Which brand of riding mower to buy?

cphilip · Jun 6, 2005

( Why exactly do you need a riding mower? )

Why... for the Beer holder and cushy seat.... of course!

pat32rf · Jun 6, 2005

Last year I was in your spot. I have a rough lawn of irregular shape with lots of flower beds, some areas are gravel base and some are clay,with weeper tile ridges that show up each spring. I borrowed my buddies Cadet with bagger,(100hrs on it) it plugged and scalped. It had an "automatic" tranny but you still had to select your gear range. I was loaned a MTD (?) that was 5-10 years old and worn out. Used it once, gave up. I welded up a guys "go-cart" mower and tried it-lots of fun, but every time I reversed ,the drive disconnected(safety feature)drove me nuts. Lots of voluntiers to drive but could not be used for clearing snow or pulling a cart. I found an old Wheel horse for $500 and grabbed it up. No bagger but I can buy a new bagger WITH a built in blower motor for $1000. Nearly fell over as a JD or Cadet bagger without the motor is $450. Then I checked some more, the JD mower new is about $3000, my Toro Wheelhorse new is $6000. I can also add a snow blower, front-end loader etc.
I spend a lot of time backing up arround flower beds,fences etc so I need a mower that doesn't shut down each time I back up or get out of the seat to pick up a ball or garden tool.If you smoke or carry a water bottle, you will want some storage, little things can become large frustrations so try before you buy. Pat

slammer · Jun 7, 2005

( I have a large open front lawn area with no obsticles about 1/4 acre and also on the back yard, roughly the same area but on the lawn around my home I do have some tight areas where I am sure I will need to use the push mower, about 10ft wide by 50 feet long with trees in the middle. The area is very flat except for the area in front of the home where is slopes into a ditch, this is where we have the really soft ground that I will need to use the push mower also. So, overall, I have 90 % wide open area that is flat and the rest is relatively narrow where I can use my other mower. )

Shawna, A yard is semi-rough to plain ol' bumpy. A lawn is very smooth allowing max mowing speed.

A riding lawn mower (RER) is typically rear engined and rarely exceeds 34" in cut width. HP is usually under 15. Their are exceptions but very few.

A lawn tractor (LT) usually has the engine in front, HP up to 20 or so and typically sports a deck up to 48" in cut width.

A garden tractor (GT) is much like a lawn tractor but with even more HP, larger decks, and many more uses beyond just mowing. They are generally much sturdier machines. GT's vary tremendously in price. You can buy a Murray for under 1K or you could spend 10K on a Deere or Kubota or other top shelf tractor.

Zero turn mowers (ZTR) are probably the fastest mowing machines available. They feature high HP engines a front or mid mount deck and as the name suggests can turn on a dime and give you 9 cents change.

Now after that little primer you can narrow your choices a bit. From your posts i believe you have roughly 1/2 acre of pretty smooth yard and few obstacles. You are in that little gap where the choice is pretty tough. If you want to be done in 30 minutes or so and only intend to mow get a ZTR. If you don't mind taking your time a good RER would also work...again as long as you only intend to mow. If however, you will be pulling a cart or doing some other "work" with the mower of choice I would suggest a GT.

Give us an idea which of the three types of machines your interested in along with price range and I will be happy to give you some very specific recommendations.

Slam

chrisjbell · Jun 7, 2005

You would probably be just fine with a Crafstman or equivilant garden tractor. A ZTR mower would be great, I'm sure, but quite pricy. Big walk behinds are fast but not as easy as sitting on a seat driving around /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif.

I have a JD tractor (about $2K) that I abuse sometimes to mow parts of my pasture when I'm too lazy to put the mower deck on my "big" tractor". I also use it to haul overloaded trailers full of wood up a steep hill. It works great on flat ground - has trouble when things get steep since it doesn't have a locking rear end or 4WD.

For your needs, I doubt that you need anything more serious than a reasonable garden tractor of the Sears or big box store variety. HP in those machines is pretty subjective - my JD is rated at 16HP and outperforms my neighbor's 25HP Sears tractor (I've used both in the same situations). On the other hand, he paid a lot less for his machine than I did, and it has put up with enourmous abuse.

Check out Toro, JD, Sears, Troy Built (one neighbor just got one and it is really tough), Cub, and I'm sure I'm missing someone important. I'd suggest something in the $2k price range.

Ledgemere Farm · Jun 7, 2005

Were it my choice, I would get a small rear-engine rider (RER), like a Snapper. I think John Deere quit making them, but you can get a used JD RER pretty inexpensive. They are highly maneuverable, can tow a cart, dethatch, etc. Since the engine is on the back, the weight is over the drive wheels, giving you better traction and an almost unobstructed view of where you are going. The biggest drawback (I can think of) is that the front tires are a little small, and if your lawn is very rough, you might get bounced around a bit.
They used to be alot more popular, but when people wanted to purchase a "ride-on" lawn mower, they wanted a mower that resembled a larger farm tractor. Good luck!

shawna · Jun 7, 2005

Reading the posts, I think I am looking for a ZTR Lawn Tractor. I will only be using it for mowing the yard. I already have a John Deere 955 tractor for anything else on my place, pasture,etc. I think I would like to spend up to about $2500 or so. I take care of my equpiment and keep it for a long time so I want quality. Also, thanks alot for the help. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

shawna · Jun 7, 2005

CPhilip, good idea. Gatorboy, I dont need it but I want it.

twinstackram · Jun 7, 2005

All I can say is this,whatever decision you make don't do like my elderly neihbor,she needed a new mower so she went to the local farm store and picked out a 20 h.p. 48" hydro poulan pro,nice looking mower,she came to my house to help her unload her brand spanking new mower,got it out of her little ranger pick-up,she asked me to start it for her,so put in gas and checked oil(they sometimes forget this) got on the NEW mower,hit the key and nothing happened,so I made sure that I had done everything right,which I had,well she got a brand new mower with a dead battery but I got her going.
What I'm trying to say is when you go to buy have the dealer walk you through everything on the mower,start it drive it, maybe even take somebody with you that can maybe help you with all this

slammer · Jun 7, 2005

( Reading the posts, I think I am looking for a ZTR Lawn Tractor. I will only be using it for mowing the yard. I already have a John Deere 955 tractor for anything else on my place, pasture,etc. I think I would like to spend up to about $2500 or so. I take care of my equpiment and keep it for a long time so I want quality. Also, thanks alot for the help. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Shawna, good deal! You've really narrowed the field. With only $2500 to work with a quality ZTR is gonna be tough but their are some out there. The Ariens Mini zoom 1534 lists for $2499 (you'll get it for considerably less). It is a ZTR with a 34" deck, and 15hp Kohler engine. It's rated for yards up to an acre and should give you years of service. Heres a link... Ariens Mini Zoom

I'm sure now that you have narrowed the field you will get plenty more suggestions...

Slam