I have no idea what to buy

[Raul-02]

I have experienced Michigan winters. The snow blades that are built for a zero turn mower seem to be more for convenience, but may not be adequate in my humble opinion.

I tried it with my scagg. Fhugetabout it. It was a total bust

 

[jaydee325]

I'm going to stray from the ZTR camp and recommend one of the John Deere All Wheel Steer model lawn tractors.

I've got a John Deere X584 AWS. 48" or 54" decks are available. I've got the 48" due to some tight areas that a 54" won't go through. Mulching kit work great as well. Mows great, very maneuverable and goes as fast as my rough law will allow. 47" snowblower for winter also works great! I'm even thinking about getting the soft side cab to keep the snow off me.

 

[dodge man]

What is your budget? How long is your driveway and what’s is made of? Your mowing a little less than 2 acres, is that the entire property?

I live 3 acres and mow roughly 2 acres, I also have a 600 foot driveway. I started out with a cheap riding mower and walk behind snow blower. That lasted a few years and I stepped up and bought a small Kubota tractor, then about 3 years ago bought a bigger John Deere tractor.

Do you need a tractor for other things? For example I use my tractor to handle firewood, move dirt, mow, and clear my driveway of snow. If all you have is mowing a dedicated mower is the best choice.

Good luck on the search.

 

[rScotty]

for a walk behind mower?

Honda HRX217VKA Mower | 21" Walk Behind Mower | Honda Lawn Mowers

The Honda HRX217VKA lawn mower offers Honda's Adjustable Speed Smart Drive transmission, Nexite® deck, and MicroCut® twin blades, plus a 5 year warranty.

powerequipment.honda.com

WOW~!!!!!

Yes, that one you linked to is a similar mower at close enough to the same price. That's about what they cost.
You want to pay enough to get a good one with independent clutches that pulls and steers nicely. Much more comfortable than trying to mow from a sitting position. Easier on your back, too.

 

[Buggs67]

If your property is 1.9 acres you'll be mowing much less. Lawn/garden tractors can mow well and some new models are very maneuverable. The HST ones are nice; no gear shifting. And with a plow and wheel weight they can do snow. Usually cheaper than ZTMs.

ZTMs are great for faster mowing especially in yards with many obstacles (trees, gardens, etc) and large area's but they are expensive single-taskers. Avoid the Big Box store models. They are built with inferior inside materials but look the same. And the dealers will not want to service them.

If you can, try a friend/neighbor's ZTM. I tried my neighbor's Ferris and actually mowed some of my lawn with it. He got it because his FIL bought it and then didn't like how ZTs drive. He then went with a JD Lawn Tractor.

The Cub Cadet with the steering wheel is a unigue ZTM. My neighbor bought one from a dealer so he has a service provider. I wish I'd considered/test drove one.

 

[RoyJackson]

ZTMs are great for faster mowing especially in yards with many obstacles (trees, gardens, etc) and large area's but they are expensive single-taskers.

Not really single taskers...
I added an after-market hitch to my Deere Z920 and use it for towing an aerator and lawn roller. Same implements one could tow behind a lawn tractor. Both work great as long as you turn with a degree of caution
I bought a cart to tow as well, but returned it after considering my UTV can do the same yard clean-up. Nice cart, just didn't need 2 tools doing the same work
Now, I've seen ZT snow plows...maybe OK is a light snow, but never used one...but in my situation, a snow plow mounted to the UTV would be a better choice

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I sort of like to have tools made for the job they do… because they do them well, and don’t compromise. A ZTR will mow, and mow well. Mow fast. Mine was $9k cash… but it will last a long damn time. At 120 hours it’s in MUCH better shape than my FILs mower with the same hours. He will buy two or three, while I buy one.

 

[stevem5215]

IMO you need two machines. One for cutting grass comfortably which you will do more often than the winter thing which clearing the snow isn't as frequent or needed.

That said what I've done is to have two machines. A 61" deck on a Simplicity Citation ZTR for my bumpy 4 acres yard and a older Steiner 420 with a rotating snow brush for winter duties and for summer bucket duties (mulch, dirt, rock moving and heavy duty towing of trees and hauling a trailer). Everything has a purpose. You need to decide how much you want to spend on the "fun". My wife calls them "toys". I call them stress reducing work machines for jobs. I have a total of 6k in my 2020 ZTR and another 8.5k into my Steiner. The Steiner is a 94' that I bought around 04' with a full loader, leaf blower, snow/dirt blade (sold due to non use) and a Rotating brush was added later for another $600. Also, in the name of full disclosure, I bought a 42" Black Craftsman Professional 24hp about 15 years ago and cut the front yard only with it and had a Ford 1900 compact tractor with a 72" mower deck. And a Simplicity XT2500 48" mower k with a 24hp engine. I don't use the Craftsman anymore and loan it out yearly to a semi disabled friend and he returns it at the end of the year and I maintain it for him and store it in the winter months. It's still mine technically but I don't use it for anything other than maybe once a year leaf cleanup with it's bagging system used. I also sold the Ford 1900 as the ZTR is much better for grass cutting duties anyway. The cool factor though a big tractor is killer when the manly neighbors see you cruising around the yard in it lol. The XT2500 I do use some as the wife will run the big machine and I run the smaller one at the same time so we can get the grass done 2x faster.

So, good luck on your purchase. Figure out how much you want to spend and if it's very little just go to the big box store and buy a "cheapy". Price determines how much you want to spend. I bought the Black Craftsman for $1100 bucks at the Sears Outlet. It's really been a good cheapy machine. Still looks good and works well without any issues.

 

[jeff9366]

The OP, mattnelsonesq, has not checked in since the day he opened this thread.

 

[stevem5215]

He probably went to the big box store and bought a mower lol.