6 foot lawnmower needed

[boggen]

bah i can never remember name of the manfuacture. the sell a tractor that everything attaches to the front of it. kinda like driving a regular tractor backwards in a sense. i want to say farmtrac. but i might be off, i do believe most of there tractors articulate in the center. other words no actual stearing axle at the front axle but in the middle of the tractor there is a huge pin. that everything pivots on. they sell a pretty impressive line of attachments for there tractors as well that pretty much covers everything out there that you could get for a regular tractor. along with choose of type of tires, and steering wheel vs joy stick like controls of a zero turn.

the tractors a few years back with reasonable priced competitive with regular tractors. the only issue is the implements / attachments cost a tad more vs same thing for a regular tractor. my big thing, PHD (post hole digger), rotatory cutter, box blades, etc... all out in front of me with clear view of each one. *drools* wish i had the cash. there are like "skid steers" were everything attaches in front of you. but much beefer and built like a regular tractor.

 

[boggen]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/power-trac/ is what i was thinking of. and sorry for multi posts. i think the pain killers have kicked in @@

 

[daugen]

good ideas, thanks, though my trusty Gravely also comes with two separate 40" wing mowers, so I've been wondering how to utilize them. But I just can't drive the Gravely; it would sure be big enough but I'd be hurting for certain. Swisher makes some good offset mowers that would work well with a new garden tractor.
Have been checking out the JD 754 with a 60 inch mower as an entry diesel model. The offset mower would also do well sweeping under the fruit tree limbs. I have a Swisher 44 rough cut mower and it has run well. More than one way to skin this cat, but putting a 72 mower in a belly mount configuration requires some serious wheelbase that garden tractors don't seem to have. I was told the 7 series doesn't sell that well any more because folks can get into a One series for similar money.
But even a One series JD can't run a 72; have to go up to a 2 series, and now we're back at 22 grand again. Sure like to cut that in half...
One benefit of the large garden tractor is that it doesn't have the height or the ROPS additional height of the One series and up JD's, and apparently all of the Kubotas.
Low is good.

well I have plenty of time to check them all out. Appreciate all the suggestions guys. I had more options than I thought. Conventional garden tractor with a wing mower,
SCUT with 72 or two likely similar front deck commercial mowing machines from the green and the orange.
I'd check other colors but I think these two for mowers vs. SCUTS are the game in town. Plus some interesting unconventional types.
Now if I hit the lottery, how about a Unimog with turf tires pulling a 100 inch gang.

it's amazing what our pursuit of cutting this silly plant gets us into.

 

[xring100]

Also check out Grasshopper. They make front-mount mowers like the Kubota F-series with power fold up decks.

My neighbor has a diesel grasshopper but it doesn't have a steering wheel nice mower though makes mowing around my evergreens a breeze

 

[xring100]

nothing less than a 72 will do if I have to mow about six acres of lawn on a new home I am looking at in Washington NC.
flat, flat, flat, and no rocks. I've done hills and rocks all my life, really looking forward to this. Very short grass, totally different than what I'm used to.

but what to mow it with? I can't use a zero turn due to bad arthritis, must have a steering wheel and for sure power steering.
Both JD and Kubota make CUTs with a 72, most of the real small stuff like the 1 series JD comes only with a 60 inch mower if I read it right.

My local Kubota dealer gave me these numbers:
B3200HSD w/RC72-27BA for 18016
B2650HSD w/RC72-30B for 18220

The alternative is the least expensive 2wd Kubota F mower or the JD equivalent. And they start around 21K.

Also factoring in is that I have two other larger tractors (both with Ag R1 tires...) plus a Gravely garden tractor with a 60 mower that is high effort to use, so I am leaning towards a true mowing machine
and thought the F series Kubota was the nicest design, being able to swing the mower deck fully vertical. Makes getting off blades much easier when one is
not limber any more.

Is the JD version of the Kubota F front style mower better? This is commercial grade equipment, kind of overkill but boy is there a lot of lawn. And I'm going to plant an orchard with dozens of trees, and I need to get under the limbs. front style mower seems best, but whose?

I know nothing of this type equipment other than my BIL and older brother both have a Kubota F and swear by them, not at them.
big bucks...

I saw Kubota made a 100 inch five deck mower for the F series; hugely expensive.

