Oregon if needed. The 5 ft. weeds only happened once and it was pretty neglectful of me being busy on too many other things. But 2 ft. weeds, sometimes 3ft., would not be unusual. Much as I'd like to have the time to mow much more often.

With the tractor and rotary cutter, I mow about 3mph. With the Ventrac, I mow about 5mph. Since the deck sizes are different it takes the same amount of time with either machine. I was hoping to find something faster with a better ride, but no I am not so sure.

 

[Locoweed]

I think you would be better off addressing the tractor ride. Have you tried lowering the tire pressure? It can make a significant difference. Possibly a better suspension seat would help. I would consider slowing down also. Your back will thank you.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think that you already have what you need to get the job done. Zero turns are very specialized mowers for maintaining existing lawns. In my opinion, it's probably the very worse type of mower for big areas and tall material.

Instead of spending all that money on the zero turn, I would look into what it would take to make your 58hp tractor more comfortable. Upgrade the seat to something with air suspension. Lower the air pressure on your tires.

I have my tractor tires at 15 psi when mowing, and I'm told I can go even lower if I want. I also have an air suspension seat that is very comfortable. Before buying this tractor, I used to put a handicap, wheelchair cushion on the seat to sit on, and that made a huge difference.

The longer the wheelbase, the better the ride will be when dealing with rough terrain. Zero turn has a super short wheelbase, so even with springs, it's going to bounce around a lot on rough terrain.

 

[5030]

You could always hire Hay Dude and have him mow it for you and beat the heck out of his equipment.

 

[scootr]

I had a rough field to mow. It was hilly, rocky, and ground squirrel cratered. I ruined a set of flail hammers the first time I mowed it and the fee charged barely repaired the machine, grrr. I took it upon myself to disc, level, and clear the field of rocks and trash like T posts and such. Then I drug it smooth, and now I mow it with the Tractor or the SS with a smile on my face.
A flail mower with heavy hammers will smooth out the rodent mounds.
Off season prep saved the day