Can a Zero Turn mow high weeds in a bumpy pasture?

[plowhog]

I have about 15 acres of pasture. Gentle rolling hills, not steep except near the pond. Ranges from moderately smooth to bumpy.

I'm considering a new mower-- admittedly perhaps a stupid overkill-- 48hp diesel zero turn mower. Ferris IS6200Z

IS® 6200 Zero Turn Mower

Comfort, durability, and power are what make the IS 6200 more than a luxury, it's a necessity. The 48 hp* CAT^® turbo diesel engine provides up to two times more longevity than a traditional gas engine. Designed for the rigors of maintaining municipal and industrial properties, the IS...

www.ferrismowers.com

I currently mow using a 58hp tractor and 8ft rotary cutter, or a front mount 58" "tough cut" Ventrac mower. I've used each. Both have suspension seats, and after using either one I have an aching back at the end of doing mowing. From getting bounced around. This is why I am attracted to the Ferris product with the suspension system.

If I fall behind the mowing schedule, I can be mowing 3-4ft weeds and growth. I've once mowed 5ft growth. The ventrac struggles a little (25hp) and I have to slow down to accommodate. The ventrac is more nimble and less prone to bouncing compared to the tractor and rotary cutter.

48hp is a big bump in horsepower, but I've never owned a zero turn. Is such a machine suited for this or geared for more traditional lawn cutting?

 

[3Ts]

It's suited more for a lawn than a field. I have a John Deere 525E ZTR and I use it in places I probably shouldn't. It will handle some bumps but the ride is not comfortable, the suspension seats in the ones you're looking at will be much better, but I would not do a 15 acre field with one. I've only tried the 2' weeds and it does ok. I've found that the grass/weeds/brush needs to be shorter than the front to back dimension of the mower deck to allow what you're cutting to come back up after being pushed over by the deck. Otherwise it probably won't get cut just pushed over.

 

[WM75Guy]

I think you would be asking too much out of it. I have 2 Kubotas, the ZD1211 60" conventional ZTR and the F2560E 72" front mount mower. Both are 25HP diesels. I mow 2 acres around the house with my ZD1211. I mow about 4 acres with my F2560E, mostly turnouts and some rougher areas under an acre of trees next to the arena. If the grass gets over 12" it means going over it twice or having a crappy look with heavy windrows. If it gets too tall, I switch over to the WM75 with the 6' cutter.

 

[stevem5215]

The only mower that will do 5 ft weeds is a brush cutter / brush hog and it will not look like a lawn afterwards. I've never had the chance to try out a 48hp Ferris but that's gotta be an awesome machine. But I don't think it'll cut 5 ft high weeds. What does the dealer say about it ? He might know what the capability is.

 

[RandyT]

Will not mow 5 ft tall weeds very well, and even with the suspension will still kill your back after riding over that bumpy ground. Mower overall just will not stand up to that type of punishment for very long without leading to serious maintenance issues. And if the slopes are very steep and you loose traction it will spin around and start going back down hill and will continue until it gets to the bottom And you will not be able to hold the slope trying to mow side to side. Only up and down only

 

[YanmarFever]

If it were my pasture I would try to clean it up first with some sort of implement suited for that.
Then I would get a very heavy roller filled with water and smooth it out.

Then you could use your mower on it when it grows back.
I believe you would destroy your mower and have a sore rear from mowing it while its bumpy and real tall.

 

[mikester]

Yes you can. I would encourage anyone wanting to mow 15 acres with a 48" ZTR.

 

[Hay Dude]

It will do it, but raise the deck and take it slow. I have a crappy place I have to do 2X per year that I really shouldn’t, but I do it.
I set the deck at 5” and go slow and ready to raise deck in the blink of an eye if needed.

 

[YanmarFever]

It will do it, but raise the deck and take it slow. I have a crappy place I have to do 2X per year that I really shouldn’t, but I do it.
I set the deck at 5” and go slow and ready to raise deck in the blink of an eye if needed.

Yes, but when your name is HAY DUDE anything is possible!

 

[Hay Dude]

Yes, but when your name is HAY DUDE anything is possible!

How’s that Cummins running, YanmarFever????

 

[riptides]

The time you spend trying to beat down 5 foot weeds with a ZTR would have been better spent on the tractor.

Maybe don't let it get that high to begin with and then use the ZTR, after attempting to smooth the rough spots with the tractor.

 

[YanmarFever]

Its purring like a kitten in our shop. I still haven't had to add def fluid, that's how little I drive it, hope it doesn't get old in the tank.
However The service antilock brake system light has been flashing on and off....

