should I buy a mower

[twoodard04]

so Ive mowed a few times now at the new place with my 4 wheeler (full time 4x4) and a swisher 60" finish mower. the cut I get is fine the speed is kept under control. im cutting right at 2 acres best I can tell. its taking me a little over an hour then I use a self propelled push mower to do right along the house and around all the trees, 16 on the side yard and 2 on the other side yard. most of the yard is open. while it works i need to make sweeping tuns to get close to the trees and cut over the same spot multiple times to minimize push mower work. Ive thought about a zero turn and may go that route in the 54-60" range. but for much less Im thinking I could get a rider with 40-54" cut to mow tight to trees and house then hook up the swisher offset to mow the large open areas. a used rider in that range can be had fairly cheap. cutting 100"+ at a time would go quick and the swisher just sips fuel. a full tank lasts more than 2 full sessions. if I go that route I could by a tractor sooner as I would not have the zero turn payment. the tractor would be needed for snow work and general lifting and moving. what are your guys thoughts?

 

[travlitt]

so Ive mowed a few times now at the new place with my 4 wheeler (full time 4x4) and a swisher 60" finish mower. the cut I get is fine the speed is kept under control. im cutting right at 2 acres best I can tell. its taking me a little over an hour then I use a self propelled push mower to do right along the house and around all the trees, 16 on the side yard and 2 on the other side yard. most of the yard is open. while it works i need to make sweeping tuns to get close to the trees and cut over the same spot multiple times to minimize push mower work. Ive thought about a zero turn and may go that route in the 54-60" range. but for much less Im thinking I could get a rider with 40-54" cut to mow tight to trees and house then hook up the swisher offset to mow the large open areas. a used rider in that range can be had fairly cheap. cutting 100"+ at a time would go quick and the swisher just sips fuel. a full tank lasts more than 2 full sessions. if I go that route I could by a tractor sooner as I would not have the zero turn payment. the tractor would be needed for snow work and general lifting and moving. what are your guys thoughts?

:welcome:
From Texas
You have a very workable plan as I used to do the exact same thing. I now have a Scag Turf Tiger ZTR that I pull my 60" Swisher finish trail mower with. I can cut a lot of grass in a short period of time.
Travis

 

[twoodard04]

Did the way you used to do it seem efficient? I'm still working on a pattern to attack this yard. So far they all work out to about the same time.

 

[travlitt]

Did the way you used to do it seem effuciebt? I'm still working on a pattern to attack this yard. So far they all work out to about the same time.

Yes it was efficient.

 

[Gary Fowler]

A good zero turn is going to set you back close to $7000 but it will be fast and can trim close enough to trees that you don't need to weed eat very often. If you don't have a lot of trees or shrubs to mow around, your plan for a tractor type mower to pull the Swisher is a good plan but again, you need to get a good heavy duty tractor with a serviceable HST transmission. Cheap box store mowers of any type are pretty much throw away if they break and the pressed steel decks tend to rust out fairly quickly.

The only issue I can see with that set up is storage space for all of your equipment which can be considerable with so many motorized devices that really need to be in an enclosed shed for longer life.

 

[twoodard04]

The price is what is keeping me from buying a zt right now. As for storage, this is the back side. The front has a larger door

 

[Gafn]

The Kubota BX series with a FEL and a mid mount mower would get the job done. It will be more expensive than a ZTM, but you get 500Lbs of lift from the FEL, and a PTO to run thinks like tillers, or a RFM. Turning radius is good, I owned one for two years, and it is a great mower, plus power to drag push and lift. Kubota usually has deals for 4 year @ 0% interest... but that is of course a payment.

 

[twoodard04]

I was thinking a rfm or mmm for a tractor when I get one but the size tractor I need is borderline to big to get a mmm. And then I've got all the weight on the yard all the time. I'm looking in the 35-40 HP range for loader lift capacity 1600# plus for moving wood pellet pallets and snow removal on a 800' long gravel drive

 

[Gafn]

ok - Then the BX series is too small for you, as it turned out to be for me.

I ended up getting a 35HP Branson - loader is rated to 2000lbs, with quick change, which is a must...
I have been mowing my yard with a 6' RFM, and have not noticed any damage to the yard, except when I turn to sharp when going a little too quickly - it will tear the grass a bit.

I have put 32 hours on the new tractor in just 2 months - with the BX I only did 45 hours a year as it was too small for the other things I was doing.
I went with the Branson as the pricing was way cheaper than the bigger name brands, and I absolutely love my decision to get more tractor.

 

[twoodard04]

Yup same situation. Then with a 72" mower some spots would be hard to get to I think. Then there is the weight on the septic tank issue also

 

[Gafn]

I keep a old used commercial walk behind on had for the areas up around the house and over the septic tank...
Thing cost me $800 three years ago and it will not die....
Works for around all the trees and the areas of yard that are too steep to put a tractor on...

 

[twoodard04]

I still have to use the walk behind in the pool fence anyway and the septic is right there so that's an option as well. Maybe a rfm would work

 

[Creamer]

I wouldn't waste your time on an RFM. Cut quality is not great because you are running over the grass with a tractor first. You already have the swisher mower for the open areas and your issue is in tight. A walk behind will take care of those areas. Then you can save your money for a tractor which, once you have, you will not understand how you could live without it.

 

[Gafn]

I wouldn't waste your time on an RFM. Cut quality is not great because you are running over the grass with a tractor first..

Cut quality is based on blade speed, type, and sharpness.
If the RFM's that you are used to using can't pickup grass the you just ran over, then maintenance or blade type change is required. My cut quality is equal to that of any ZTM, or the walk behind.

 

[Creamer]

Cut quality is based on blade speed, type, and sharpness.
If the RFM's that you are used to using can't pickup grass the you just ran over, then maintenance or blade type change is required. My cut quality is equal to that of any ZTM, or the walk behind.

I do not believe that because I had an RFM for a few years and no matter what I did the next day I could see the tire tracks as that grass just stood a little taller. Maybe I am just picky but my tractor is not heavy and it has turfs on it. taking the loader off did make a small difference in quality. The mower was a Ford with high lift blades. When I changed to a Simplicity front deck I thought it looked a lot better. Didn't change when I went to my front deck Deines - still very nice.