Rear finish mower vs dedicated lawn tractor

[shooterdon]

Let us step back and remind ourselves that the OP has 1.5 acres to mow. That is not that large of an area. I mow an acre with a 60" mower deck and it takes about 25-30 minutes.

A lawn tractor with a 54" deck mowing at 4mph ( just a little faster than a walking pace) should do about 1.96 acres per hour, so it would take the OP about 45 minutes.

You can get a very nice 54" lawn tractor for well under $3K.

A less expensive husqvarna for $2200, which is the way I'd go. You can beat it to heck for 10 years and be money ahead VS just the cost of a RFM. Then buy a larger tractor for the larger chores as planned.

It is stupid that people start talking about $10k+ mowers for someone who cuts less than 2 acres of grass. Too many need to justify their expensive machines I guess.

To the OP...ignore these people. You do not need a $10k mower.


I have about 1.5 acres and use an 8 year old Husky 48" riding mower. It still runs well. I have two dozen trees, pond, patio, flower beds to deal with. It takes about 2 hours including the trimming. I hate mowing and am looking at a ZT. My budget is $5k and I believe a "good" ZT can be had at that price level.

I think you will regret a RFM if you use the tractor for other things...and using one just for grass makes little sense. Dealing with PTO and 3 PH hook ups every week gets old quick.

I had a 60" MMM for my old JD855 and never used it due to the obstacles in my lawn and the PITA it was to take on and off. If maneuverability is not a requirement, a MMM is a decent compromise if it can be easily removed and attached.

If you do not mind cutting grass, heed Moss Roads advice. If you are like me, get a ZT and be happy.

 

[Fordman98]

It is stupid that people start talking about $10k+ mowers for someone who cuts less than 2 acres of grass. Too many need to justify their expensive machines I guess.

To the OP...ignore these people. You do not need a $10k mower.


I have about 1.5 acres and use an 8 year old Husky 48" riding mower. It still runs well. I have two dozen trees, pond, patio, flower beds to deal with. It takes about 2 hours including the trimming. I hate mowing and am looking at a ZT. My budget is $5k and I believe a "good" ZT can be had at that price level.

I think you will regret a RFM if you use the tractor for other things...and using one just for grass makes little sense. Dealing with PTO and 3 PH hook ups every week gets old quick.

I had a 60" MMM for my old JD855 and never used it due to the obstacles in my lawn and the PITA it was to take on and off. If maneuverability is not a requirement, a MMM is a decent compromise if it can be easily removed and attached.

If you do not mind cutting grass, heed Moss Roads advice. If you are like me, get a ZT and be happy.

Yeah after looking around to see what I can get looks like a riding mower is probably gonna be in my future. Just can't justify spending more than a couple grand for the little bit of yard I have right now. The zero turns I could afford I don't think will work too well with my property.

 

[riptides]

Yeah after looking around to see what I can get looks like a riding mower is probably gonna be in my future. Just can't justify spending more than a couple grand for the little bit of yard I have right now. The zero turns I could afford I don't think will work too well with my property.

Now is the keyword. You get more than a couple acres "under grass" and do some landscaping you can rethink your position.

Sooner or later it boil's down to time and efficiency.

Good luck in your choice.

 

[chim]

It is stupid that people start talking about $10k+ mowers for someone who cuts less than 2 acres of grass. ..........................

Maybe some information that isn't applicable, but it doesn't necessarily meet the criteria for "stupid". We do have threads drift a bit.

With regard to size, I still have the Ford 1210 I bought for around $3K in '91 or '92 when I was doing 2.25 acres. It was sufficient and the 5' RFM isn't hard to get on and off. A rear scraper blade for Winter made it a good package. I still mow with it once in a while, and leave it at our church all Winter with the blade to do some snow removal.

 

[DK35vince]

How much load does the mower put on the tractor?

Im going to be getting a Kioti CK4010SE paired with an 84 finish mower. Sales rep says it値l pull the mower fine. I haven稚 had a chance to demo it yet to see.

I mow slowly anyway. I致e been know to creep along on my ZTR to make sure I get the cleanest cut I can. I don稚 like to rush my mowing.

I've been running an 84" rear finish mower on my DK 35 for the past 14 years.
Handles it no problem at all.

 

[DK35vince]

I still don't think the OP should rule out the rear finish mower if he is planning on a tractor soon anyway. Only 1 machine to maintain.
They work well and remove/install easy. (I can take mine off or put it back on if needed in a few minutes)

 

[EddieWalker]

One machine to maintain also means nothing gets done if that one machine isn't working. If my little tractor is down, I can still mow with my zero turn. If my big tractor is down, I can still get a bale of hay with the 3 point attachment on my little tractor. If my zero turn is down, I can use the bush hog to get buy until the zero turn is fixed. And what I really need is another big tractor for those times when everything is busted up and waiting on cash or parts to get fixed.

 

[riptides]

One machine to maintain also means nothing gets done if that one machine isn't working. If my little tractor is down, I can still mow with my zero turn. If my big tractor is down, I can still get a bale of hay with the 3 point attachment on my little tractor. If my zero turn is down, I can use the bush hog to get buy until the zero turn is fixed. And what I really need is another big tractor for those times when everything is busted up and waiting on cash or parts to get fixed.

It is a balance with everything. Each machine excels at a particular job. But then each machine has its own maintenance schedule and cost associated to it.

 

[Oaktree]

Something else to consider, and that is how open your lawn is. My rider has a 42" deck, and there are spots I couldn't get thru with anything much wider. Don't think I've seen a ZTR with much less than a 5' deck.

 

[DK35vince]

Something else to consider, and that is how open your lawn is. My rider has a 42" deck, and there are spots I couldn't get thru with anything much wider. Don't think I've seen a ZTR with much less than a 5' deck.

The 60" deck is the most popular on a ZTR.
But I've seen decks advertised from 34" and up.