Buying Advice Need a zero turn that doesn't exist?

[Ortimber]

Hire it out a few times per year. Keep saving some money and increase your budget so you can get into a true commercial machine (ZTR?) at some point.

 

[4570Man]

A low end ZT won’t handle hills but a big one handles them fine. Find a used large commercial ZT and put AT101 tires on it.

 

[3gunr]

A tractor will work fine , but as others have said it needs to be set up for it 4 wheel drive is a must and an fel or some other front weight helps also. filling rear tires goes a long way also.After 25 yrs of tractor usage i just learned this 3 yrs ago. Now all our tractors have filled rears.

 

[two_bit_score]

Altoz TRX Series | The World's First Tracked Zero Turn Mower

They have Dealers in Boerne and Bandera. Don't know where the OP is in the "Hill Country" but those mowers look interesting.

 

[Fuddy1952]

This is what I've used for 15 years, Cub Cadet RZT50 with those tires. Yesterday I cut with it for a few hours before the rain.
I cut a hill way too steep to walk up, don't know the grade. I slide way over off seat on uphill side going across topside where it starts to drop off. As I turn going downhill I shift over into seat, going slow as I can. If ground is dry, no problem. Least bit damp you don't have much control...but so low center of gravity doesn't matter. I filled in, leveled depressions years ago. Then at bottom drive around make next pass.
It's 50" cut vs 60" bush hog so not much difference. Then I bush hog the better areas.
Worked well for me all these years, it was $2K new (then).
I'll cut uphill only if it's not too steep, difficult but not impossible walking up.

 

[Milo]

These are awesome for slopes but not cheap. Ventrac Compact Tractors & Attachments

Yes I would sell the tractor and buy a Ventrac with whatever attachments you need and take care of your property with it. My friend has one and uses it for all kinds of tasks including mowing, spreading gravel, brush cutting, etc.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Rough ground is not that bad on the mower, much worse on the operator, so just go slow. No mower is going to be ok hitting rocks, not even a bush hog behind a tractor, especially large rocks. SO, clean up the rocks, do some rough grading with the Bobcat and then you can mow. If it is rough, just go slow enough that you aren't bouncing in the seat and the mower will do fine.
Rough ground is why I bought my Ferris IS700Z. It has coil spring suspension with shocks on each corner so it really smooths the ride. If I had to buy again, I would add a suspension seat also.
When selecting any mowed get one that is suspended from chains with robust linkage and the rough ground wont affect it too much. Take a look at how the Ferris is built.

 

[two_bit_score]

So I have a bit of a situation, and I've googled around, including on here and not come up with a good answer.

I have about 5 acres of Texas hill country that i need to keep grass/bush down on. Its not a lawn, but it is mostly clear. I"m having a dude with a bobcat try to get any remaining debris and most of the sticks/some of the rocks out. But no matter what it will be somewhat rough. If its not mowed the weeds can get up to 4-5', if it is regularly mowed its general native grasses and not that thick. I bought a midsize tractor (longtrac 490 of indeterminate age) and a 5' brush hog and thought that should take care of it.

Except its on a hill. A big scary hill (about 2 acres is just a slope down to the rest). Ive driven my truck up and down it with a trailer, so its not a cliff, but it is TERRIFYING on the big tipsy tractor. I tried once, got a good number of passes done....only being able to remotely steer at the very top and very bottom. Then on a downward run my right tires went into a ditch, my left tire left the ground, I got it out and haven't gone near it with it since.

I hired a guy to bring his old zero turn out, and it actually did manage to mow most of it (pending some areas that needed a bit more bobcat clearing), and it zipped around the hill at all angles with no effort. So my initial thought was to get one and be done with it. Looking specifically at the Cub Cadet SX54 or ZT2 60"...both around $4k. The SX seems better for hills which seems to beat out the slightly more commercial and larger ZT2.

HOWEVER im reading that zero turns arent made for that. Rough terrain will shred them and i can almost guarantee it will hit some sticks and rocks. The guy i hired had to do some repairs to his deck when he was done.

$4k is about the limits of my budget as i was expecting the expensive tractor to handle it.

Is there a low center of gravity brush mower of some type that can handle hills? Will a zero turn get beat up a bit but just need some maintenance and keep chugging? Would the ZT2 handle rough stuff better? How much drop off on hill control would it be?

Is there an option im not thinking of? The hill seems to be severely limiting my options short of some insanely expensive specialty machinery.

Thanks

First Off - :welcome: to TBN!

Your budget is a little low to be expecting anything relatively new. Can you post a picture of what kind of location you are dealing with? It might help people to understand your situation better.

 

[two_bit_score]

Yes I would sell the tractor and buy a Ventrac with whatever attachments you need and take care of your property with it. My friend has one and uses it for all kinds of tasks including mowing, spreading gravel, brush cutting, etc.

I believe there is a Ventrac dealer in San Antonio.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Cushman 6150 shown here dirty and when I bought it at Auction, will do circles around the Steiner on Steep Hills on account of it's wide stance. And front wheels being about 16" wide. 10 foot cut, 56 HP KUBOTA 4 cyl, 4WD Sunstrand Drivetrain. . It's ALMOST a ZT and with the wings, goes around trees very nicely. Automotive Steering.

These machines are rated at 80-100 acres in a shift, depending on conditions of course.

A pleasure to use. I always feel like I am flying an airplane. Steiner, terrible operator experience by comparison.


Friends just sold one of these. Didn't know there was such a thing.
216 Hustler(R) Product Video - Super 14 - YouTube

Astounds me though that it's not available in a diesel!

Life is too short to be cutting acerage with dinky equipment!