Mower recommendations

[moog5050]

So the woman who gives me permission to hunt her land has told me to pick out a mower to help with maintaining it.  She is going to buy it and I will be cutting.  Recommendations for a mower under $4k.  Zero turn with a decent cutting width would be nice.  Something I could also use to disc with would be even nicer but not sure that's possible.  lol  Something tough is key as I don't want to spend time repairing it.  Mostly will be used for high grass and cutting trails.  We use my buddy's zero turn now but his was a $10,000 machine.

Edited June 21, 2018 by moog5050

[Single_shot]

You could get a decent tractor used and pull a plow, disc rake....I mean a finish mower.

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[LET EM GROW]

Lots of options. Can pick up a good used commercial zero turn.

Or husky makes some big lawn tractors with 3pt hitches etc.

Or used garden tractor with belly mower/finish rear mower and equipment .. lol 

[moog5050]

I am not tied to a zero turn but a mower with the option for me to buy a disc or more for plots would be cool.  Once its there, the lawn cutting should be easy if I stay up on it.

[philoshop]

Don't take it as gospel but I've heard from a number of mechanic friends that most zero-turn mowers don't do well when tasked with pulling something bigger than a gardening cart. They are pure mowers.

[airedale]

If you are serious about maintaining grass and planting food plots a compact utility tractor with a three point hitch is the way to go. It does not have to be new, you can buy a pretty nice tractor if you shop around. mowers, plows, disks, rakes, tillers and planters can all be operated by a good tractor. A zero turn will work well for cutting grass but using one for implements would not would out too well I think.

Al

Edited June 21, 2018 by airedale

[Doewhacker]

Good luck finding a good compact tractor for under 4K, they hold their value and are hard to find. 

I got a Cub Cadet XT 3 last year which is their biggest mower, it’s built like a tank and has no problems pulling heavy loads and a small disc. It’s over 4K though. 

 

[grampy]

I'm with airdale on this. A small utility tractor is the way to go. But like doewhacker said, it will be difficult to find a good one, that's big enough, with all the attachments you are looking for,  under $4000.  I can tell you from experience, whatever size you THINK may do the job, go one size bigger.  You will thank me for that some day.

[Doc]

She wants you to do the mowing for her, so does that imply that she has some conventional yard mowing included in the use. I mean, will there also be mowing around ornamentals and shrubs and other obstacles? Because for that kind of high speed, agility and precise trimming, I no longer consider anything but a zero-turn. I have a lot of acreage to mow, and the purchase of my zero-turn cut about 1/4 of the mowing time out of the task. Not only that, but it has put a bit of fun into what used to be a drudgery. I just slap on my cowboy hat and give out a couple of YEE-HAWS and it is off to the races.....lol. It seems everybody that I see mowing with one of those things has a great big grin on their face.

[philoshop]

The R/C flying club I belonged to insisted that the recently-purchased zero-turn Graves, which was a tough professional mowing machine, could pull a light (200#) residential roller. I told them not to even try it. A week later the the hydrostatic transmission had to be rebuilt. There are mowers, and there are tractors. Zero-turn mowers are not built to be tractors. JMHO.

[turkeyfeathers]

Some decent attachments available How many horse power is this ? Never mind, I’m an ass


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[moog5050]

8 minutes ago, Doc said:

She wants you to do the mowing for her, so does that imply that she has some conventional yard mowing included in the use. I mean, will there also be mowing around ornamentals and shrubs and other obstacles? Because for that kind of high speed, agility and precise trimming, I no longer consider anything but a zero-turn. I have a lot of acreage to mow, and the purchase of my zero-turn cut about 1/4 of the mowing time out of the task. Not only that, but it has put a bit of fun into what used to be a drudgery. I just slap on my cowboy hat and give out a couple of YEE-HAWS and it is off to the races.....lol. It seems everybody that I see mowing with one of those things has a great big grin on their face.

No residential mowing.  Just maintaining pasture and fields.  My preference is to also have the ability to add an attachment for plotting, be is a disc or tiller.  I don't want to go over 4k for the tractor itself though.  If I buy one that works with an attachment, I will pay for the attachment.

[moog5050]

16 minutes ago, grampy said:

I'm with airdale on this. A small utility tractor is the way to go. But like doewhacker said, it will be difficult to find a good one, that's big enough, with all the attachments you are looking for,  under $4000.  I can tell you from experience, whatever size you THINK may do the job, go one size bigger.  You will thank me for that some day.