There should e a recall on those, I hear a lot of them are failing.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

HP aside, the deck isn’t made for that sort of capacity. I have a 27hp trail mower and a 29HP ZTR… the decks are similar in size, but the trail mower deck is made for that sort of capacity, the ZTR is not. The trail mower doesn’t labor with 3’ tall grass. The ZTR can barely handle it. It’s the deck design. You cannot push that sort of tonnage across a deck made for a lawn. Great tool, wrong job though.

 

[FPGT72]

I bought this in may of 22 according to the date on the photo.

It was expensive enough, I just could not get my head around the diesel prices.

I mow roughly 13ac with it. Before this it was a 5' woods finish mower pulled behind an 8n. Then a few smaller mowers for the up around the house and the "tight stuff". I have basically a flat, no hills land.

Mine is bumpy as all hell, moles voles and groundhogs just love my area. I can take care of the ground hogs but I have just given up on the other two. Their mounds are everywhere.

So far the only issue I have had is one bent blade on the deck. I know I hit tunnel mounds every time, I guess one just got it. There is just no getting around running over a mound.

Before the mowing would take the better part of two days, with this thing, and only this thing we are done in about 6 hours. I never in my life would have figured it would have taken that much time off. And that two days is with two people mowing.

Now I don't "get" to use it much you can not pry my wife off of this thing, in fact she gets mad if I do mow. She loves this thing. And she will drive it flat out.....as fast as the thing will go, and it cuts like a champ.

On the old ford, you MIGHT get in 2nd gear, if you got in third you would likely bog down in the thicker stuff. You could not go all out in 3rd as it was so bumpy you would get flung off the thing. Forget about sitting, and we had a nice new suspension seat for the thing, it was just not enough.

I was, and am really shocked at just how fast this thing works. It was pretty expensive, and I can't say it was worth it, it is just too damn much money, but I would buy it again in a heart beat.

 

[FPGT72]

Oh and currently with all the rain we have had my field is roughly 6-8" high. You can't cut it at the "normal" depth, you must raise it up, but no issues. I have seen no issues aside from that one blade with the machine.

 

[plowhog]

What does the dealer say about it ?

That turns out to be an interesting question.

I looked at every YouTube video about the mower. All of the demonstrations were operating it on short grass-- not quite like a pool table flat but pretty close. I did not see anything where it was put up against some rough terrain or high weeds.

Yesterday I called the six closest Ferris dealers listed on their website dealer page. One dealer in Nevada and about 5 in California.

The one in Nevada no longer carries Ferris. Several dealers in CA said they are now "battery power only" mower shops. The sole dealer in CA who said he could get one said: "its been really tough to get a Ferris mower into CA for several years." I don't know if he meant Ferris is reluctant to ship, or if there were import restrictions due to diesel engine or emissions. Not sure.

If it was a worthwhile direction I'd purchase one in Oregon if needed. The 5 ft. weeds only happened once and it was pretty neglectful of me being busy on too many other things. But 2 ft. weeds, sometimes 3ft., would not be unusual. Much as I'd like to have the time to mow much more often.

With the tractor and rotary cutter, I mow about 3mph. With the Ventrac, I mow about 5mph. Since the deck sizes are different it takes the same amount of time with either machine. I was hoping to find something faster with a better ride, but no I am not so sure.

 

[Locoweed]

I think you would be better off addressing the tractor ride. Have you tried lowering the tire pressure? It can make a significant difference. Possibly a better suspension seat would help. I would consider slowing down also. Your back will thank you.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think that you already have what you need to get the job done. Zero turns are very specialized mowers for maintaining existing lawns. In my opinion, it's probably the very worse type of mower for big areas and tall material.

Instead of spending all that money on the zero turn, I would look into what it would take to make your 58hp tractor more comfortable. Upgrade the seat to something with air suspension. Lower the air pressure on your tires.

I have my tractor tires at 15 psi when mowing, and I'm told I can go even lower if I want. I also have an air suspension seat that is very comfortable. Before buying this tractor, I used to put a handicap, wheelchair cushion on the seat to sit on, and that made a huge difference.

The longer the wheelbase, the better the ride will be when dealing with rough terrain. Zero turn has a super short wheelbase, so even with springs, it's going to bounce around a lot on rough terrain.

 

[5030]

You could always hire Hay Dude and have him mow it for you and beat the heck out of his equipment.

 

[scootr]

I had a rough field to mow. It was hilly, rocky, and ground squirrel cratered. I ruined a set of flail hammers the first time I mowed it and the fee charged barely repaired the machine, grrr. I took it upon myself to disc, level, and clear the field of rocks and trash like T posts and such. Then I drug it smooth, and now I mow it with the Tractor or the SS with a smile on my face.
A flail mower with heavy hammers will smooth out the rodent mounds.
Off season prep saved the day