General mower reccommendations needed (RFM vs ZTR vs Pull-behind)

[Robert6401]

I've got about 6 acres that I'd like to mow with whichever product I end up with. Part of this is my pond dam which can be fairly steep. Until now, I've used a hand-me-down 42" cut yard tractor, but only used it to mow the ~2 acres around the house. I have about 4 acres of pasture, plus the dam, that I'd like to mow to the finished level that I've used a bushhog on up until this point. I can see many benefits and drawbacks of each kind of mower. I have the tractor in my signature, and a powerful enough ATV to pull a mower behind it if that would be a better route to take. So, what would you do in my situation? I can't say cost isn't a factor, but I'm not afraid to pay a little more for a better solution. My fear, however, is that a nice enough ZTR to handle what I'm asking would be cost-prohibiting. Thanks for the help.

 

[DK35vince]

My fear, however, is that a nice enough ZTR to handle what I'm asking would be cost-prohibiting. Thanks for the help.

A zero turn heavy duty enough to handle 6 acres long term would be $$.
If a commercial ZTR is cost prohibiting I think your best bet would be a rear finish mower for the tractor..

 

[Deerherd]

I went through the same dilemma and ended up getting a commercial ZTR. Price wise it was a double punch to the kidneys but I'm glad I did. Rear finish mower would be a good second choice if you don't have a lot of trees/obstacles to mow around and you can keep your rig out of the pond.

I was using a lawn tractor and finish mower, but it took quite a bit of time. Plus I was having to clean up with the lawn tractor where I was too scared or couldn't get close enough to mow with the finish mower. Sold both and got the ZTR and have been very happy. Big time saver and a real plush ride.

 

[boggen]

i have always wanted a pull behind mower, with the funky side swing action bar on it. so i can use regular tractor with bellow mower, and then toss the pull behind behind the tractor. and swing it out to one side, to help cut the larger areas quicker, and then unhook pull behind, for trim work. ya another engine to deal with, but *shrugs* if tractor goes down, if i really had to do it, i could pull the pull behind, behind the s-10 blazer, or borrow an atv. a guy a few days ago was thinking pull behind as a good option to deal with mowing under fruit trees and low hanging willow trees if memory serves, vs getting whacked to death. a word of cation a 2 wheeled trailer, can be hectic to backup. i would imagine a pull behind mower would be the same to try and back them up, without having them jack knife up on you.

it would be awesome to have a batwing deck finishing mower for 3pt hitch, but really nice size tractor is needed, and not real easy to do trim work with :/ hence wanting a pull behind with the funky side swing action bar.

for me, a tractor with FEL (front end loader) and bush hog is only way i can back down the hills on the lake sides, it takes time to do it, and if i hit a rut or wet spot, i can use fel to give me some extra leverage to pull my rear back up. the bush hog since it sticks so far back, allows me to get a little bit over the edge of the lake edge. "within reason". the only other option is self propelled, (think walk behind self propelled tiller) but with a bush hog blade or tine blade for the hill sides on the lake/pond.

a sickle mower, is another option, but you only get to cut a few feet off on the side of the tractor.

not sure what they are called, kind like a backhoe on the side of the tractor with a bush hog mower on the end of it. i see a couple different ones out around here done by county to clean up some ugly road side ditches. cost wise scared me.

another option is a hay cutter, that sticks out to one side. while tractor runs on area that has already been cut. but cost wise and results no idea. it might give a bush hog (rotatory cutter) effect on the cutting and windrows.

3pt fail mowers, can be used for tall weed mowing, and possibly swapping out the beaters/choppers for finish mowing.

stay away from "gang reel mowers" or less you are out there every day mowing. grass gets to tall and you can get yourself into trouble

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i like my MPH's (miles per hour), and a finishing mower strong enough to keep up with the higher MPH's

the old 1950ish allis chalmers CA tractor with belly mower, narrow front end (think tricycle) with left and right rear brake pedals, i can spin on a dime and keep one of the rear tires a couple inches off of the tree or telephone pole, and do a couple donut turns, and continue on with my path. doing that with a regular wide front end tractor, and the turn radius ends up being pretty big resulting in multi passes around trees and like. zero turns, are nice about those sharp quick turns they can take without much effort.

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6 acres on riding lawn mowers and or garden tractors not much fun. get the MPH (miles per hour) up higher, and/or wider cutting decks, so ya not spending 8 hours mowing. (breaks, refueling, eating, greasing, etc...)

 

[Will_C]

My thoughts-if the land is smooth enough for a Z, and you don't mind the $$$-that's the way to go. I have 5 acres that I mow with a 52" Z in a little over 2 hours. I sometimes mow it with a 60" RFM in around 2 1/2 hours. I can't go full speed with the Z, but can probably go around 6 mph.

There is a 3.5 acre section that is too rough to consider using my Z on-that takes me about 1 3/4 hours with the tractor

I wouldn't consider a pull behind ATV mower as long as you have tractor.

Will

 

[Gary Fowler]

You could use a box store ZTR (less than $3K) to mow that with but it isn't going to last very long with those kind of hours. OR you can spend about triple that amount and get a heavy duty mower that will last you a life time. Even the entry level commercial mowers in the $7K range would work for your acreage but they would be in the 52" width range and your time would be about 2-2.5 hours per mow.
I wouldn't even consider a tow behind rig especially having to pull or push it up a dam incline. I can mow my almost 45 degree pond dam with my ZTR with ease just mowing up and backing down. The sides are less steep and can be mowed sideways. ZTR's are the most stable of any mowers due to the low profile and most of the weight is down low so it slides rather than flips.