MOUNTAINEER 4wd + 4wSteer lawn/garden tractor

[Bob_Skurka]

In this same forum a couple weeks ago I had posted a question about who makes the BEST garden tractor because I am on a quest to buy a new machine. For me the brand is less important then the functionality.

One of the machines that was mentioned by someone was the GIERE MOUNTAINEER because it is 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel steering and has 4 wheel braking. I contacted the company several times and got no response after a week or so I posted a message that the company must have gone out of business and I also indicated that the phone number on the website has been shut down.

This morning I got an email reply from Dave Giere. They are in business. Of the "traditional" tractors, this is the only brand that made my list of possible choices for the best garden tractor. The other 3 choices are Power Trac, Steiner and Ventrac.

All 4 of the brands that made my list of the BEST have 4 wheel drive, and more importantly, all 4 of them are designed so that the rear wheels track exactly in the path of the front wheels so it is nearly impossible to tear up your lawn. 3 of the brands are articulated, while the Mountaineer uses a patented transaxel. Of the 4 brands, only the Mountaineer uses a mid-mount mower deck, the other 3 brands have front mounted decks. The Mountaineer outwardly looks like a regular garden tractor, the others do not.

The following is the email I got from Dave if anyone is interested:

<font color="green"> Dear Mr. Skurka,
 
Sorry for the delay getting back to you.  There are not any dealers in Indiana, but our Distributor in South Dakota can ship a Mountaineer II direct to you for $6,299 plus about $325 freight.  Suggested retail is $7,795.  The 47-inch mower deck is included.  If you would be interested, let us know.
 
Best Regards,

Dave Giere
</font>


Just in case anyone is interested here are the websites for all 4 of the brands that I believe (JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION) are the BEST lawn-garden tractors. They are in NO particular order.

MOUNTAINEER 4x4x4 Tractor

VENTRAC articulated tractors

Power-Trac articulated tractors

Steiner articulated tractors

Of the 4 brands above, all are capable of operating on slopes, but only Ventrac and Steiner have weight transfer systems in their smaller units. There is some question how steep of a slope it would be safe to operate a PT or a Mountaineer on, while the Ventrac and Steiners are made for extreme grades (the kind that most people never encounter). The PT is easily the most versitile of the 4 brands by a long shot when it comes to accessories and non-mowing functionality, however, I would say it is the least capable of the tractors if you are primarily using your garden tractor as a mowing machine. Of the 4, the Mountaineer is the lightest made machine and probably would be considered the most refined in styling while the Steiners, Ventracs & P.T. appear to be built more like military tanks with style as an afterthought.

I would also say that it is not even fair to compare the Cub Cadets, John Deeres or other premium garden tractors to the Ventrac, PT or Steiner, but those machines would probably parallel the Mountaineer in many features and capabilities.

 

[slowrev]

Glad to hear Mountaineer is still in business. They appear to be a really good machine.

However the "best" garden tractor depends on each of our needs. Some of us just need an average riding mower type of unit. Some need a small tractor to run implements with and mow. Some of us have golf courses to mow, and some have very hilly terrain to mow and work on.

IMHO The best garden tractor is the one that suits your needs the best and gives the best value in cost vs life of the unit.

ps if you get the Mountaineer, send pics and let us know how it goes.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

slowrev . . . I agree that the definition of BEST is very subjective.

I looked at things like quality build, turning radius, available implements, and weighted heavily toward mowing quality and turf care because I feel that is what most lawn-garden tractors are used for most of the time. Even then, it is just my opinion. I looked at it from a standpoint of price is not an issue, and certainly for many it is the main issue.

Cub Cadets & John Deeres have more implements than the Mountaineer, but don't have the turning radius nor are they as soft on the lawn. Neither is as good with even moderate slopes and tight landscaping radius cuts. Both offer machines that have higher price tags, and both have much better dealer support. I have 10 years under my belt with Cub and can attest to its quality as a garden tractor, mine has never let me down, but there are things I wish it did better.

Cubs & Deeres are both cheaper than Ventrac or Steiner mowers, but those mowers are designed for heavy duty applications and are favored by commercial users because they are built like tanks. As far as mowing tractors go, I think these two machines are absolutely the best brands of mowing tractors on the market. A ZTR will cut faster, but not on the variety of terrain these 2 brands can cover. Again Cubs & Deeres have better dealer support. The Ventrac and Steiners both are capable of doing things that no Cub or Deere should ever attempt, and they also have heavier duty implements than the Cubs & Deeres for people who use their garden tractors for more than mowing.

PT is the most flexible of all in terms of implements and it probably is better to compare them to Compact Utility Tractors than to compare even the smallest of them to a garden tractor. But the smallest PT is really pretty close to being a great garden tractor and is certainly price competitive, the PT180's biggest drawback is that the mower deck size is smaller than is typically found on the premium garden tractors, making is a lesser mower, and mowing is what occupies the time of most garden tractors.

I have a demo unit coming from Ventrac (was supposed to be March 30, but I later moved it to April 13). Ventrac is operated by the family that designed Steiner, but then sold it. They then opened up Ventrac to enhance some things that they felt were not quite as good as they could have been. So many who have tried Ventrac seem to think it is an "improved" version of the Steiner. The Mountaineer is still a very attractive unit if for no other reason than it is the smallest overall tractor (because the mower deck sits under the tractor instead of out front) which will help it in some of the tight spaces. The 4 wheel steering combined with the 4 wheel drive is a great feature for anyone who ever mowed slightly wet grass with even a modest slope and anyone who has to mow around trees, shrubs, etc.

