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Do you like your lawn mower?

300 H and H

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I am in the market for a new lawn mower. Current we use a JD 425 all wheel steer. I don't like it because we have lots of trees and shrubs, and the mower deck is under the tractor. It won't let us get under anything the edge of the deck won't reach. Years ago I had a Yazzu mower with the deck out front....Dang I miss it. So do you have a 5' (60") or bigger front mount deck mower, please tell me what you have and why you like it. We mow alot, about 9 acers in all. Commercial grade is a plus, as is dealer parts availabilty. We have dealers near by with most of the popular brands. Thanks in advance...

Best regards, Kirk
 

RobsanX

Gods gift to common sense
SUPER Site Supporter
Yeah, mine is 16 years old now. He doesn't talk back and he can pretty much fend for himself. :yum:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I use a Ventrac 3000. LINK => http://ventrac.com/products/tractors/

Its not as fast as a "zero turn" mower, but its got a front suspension deck that reaches right under bushes, shrubs, trees, etc. Its got a 20" turing radius which is still pretty tight, and it also has the ability to handle side slopes that I have to mow on my property. I used to use a lawn tractor and when I switched to the Ventrac it shaved about 90 minutes off my mowing time because it offered much more stability on the slopes and, more importantly is much more manuverable.

Downside is the thing was expensive. Upside is that my wife likes to use it so I rarely ever mow the lawn. We keep about 5 acres of varied terrain mowed. I also have a New Holland tractor with a belly deck that I use for some of the more open areas of the property, but that may only be used for mowing a few times each year while the Ventrac is used weekly.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
I used to have a mowing business. I had many different zero turn radius mowers but over time, I kept returning to the same brand; a front mount Grasshopper. I strongly prefer diesel power and have a diesel tank on my property for easy refueling. My oldest Grasshopper has about 2000 hours on it and I bought it new. It has a 8 gallon fuel tank and it has never been refilled with fuel without all the grease zerks being greased. I change the oil and filter (factory brand filters) by the recommended time/hours in the book. In 2000 hours, about 1500 in commercial use, I've not even changed a single belt on the machine. Nothing has broken. The deck spindles show no measurable wear. The ride is far, far superior to mid mount ZTR mowers. I understand this isn't important if you have a smooth yard. Unfortunately, mine isn't that smooth.

I liked the mower so much that when I sold my mowing business, I went out and bought me a matching front mount Grasshopper mower so my wife and I would have 'his and hers' mowers. Combined hours around 3000. Downtime; zero. Take that along with the superior ride and the ability to climb and mow hills like a mountain goat and I'm happy with my mowers. I have several other larger mowers for larger areas, but I think these two are the type for which you are inquiring.
 

Erik

SelfBane
Site Supporter
+1 for Grasshopper.
used in good shape they still run close to $5k, but much like the older JD mowers, they never die.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
I realized that there is a diminishing return on your investment when it comes to lawn mowers. At the end of the day no matter how fancy a machine you have - it's still a shitty boring job.
 

Kwiens

New member
The Grasshopper mowers were invented by a gentlemen from my church; I went to school with his kids! And, they are manufactured in a nearby town in central Kansas so plus one from me.

Kirk, I have a JD 455, the diesel version of your 425, but it isn't the AWS. (I also have a 425 that I use on occasion.) I have the 60" HD mower deck and have no problem mowing around trees, plants, shrubs and following the landscape boarder. When I installed the landscape boarder around my house I made sure it would be easy to follow with a midmount mower deck.

I've thought about getting a Grasshopper or Hustler (also manufactured in central Kansas seven miles away from the Grasshopper!) but with living in the sandhills of Kansas I've seen the mowers get stuck and tear up the turf.

I have two acres of irrigated fescue that I mow twice a week this time of year and I love the sound of the diesel and the smell of diesel fumes and fresh cut grass!! It saves a lot of money on pyschologist appointments!!.......lol

K
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
I realized that there is a diminishing return on your investment when it comes to lawn mowers. At the end of the day no matter how fancy a machine you have - it's still a shitty boring job.


Not always. It at times can be a good pastime for me. I got a lot of thoughts through my head whilst sitting on that seat.
 

Tractors4u

Active member
Site Supporter
Hopefully some time this summer I will have one of these. A friend of mine sells them out of his dealership. They are no frills mowers and they are built like a tank and typically cost less than other ZTRs. I finally drove one a couple of weeks ago. They are pretty nice.

http://www.badboymowers.com/
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
Not always. It at times can be a good pastime for me. I got a lot of thoughts through my head whilst sitting on that seat.