Front deck mower would get my vote over CUT especially for that amount of acreage. Neighbor has a front deck grasshopper diesel but it has zero turn controls. See a lot of the kubotas and J.D.s around here as well as toro groundsmasters

 

[daugen]

I'm not sure if this is an old habits die hard scenario, but I reversed direction and decided to cut the budget down from the top level. I just can't justify to myself spending twenty to twenty two grand on a lawn mower right now. Not when I found out my new home is going to need a new well dug. It has county water already, but I wanted that well for irrigation.

So...if I didn't have awful arthritis I would fire up my Gravely garden tractor, hook on the wing mower, and go out and mow 90 inches all day.
Well, not all day, I'd last about an hour.

The cost no object solution is the Kubota or JD front mounted mower. They simply do exactly what I need, are hugely overbuilt for residential mowing, and
if I were wealthier, sure, why not. But I made the decision to prioritize comfort, and am likely to go with the JD 754 diesel 2wd all wheel steering garden tractor.
Yes, with a 60 mower deck and hardly a 7 iron. but it will be plenty agile and if I buy a Swisher wing finish mower for two grand, I could add more than five feet of cut.
and the wing mower would easily swing under apple trees plus I have experience using an offset pull behind Swisher. Lot of options but finally the parts fell in to place.

Or not, maybe the mow with just a 60 will be just pleasant enough I'll be happy not to come back in for awhile. I'll have plenty of time thinking about where I want to take my little boat out next to explore. Actually, I'm much more interested in blazing a big trail back to the pond in the woods, so I can actually see the thing; it's remarkably overgrown with cypress trees growing out of the middle. so I have a choice between seat time playing with my grapple and foresting equipment, or going boating.
these are the really hard decisions I want to have every day...

It came down to a choice between the $11K CC Tank wheeled zero turn or the $13K JD tried and true garden tractor.
Believe I'll go with what I know best. Those little Yanmar diesels have been running in those tractors as long as Kubotas have, and
it seems almost all the Asian diesels are good. Plus it has a nice optional high back seat and still is much lower overall than the commercial alternatives.
John Deere X754 Signature Series Tractor JohnDeere.com

actually the real choice is $13K or a lawn service. Unless the septic system fails inspection or some other expensive pre sale surprise, I can do the mower when i want and the lawn service when I want too.

trying to be logical here. ???
thanks guys.

 

[wolftree]

If you have not yet, look at Steiner equipment/mowers. Their tractors have a steering wheel and front mounted mower decks.

 

[Wakey]

Nice property daugen..

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I'm not sure if this is an old habits die hard scenario, but I reversed direction and decided to cut the budget down from the top level. I just can't justify to myself spending twenty to twenty two grand on a lawn mower right now. Not when I found out my new home is going to need a new well dug. It has county water already, but I wanted that well for irrigation.

So...if I didn't have awful arthritis I would fire up my Gravely garden tractor, hook on the wing mower, and go out and mow 90 inches all day.
Well, not all day, I'd last about an hour.

The cost no object solution is the Kubota or JD front mounted mower. They simply do exactly what I need, are hugely overbuilt for residential mowing, and
if I were wealthier, sure, why not. But I made the decision to prioritize comfort, and am likely to go with the JD 754 diesel 2wd all wheel steering garden tractor.
Yes, with a 60 mower deck and hardly a 7 iron. but it will be plenty agile and if I buy a Swisher wing finish mower for two grand, I could add more than five feet of cut.
and the wing mower would easily swing under apple trees plus I have experience using an offset pull behind Swisher. Lot of options but finally the parts fell in to place.

Or not, maybe the mow with just a 60 will be just pleasant enough I'll be happy not to come back in for awhile. I'll have plenty of time thinking about where I want to take my little boat out next to explore. Actually, I'm much more interested in blazing a big trail back to the pond in the woods, so I can actually see the thing; it's remarkably overgrown with cypress trees growing out of the middle. so I have a choice between seat time playing with my grapple and foresting equipment, or going boating.
these are the really hard decisions I want to have every day...

