Comparison Steiner/ventrac vs zero turn

shearer500 · Apr 22, 2013

I just moved on to a 3.2 acre property and I am in need of a tractor to mow grass and plow snow. I was going to get a zero turn with a snow blade until a friend of mine told me to look into steiners. I have about 1.5 acres to mow (mostly hillside) and a 450 ft driveway. Which do you think would be the better option? Also, do you think it would be necessary to go with one of the 4x4 articulated steiners like the 430 or would one of the 2wd rear steering tractors suffice. The main difference there would be for plowing snow.

oldnslo · Apr 23, 2013

What do you mean by hill side. Gentle 2 - 3 degree slope or wet grass requires spiked shoes?

Steiner or Ventrac for snow would be the best since they are 4WD. I know of only one company that offer snow plows or blowers for zero turns and that is Grass Hopper.

shearer500 · Apr 23, 2013

The hill varies in slope. I don't think there is any "wet grass requires spiked shoes" slope, but there is one area steep enough to tip a normal lawn tractor . (I almost rolled my LT155) Also, how well does a zero turn do when plowing snow?

oldnslo · Apr 24, 2013

My limited experience zero turns don't work real well for plowing snow unless you have a model with hydraulic lift. You would have to look at the model you are considering to see if their is enough clearance for tire chains. A lot of the zero turns have very little space around the drive wheels.

Steiner /Ventrac where designed and built for hillside use. Comparable zero turn might be the kubota "F" series in 4WD but I have no experience with them. Kubota offers blade, snow blower, etc. for these.

MossRoad · Apr 24, 2013

You might want to ask this in the Stiener/Ventrac forum here on TBN. There are several folks that can give you first-hand experience there that may not monitor this forum.

XSKIER · Apr 24, 2013

There's not a ventrac dealer near me. How much is a 4000 series with mower and plow? $16K? Zero turns and slopes don't mix, way too aggregating to maneuver. Consider the the BX1860 as a cheaper mowing plowing option. About $11K.