0-turn mower vs. tractor style mower

[RickinTN]

As has already been mentioned....I own a home we don't live in but I pay a service to cut the lawn. It is 3/4 acre. They charge me $45 per cut and mow it every other week. I don't know how long I can pay them for what a new mower would cost. If I were to cut it myself I would buy a 36' to 42" lawn tractor, preferably used, and go at it.
We live on 5 1/2 acres which I used to mow myself. 18 years ago I bought a used Kubota 22 horse diesel lawn tractor with a 60" deck. I believe I paid $6,300 for it. I have some hilly terrain I wouldn't try to cut with a zero turn. I now have a general helper I have hired and he cuts for me on my tractor. It takes him about 6 hours to do the 5 1/2 acres.
I can't see spending lots of money on something fancy just to cut 3/4 acre.
Take care, and good luck!
Rick

[popper]

SIL has a ZT JD2 blade. Works great for the slightly sloped 2 acre yard. He still finishes around trees with stihl trimmer. I've mowed one pasture with the JD tractor and bush hog, both are noisy and dirty. Wear hearing and mask helps. I'd rather use the ZT for 1/2 hr than the tractor for 2 hrs in hot sun.

[GregLaROCHE]

My neighbor bought one a couple of years ago and I was really impressed with what he could do with it. I guess he cuts around two acres with it, but it doesn’t have a lot of straight runs to do. There’s a lot of trees and shrubs he has to go around. Unless there’s really something you need a tractor to do, I think the O turn mower’s are the best bet cheaper and probably consume less fuel.

[OS OK]

Everybody's always worried about time! Mowing is therapudic...enjoy your sessions and forget the dang time!

One tip-n-trick for making less of a job of it is to make significantly 'less turns' in the overall mow job.
My front is 2 acres, I've chopped it up into 3 major pretty much equal size sections...all full of trees to zip around but that's the ticket for the front.

In the rear is another 2 acres & a major slope, that one I have one major sized section with 150 yard runs between turns and then 2 smaller sections that go pretty quickly but more turns in those.

Once a year in the fall, I'll cut my 2 acre pasture down for the winter but it is just one huge curved rectangle section with 4 corners.

I know that when I get going I hate to stop & get off and pick something up (dog & kid toys or whatever you have to watch out for) so...I cary one of those long reach tong looking tools on board so I can pick things up without getting off the mower. For time savings & aggravation savings & dulling the blades opportunities...a long grabber is a must!

Best thing is to forget the time it takes...enjoy the day and the smell of the fresh cut grass...soak up some good'ole Vitamin 10 and work on your tan.

[Mk42gunner]

For 3/4 acre of somewhat bumpy ground, I'd look for a decent rider with a 38-46" deck.

I think money for a zero turn would be wasted, you won't be able to use the speed potential.

Don't get one of the old rear engine Snappers, they ride rough. I had one and liked the way it cut, but it beat me to death riding it.

Don't get a Craftsman 42" deck from about 2000 on, the mower deck spindles are junk. I replaced one and made it 3/4 around my yard before it went to pieces. No I didn't hit anything with it either.

Two of the best riders I ever had were a Murray 12 HP/38" cut from the early eighties and a Cub Cadet from about the same era.

The absolute best rider I ever had was a Yanmar 12HP diesel YK122 IIRC. It was a good lawn and garden tractor, until the hydraulics went out. Zero parts support. It weighed close to 900 lbs and filled the back of my pickup from the toolbox to the tailgate.

Robert

[Finster101]

I don't understand why a lawn tractor would ride any better than a zero turn. Can someone explain that to me?

[Ford SD]

I don't understand why a lawn tractor would ride any better than a zero turn. Can someone explain that to me?

most of the zero the zero turn mowers have a hard front wheel

4 tires filled with air = softer ride

also if sharpening blades or replacing blades check for balance

I replaces some blades on for the outlaws and the center hole was off center about 1/16 of a inch = 1/8 longer on one side

did not balance so I ground the end of the blade so the hole was equal distance to the center, then it balanced

[Finster101]

I have never, never seen a zero turn that had solid front wheels and I have looked at a lot of them. Why would blade balancing be less important on tractor with two or three blades than a zero turn with the same number of blades?

[Mk42gunner]

I don't understand why a lawn tractor would ride any better than a zero turn. Can someone explain that to me?

I think it has to do with the relatively small front wheels and the speed most of them seem to run at. Kind of like the rear engine Snappers, unless the lawn is smooth you feel each and every bump.

I just got done mowing my yard with my Kubota L175 w/ Woods L59 belly mower. Nice smooth ride on my very rough "lawn", but it is way too much for a small yard.

Robert

[megasupermagnum]

Back when I worked on a farm I often had to mow the yard and ditches. Not mowing hay mind you, just keeping the grass down around grain bins, equipment, etc. I'd guess it was somewhere around 20 acres. After using both a rider and a zero turn, I honestly don't think there's a huge difference in ride if by bumpy you mean rough ground. Even mowing ditches I liked the zero turn. Some claim they don't work as good, but I felt much more secure on one, than on any riding tractor. The riding tractor you would spend your day leaning way over, grabbing the handle on the fender, the other cranking on the wheel. It's not that fun. It's not fun on a zero turn either, but you just basically sit there, one arm way more forward than the other.

The riding tractor has two huge advantages to the average person. They are multi-functional, and they can be cheap. I never could understand why anyone would buy a brand new one for $2000+ when there are so many perfectly good ones used for cheap and often free. I still remember one time picking up a riding tractor, said free on it at the end of a driveway. Got it home, and the only thing wrong with it was the drive belt was shredded. You just don't find deals like that with zero turn mowers. If you do, get it. From a purely mowing perspective I can't think of anything a riding tractor does better. The constant back and forth around trees and such on a riding tractor is enough to make a person insane.