It came down to a choice between the $11K CC Tank wheeled zero turn or the $13K JD tried and true garden tractor.
Believe I'll go with what I know best. Those little Yanmar diesels have been running in those tractors as long as Kubotas have, and
it seems almost all the Asian diesels are good. Plus it has a nice optional high back seat and still is much lower overall than the commercial alternatives.
John*Deere X754 Signature Series Tractor JohnDeere.com

actually the real choice is $13K or a lawn service. Unless the septic system fails inspection or some other expensive pre sale surprise, I can do the mower when i want and the lawn service when I want too.

trying to be logical here. ???
thanks guys.

If the power steering works to your satisfaction, then I'd say go for it. There are many online here that would clamor to buy some of your other equipment that gives your arthritis a bunch of trouble.

You will just need to make sure your fruit tree branches are high enough to "duck" under. About 4' above the ground.

 

[prosperity]

actually the real choice is $13K or a lawn service. Unless the septic system fails inspection or some other expensive pre sale surprise, I can do the mower when i want and the lawn service when I want too.

trying to be logical here. ???
thanks guys.

I think you are being logical - and maybe say you are coming back down to earth a bit?

As I said above, with a nasty case of RA, I've had to make many adjustments myself. While I don't have the same amount of grass to mow, I do have ~2.5 acres that I do with a Deere 2520 w/62D deck. 62" vs 72" doesn't make all that much difference since I have the time on my hands now. Also, I've found that I have to do my mowing in increments of ~20-30 minutes at a time or I will stiffen up to the point that I can't get off the tractor. At first that drove me nuts as the lawn area looks ohhhh so nice when it is all mowed together at the same time. But now - ehh - who care's? I break my mowing up in those increments over a two day period and it is fine.

And as you say, go with what you know. Those X7xx tractors are super sweet and you know it should last you for as long as you can climb on the thing.

I really miss my 757 zero-turn with the 60" 7-Iron deck, but because of this disease there are many compromises to be made. I've never been very good at compromise, but since push has come to shove, I've been getting better at it.

 

[boggen]

something to think about.... a regular old riding lawn mower, or garden tractor, even some zero turn mowers. once your mow with them, and then get off of them after about 10 to 20 minutes or more, your entire body tingles some after you get off the tractor. from the vibration of the engine itself going through your body. a regular 2cycle chain saw or weed eater, you can feel vibration in your body as well after using them.

one thing i like about the old 1950ish allis chalmers CA with 72" woods belly deck, you can be on it all day and get off of it, and never feel a thing like you do from riding lawn mowers. the only thing i wish it had was power steering *arghs*

your SCUTS and larger zero turn like mowers, more likely give much less vibration, due to engine size and how the engine is mounted to the frame.

i am going to push that you also check out other manufacture mowers and tractors, for nice seating on. every beast is built slightly different, some units work better for shorter folks, and some units work better for tall folks. example most ladies i know are shorter than all the men i know. and blocks of wood on pedals have been used, to pillows under there rears to set them high enough above the hood, etc... while taller folks complain about being cramped and muscle spasms having to be all cramped up on some units and not being able to drive a given unit for any length of time.

some seats will not move forward enough or move backwards enough, some seats simply set to high, some seats simply don't have enough spring strength for weight of person. at times i wish there was better adjustable seating options like comes in nearly every vehicle now a days, to both forward/backwaord, up and down, and even lean the seat, and adjusting stearing wheel up down, in and out. to simply having arm rests that adjust to correct height or out far enough for the operator/driver.

some units the pedals (break/gas/etc..) can be adjusted to fit the operator better, vs having to come up with some invention or thing to work out for operator.

with above i hate all the "re branding" that gets done with manufactures these days, everything the same on some units but a different color and logo, while others slight different hood shape, and perhaps different default tire type but placed under a different manufacture name. perhaps a different warranty plan or some other garbage. perhaps a different grip on levelers and pedals, and perhaps a different type of seat. all these marketing schemes. *shakes head* ughs

 

[daugen]

Prosperity, I was wondering why they didn't still offer a 62 vs the 60 on a mower this size and this cost...maybe clearance on 4ws?
Boggen, you bet, and likely the vibration of the same engine in a garden tractor vs SCUT could be more; just less mass to absorb it.
I was very, very happy with the kawasaki gas engined JD lawn tractor I had until recently when I gave it to a friend as a housewarming present for his retirement home.
but it did not have power steering and it meant too much gripping and tugging. Going with a 2wd vs 4wd should mean less machinery for the power steering to move around so I'm hoping the steering will have a light touch.

