Zero turn vs. 4X4 tractor for mowing

[Chewwy]

The OP indicated his current mowing speed is limited to 1.5 mph due to blade speed and cutting. That does not sound like he is mowing manicured golf fairways. Unlikely the referenced Ferris zero turn machine rated at 24 hp is going to cut significantly faster than his Ford rated at 26 hp, assuming the 30 year old Ford is still capable of that rating.

If it were me I would ditch the troublesome mid mount mower and get a 60 inch rotary cutter. They are much less $$s than the MSRP for the zero turn machine referenced.

 

[ning]

I can't help but ask: Do you really need to mow 7 acres every weekend?
Mow 1-2 ac around the house as often as you need for appearances, and hog the rest of it occasionally.

 

[WinterDeere]

ZTR that use swivel caster front wheels can loose steering control if the ground is steep enough.

This is definitely a problem when facing downhill on wet or damp grass, as all the weight transfers off the rear drive tires and onto the front swivels. But anyone who's used a ZTR more than a few times learns to plan their downhills accordingly.

In other words, don't go racing forward down a hill into a spot where you're going to need to make a sharp turn half way down. Either plan your path to make a mostly-straight pass, or back down the hill if sharp maneuvers are really required.

 

[WinterDeere]

The OP indicated his current mowing speed is limited to 1.5 mph due to blade speed and cutting. That does not sound like he is mowing manicured golf fairways.

I was wondering about this number as well, and suspect 1.5 is an underestimation. Perhaps he has a loader or backhoe mounted?

I can do 10 - 11 mph while mowing my lawn all day long on the ZTR, and it does bounce me around a bit, but nothing too terrible. I slow to round trees, and when crossing the driveway or any surface roots, but otherwise run flat out in the straight areas.

But when riding my tractor around the yard with the FEL and ballast mounted, I really can't do much over 3-4 mph without the whole rig bouncing around so bad that I'm convinced I'm going to break something. If I strip the FEL off the machine, I'm sure I could go a bit faster, but it's still a big, stiff, and heavy machine to be sporting around at 10+ mph on turf.

 

[ETD66SS]

The 1.5 MPH was a guess. I used to drive the tractor from my house to this lot when switching from snow plowing to mowing and sometimes had my Dad follow me. In high gear, he would say I was not even going 3-4 MPH. I don't see any published speeds for a 1620 HST. I mow in MED gear because any faster and the blade speed isn't fast enough to get a good cut without just folding the grass over. It's possible MED is 3-4 MPH, really can't remember.

And yes, this time of year I really do need to cut all 7 acres every weekend or it gets out of hand quickly. Later in the summer I can cut once every two weeks, sometimes I let it go three weeks. Though the first few weeks I can't cut everything as some areas are still too wet.

I'm building a house on this lot I mow right now: Barndominium/Shop or "real" House?

I don't have the time to spend on mowing like I used to.

 

[tacticalturnip]

What about a SCUT like the Deere 1 series, Kubota BX, Kioti CS, or New Holland 25S?

I always enjoyed mowing with my 1025R.

 

[bigtiller]

I have a Deere ZTR 545R with a 60" deck. I use it for trimming on my 3~ acres. I wouldn't even consider using it to mow 7 acres.

Deere makes several front mount mowers to choose from. Duel wheels is an potion for bumpy, steep and slick areas, along with 4x4.

Another choice for the front mount mowers is the wide area mower (WAM) with up to a 10.5' wide folding deck...but that is very expensive.

 

[4570Man]

Two comments:

1. I'm not sure I'd want to pursue a ZTR that is specially configured to handle steep and wet conditions, if it means it's going to be much more expensive or any slower over the rest of the property. I'd rather have maximum speed over 90% of the property from a regular ZTR, and just use the tractor for the few areas that can't handle.

2. I honestly don't understand any concerns with "steep". I get "soggy", ZTR's can get stuck easily. But I use my ZTR every week on hills I wouldn't even consider with my tractor. The center of mass on a ZTR must be no more than 18" above the ground, with a stance not much narrower than a CUT, they're way more stable on a hill than any CUT I've ever owned.

With bar tires my Grasshopper zero turn would have easily mowed this hill. It was broke down and I borrowed my brother’s zero turn with worthless turf tires and it was sliding worse than a snow board. I have no idea why worthless turf tires are always the default option from the factory.

 

[WinterDeere]

Turf tires are default because they cause the least soil compaction and displacement in turf. It's a lawn machine, and those are the tires that are least damaging to lawn. That said, if most of my mowing were on extreme slopes, I'd go bar tires like you, still way better than mowing on a tractor.

I'm sure your bar tires have much better traction than my turf tires, but I'd also guess that different types of grass and weeds can be more or less slippery than others. That yard looks like it has a lot of weeds, and it's possible that broadleaf weeds are more slippery under a turf tires than 100% pure weedless tall fescue?

Slopes can be hard to judge in photos, but my entire back yard is one big hill, and then I have some really steep slopes leading up to one corner of the house, just like you do around that building. I have to watch it going down the hill toward trees when the grass is wet, choosing my track to not have to turn sharp at a tree, but never have issues when it's not wet.

Another factor is learning to always turn to face up the hill when making your k-turns at the end of each pass, when mowing side-slope. That's not always the direction of favorable exhaust chute, maybe blasting clippings across a nicely mulched garden, but you learn ways to compromise on that after a few mowings. I basically have to do that across my whole back yard every 2nd cutting, as I change the direction I'm striping with each mowing.

 

[Richard001]

Why mow 7 acers of land ? Rent out the land for a farmer to make hay on it. Problem solved.