Riding Mower Recommendation

[pcxmbfj]

Just paid my mowing service last bill and for the annual cost thinking about purchasing a rider for next year and mowing myself.

Would be mowing less than .5 acres, a small but challenging hill, and around contoured landscaping.

Have garage space but want something smaller than the Simplicity 16hp I had.

What thoughts and experiences can you share?

[josephr]

keep paying the yard service...ride more! :banana:

[Bentley]

keep paying the yard service...ride more! :banana:

In general I agree with this, cutting the grass is not worth the time investment at my age and definitely impacts my riding time.

I would stay away from Tractors that are sold at big box stores and big hardware stores. You are going to pay more for a tractor at your local lawnmower shop (LLS) but in the long run you get what you pay for.

Problem, a top quality lawn tractor is gonna run 3500 on the low end and if you get something like a SCAG or Dixie Chopper, well that will get you a used one.

I personally would try to get an end of year deal on a Toro, maybe a Snapper, but at the end of the day, the John Deere's and Cub Cadets and the Sears mowers are all basically MTD's with just a different paint job.

Ray

[batman1425]

Be careful with the middle to lower tier John Deere stuff. Their weak link is the hydrostatic transmission/transaxle unit which on the mid and low tier models isn't officially serviceable and wears quickly. Deere specs it with a lower viscosity oil than the manufacturer of the transaxle recommends and the fill and drain plugs are difficult to access unless you pull the entire thing out of the tractor, which is a big job. The amount of use you'll get before it dies all together will vary depending on use and terrain you typically cover but I've seen reports of as little as 100-200hrs before noticeable slipping. Eventually it goes all together and won't move at all. Lots of users reporting this.

The official fix from Deere is a replacement transmission and transaxle which will run over $1000 from most dealers. You can sometimes find them on the bay for $600-800 and generally, this will be more than the entire tractor is worth when it goes. A number of handy users have found ways of rebuilding them and have posted good videos with how to. My Dad did the rebuild for his with about $250 worth of parts and a weekend of time but even with the rebuild, its going to wear at about the same rate as the OEM one.

If they were to replace it, they'd go to a different brand and would pay more for something that was easy to service and had readily available parts.

[54ny77]

Def. weigh the costs in $ terms and time before making the leap. And I'd recommend scouring craigslist for a really good unit, purchased from a dealer vs. a big box store.

Critical to ask is what if your mower needs service (something you can't do yourself, whatever it may be)? Do you have a pickup with adequate bed size and can you load it yourself? Don't forget about deck width--anything wider than 48" and you won't be able to load into standard size bed without disassembling or needing to use a trailer. Not that taking off a deck is a pain, but it's an annoyance esp. if you're in a hurry or just don't feel like doing it. Not to mention, it can be very heavy and cumbersome to move around. Also, reasonable proximity to a dealer is really helpful (say, less than 20-30 min) if you pack it & haul it yourself, vs. time spent driving to them if they're far away.

Does the local dealer offer a pickup service? If so, what is pick up/drop off fee? More importantly, find out if that's a regular offering (i.e., regular driver & vehicle to do nothing but pickup/drop off) or if they make accommodations when they can fit it in. This is actually a really important question, because if you're in middle of high growth season and they can't pick up for 4-5 days or so, add in the service time for repair, then delivery back to you, and you'll find yourself in a real jam being down without equipment for, say, 2+ weeks.

Personally, I have a dealer-bought Husqvarna that I found used from craigslist. It's a good machine in general, although I've had a few issues with the deck (have had some pulleys come loose now & again, which shredded the belt and caused things to go haywire), and the bagging system sucks. I set it up to mulch anyway so that's less of a concern. That aside, it cuts really well and the power is great for my needs (I have a large slope). On that point, if you have a slope, you'll want as much power as possible that way it's got the torque to go up in varying conditions (esp. wet/damp). Also, chains help in messy conditions and act as a bit of an aerator, for whatever that's worth.

It's helpful to get a model that has optionality built into its design, for front or rear attachments (i.e., brackets for things like snowblower, cart, dethacher/lawn rake, aerator, etc).

Also, you might look into just a zero turn mower if all you're ever going to be doing is mowing, and you have some tight spots that aren't friendly to something without a really tight turning radius. Nothing more annoying than having to bust out the push mower to finish a job, in addition to the process of getting the bigger power equipment out.

[JonB]

I'd been mowing and maintaining almost an acre for the past 14 years. This year, I finally made the jump to a lawn service and had the burden of having to do the yardwork lifted. What a relief! I never thought it would be such a freeing choice.

Here in FL, during the summer months the grass grows VERY fast, mainly because it rains almost every afternoon. The choice would then become ride or mow. If I mowed, I was bummed that I missed the one evening of the week (or more) without rain. If I rode, there may not be another chance to mow for a few days or more and the grass would be knee high.

Coupled with the fact that lawnwork in FL in the summer is MISERABLE, after making the choice I wondered why I didn't do it sooner.

[cmbicycles]

For 1/2 acre why not just get a nice self propelled push mower? Better exercise, A lot less money/space and easier to transport for service if needed. I had a toro 22" mower I got on CL for a little less than 1/2 acre, it worked fine but once we moved and had 2 acres it took almost 2hrs to mow. Now I have a 36" walk behind mower, takes about 45 minutes but they aren't everyone's cup of tea.

