Comparison Compairing compact tractor to small lawn mowing yard?

[prof fate]

as others have stated - weight, wet ground are big factors.

I've mowed with 'garden tractors' or less - 600lb or so is typical, and i've mowed wet/damp ground - never got stuck.

at teh farm I got 2 tractors - older is a 1400lb kubota and i've gotten is stuck, left ruts and impressins, etc. The new tractor is 3400 lbs and it too leaves impressions in the yard (and pasture).

Go test some of this yoursel - drive your mower over your yard..then drive your car (3400 lbs for most cars) and look at the ground, how long the grass lays down.

Now drive you mower back and forth 10 times, then your car...you'll see a huge difference in compaction, grass etc.

My issue with mowing with a tractor are these: compared to a zero turn they are slower and it's not cost effective. A MMM deck for a CUT is often $3k. And it has to come off for much of what you do with your CUT. My toro cost $3200 and mows faster and easier than any tractor-based mower I've ever had.

There are no doubt certain conditions where it's better to have a tractor. hills would be one, long large straight stretches perhaps.

As for rear finish mower..faster on/off than a belly mower, but harder to cut along a fence line or such. if you have stuff to cut around a ZT wins hands down.

 

[Captain Dirty]

If you really cannot walk, maybe get a zero turn. Saw an old lady in a little lawn this morning with a zero turn. To me, even if you're using a walker, walking behind a self propelled walk behind is like walking with a walker.

I own a two-wheeled (walk behind) tractor with tiller, mowing deck, sickle-bar, power broom, and snowblower; I've used countless other walk-behind, SP, single-use implements. When I broke my femur I had to use a walker.
The walker never fought back; all the walk-behinds did.

 

[chim]

I've been using my L3200 with a 6' RFM since it replaced my B7500 back in 2012. It has loaded R4's and does a nice job. We have a creek in the front yard that floods about 4 times each year. I can mow a couple days after the flood without making tracks. I think it does better in that case than my B7500 did. My featherweight Ford 1210 without ballast in its R1 tires is light but will mark soft ground worse.

DevilDog's tractor is probably a few hundred pounds more than mine, but his tires are larger to possibly keep the PSI load on the ground similar to mine.

 

[dodge man]

I have two points. 1. It’s not so much soil compaction as grass compaction. I mow with a BX and while it’s very small for a tractor it’s pretty heavy for a lawn mower. Also since it’s a water cooled diesel there is a little more weight out front so the front tires mash down the grass before it gets cut. If you have a rear finish mower the rears are also mashing down the grass. My opinion is a good scut or cut still give a decent cut.

2. Lots of reasons to have one machine. Maybe your yards hilly and you need front wheel assist. You don’t have room for another machine. You don’t want to maintain another machine. I fully intended to keep my riding mower after buying my BX and found I wasn’t using it for the reasons I’ve listed.

 

[MossRoad]

That's why I like my mower out front as it is on my Power Trac, or a Ventrac, Steiner, ZTR, etc.... it mows the grass before you flatten it with the tractor tires.

 

[RSKY]

For mowing grass in a yard get a machine designed to mow grass in a yard. The engineers and manufacturers have done all the figuring for you.

For doing utility work around acreage get a machine designed to do utility work on acreage, like a compact tractor. The engineers and manufacturers have done all the design work to make the machine the best compromise.


RSKY

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

My issue with mowing with a tractor are these: compared to a zero turn they are slower and it's not cost effective. A MMM deck for a CUT is often $3k. And it has to come off for much of what you do with your CUT. My toro cost $3200 and mows faster and easier than any tractor-based mower I've ever had.

Well said.

And as another poster stated, "fields" are mowed a couple times a year versus weekly on a lawn.

Been mowing my lawn with a garden tractor (800#) for a few years. Just got my new tractor yesterday, not a big tractor by any means (Max 26XL), drove it onto the yard to turn around and the ruts are still there. And it was dry weather. Thing is, I've been working to improve my awful clay soil for years. Nice to see I have finally made some progress and the soil now has some "give" to it, instead of hard-pan clay. No way I'm taking the tractor on the lawn again.

A lot will depend on your soil; sandy soil doesn't compact nearly as much. On clay soil, compaction is your lawn's worst enemy.

 

[Texasmark]

Get yourself a ZT for mowing your yard and it will look like a lawn. I have 5 tractors, 2 ea. 3 pt shredders, one side cutting drum mower for haying, 3 ZTs and 2 regular big box riders. My last purchase was a ZT (Ferris for the ride) for mowing my lawn and my Bermuda pastures when not in hay.

ZTs do everything the tractor/mower can do and do it better, smoother, and faster. Then only thing going for the tractor would be around here with heavy clay cracking, and ground drying out, clump grass mounds (Fescue and Dallis grass), the tractor MAY be smoother riding due to the larger diameter tires.

On the soil compaction, the only time you don't do it with weight (heavy tractor) is this time of year when the ground is hard as rocks...aka Houston Black Clay. If you go around where you went (at wetter times of the year) it's not too bad, but if you go cross to where you have been you will be fully aware of the compaction problem.