Anyway, I just thought someone might be interested in exploring some of the OTHER brands that are out there. I am not an evangalist for any of them, I have just done the research based on MY own needs and tried to post it for all to see.

 

[slowrev]

I encourage you to find YOUR best machine. Enjoy and keep us posted. I have looked at all of the machines you have discussed and agree that any one of them should do well and ARE built very sturdy.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

slowrev . . . for my personal application, I ruled out the PT because it is the least capable mower of the bunch and my next tractor will be primarily a mowing tractor. But if I was looking for a versitile garden tractor to do more than mow, it would likely be my first choice. I also eliminated it because I some steep slopes and would have to move up to too large a machine to get the wheel torque I need to climb a couple of hills I have without undue stress on the wheel motors.

I am leaning Ventrac 3000 at this point, but have the Steiner 415 and the Mountaineer as back ups. Ventrac and Steiner would both outdo the Mountaineer on the slopes, but I have been assured that Mountaineer would handle the slopes. It would NOT be as stable, but it would climb and decline safely. The Ventrac and Steiner would also give me cross slope mowing, which is NOT really high on my priority list.

Mountaineer is the most familiar with controls, and my wife would probably like it best.

Ventrac's rear engine design appeals to me because it has a TINY turning radius that will speed up mowing around the trees, shrubs and curvy garden beds.

 

[Waldo]

Bob,

I've been watching your posts with interest, and then I started thinking /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif First of all, could you post a pic of what you land looks like (I'm very curious) in the area that you are requiring the use of such a "specialized" piece of equipment? Second, have you compared the cost of doing a landscaping project to turn this area into conversation piece instead of investing in a new piece of equipment. It looks like you already have a fair amount of equipment to preform the task (safely?) yourself. I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, I just wondered if this idea had crossed your mind.

Waldo

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Waldo, I can borrow a digital camera from work, but if you want to see some of my challeng, there is a post in the Build it Yourself forum titled My Spoiled Daughter gets a Playhouse. One of the pictures of the playhouse is taken from the back of the playhouse and in the background, over the roof of the playhouse you can see the north wing of my home. The front door of my home sits 40' above the level of the playhouse. Unfortunatley the playhouse obstructs the view of much of the hill, but it will give you an idea. You cannot see the steep part of the hill in the picture, and the elevation rise doesn't really seem like 40', but the surveys I have show it is every bit of 40' difference. And the size of my house probably distorts the perception as well. The brick pillars you will see on the porch are about 18' tall but probably appear much shorter because of the distance.

From the west wall of the house we had limestone stairs built through the woods to get down the hill to our pool and poolhouse. But before you even get to the stairs there is a slope that is almost 20 degrees, fortunately the rise from the top of the stairs to the house is only about 12'. Everyone comments that we should have continued the stair case up to the house. Elderly relatives need help walking up that slope. We don't let them go down the steep parts. When my daughter was learning to walk she went down the hill and didn't stop until a tree helped her!

As for the landscaping project, I have done lots of those, but the grassy area around the north and west sides of the house still must be mowed and that is the start of the worst area. Below the grassy area is woods and we have several paths going through the woods so we can get ourselves and equipment down to the "valley" area where the playhouse is. As you go south on my property the woods get more dense and the slope becomes more gentle. Our "valley" area is where we spend our time, it lies to the north of the house & is very private, essentially invisible from the adjacet road, tucked between 2 hills (my house is on one, my neighobor's house is across a creek through some woods and up the hill to the north side of the valley) so the valley floor is pretty much concealed on 3 sides, the west side is 30+/- acre farm field that I lease out a neighboring farmer, the remainder of my property is just under 12 acres.

If I landscape the slope then I will not be able to get the tractors down to the valley unless I take on a couple other projects or unless I drive out the driveway onto the road, then 200' north on the road where I can re-enter my property by coming down a 15 degree slope with a 15' elevation drop into my valley area. Or I could cut a wide path through the woods for the equipment, but that would mean I have to go exit my north facing garage, go east, then south into a flat field around a fenced dog area so that I could turn west to drive through a path that doesn't yet exist and end up in the property I lease out on the other side of the woods before I turned north and drove abotu 500' to get to the valley area where I'd want to go. So the real choice is go 150' north, and down a steep hill, or do a big circle and travel 1000'+ to get to the same spot.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Waldo, here is a link to the playhouse forum.

Spoiled Child gets a playhouse

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Waldo, this is a winter picture of a small portion of the slope. The kids were out sledding. This picture is taken on the top portion of the hill where the slope is comparitively gentle, it doesn't show the steepness very well but should give you an idea. It is the point that the kids use for their starting point to sled down the hills. They have a couple different paths they can go down through the trees.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Waldo, this picture is taken from a different area of the same slope. I'm farther down the hill and looking down one of the paths at the kids as they pull their sleds up. The really steep spot is behind the girl in the yellow jacket, there is no way to tell from the picture but that is the part that is about 30 degrees with a 12' drop.