Riding Mower Advice

About to purchase a riding mower. Think I've about narrowed it down to the Husqvarna 24V48 or John Deere D140. Any Thoughts? Wanting it to just mow our 2 acre lot that is pretty open.

Instead of buying either one of those new, find a used zero turn and never look back. You'll be extremely glad you did.

I mow about 4 acres with a Husqvarna with the welded deck and the Kawasaki engine...and I kick myself every time I look at the thing for not getting a zero turn. My area is pretty open for the most part too. Just so much quicker with the zero turn.

x2 on the zero turn, especially for 2 acres. I can get 3.5 acres knocked out in around 2 hours on my 52"

I agree with the zero turn. I have a john deere regular ride on at home that I use for my two acres, and it takes twice as long if not more than when I bring my scag zturn home from work. Not to mention the zero turn is a lot more comfortable to use.

Walter

I'm on the fence about this too. I only have an acre, of which about 2/3rds needs mowing. So, it's not much space. But I do have lots of obstacles and such?

Still, I only mow my grass once every couple of weeks, and that's when it's been raining. It looks fine now, though I haven't mowed in a month and a half, and I'll probably only mow it once or twice over the Summer.

This, and my lawn is so small that I only have time for 2-3 beers, while mowing. I would like a zero turn, just to get all the obstacles better. But I just don't know if I can justify the expense, over a standard mower?

The wider mowers streak the lawns in my subdivision. I'm on two acres but only mow around one acre. I'll stick with the 42 inch cut.

I posted a couple days ago about scag mowers & have to agree zero turn is the way to go if possible. I only mow about an acre but have numerous obstacles to navigate & the zero turn makes a big difference.Plus, as Cochise mentioned, they're just alot faster

Real lawn mowers do not have steering wheels.

I have had a Deer (from Deere dealership) Kawasaki engine, worked very very hard, has never lost a beat, and has never let me down. Going from a steering wheel mower to a ZTR will possibly cut your mowing time in half. It did mine.

Bill is correct. My personal experience, my 42 inch mulches the grass. My 48 inch shreds grass. So, ask about the cut if you need a finished cut.

As long as it's a twin cylinder, your off to a good start. ZTR is nice, if you can do the $;
I too have noticed the Two-blade (42") seem to finish a bit better than the Three-blade (46" - 52"), however the 3-blade handle heavy overgrown grass a bit better without bogging down.

The big point you need to look at if you don't mind me adding is both of those are residential mowers.. which these days means they are made for less than 1 acre of regular mowing. I would at least bump up to an HD residential. Even residential zero turns are made for about the same amount of mowing so don't think your going up in the class of machine just because your going to zero turn. You will just get things done faster... as far as the deck, engine, spindles, blades etc... they will all be the same in the residential class.

I don't sell JD but this is the size range id be looking at.

https://www.deere.com/en_US/products/equ...48in_deck.page?

Or this in the Hqv.
http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/garden-tractors/yt48xls-600059/

Notice they get away from the briggs engines in these models....

The size of the deck will make no difference in the cut until you start mowing ditches... 48 is the best universal size deck on the market imo.... its all about T to T speed and the style blades you choose.

If you choose to look at zero turn this is one id recommend.
http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/cubcadet/zero-turn-riding-mowers/z-force-l-lz-series/z-force-l-48

Yup. My Deere has a Kawasaki.

I had the privelage of working with a guy that was a mower mechanic on hid days off from the FD. Before I purchased the Deere I said "Roger, this Deere has a Kawasaki, what do you think about that?"

His reply, "I've never had to work on one."

The new 7000 series KH motors are solid engines as well. Happy to have them and the KWs on most of these size mowers.

I have a regular rider it works. My next will be a zt.

Briggs and Stratton

I've got the Husqvarna that Nav posted with the Kawasaki. Not a thing wrong with it - only problem I ever had was the day I got it home from the dealer. Thing would flat out not start after I got it unloaded. Come to find out the safety sensor? for the parking brake wasn't catching, thus the safety mechanism that requires the brake to be fully depressed / in park was keeping it from starting. Easy fix once I figured out what in the heck was going on. The blades that come on it suck though and dull quickly.

I'd still rather have a ZTR. Saves a lot of time.

Not to totally knock the brand... I love a little Vanguard.... Put my boat in the water the other day since December... havnt had it covered at all... tank was full of water... drained it and all the lines put in some fresh fuel and she fired on the first pull then also pull cranked with one pull... ran it all day and never missed a beat.

sorry to the op for getting of track lol... it happens

I too am thinking of moving to a ZT if/when my current tractor style one starts needing work. I have a 19-21hp (I think its a Briggs Platinum twin) Auto-trans standard lawn tractor Craftsman with 42 inch cut that is over 16 years old that still runs and cuts like a charm. I usually sharpen/replace blades once every other year or so and put 93 octane gas ... never misses a beat. The only thing I have had to do to it was a new gas tank (talk about a PITA) and rebuild the carb (dang ethanol) once plus a battery every 4-6 years. I don't recall when we actually got it but it was before we moved into our current house which was 16 years ago. I watched the sales at Sears and got it for around $1,000 ... had another Craftsman before this one, that was still running strong at 15+ years but the mower deck and spindles were shot that would take several hundred bucks to replace and decided to invest that money into a new mower. I actually found a guy that had one like it with a bad engine and he gave me $300 for mine. heck of a deal.