You are lucky then. I can't get it done fast enough. I'm task oriented though. All tasks must be done as fast as possible so I can remove them from my list. At least that's ideally how I would like life to work. I've learned that life isn't as simple though.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
... I love the sound of the diesel and the smell of diesel fumes and fresh cut grass!! It saves a lot of money on pyschologist appointments!!.......lol

K

You don't happen to love the smell of napalm in the mornings, do you? :flowers:
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
You are lucky then. I can't get it done fast enough. I'm task oriented though. All tasks must be done as fast as possible so I can remove them from my list. At least that's ideally how I would like life to work. I've learned that life isn't as simple though.

I have a lot of business shit that has to get through my head. To many interruptions during the day to think. So my time on the tractor helps.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I have a lot of business shit that has to get through my head. To many interruptions during the day to think. So my time on the tractor helps.
I can relate to the 'think' time Murph, but still, I do not usually look forward to the mowing chore.

I mow 4 acres. I went through quite a few different variations of mowing and finally bought a commercial ZTR. Scag Wildcat with a 62 inch deck. It does a great job and cut my mowing time considerably. I have to agree with Dargo that the Grasshopper's are superior mowing machines. They can get under 'stuff' where the mid mount ZTR cannot. I have no doubt the GrassHopper also has a better ride. I checked them out and they were simply more than my pocket book could handle. I got the Scag for nearly 1/2 the price of the Grasshopper. The Scag is a Kohler VTwin gas engine and it does great. It holds 8 gallons of gas. My yard was formerly a tomato field and is rough in many places. The ZTR does okay but does jar you pretty good unless you back off on the speed on the rough spots. Easy enough to do with the ZTR stick controls.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase and after 5 years of use I would make the same choice all over again (unless I hit the lotto and could afford a Grasshopper).
 

mak2

Active member
I have a Hustler Z with a 24 hp Honda. It is a beautiful peice of equiptment. Whatever you get dont be overly impressed with speed of the mower, my Z goes 10 mph, they sell them now that go much faster and with 9 acres you might be tempted to wanna go fast, but if your lawn is not smooth as glass it is real hard to hold a line going very fast. I have never owned or used a grasshopper, but many brands have certain important attributes to take into consideration. For example a smooth ride for a guy with physical problems (like sore) look at a Ferris, for a tank of a mower difficult to break look at a Dixie Chopper. Think it depends what you are looking for specifically. I think someone mentioned hillcliming and flip over, I am sure you thought of gate size in fencing etc.
 

300 H and H

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Thanks for you input, more than I expected. I havce a neighbor with a Grass hopper Diesel, and it has served him very well. Diesel is not a problem, as most of the time I have seveal thousand gallon on hand for farming. Our lawn(s) are flat, hardly even any grade. Just lots of trees and shrubs to get under, to save on trimmer time. Back when I had the Yazzu, I rarly trimed anything but along building foudations. Keep them comming....
Regards Kirk
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'd propose you get a demo unit brought out to your place from the local dealers.

I was in the market for a ZTR and glad I got some demo units brought out. Some fail miserably on hills and others required gross movements of the arms for control.

I too would have probably gone with the Grasshopper but I ended up with a Country Clipper Charger.
http://www.countryclipper.com/charger.html

It was able to hold itself on the hills without problem. It also has a single joystick control which isn't as tiring as the dual-lever controls. All movement is controlled via a single joystick that's on the right side, perfectly spaced off the arm rest. This frees up your left arm for moving low-hanging branches or drinking a beverage. The flip up deck for cleaning/sharpening is manual and a bit heavy (although easy to do) but better than lifting the entire front end.
 

mak2

Active member
Damn, never thought of that joy stick and free hand thing. It is almost impossible to drink a beer and mow on a Z. That is what I was tallking about when I said each mowers features are important to look at and what you need.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
You guys that can drink beer and mow at the same time are mowing too slow. Slackers. :shifty:

That's funny. I was going to say the same about you (going too slow) when you said "It's still a shitty boring job". If you don't get off your mower with a grin and thinking "Oh - what a ride!", you're not mowing fast enough.

For the record, it's a 2-3 beer ride to do my lawn. That's less than half of what it was when I was using a garden tractor as it now takes 45 minutes as opposed to the 2.5 hours.
 

grizzer

New member
I second the vote for a Deere 455 60" deck. The deck sticks out sideways enough for trimming, diesel power is hi torque, I sometimes wait too long between mowings...
 

loboloco

Well-known member
Guys, if You're mowing more than an acre you're doing it wrong. Anything over an acre calls for a bush hog or cows.
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Anybody ever run a Kubota diesel ZTR? Been thinking about getting one.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Bill - I believe there's a couple threads about the Kubota ZTR's over on nettractortalk.
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
Actually , I hate my lawn mower . Its a Snapper . It's heavy , expensive , and I am on my 3rd one . I think its time to buy a cheap "plain Jane" MTD like I had many years ago . You could mow rocks with that old mower and it just kept running .
 
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