Zero turn vs. 4X4 tractor for mowing

[WinterDeere]

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

I used to mow about 6 acres, but only did about 4-5 acres of it with the zero turn. The remaining 1-2 acres got done just a few times per year with a brush hog behind a Deere 750.

Hey wait... I think that's what I recommended several posts back.

 

[ETD66SS]

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

My lot is 60+ acres and it's 95% wooded, there is nothing to rent out to a farmer without massive deforestation, which is not what I want. I specifically bought the land because it was wooded.

I will be digging one more pond, so eventually the 7 acres will be cut down to ~6.25 or so.

It's not like I am cutting one large rectangular 7 acre plot, the attached picture is what I'm cutting. Lots of opportunities for a ZTR to get stuck. The picture also doesn't show many of the trails I mow throughout the 60+ acres. I made the trails with a brush hog, but mow them every few weeks with my 1620.

 

[mikester]

This is what you need for mowing 7 acres. Embrace your lifestyle and truly enjoy every minute of lawn mowing experience!

 

[WinterDeere]

Mowing the island is going to be a challenge.

If there are any local well-equipped landscape services, who have a wide range of riding equipment, it might not hurt to have them come bid your property just to be able to ask what equipment they'd use. You might want to use them to cover you for the week(s) you go on vacation, anyway.

Another option is to buy an old wreck of a mower in whatever configuration you want to try, just to use it a few weeks and see how it handles the job. Assuming you can resell it near purchase price, it's a cheap way to experiment, prior to investing in good/new equipment.

 

[olenjohn]

Just curious why you’re mowing 7 acres. If just because, get some goats or let it grow.

 

[ETD66SS]

Mowing the island is going to be a challenge.

If there are any local well-equipped landscape services, who have a wide range of riding equipment, it might not hurt to have them come bid your property just to be able to ask what equipment they'd use. You might want to use them to cover you for the week(s) you go on vacation, anyway.

Another option is to buy an old wreck of a mower in whatever configuration you want to try, just to use it a few weeks and see how it handles the job. Assuming you can resell it near purchase price, it's a cheap way to experiment, prior to investing in good/new equipment.

I don't have a bridge to the island yet, so what I do now is load a push mower in a 12ft boat and take it back and forth to the island to mow it.

I have been looking on facebook marketplace for something, but ppl still want too much for used stuff. And I don't have time to buy anything that needs repair.

It seems like most lawn care places around here use Scag ZTR's from what I can tell.

As of right now I am leaning towards just continuing on with my 1620. If I were to buy a ZTR, the first time I get stuck I'd be pretty pissed off for spending that kind of money I think.

 

[Davenj4f]

For the past ~10 years I have been using my Ford 1620 HST 4x4 with 60" 914 deck to mow about 7 acres. I'm at the point now where I don't look forward to mowing due to many mower deck breakdowns (tractor is great) along with the the time required to mow all 7 acres. It basically kills one whole day of my weekend. I think the top speed of the 1620 in MED gear (fastest I can go due to blade speed and cutting) is something like 1.5 mph.

I have been hesitant to get a zero turn due to the fact I have a decent strech of mowing along ditches & pond banks (~1200ft of pond banks, ~ 1000ft of ditches), where sometimes it can be a bit wet. I have never gotten my 1620 stuck to the point I needed another piece of equipment to pull it out. The rest of the mowing is very flat.

I have been looking at thie Ferris mower: Ferris 5902073

I assume my cutting time will decrease, but it also seems like I am going to not be able to cut some areas, especially on the steep ditches?

Going to these tires has helped me a lot. I mow a lot of pastures, fields, ditches, etc., and even regular lawns. On regular lawns, as long as I don't try to turn on a dime, they are fine. But I think it's obvious that I get better traction.

 

[WinterDeere]

As of right now I am leaning towards just continuing on with my 1620. If I were to buy a ZTR, the first time I get stuck I'd be pretty pissed off for spending that kind of money I think.

I remember getting stuck once or twice my first year with my ZTR. But you learn pretty quick when to avoid the soggy areas, mostly an issue in early spring. I don't think I ever got stuck after the first year, you learn to watch the water coming to the surface under the front tires, and quickly change course when it gets too wet.

A ZTR definitely won't be your solution for all of those spots, but I'd bet it could shave some serious time off the total job, if used for the majority of non-soggy areas over the majority of the mowing season.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a Scag 60 inch zero turn. When it starts, it's a beast at mowing and the results are impressive. I bought it new in 2010 and for the first 4 years, it was flawless. Then I started having electrical issues with the saftey switches. Then other electrical issues that resulted in everything being replaced over time to get it to start. Finally it started blowing 20 amp fuses after running it for awhile and I just pulled every wire on it and rewired it for just the basics. Now I'm having fuel issues with it and on my third fuel pump. Hopefully that will get it going this weekend.

I'm all for having a zero turn, or a riding mower to do the areas around the house. 7 acres is too much to mow with either one. I do my dog runs, around the house, and along my driveway. The rest is done with my batwing. I also have a 7-foot finish mower that gives a better cut then the batwing, but when I keep everything mowed, the batwing gives me a nice-looking mowed area that's a few inches taller than the zero turn areas.

I think you need two mowers. If you try to mow 7 acres with a zero turn, you will be in pain before you are done and it will be a torture session. Scag had one of the very nicest seats that I saw on any zero turn at the time I bought mine. Now they have cheapened the seat and I'm not sure if it's any good. A suspension zero turn might help, but I doubt it for 7 acres.

Figure out were you can change your mowing to have taller areas like a golf course. Putting green around the house and not everywhere.

 

[hodge]

I've mowed considerably with a tractor/60" finish mower, a 48" zero turn, and a Steiner articulating tractor. These are my observations, limited to my context- mowing the same large area (3 acres weekly), with the tractor and zero turn.
The tractor with the 60" finish mower mows the most in a period of time, and uses the least fuel (the zero turn drank fuel. I used 2 1/2 gallons in it, where the tractor used a half gallon of diesel to mow the same area). While the zero turn was faster and more work efficient, it didn't offset for the smaller deck. It did shine mowing around trees.
If I were to do it again, I wouldn't buy the zero turn- I would get a 72" finish mower, which would cost much less and mow even more quickly.

On a side note, I love mowing with the Steiner. It wastes less motion than the tractor, and will handle steep areas comfortably, that are sketchy on the 4WD tractor. And, it's just fun to run. I've never mowed the 3 acre area with it.