I spend 2-3 hours per session pushing my lawn mower around every week. I'ts not so bad, and I look at is at least some sort of workout, but now I am also taking care of my mother's yard, and I guess it is time to look at a rider. Work keeps me too busy with messing around with used fixer-upper stuff, so I'm looking new, and with the money I am saving by not paying for my Mother's yard service, I can comfortably spend 2-3 k. Gravitating toward a John Deere because I am not in the know, but want American made (whatever that means these days, lol), reliable, and good options. I realize one-off experiences are anecdotal, but any advice is appreciated.
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The wider the swath, the better, it takes less trips back and forth. When we bought our house, we got a Cub Cadet and it was nothing but trouble. We decided to buy the John Deere D170 with the 54" mower to replace the Cub Cadet. The John Deere was just under $3,000 7 or 8 years ago. No problems, other than charging the battery. I would recommend picking up a Battery Tender 800 to keep the battery charged when not in use:
There is a plugable connector cable you can keep connected to the battery and then just plug the tender into this cable to start charging the mower battery, and simply unhook the tender from the cable when you want to mow the grass..
Ron
There is a plugable connector cable you can keep connected to the battery and then just plug the tender into this cable to start charging the mower battery, and simply unhook the tender from the cable when you want to mow the grass..
Ron
I've owned and used Kubota's for over 12 years and have good success, from tractors' to mowers...
I mow over 5 acres on my property alone, craftsman, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet and others just couldn't hack it.
I use a Kubota Z724 and it hasn't failed... Most likely more then what you need...
I mow over 5 acres on my property alone, craftsman, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet and others just couldn't hack it.
I use a Kubota Z724 and it hasn't failed... Most likely more then what you need...
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I've been using a Husqvarna rider with a 22hp Vtwin and hydrostatic transmission for around 10 years. Its held up well for me. Zero cost in repairs just maintenance. No brand loyalty here. I have gone through a Murry and a older John Deer in the past. I will go with the zero turn radius mower on the next one.
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Ditto on the zero turn mowers!
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I watched my neighbor use another neighbor's zero turn. I think it was a Club Cadet Ultima (searched online and that is what it looks like with the distinctive bars on the back).
He got done in 10 minutes what it would have taken me hours to do with my flail mower (a two wheel tractor with a PTO powered flail mower). My flail mower will handle brush that a a riding mower cannot, but for about 80-90% of what I need to mow, a riding mower like that would work just as well, then I could use the flail mower for the rest and I wouldn't spend days having to mow everything with the flail mower.
He was going over some rough ground (compared to most people's lawn) with tall grass (over a foot high) and it did a decent job for a riding mower (he left some strips behind, if he had taken it slower and overlapped I am sure it would have been cleaner) - didn't bog down at all and handled the rough ground fine. For a typical lawn this would be great IMO - I didn't try it myself, but I was impressed and he said it was nice (he has a 4WD Kubota tractor with a rough cut PTO powered brush cutter deck - there are places he can't get to with the tractor and it is overkill for his lawn).
He got done in 10 minutes what it would have taken me hours to do with my flail mower (a two wheel tractor with a PTO powered flail mower). My flail mower will handle brush that a a riding mower cannot, but for about 80-90% of what I need to mow, a riding mower like that would work just as well, then I could use the flail mower for the rest and I wouldn't spend days having to mow everything with the flail mower.
He was going over some rough ground (compared to most people's lawn) with tall grass (over a foot high) and it did a decent job for a riding mower (he left some strips behind, if he had taken it slower and overlapped I am sure it would have been cleaner) - didn't bog down at all and handled the rough ground fine. For a typical lawn this would be great IMO - I didn't try it myself, but I was impressed and he said it was nice (he has a 4WD Kubota tractor with a rough cut PTO powered brush cutter deck - there are places he can't get to with the tractor and it is overkill for his lawn).
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Well, looking at the reviews, the Cub Cadet is maybe not the best... 
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I got a Bad Boy 54" zero turn about a year ago. I love it. My yard is an obstacle course of trees etc. Maybe 2 acres. After decades of fighting old tired mowers I went for the zero turn. The only way to go. It gets a lot harder use in my application than most. Hills, rough ground, sticks and branches, tall grass. Blows thru it all. The mower deck is 7ga (about 3/16) thick vs the 11-12ga (about 1/8) of the Cubs etc. I'd looked at. A nice clean simple design.
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Rebuilt the hydro rear end and repaired a bunch of little things all over my churches Deere LT160. Couldn't believe is was a John Deere-cheeply made and poorly designed. They want you to spend $900 on a new rear end as it's "non-serviceable". Ha, bean counter crooks run Deere now I guess. Fixed the rear for under $50 and everything else wrong for little over another $50. After seeing this I wouldn't buy a Deere. We also have a newer Husqvarna that works okay. Don't know long term how it will hold up. Deere had better ergonomics but that's it.
