Need Help for my Mother

[eonblue]

So do a good job!!!

Alright, she's 50ish but very active and strong. She's a country girl and always will be! She's moved in with my grandmother after my grandfather passed away and is taking care of the property herself, so I want to make sure she makes a good investment for the next 15 years.

The property is around 3ish acres. Half the property is fairly smooth and will be easily mowed, but the other half is rough to very rough and includes some pretty heinous slopes. She's not concerned with niceties or going very fast. In fact she probably wouldn't go terribly fast even if she had the capability. She's not opposed to a zero turn, but she is a little scared about sliding around because as I stated, there's some pretty good hills. The first and foremost concern is reliability and longevity. 15 minutes away she has an Exmark and Husq dealer at the local coop, 30 minutes away she has Cub Cadet, Bad Boy, and probably a slew of other options.

She was looking at a 1700 dollar 46 inch deck Cub Cadet 1000 series, but the more I researched, the more it seemed like those are built for the suburban 1/4 acre home owner with relatively well formed and manicured lawns. This is not the setting she will be mowing in, so I decided to come here and get ya'lls expert opinions. I'd appreciate any help you guys could provide to get me pointed in the right direction and if you need any more information that I've failed to provide, please let me know. She's actually looking to purchase something this weekend because her 15 yr old John Deer has seen its last lawn and the grass ain't gettin any shorter.

 

[eonblue]

Ohh, I forgot one crucial bit of information. Budget. She's WANTS to stay around 2 grand, but she was previously looking at a 4k Exmark and if I point her in that direction, she has the opportunity at the moment to make that kind of investment and she will, if I feel thats the best route for her.

So, lets call her budget 4500 firm. She is NOT wealthy at all so this is a very large investment for her.

Also, I thought I'd mention that as far as cut quality, we're looking for utilitarian here. Not trying to look professional at all, just keeping the grass short. Thats it.

 

[BillBeyer]

Zero turns do not like to stay on steep hills sideways. Do fairly well straight up and down. All depends on angle of the hill. Once they start sliding or spinning the drive wheels you and the mower are going where ever the mower wants to go. I have rode mine off in ditches a few times. Had to pull it out with truck once and lift it out with front end loader once. Been very lucky it did not turn over. Just my opinion. That being said, I do like my zero turn and once I got used to it and know what to expect I do go up and down slopes and still put it on some hills sideways but try to be prepared for the ride if it happens to slide. Never had it raise up the front end going up hill but it is very light in the front end.

 

[Carl_NH]

Welcome to TBN!

Personally I would look at a garden tractor series, John Deere x300 or 500 series, Cub Cadet 2000 or 3000 series as they likely will be most comfortable especially on wet slopes.

These will run $4-6K new but are built well and should last 15-20 years if taken care of.

I have a Ferris IS2000 ZTR with suspension and love it over rough ground - rides much nicer than my Cub Cadet 1811. But if the slopes are more than 15* and if there is no "bailout" place at the bottom like a flat spot then I'd be wary of a ZTR especially if its wet/damp grass.

It seems like she won't be in a hurry to get this done, or want to speed through the cutting then the standard garden tractor should be fine.

I am sure you will get other opinions too, but one way to do this is to have one of hte dealers bring a ZTR by to test out - then she can make her own decision and "comfort factor" on a ZTR - she already has experience on the rider I presume..

Good luck..

 

[eonblue]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

Hmm. There is one particular spot where I'd say the slope is easily 15* and it ends with about a 6 foot near verticle drop into a ditch. I told her I didn't really think she should take ANY mower over there to be honest other than a push. She actually got thrown down into the ditch by the John Deer. She said she could have been seriously injured, but she's as hard headed as I am.

That made her very cautious though and to be honest, I am sort of leaning toward the Lawn Tractor myself because there's no shortage of fairly steep inclines on the property. What is it btw that makes Lawn Tractors better on hills? Weight? Or the fact that its got 4 "real" wheels?

Is the general consensus here that my inclination was correct as far as staying away from the 1700 dollar deals at Lowes etc?

 

[Carl_NH]

The biggest factor is the steering on a GT - on the ZTR the steering and braking is with hydros on the rear wheels.

So once a wheel breaks loose on a ZTR on a slope you dont choose the direction to go like with front wheel steering, you try to control by levers on the hydro..

Yes, I would steer her away from Box store machines - you can find a decent JD x300 for around $3-3.5K I think and a Cub with shaft drive for about the same.

Look for decent used machines too in the same size/type - they are out there with a 100 or so hrs I have seen for in the $2K range.

 

[LarryD]

What is it btw that makes Lawn Tractors better on hills? Weight? Or the fact that its got 4 "real" wheels?

My problem is getting too aggressive with the controls when I lose traction. I'm learning that small movements of the controls work better than trying to power back to a certain direction. That only produces more wheel spin. Turning a steering wheel doesn't apply more power to the driving wheels.

You seem to be leaning toward a garden tractor and if it were my mom I would go that same direction. You didn't say why the Deere was no longer viable but unless it's a rust bucket why couldn't it just be refurbished? If it's a real JD mower then that could easily give another 15 years for probably less than a used one.

If that's not an option then check Craigs' List and the local Deere dealer for a gently used mower. There are lots of good deals out there, I got my current mower 2 years ago, it was 2 years old, and had less than 100hrs. on it. I think it's going to last me a good long time.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

The ZTR I had was just plain more work to drive on a side hill. The front was always wanting to go down the hill so you were constantly steering against the hill. I was a ball to drive on the flat though. Definately check craig's list lots of good low use stuff there most of the time. Be sure to get her a hydrostatic. Much easier to drive. I prefer the ones with a lever control to a foot control. I am sure that will start a discussion.

 

[eonblue]

My problem is getting too aggressive with the controls when I lose traction. I'm learning that small movements of the controls work better than trying to power back to a certain direction. That only produces more wheel spin. Turning a steering wheel doesn't apply more power to the driving wheels.

You seem to be leaning toward a garden tractor and if it were my mom I would go that same direction. You didn't say why the Deere was no longer viable but unless it's a rust bucket why couldn't it just be refurbished? If it's a real JD mower then that could easily give another 15 years for probably less than a used one.

If that's not an option then check Craigs' List and the local Deere dealer for a gently used mower. There are lots of good deals out there, I got my current mower 2 years ago, it was 2 years old, and had less than 100hrs. on it. I think it's going to last me a good long time.

Hey, thanks for the input. The current Deere is approximately 15-20 years old. It was bought new and was very expensive at the time. I am not mechanically inclined unfortunately, but she's had it fixed 5-6 times and now it wont start. I think she's tired of putting money into it and due to a small inheritance and her situation, I think she want's to invest in something thats going to last her a good long while again. That being said, Im not sure on the model number, history, or expected longevity.

I have looked at the trigreen dealer for a used x500, but again, since Im not mechanically inclined Im kind of scared to go that route. Do they "warranty" those things at all do you know?

 

[Carl_NH]

Eon,

If she has a JD now 15-20 Yrs old it would be good to know the model since you say they paid a good amount it will still have value if its in decent condition.

If its the garden tractor or 318 series, 260 series or similar and running is worth $800-1200 maybe depending on condition. If its the LX series - lawn mower then its less.

So I would spend a little to get it running and working to sell and offset the new machine cost. It could be as simple as a low battery, or fuel issue but if its not running you will get very little.