Rear finish mower vs dedicated lawn tractor

[searcyfarms]

I have a tractor with a MMM and love it - have a push mower/string trimmer for close up things, issue like mentioned above is weight and wet conditions - I will likely get a ZT or old light weight lawn mower w/bagger for that stuff as i mow 2.5 acres that is relatively flat for the most part. there is NO perfect mower period!!! i will give a ZT credit for obstacles and yard but they can be rough riding and w/out bar tires on hills they are less than desirable, I have run a 725K grasshopper ( buddies lawn service ) on every kind of terrain possible and my dads Country Clipper A LOT and they are great but i will take my tractor over them any day with AWD for comfort and pucker factor.

The reason i like my tractor/MMM more than any lawn mower is comfort and versatility - i can do WAY more with it than a dedicated mower. A ZT will out run me hands down there is nothing faster than one of them.

My wife and daughter do most of the mowing now they enjoy the tractor/deere weight and not the bumpy ride of my older GT75 Ford diesel. I will likely get a lawn tractor/riding mower with some sort of bagger as its nice to let the yard go and have clippings for the garden or mulch for leaves in the fall - a ZT is so much more expensive and then adding a bagger is even more. You can pick up a riding mower CHEAP that will last for years for a rainy season or for just mulching things as needed.

 

[leonz]

As a friend of mine would say "it depends".

If you have to deal with snow purchasing a 2 stage track drive walk behind snow thrower of high quality allows you to by a disposable riding lawn mower
and a high horsepower snow thrower that will have plenty of power to clear snow. Buying the largest 2 stage snow blower will save you hours of frustration
dealing with snow and ice that has been treated with snow that creates ice dams on your driveway, ask me, I deal with this every year.


A 2 wheel tractor will be greater in price but it is gear driven and does not depend on belts for the wheel drive system. A rotary mower for a BCS or grillo tractor is gear driven with a V belt final drive which is very dependable in use and easier to repair.

I would contact your local BCS dealer and ask about a used 2 wheel tractor and a rotary mower as you will have a machine that can use multiple attachments including a rotary plow for tilling a garden and breaking ground for a new lawn.
The 2 wheel tractors offered today are gear driven and do not use V belts to provide power to the drive train which loses a huge amount of tractive effort while mowing on slopes and you can purchase axle extensions to widen the wheel width of the two wheel tractor as well for more stability.

You can ride a sulky attached to a carryall trailer attached to the 2 wheel tractor to ride on to mow and do other chores and carry a weed wacker in the trailer.

Its always a case of pay me now or pay me later; the one thing I cannot stand is hearing you get what you pay for from these SO CALLED lawn tractor dealers after dealing with a junk snow blower that costs almost $200.00 just to by V belts and 4 hours to change them as well as being saddled with replacing snow blower chutes than cost 130.00+ that will not last an entire winter season.

You would never ever have that problem with a Berta 2 stage snow blower mounted on a new or used 2 wheel tractor as they are gear driven and have steel chutes and spouts.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a rotary cutter, which most people call a bush hog. I have a finish mower and I have a zero turn mower. Each has it's place, but for the best results for the yard around the house, the zero turn is by far the best choice. Before getting the zero turn, I had a riding mower and it was scary trying to mow some of my steeper areas. The zero turn hugs the ground a lot better and easily goes up and down the hills, and even sideways along them without any issues. If it's damp, I might slide a bit, but I try to never mow when it's wet out. The finish mower is nice for mowing trails and around my pond, but it's not worth the effort to take off the bush hog to use it, so I just bush hog it when it's out of control and then keep it mowed with the zero turn. The biggest disadvantage to the finish mower is maneuverability. It's good at going straight!!! I haven't used my finish mower in 5 years and really should sell it.

