Mower for 89-year old mother

[RSKY]

I need a new lawn mower for my 89-year old mother. Before you start in on me and say I should be mowing her yard for her, I've got to tell you that mowing is one of her greatest pleasures. She mows at least once a week and her yard is around three acres. About four or five years ago I talked her into giving up her 30 inch cut Snapper Comet for a 48 inch Husqvarna tractor type. She has been complaining about her hip hurting and we realized this week that she is having to stretch her leg out so far to push the forward pedal that this is what is causing her pain. Her knees are shot, her right hip bothers her as does her right shoulder. She has already been on her tractor dragging limbs off and has got the golf cart stuck so bad I had to use the tractor to pull it out. As long as it is not raining she is outside doing something every day. So I need to find an easy to use, low impact on the operator mower for her to use. I am sure somebody else out there has had a similar problem with their parents and found the ideal, not too expensive machine. She has used a zero turn before but that is not an option now. Her reflexes are not as good as they once were and I don't want to worry about her getting hurt on it.

Thanking you in advance for your recommendations.

RSKY

 

[gwdixon]

Tough situation. You might want to find a mower that has a "cruise control" so the pedal doesn't have to be depressed during the whole mowing process.

My wife uses a John Deere 125 that has cruise control of sorts (which she doesn't use!) so this might give you a lead on the process necessary.

Plus, does your mother's present mower have an adjustable seat? If so, maybe moving it forward would help with the hip/knee problem.

Don't know what to say about the shoulder problems. Not many smaller lawn mowers have power steering. Three acres will cause a lot of time on the lawn tractor.

Your budget will determine a lot about what you can get.

 

[turnkey4099]

Jusst a thought. If the ony problem is reaching the pedal, put an extension on the pedal. That way she will still have the machine she is familiar with.

Harry K

 

[alchemysa]

I understand the problem both regarding your Mum, and the mower! My mum often wants to do too much for her own good to.

Anyway, those lawn tractor pedals are a 'one size fits all' compromise designed to fit everyone from a little lady to a 6' 6" man. Consequently they don't fit anyone very well at all. My own lawn tractor is a pain in the knee after only about 30 minutes of mowing but fortunately I don't have to sit on it much longer than that.

A couple of suggestions....

1. Get her to take more frequent breaks. Break the job into 3 or 4 smaller sections with a good rest and walk in between.

2. Customize the pedal position. Perhaps you could add something that will make it closer, higher, lower, easier to push, give it more leverage, or whatever it takes to make it easier. It could be as simple as a block of wood or some kind of fabricated add-on. If you can work out something it will be a lot cheaper than trading up to something with cruise control, and she will be able to keep using a mower she is familiar with. (At 89 it could be tricky trying to teach her how to run a new mower.)

Take a good look at how her leg and foot look when she is on the tractor. If she has small feet her heel might not even be touching the floor. (Perhaps a heel pad might help). Also check if she has to hold her knee half tensioned in the air in order to prevent herself going too fast. Perhaps a solid 'stop' behind the pedal in the correct position would let her rest her full weight on the pedal.

 

[BrinkME]

They still make "entry level" HST riding mowers that have a hand lever for setting forward speed, same location as on 'geared' type riding mowers.

I'd also recommend looking into a pedal modification and/or a seat modification if the forward-most adjustment isn't close enough to ease the strain on her hip.

 

[dmccarty]

Take her to the dealer and see which mowers are the easiest to get on and off. I too was thinking cruise control but I wonder if a gear mower would be better for her. When we were looking for a riding lawn mower last year I did not see too many and for us, a non geared mower was a better fit for our needs.

You would think that moving the go pedal up to the dash would be fairly simple to do... Seems like other people would have requested this by now....

Later,
Dan

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had a JD 332 diesel mower (older machine) that had the HST lever up by the steering wheel which was easy to use but it meant that you only had one hand on the wheel (power steering also) and one on the HST lever which was not good when you were turning or on a hillside. I think the best thing would be to adjust the seat and pedals on her present mower to fit the old ladies frame. As previously stated, no mower is really comfortable for everyone and at best is a compromise to all sized operators. A little bit of ergonomic design changes will do wonders. As for gear models, wouldn't recommend that either. I had a Troybuilt that even my 5'11" frame had to stretch to push in the clutch, wife (5' 1")could barely reach the clutch pedal much less push it in the 8-10" of travel that it took.

 

[RSKY]

Thanks to all of you on your suggestions. Her not mowing is not an option.

I will try to modify the pedals for her but may end up trading for a gear type. She has become more resistant to new things and I don't know if she could adapt to a new type mower. I did look at the Snappers online, a few years ago they had a rear engine rider with a 42" deck but it has been discontinued. I wanted her to get something with power steering, etc. the last time but she wont spend the money, said she might go to Switzerland and climb a mountain someday and she would need the money for that.

My daughters say that if I am as stubborn as their grandmother that they will put me in a rest home two states over. I hope they are joking! I just hope that I am able to do as much as well when I get that old, if I live to that age.

Thanks again.

RSKY

 

[Kopierguy]

RSKY, I feel your pain, My mom is almost 91 and still drives a car. She works in her yard a lot but I refuse to let her cut grass (about 1 acre) that I cut for her. They do get hard headed the older they get but I overlook that and do all I can to help her.

 

[MoKelly]

I admire your Mom. If she likes to be outside and mow more power to her. Its a good thing.

And good for you to help make it work.

Sorry, I have no suggestions to help you but wanted to say its all good stuff.

Good luck.

MoKelly