I agree this would be a great option, but I don't want to go over 4k.  Thought someone may have an idea for a combo mower and plotting machine.

[wolc123]

$ 4k should get her a good-condition, used 2wd tractor in the 30 - 40 hp range and a 5 ft light-duty bush-hog.   I would look for something like a Ford 2000/3000 or 600/800 series tractor.   These are durable and easy to find parts for.   A light duty bush-hog does a decent job clipping grass and is perfect for maintaining perennial clover plots.   If you get unloaded R1 tires on the back, they won't damage the lawn that bad and will do a very good job pulling a disk on food-plots.  Older 2wd tractors of that size, with unloaded R-1 rear tires, are pretty handy as long as they don't have a front loader on them, even without power steering.     

[airedale]

Take a look around on craig's list all kinds of tractors for sale, take your time and not be in a hurry and you can find some good buys. below are a couple of examples I found in five minutes.

Al

Edited June 21, 2018 by airedale

[philoshop]

37 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

I agree this would be a great option, but I don't want to go over 4k.  Thought someone may have an idea for a combo mower and plotting machine.

No offense Moog, but you're asking for two different things in one package. A nimble zero-turn mower will never be a food-plotting machine, and vice-versa. It comes down to a trade-off. It's not much different with guns. The perfect deer rifle is generally not very good for squirrel or rabbit hunting.

Airedale's options above are good ones, but you're going to have to do some push mowing to really clean up. And a zero-turn mower which is perfect for mowing is never going to pull ag equipment successfully. It is what it is.

[moog5050]

5 minutes ago, philoshop said:

No offense Moog, but you're asking for two different things in one package. A nimble zero-turn mower will never be a food-plotting machine, and vice-versa. It comes down to a trade-off. It's not much different with guns. The perfect deer rifle is generally not very good for squirrel or rabbit hunting.

Airedale's options above are good ones, but you're going to have to do some push mowing to really clean up. And a zero-turn mower which is perfect for mowing is never going to pull ag equipment successfully. It is what it is.

Thanks Philo and understood.  This property does require yard fine mowing.  Just keeping the natural grass and weeds down in certain areas.  Those are good examples from Airedale.

[Doc]

There are still a lot of Ford 8N's around with a full line of tillage implements that will come in far less than $4000. Farmers used to run entire farms with these indestructible tractors. The 3-point hitch and PTO will power a bush-hog, do the plowing, disking, and dragging, and anything else you might have in mind for plotting.

[philoshop]

BTW Airedale, somebody cleaned that old Kubota up nicely. If it hasn't been mechanically abused, I'd bet it's an absolute tank and a workhorse. Worth every penny.

[philoshop]

11 minutes ago, Doc said:

There are still a lot of Ford 8N's around with a full line of tillage implements that will come in far less than $4000. Farmers used to run entire farms with these indestructible tractors. The 3-point hitch and PTO will power a bush-hog, do the plowing, disking, and dragging, and anything else you might have in mind for plotting.

Yeah, but it won't mow around trees and flower gardens or get into tight spaces in the yard. That's Moog's dilemma.

It's very similar to tree work. You need a big saw to handle big trees and big stumps, but you don't want a 35# saw to do light limbing. You'll be exhausted before the day is over. The only answer is two different saws. It is what it is.

[mowin]

1 hour ago, moog5050 said:

No residential mowing.  Just maintaining pasture and fields.  My preference is to also have the ability to add an attachment for plotting, be is a disc or tiller.  I don't want to go over 4k for the tractor itself though.  If I buy one that works with an attachment, I will pay for the attachment.

Then do not get a Z turn. I run two toro 6000 series every day. One with a 60" the other a 72".  As mentioned,  they do one thing and do it well..... Mow lawns. 

Get a larger garden tractor.  Or maybe a quad with a pull behind mower.

[landtracdeerhunter]

1 hour ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Some decent attachments available How many horse power is this ? Never mind, I’m an ass


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A good team brings more than 4 grand today, LOL.

[airedale]

Here is a blast from the past that can do some serious work if you can find a nice one, the Power King Economy tractor, this one is mine and I have it fixed up for show more than anything else, I use it mostly for pulling around a ton and a half dump trailer which I use quite a bit. There was a nice one with a mower for sale up in Watertown a couple of months ago for $1700.

Al

[Hunter007]

[G-Man]

A cub cadet lowboy with a 54 inch belly.mower.. will plow disk and plant as well as keep your lawn looking stylish