[jds108]

Whatever you do, do not buy a mower made by GXI. I have one and it's labeled Stanley. It's been in the shop now for over 8 weeks... And that isn't the first trip to the shop in 2017.

I have a push Toro and will buy a Toro riding mower if I'm able to get rid of the Stanley.

[Mzilliox]

I dislike the idea of buying a mower and using fuel to have a lawn. So i say remove the lawn and plant something useful, like food even. Use your water and fertilizer on something besides the ground you walk on, it simply makes no sense to dump that much money into something that does nothing. Just stop mowing, its a huge waste of money and time. I went the weedwhacker and wildflower route this year and for 3 months of the year when the flowers were in full bloom nobody was wishing i had a mown lawn. there are still some flowers out there in november!

[shovelhd]

It depends on the hill, but "challenging hills" and riding mowers don't generally work well together. I'd consider a walk-behind or a lawn service.

[dsimon]

Stop Stop... go Old school snapper rear engine in 22" or 31" easy to find on craigslist.......

[TiminVA]

My yard is slightly larger than yours, .6 acre and flat with landscaping. I use a self propelled walk behind and it takes just over an hour to mow. I mow on a rest day from cycling or running so don't really miss out on any ride/run time. Mowing services are way too expensive where I live to even consider it.

[pcxmbfj]

This discussion has been helpful and mirrors what I've thought to myself.
I have a Toro self-propelled that I use the week my guy goes on vacation.
That was what put the idea in my head, a mower dude that vacations during mowing season.
Don't want one from the box store but only not is a Simplicity dealer.
Troy Built, Ariens get some good reviews and Husqvarna used to have a good rep.
Food for thought.

[54ny77]

self-propelled is a nice way to walk and get some exercise, provided you're ok with that. sometimes i'll use mine instead of lawn tractor. not often, but on occasion. to do my full yard, self-propelled takes about 3 hours. with tractor, it can be as fast as 20 min..

if you have grass that grows wild & fast though, you just gotta stay on it with a self-propelled. when or if it gets too thick, a self-propelled will jam up and then you're in for a real pain in the rear adventure.

thus it all comes back to $ and time......

for a half acre in my neck of woods it would be about $80/week for cut & trim edges & very basic blowing/cleanup only, if any. that excludes fertilizer, weed treatment, aerating, yadda yadda.

depending on how long your season is, all of those costs add up. fast.

i'm pretty fanatical about my lawn & yard and i've actually seen grass growing in early winter and the lawn looking fairly lush & green, while neighbors' lawn is brown and dormant. it's still growing in fact, and it's middle of november in the northeast. the cool weather and occasional warm days are being enjoyed by the bluegrass mix. probably the best it's looked in a few years. just shut my sprinklers off though since temps have hit freezing at night.

This discussion has been helpful and mirrors what I've thought to myself.
I have a Toro self-propelled that I use the week my guy goes on vacation.
That was what put the idea in my head, a mower dude that vacations during mowing season.
Don't want one from the box store but only not is a Simplicity dealer.
Troy Built, Ariens get some good reviews and Husqvarna used to have a good rep.
Food for thought.

[GScot]

I started paying a service a couple years ago due to convenience and wanting to ride instead of mow. Worked out for 2015 and 16 but this year I went back to doing it myself and bought a new tank and carb for the old Toro commercial self-propelled walk behind. I also bought a new EGO electric trimmer that I am quite pleased with after one season. It takes almost 3 hours to do everything at once but if I split it into front day and back day it is right at an hour each time since I suppose I don't waste as much time when doing a smaller task.

[srcarter]

Here is a dual-use riding mower that might serve your needs:


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GCeCALrraiQ/maxresdefault.jpg

[54ny77]

that is seriously awesome!

it would be quite fun to devise such a thing. with the right gear ratios you could get the blade moving enough to be effective.

Here is a dual-use riding mower that might serve your needs:


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GCeCALrraiQ/maxresdefault.jpg

[Marc40a]

It depends on the hill, but "challenging hills" and riding mowers don't generally work well together. I'd consider a walk-behind or a lawn service.

Agreed.

OP: You don't want to end up with a tractor on top of you. I echo 54NY77's suggestion for a zero turn mower. A 48" walk behind is the probably the most versatile lawnwork machine there is. If your property is tricky, a slightly smaller deck might be ideal. Also, Google "velke" or "sulkey". It's like a trailer that you attach to the mower so it pulls you.

I do my own landscaping and I take a lot of of pride in it. I was taught by a good friend who owns a landscaping business. If you want any pro tips let me know.

[arazate]

I moved into a new home, with about 3/4 acre of lawn. I travel often and could not be happier with the $40 weekly bill. The value of not having to worry about the lawn getting cut; my time; another piece of equipment in the shed....far out-ways the $160 monthly bill.

[R3awak3n]

Maybe its because its my first year but I love doing the lawn, put some music on, zen out, its great. I have an acre, next year I might cosider doing a bit more of the back yard.

I bought a sitting mower from lowes, huskavarna or whatever its called. Not the top of the line, not the cheapest. Works great.