Honestly the very best thing for rough, rooted yard around trees and such is a push mower. That's what I use now, a push mower, and I mow about 3/4 acre of my grass. Get a bigger and self propelled one, and it would be a breeze.

[owejia]

Bought a zero turn mower 3 years ago. The old 73 + yr old legs did not like following a self propelled push mower any more, my house is on a hill so not much level ground to mow. Put tractor tires on the o turn mower for up and down hill mowing. I use it to mow around my boundary electric fence on 70 + acres. Saves a lot of weed eating. On the interior electric fences can mow under the wire on both sides which really save a lot of weed eating. Basically use it like a mini tractor for small projects instead of the AC 185 diesel. Mow the side of the road and ditch by my house. Goes where a riding tractor mower will not go. Pastures are mowed with the AC 185 and 15 ft. batwing bush hog. As poster #44 says enjoy your mowing time, cause eventually you will not be able to do it. Sold my cabbed tractor this year but still love getting on my open station tractor and mowing my pastures. Fresh air, sunshine and the smell of diesel smoke, will enjoy while I can.

[racepres]

Everybody's always worried about time! Mowing is therapudic...enjoy your sessions and forget the dang time!

One tip-n-trick for making less of a job of it is to make significantly 'less turns' in the overall mow job.
My front is 2 acres, I've chopped it up into 3 major pretty much equal size sections...all full of trees to zip around but that's the ticket for the front.

In the rear is another 2 acres & a major slope, that one I have one major sized section with 150 yard runs between turns and then 2 smaller sections that go pretty quickly but more turns in those.

Once a year in the fall, I'll cut my 2 acre pasture down for the winter but it is just one huge curved rectangle section with 4 corners.

I know that when I get going I hate to stop & get off and pick something up (dog & kid toys or whatever you have to watch out for) so...I cary one of those long reach tong looking tools on board so I can pick things up without getting off the mower. For time savings & aggravation savings & dulling the blades opportunities...a long grabber is a must!

Best thing is to forget the time it takes...enjoy the day and the smell of the fresh cut grass...soak up some good'ole Vitamin 10 and work on your tan.

There Is a Very Good Reason that I must have a Cup (can actually) Holder

[Froogal]

most of the zero the zero turn mowers have a hard front wheel

4 tires filled with air = softer ride

also if sharpening blades or replacing blades check for balance

I replaces some blades on for the outlaws and the center hole was off center about 1/16 of a inch = 1/8 longer on one side

did not balance so I ground the end of the blade so the hole was equal distance to the center, then it balanced

ALL 4 tires on mine are pneumatic. The ride is no worse or any better than any lawn tractor I have operated.

[Froogal]

A couple of the road banks are steep enough that I was a bit apprehensive with the zero turn at first, but I developed a technique. Requires going slower and anticipating a bit, but we git-er-done.

[racepres]

ALL 4 tires on mine are pneumatic. The ride is no worse or any better than any lawn tractor I have operated.

Not been My Experience... But, I buy the Tractor with the Largest Diameter Tires... Don't want my beverages Spilt!!!

BTW I can Operate the folks Zero Turn with one hand... not for extended periods... but doable... it still Spills!!!!!

[MaryB]

I think the zero turn is rougher riding because of the wheel footprint... wider track... so when both my front wheels of the lawn tractor were going into one of my sinking spots(old outhouse holes? Old septic tank? Who knows! Lot of junk buried in my yard including some bodies according to legend, my house was the old midwives house) only one of the zero turns went in making that corner dip and snap my spine side to side... something not good for my bad back!

[OS OK]

I think the zero turn is rougher riding because of the wheel footprint... wider track... so when both my front wheels of the lawn tractor were going into one of my sinking spots(old outhouse holes? Old septic tank? Who knows! Lot of junk buried in my yard including some bodies according to legend, my house was the old midwives house) only one of the zero turns went in making that corner dip and snap my spine side to side... something not good for my bad back!

YOU DON'T NEED AN ARTICULATING SPINE-SAVING LAWNMOWER...you need a dump truck full of topsoil to level your graveyard.

[Smoke4320]

For many years I have mowed Approx 5 acres of Grass with lots of trees and bunkers (paintball field) and approx 1.5 acres of house yard again with 10 plus trees with a tractor mower. A few years ago I was lent a JD Zero Turn Mower.
Job was literally done in half the time and done without tire trenches from trying to make sharp turns with ribbed tractor tires.
for my situation a Zero Turn is the only way now.

If your 3/4 acre yard is virtually treeless/obstacle free a tractor mower might be just fine. Add things you have to go around/stop/start to change direction zero turn all the way
but then you have to weight is saving that time worth the extra zero turn expense.. For me definitely for you very possibly not

[farmbif]

just came back from farmers coop. they have Husqvarna and ferris. the cheapest riding mower, a husky tractor $2999. cheapest husky zero turn just over $5000, the top of the line that they had in husky zero turn $13300, nice, very nice, the ferris looks like real well built mower, the 500 model just under $6000, the 800 model, $11100, most all had Kawasaki engines I put that is800 zero turn ferris on my wish list, you know, for when that winning lottery ticket comes in.

[dverna]

just came back from farmers coop. they have Husqvarna and ferris. the cheapest riding mower, a husky tractor $2999. cheapest husky zero turn just over $5000, the top of the line that they had in husky zero turn $13300, nice, very nice, the ferris looks like real well built mower, the 500 model just under $6000, the 800 model, $11100, most all had Kawasaki engines I put that is800 zero turn ferris on my wish list, you know, for when that winning lottery ticket comes in.

When I win the lottery, I am having AstroTurf installed.