 

[Fordman98]

I really do like the idea of a zt for mowing. It looks like it's probably $1000-$1500 more than a rfm. I would really like to try it out before buying though just to make sure it did everything I need it to. Do many places have demo units to try out first? I've always had cheap used mowers since we've never had acreage till recently. Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

[BlueBit]

I have a tractor with a RFM and a Bush Hog because I have 15 acres including 8 acres of woodland to maintain so I had to have the tractor. I use a smaller (46 cut) lawn tractor as a trimming mower. I have hills, and on the really steep ones I ride the edge of my seat on my lawn tractor. I have filled rear tires on my CUT, and feel comfortable on some pretty steep hills with it if I go SLOW. With your acreage, I think the thing is to decide whether you need a tractor now or if you just need to mow. An acre and a half can easily be mowed with a <$2000 lawn tractor, and hills are not a problem using the edge of the seat method. My lawn is 2.7 acres, a few hills. I race thru what I can with my CUT and RFM, then do the trimming and hills with the lawn tractor. But I could easily use the lawn tractor to do the whole job and in under 3 hours.

 

[EddieWalker]

When my riding mower died, I decided to get a zero turn because everyone said that they are better. They are. But they are more work and not as relaxing. Something I didn't know at the time. I used to enjoy mowing with my riding mower. I would have a beer in the cup holder and relax. With the zero turn, there is no beer and no relaxing. You do get done faster, but that just meant that I started mowing more and more areas, so now I'm putting more hours into mowing with the zero turn then I did with the riding mower.

My budget started out at $3,000 for another riding mower, but when that changed to a zero turn, I realized that I wasn't going to get a very nice zero turn for that amount. The more I looked, the more I wanted a commercial zero turn with a 5 foot wide deck. I was able to save up a little more money while I was looking at mowers and doing my research on what to get. When I finally made the decision to buy, it was $8,000 and I put half down and financed the rest, which I paid off in two years.

If I had to do it again, I don't think that i would have bough Scag. I've had too many electric gremlins to recommend it to anybody. When it works, it's awesome. I just never know if it's going to start when I want to mow. Two days ago, the hot battery cable was loose. Last month the lug nuts fell off while mowing. It's ten years old and that tire hasn't had a flat or been off in five years, but all of a sudden, off it goes and I'm out $175 for a new rim and bolts.

If and when this one dies, I'll get another zero turn. Just not Scag.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I wouldn't want to have to run my CUT around on my lawn all the time. I don't have very much "lawn" type grass anyway, but I mow that with a plain old riding mower. Works fine. I use the CUT with rear 3pt brush hog for mowing my grass in my road ditches, and mowing everything in the pastures a couple times a year. Not only would it be awkward to swing that rfm around behind a CUT while mowing around the house, but I don't really like driving the heavy tractor around on my yard.

I wouldn't waste my money on a zero turn either. Laughable. $8K-$10K is just silly. I can buy 4 to 5 decent riding mowers for that. Had mine 4 years so far, and no problems at all.

I would get a decent riding mower to mow the half acre closest to the house, and get a CUT or SCUT (depending on what your tractor needs are for your upcoming projects) with a brush hog for the rest.

 

[jaxs]

I used to enjoy mowing with my riding mower. I would have a beer in the cup holder and relax. With the zero turn, there is no beer and no relaxing. You do get done faster, but that just meant that I started mowing more and more areas, so now I'm putting more hours into mowing with the zero turn then I did with the riding mower.
.

Haven't you Piney Woods boys ever heard "necessity is the mother of invention"? No beer,no mow for this ol boy.:drink:

 

[RSKY]

If you are going to mow grass get a machine designed to mow grass. If you are going to do tractor work, tilling, plowing, disking, bushhoggin, then get a tractor.

Besides, once your wife starts using a Zero Turn you will never get to mow your yard again. If I say, "The yard needs mowing", I better have my shoes on and my hand on the doorknob. If not my wife will be out and on the mower before I can get out the door.

RSKY

 

[RjCorazza]

The comments about heavy commercial ZTs is spot on. I prefer ZT mowers for my 6 acres, and expanded into commercial mowing 4 years ago. Prior to getting the Kubota ZD mowers I used a CUT tractor with a rear finish mower, which was fine also. The RFM was slower, and did not give the quality of cut compared to the ZT though.
I talked my neighbor into buying a commercial ZT several years ago for his 2 acre property. He spends MUCH less time mowing and loves it.