Simple solution that saves dollars

[bill177]

We just bought a Massey Ferguson GC2300 with FEL and a tiller. There is a post hole digger in the future also. But, after some deliberation, I doubt if there will be a MMM or rear finish mower.

We are rather wet where we live and it is quite easy to make tracks on the lawn much of the time. The mowed lawn is about 2 acres. There are times when even the $899 special leaves trails that have to be rolled out later. Figure what the tractor's extra weight could do - even with turf tires.

The lawn tractor cuts 42" and we do the entire job in about 2 hours - by design, all trimming is done from the tractor. There is probably no real time savings to be garnered by putting a 60" deck on the tractor.

The heavier tractor WILL leave more ruts on the lawn than I care to level out with the roller (water filled drum type).

We can cut a total of 84" by spending only $899 for another disposable lawn tractor. Wife and I can even have tractor races! That is a lot less than a new MMM would cost.

Seems to me this is both practical and saves dollars. Anyone agree?

 

[Barnboy]

1 ztr mower would cut faster than 2 of the mtd mowers. But they are a little pricey. If you ever try one you will never go back to the tractor type.

 

[roxynoodle]

Makes sense to me. Might be fun too!

 

[Slamfire]

That's way too much lawn, you need to convert about 85% to yard. It doesn't require near as much upkeep. ;-D

 

[whodat90]

I'm with barnboy. Mowing with a tractor is madness, once you've used a ZTR. I'd find out what the midmount costs, and put that money towards a used ztr. You wouldn't save money, but you'd save lots of time in which you could either make more money or enjoy the money you have more. Heck, my son's friends come over and ask if they can mow the lawn for me just because the ztr is more fun than a gocart. I picked up a Grasshopper 721 on ebay for $2500. 21hp Kubota 3cyl gas engine, liquid cooled, and 52" deck. The grasshoppers are always on there for about that much money. Ended up taking the mowing deck off the craftsman, putting ag tires on the back, and using it just for trailer towing, mail checking, etc. Basically a cheap gator.

 

[roxynoodle]

He's cutting his 2 acres in 2 hours right now with a riding mower. So, 2 riding mowers should cut it in about 1 hour. One hour is not much time mowing. I spend that cutting my 2 acres using a 5 foot finish mower and a 42" cut riding mower and am happy with that time frame. For him, 2 riders is more cost effective than a ZTR. Of course a ZTR would be nice!

 

[neverenough]

We just bought a Massey Ferguson GC2300 with FEL and a tiller. There is a post hole digger in the future also. But, after some deliberation, I doubt if there will be a MMM or rear finish mower.

We are rather wet where we live and it is quite easy to make tracks on the lawn much of the time. The mowed lawn is about 2 acres. There are times when even the $899 special leaves trails that have to be rolled out later. Figure what the tractor's extra weight could do - even with turf tires.

The lawn tractor cuts 42" and we do the entire job in about 2 hours - by design, all trimming is done from the tractor. There is probably no real time savings to be garnered by putting a 60" deck on the tractor.

The heavier tractor WILL leave more ruts on the lawn than I care to level out with the roller (water filled drum type).

We can cut a total of 84" by spending only $899 for another disposable lawn tractor. Wife and I can even have tractor races! That is a lot less than a new MMM would cost.

Seems to me this is both practical and saves dollars. Anyone agree?

My mom has an almost new Craftsman LT, and my dad has the old 317 Deere and they mow this way. Seems to work fine for them. A new belt here, a set of blades there, and it doesn't seem to bother them. The have the $$$ to buy most any lawn equipment they want/need, and they keep going on this way.

 

[patrick_g]

I have a different approach. I have a 12 ft wide drive surrounding my new house. The dirt is shaped inside the drive circle but not landscaped. There will be no mowing inside that boundary. Xeroscaping with cacti, suculents, and various native and other specimen plants will be done and will have hidden irrigation to use as and if needed. I don't expect to need weed eating or an edger inside the drive either. Sure the odd weed will have to be dealt with and specimens like pampas grass will have to be thinned some years but in general darned low maint and NO mowing. Outside the drive the mowing machine of choice for the yard is my 40HP Kubota with a brush hog. If it can't be brush hogged or sprayed it doesn't have to be mowed or dealt with. Beyond the yard fence we have some biological grass trimming units that only require a little help with sprays, burning, or brush hogging once in a while and although they do require some attention and thinning for the most part aren't too much hassle and if an individual requires way more than its fair share of management time it goes to the cattle auction. Patrick

 

[canoetrpr]

I came to a similar conclusion very early in my research. I've got around 1.5 to 2 acres of lawn and 14 or so acres of pasture. Originally I wanted one machine that could do it all.