JD has been making the same thing for a long time now and yes they charge a lot for their mowers but I think there's a lot of trickle down tech and refinement one at least gets for the money.

my thought process on this really focused when I realized I could add a wing mower to just about anything, and wing mowers are perfect for getting under low branches.
And I could do the wide open spaces with it attached and then take it off for the closer work, if the number of hours mowing with just a 60 was too much.
this grass is called centipede grass and I don't think it grows as fast as what I'm used to so my visions of worrying about twice weekly mowings might just be unfounded.

DR Trimmer has a new pull behind string trimmer made for fence posts I'm going to check out. My guess is one has to go back and do a light touch up afterwards.
I'm going to plant climbing roses on some of my white plastic fencing so I'll have to be careful not to chop those things up. These new HD trimmers come with some pretty radical tough line now; maybe too radical for plastic coated fence posts. topic for another thread.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

daugen, that DR pull-behind fence trimmer looks really slick. I wish someone would buy one and report back on whether they work good or not.

 

[whistlepig]

Prosperity, I was wondering why they didn't still offer a 62 vs the 60 on a mower this size and this cost...maybe clearance on 4ws?
Boggen, you bet, and likely the vibration of the same engine in a garden tractor vs SCUT could be more; just less mass to absorb it.
I was very, very happy with the kawasaki gas engined JD lawn tractor I had until recently when I gave it to a friend as a housewarming present for his retirement home.
but it did not have power steering and it meant too much gripping and tugging. Going with a 2wd vs 4wd should mean less machinery for the power steering to move around so I'm hoping the steering will have a light touch.

JD has been making the same thing for a long time now and yes they charge a lot for their mowers but I think there's a lot of trickle down tech and refinement one at least gets for the money.

my thought process on this really focused when I realized I could add a wing mower to just about anything, and wing mowers are perfect for getting under low branches.
And I could do the wide open spaces with it attached and then take it off for the closer work, if the number of hours mowing with just a 60 was too much.
this grass is called centipede grass and I don't think it grows as fast as what I'm used to so my visions of worrying about twice weekly mowings might just be unfounded.

DR Trimmer has a new pull behind string trimmer made for fence posts I'm going to check out. My guess is one has to go back and do a light touch up afterwards.
I'm going to plant climbing roses on some of my white plastic fencing so I'll have to be careful not to chop those things up. These new HD trimmers come with some pretty radical tough line now; maybe too radical for plastic coated fence posts. topic for another thread.

I would be very interested in your final choices. You have made many.

 

[daugen]

I would be very interested in your final choices. You have made many.

I also have a lot of other equipment I'm trying to get optimal use out of; so while a new mower is nice, and does replace the one I gave away,
it's also another piece of equipment to maintain, to make space for. I have "collected" a few more things than I really need, but enjoy using them...

well the nice part of this forum is that you can sort of talk out loud and get feedback. for context, I grew up mowing 7 acres on our family farm, including an orchard and grape arbor. 35 more in field, 75 in woods.
mowed from Friday afternoon after school at 4pm til dark, ten hours on Saturday and two or three to finish trimming on Sunday afternoon. for my allowance of 5 bucks.
Two older brothers, they got the riding mower/s. I walked, I trimmed, raked gravel on a 1/4 mile long lane, emptied the incinerator, the lowliest of all unwanted jobs.
Pushed a hand mower for so many years, wore off many sets of wheels. Cub Cadet and Bolens garden tractors mostly, whatever the only place in town sold.

so now it's my time for a hopefully comfortable ride, and I need to remember I'm retired so a few more minutes on the mower are unlikely to be a burden.
A few more hours yes, which is what started my search for info in the first place.
I use the dealer more for service now than I did before, so buying what they service locally is important for me.

the least expensive DR pull behind line trimmer has been ordered. My local guy here sells a lot of their stuff.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

daugen, we will be looking for a report/review on that DR line trimmer once you get it and have a chance to use it. I've got over a mile of fences to mow on my 30 acres, and that one is on my radar.

 

[daugen]

daugen, we will be looking for a report/review on that DR line trimmer once you get it and have a chance to use it. I've got over a mile of fences to mow on my 30 acres, and that one is on my radar.

I'll give you the straight scoop Poop...

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I found what you need: John Deere 1600 WAM

But it would be a bit of a drive from PA to TX.