I absolutely love my ztr BUT...

son of man · Nov 14, 2014

I wonder if I should have got a tractor instead???

Earlier this year, my wife and I bought a new home with almost 6 acres. Approximately 2 acres were relatively smooth lawn and a small pond. The rest was mainly overgrown pastureland with an even smaller pond. The plan was to hire someone to bush hog the field and get a commercial ztr to maintain everything.

We eventually found a brand new 2010/11 60'' Toro Z Master Z500 for $6300 plus tax - zero down with 0% financing for 42 months. I used to HATE cutting the small lot at our old place. However, after cutting 2 acres per week on the ztr, I wished for more! We eventually paid a guy $200 to brush hog the field. A couple of weeks later, I was SO excited to finally let the ztr loose in the field. However, I only cut about half an acre or so before getting stuck. I wish I had taken pics as it deserves it's own thread. A Tacoma, Highlander, Jeep and tractor got stuck during the relief mission!

Apparently our land is very moist and retains water. The bush hog guy initially waited several weeks so he wouldn't rut up the field. He thought the sun would eventually dry it out after it was cut. We had about of week-long dry spell towards the end of the summer. This time the ZTR cut the area where we had previously been stuck. However, the farther back I went (towards the smaller pond) the more the tires just spun. I got tired of towing it and feared getting stranded again since my Tacoma is only 2wd. So I gave up and decided to get a tractor.

I eventually found a 1 owner 1984 MF 1030 (approx. 1500 hrs.) with 5ft. bush hog for $2500 cash. However, I wonder if I would have been better off not getting the ZTR and buying an even nicer tractor? Who knows what kind of new or used deals I missed while shopping for my ZTR? However, before getting my MF, I considered buying a Mahindra Max 25 with MMM and FEL, TYM T300 gear with FEL and LS R3039 gear with FEL. All were brand new left over tier 3 models for approx. 15k, 16k and 16k respectively. However, I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money after purchasing a ZTR.

Ed of all trades · Nov 14, 2014

I have a GC2400 Massey and wish I had a ZTR to cut the grass. So I think having both is best.

amaxwell · Nov 14, 2014

Ed of all trades said:
I have a GC2400 Massey and wish I had a ZTR to cut the grass. So I think having both is best.

1+. I have both ZTR and tractor. Each has their duty, and each does it better and easier than trying to the others job.

E3A · Nov 14, 2014

I have a Scag Tiger Cat and a small Kubota. In my opinion, having one of each is the way to go.

TSO · Nov 14, 2014

There are places on my property, and on some of the landscaping jobs I did this year at other properties ... That are still too moist to work a tractor on. This year was really wet (in Michigan anyhow...).

Point being, it's likely that you would have rutted the crap out of that property if you'd been trying to maintain it with a tractor all year anyhow.

You're best bet might be to have sometime smooth it out (till & grade) and get some healthy grass on it ... if your plan is to have it be manicured lawn. I've found that a nice quality bed of grass can absorb water better than a thin-grass, weeded field.

I'd say you did the right thing getting the ZTR.

Grandad4 · Nov 14, 2014

Four acres is small enough that you might be able to improve the drainage with tile, perf plastic pipe, etc., for a reasonable amount. Farmers often did that with fields that lay wet and could otherwise not be farmed. Of course these days you may need to make sure some environmental regulation doesn't make doing something like that a capital offense.

As for the tractor question, a 1984 MF 1030 going for only $2500 would have to be either worn-out or some kind of distress sale... it should be worth quite a bit more than that, so you probably need to ask some questions before handing over the cash. A decent older tractor like that might make a good starting point for you, along with your ztr.

JJZ 109 · Nov 15, 2014

As you've found, different tools are needed for different jobs. As a zero turn owner, I can tell you that they like to spin the wheels and really don't handle wet land all that well.
As a skid steer owner, you have to be just as careful with wet land or you'll have mega ruts or bury it because of low ground clearance. But we learn about the peculiarities of our land and machines and adapt to both.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Looking back, you may have been better off with a lower budget Z turn or lawn tractor for the lawn part of your property and gone with a compact tractor with turf tires for the rest of your land. If you do wind up buying a tractor I would highly recommend a loader. It makes the tractor so much more versatile. You also have so many options for 3 point hitch equipment for other chores on the property.

RoyJackson · Nov 15, 2014

I have a lawn and field to mow. The lawn is 2.5-3 acres, the field is around 4 acres (rest of the property is wooded). I used to mow everything with a Deere 4400 and 72" RFM and spent a good 6-8 hours mowing...as well as really cranking up the hours on the Deere.
I bought a 60" commercial grade Deere Zero Turn strictly for the lawn. It's cut my lawn mowing time down 30-40 percent. The zero turn was definitely a good investment.
As others have written, you need the tools for the job at hand. If you're like me, the lawn gets mowed more frequently than the field (weekly for the lawn, monthly for the field). So, your purchase of the zero turn was justified.

Gary Fowler · Nov 15, 2014

It sounds like you did the right thing by buying a commercial grade ZTR first AND a small tractor. I did the try and see method of buying a box store ZTR first and it would just spin down the slopes and get stuck easily in wet areas so I then bought a tractor type mower for the slopes. Finally I got a commercial grade ZTR that works good in all instances. I did sell the tractor style mower but still have the Craftsman and the Ferris.

Kind of did the same with my tractors. I got a 45 HP Vietnam rebuild one that worked OK after I got the bugs out but it wasn't what I really needed at the time so I sold it and bought the LS P7010 which was good for the tough stuff and worked good for the heavy jobs I had at the time but when I finished that, it was then too large to get into smaller areas and I wanted a backhoe so I bought the B26 TLB. I still have both and occasionally use the P7010 for pasture mowing but the B26 does everything else.

My point is that you can never get just the right piece of equipment that will do everything that you need done and even if you could, your needs change over time so you have to try for equipment that is versatile enough to satisfy your needs as you see them today and then when those needs are no longer, trade up OR DOWN as needed to keep your equipment stable working.

I think you did the right thing with the ZTR as that is the best tool for mowing. If it gets stuck in mud, it is too wet to be there and a tractor would likely have bogged on thru but left substantial ruts to deal with. That tractor will be handy for pulling your mower out of the mud also.
You may find that later you want a bit larger tractor and that is OK, most of us deal with that scenario a time or two (John Thomas goes a bit extreme ). I don't think I could be without any of my equipment even though some of it gets little use, but when it is needed it is there and I don't have to borrow or hire something done.