You probably have a real Swedish one. Most of it is made here or In China (AKA Poulan) these days.
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This is my actual lawn:
You can see on the right how tall I let the grass get before I mow.
This is the area my deck looks out onto below the house, and the walk behind flail mower/tractor I use for most of my mowing:
This is actually a fairly steep area - enough to cause the mower to tip over if I am not careful. Usually though, it is just grass with some weeds. I ran thru this with a bulldozer to level it off and to get rid of the brambles. I need to keep it mowed or it will be overgrown with brambles again. I have about 2 acres above the house that I try to keep under control too. It can take a week or two of mowing several hours a day to get all of this mowed with the flail mower. If I could use a riding mower to get most of it, then the flail mower for tight stuff, I could get it all done in a weekend, and do that twice a year.
You can see on the right how tall I let the grass get before I mow.
This is the area my deck looks out onto below the house, and the walk behind flail mower/tractor I use for most of my mowing:
This is actually a fairly steep area - enough to cause the mower to tip over if I am not careful. Usually though, it is just grass with some weeds. I ran thru this with a bulldozer to level it off and to get rid of the brambles. I need to keep it mowed or it will be overgrown with brambles again. I have about 2 acres above the house that I try to keep under control too. It can take a week or two of mowing several hours a day to get all of this mowed with the flail mower. If I could use a riding mower to get most of it, then the flail mower for tight stuff, I could get it all done in a weekend, and do that twice a year.
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JD has low end stuff and high end stuff. Their riding mowers are just opportunity sales they sell, not meant for commercial or heavy duty use. I wasn't impressed with them either when I worked for several dealerships during my college days. Their ag, construction and industrial equipment is a lot better and competitive IMO (can't speak to prices though).
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Buy bigger than you need. I got the Deere X320 in that vein 5 years ago.
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Make sure it has a cup holder.
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He means "beer holder" and he's right.
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Craftsman 23hp with 52" deck is what I use but it still takes 2.5-3hrs and yes it has a cup holder. When your battery goes south get a sealed gel type they hold up better to the jostling from gopher holes....LOL. I bought the bigger Garden tractor vs lawn tractor for the larger diameter rear wheels makes a difference and it has 6 actual gears 3 low and 3 high rather than hydrostatic garbage. The neighbor has had good luck with John Deere but I don't like the hydrostatic transmissions or the Bolens type forward/ reverse pedal.
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Had a Craftsman Lawn tractor that came with my house. It had something like a 15HP Kohler, a PTO, a big arse plastic drum for discharge, dual blades and a cup holder. I joked and called it the hidden gem of the house.
It was more of a PITA.
Unless your lawns are a flat deck, fergeddaboudit. I have obstacles, humps and swales in my lawn. I still had to use a push mower to get all the areas the rider wouldn't do. Turns? An extended crew cab has a better turn radius than that mower. Sold it and have been using a push mower since.
It was more of a PITA.
Unless your lawns are a flat deck, fergeddaboudit. I have obstacles, humps and swales in my lawn. I still had to use a push mower to get all the areas the rider wouldn't do. Turns? An extended crew cab has a better turn radius than that mower. Sold it and have been using a push mower since.
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Well, I had a neighbor across from me at work that was a small engine repair shop before he moved to New Mexico, I called him "lawnmower man", he was a riot. Anyways, I was in the market for a riding mower so I would pick his brain often.
what I learned:
There are 3 maybe 4 companies that make mowers and riding mowers, so a lot of these brands you guys are talking about are just a label on someone else's product. Get one with a fabricated deck, the stamped decks rust out quick. Get one with the biggest hydraulic transmission you can afford. Look at the thickness of the rear axle that kind of tells you the story. The zero turns are great for flat lawns with obstacles, if your lawn is on a slope, they are a nightmare the steeper it gets because they steer with two transmissions one for each rear wheel. Lawnmower man wasn't a fan of JD mowers because getting parts even for him was a PITA. Lastly, you get what you pay for, if you see two very similar mowers and one is a couple hundred more, there is a reason for it, usually the more expensive one has some heavier duty parts.
what I learned:
There are 3 maybe 4 companies that make mowers and riding mowers, so a lot of these brands you guys are talking about are just a label on someone else's product. Get one with a fabricated deck, the stamped decks rust out quick. Get one with the biggest hydraulic transmission you can afford. Look at the thickness of the rear axle that kind of tells you the story. The zero turns are great for flat lawns with obstacles, if your lawn is on a slope, they are a nightmare the steeper it gets because they steer with two transmissions one for each rear wheel. Lawnmower man wasn't a fan of JD mowers because getting parts even for him was a PITA. Lastly, you get what you pay for, if you see two very similar mowers and one is a couple hundred more, there is a reason for it, usually the more expensive one has some heavier duty parts.
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