Then I priced out mid mount mowers and got the shock of my life. Also decided that I needed industrial tires on my tractor at minimum because my pasture gets quite wet in the spring.

Figured I am much better off getting a dedicated machine for each job. So I have a nice L3400 with a loader and a loader and a bush hog for the pastures and rest of the farm. I got a nice little Husquvarna 42" lawn tractor for the rest of the pasture for a lot less than a mid mount mower. Takes me about 1.5 hrs for the lawn and I doubt it would have been much less with a MMM on a tractor.

The only downside of this approach is that the little Husky is WAAAAY less fun to operate compared to the L3400.

There is no way I would have gone this route with too much more than 2 acres. Maybe a ZTR with a 60" deck would have been required in that case

 

[MossRoad]

Have you considered pulling a self powered finish mower behind your lawn tractor? One person could get the job done in an hour.

Here's some examples at Northern Tool.

 

[RalphVa]

You should be able to run a 60" deck on your 23 hp diesel. My 12 hp Gravely ran a 30" one and never bogged. They were actually sold with 50" decks for the 12 hp gas engine, too. Some on the Gravely forums run the 50" decks with 12 hp and say it's okay as long as you don't let the grass get too high.

If you have many obstacles to go around, a ZTR will cut faster. They're expensive though.

If it were my 2 acres, I'd let about 1.5 acres grow up and brush hog it about twice/year when it gets about tractor high or just before weed seeds dry up.

Ralph

 

[LBrown59]

We just bought a Massey Ferguson GC2300 with FEL and a tiller. There is a post hole digger in the future also. But, after some deliberation, I doubt if there will be a MMM or rear finish mower.

We are rather wet where we live and it is quite easy to make tracks on the lawn much of the time. The mowed lawn is about 2 acres. There are times when even the $899 special leaves trails that have to be rolled out later. Figure what the tractor's extra weight could do - even with turf tires.

The lawn tractor cuts 42" and we do the entire job in about 2 hours - by design, all trimming is done from the tractor. There is probably no real time savings to be garnered by putting a 60" deck on the tractor.

The heavier tractor WILL leave more ruts on the lawn than I care to level out with the roller (water filled drum type).

We can cut a total of 84" by spending only $899 for another disposable lawn tractor. Wife and I can even have tractor races! That is a lot less than a new MMM would cost.

Seems to me this is both practical and saves dollars. Anyone agree?

My wife and I have used my bx23 60'' and my PowerCraft 48'' at the same time .
Don't take long to mow 2.33 acres with a 9 foot swath!

 

[daTeacha]

My neighbor has a large Deere lawn tractor, maybe a 48 or 54 inch deck. He has a lot of open expanse lawn to mow, but also some close quarters stuff.

Solution? He rigged two walk behind mowers to a shallow Y shaped steel yoke which then attaches to the hitch of the Deere. When he has it hooked up, there are three engines running, mowing close to 10 feet wide. Then he unhooks the "trailer" and uses the Deere or a walk behind for the trimming. Two walk behinds are cheaper than another rider.

 

[sandman2234]

I pulled two push mowers like that,behind a craftsman rider, back in the early 90's. Only cutting about 90" at a pass, but that was great considering the small investment I had in them. I was bidding on a Swisher only a couple hours drive from here, but got busy out in the garage and missed the ending. Somebody just picked at my bid till they found the top, and bounced over it. Wish I had of sniped it, they wouldn't have gotten it so easy.
A couple weeks ago, the wife suggested we mow my M-I-L's yard, since she was having problems getting a good job done by her hired lawn service. She called him and told him that she wouldn't need him that week, since the lawn had been done. He got mad, started fussing at her, and she told him not to come back. Now the wife and I get to do her two acre yard along with ours. Sure glad I bought that Steiner...
David from jax