I use a 1996 36" Zero turn Dixon on my 1/4 acre yard. This thing is going to be old enough to vote in another year or two.

Zero turn is the only way to go IMO. I used to mow 5 acres with a lot of large trees in about 3-3.5 hrs with a 61" zero turn.

Bought the wife a zero turn a few years ago, ExMark Quest 52 inch, with B&S platinum engine. Runs good, she says. Recently I had lunch with a couple that run a lawn mowing business. Their engine of choice was Kawasaki, but they didn't agree on best zero turn mower. They both have commercial gear that cost $13k to $15k. That's a stout price level. We got our used mower for $3500, with only 35 hours on it. The wife can make that mower fly, which is why she wanted one. The old style riding mower was just too darn slow.

A friend just told me that scag has come out with a homeowner model called Liberty with a cost somewhere around 4 grand.That's still expensive, but you get what you pay for & that will actually be their cheepest model

Ive got the same Husqvarna best mower i have ever owned you cant beat it!

I sure like my zero turn with triple blades on a 50" deck with the Kawasaki engine.

So Twindad, what did you end up buying?

For those of you with acres to mow, I would like to know if ZT realistically offers any advantage. I mean if you are mowing a confined area, like the typical suburban lawn, I could see where ZT would speed your task, but with long and wide areas such as acreages, I'm not so sure. Clue me in, please. I need new mowing equipment. My Scott 1642 is 15 years old. and I am mowing 2 1/2 to 3 acres.

No matter what you buy just buy it where it can be serviced. So many people buy these mowers from Lowes, HD, Wal-Mart, etc. and then can't get them worked on.

Would you buy a new truck from Home Depot?

Pointer, odds are with a zt you will get the job done much faster, whether you're on a straightaway or going around trees or other obstacles. Trust me

Find someone with a ZT and borrow it for one cut, the rest will be history. Mine will cut at something like 11 mph

My yard was 5 acres with a lot of large trees around the house. I mean a lot of trees. I could mow that yard in 3.5 hrs with a 61" zero turn. We also used the same mower to mow the grass around the camphouse, barn and front gate area of the ranch. That was another 13-15 acres and that would take about a day to a day and a half due to rougher ground and travel time between areas.

Plenty of advantages... don't care if its wide open or covered in trees your going to get done in half the time with a much finer cut... no having those loop around corners and having to go back and get what you missed with the wider turning radius.. running fence lines, house edges, gardens, paths, and rounding trees and much simpler since the drive system is finer tuned... you also have the option of going up to HD models with less money than would cost in a rider.. say a 60 inch cut with HD Fab deck and Hyd. drive system is around 4k were in a rider your just now getting to a little heavier mower but not near the mower the HD ZT is.

its the small lots were I see it being justifiable to buy a rider not the larger mowing areas..

Yep, I mow full out on the large areas where I just want to knock it down. The old tractor rider would just putt along in cloud of dust *cough,hack,cough*. ZT is the only way to fly once you get used to driving it.

I don't buy the zt advantage over our JD455 with power steering and 60" deck. We've run it like we stole it for 15+ years and it's never missed a beat.

Have you ever used one on your yard cast?

I thought a yard was what a jd455 was designed for?

The ranch owner on the place I worked did a test. Had a small utility tractor with a finish mower, large type mower similar to yours, and a Ransomes Bobcat 61" mower all on the place at the same time for a test. Each had a plot the exact same size to mow. When it was over the Ransomes Bobcat won hands down on speed and quality of cut. He bought that Bobcat that day and had it for 13 yrs till he sold the ranch. He bought a new ranch and a new ZT mower.

I think this can all be solved with a simple contest. Cast, load up that green machine and bring it over and mow my grass as fast as you can. When you're done I'll tell you if it's faster than my zero turn or not

Sheer genius Ramball, wish I'd have thought of that first

Sure enough! I'll do the same deal with Cast against my push mower

You will have to mow it first to get a time set recorded though.....

Done it enough times, I got it down pat!

Ill pass this along to Mrs Cast. She does all the mowing. It's her tractor.

She is fast. Knocks out two acres while I drink six beers.

^^^^ Sounds like a perfect marriage

35 years and counting

Anybody use a BadBoy 60"? I'm tired of my deck, blades and spindles taking a dump on me constantly.

What is your current mower?

Go with the Deere. I have one that is about 9 years old, if it ever quits I will get another one.

My dad wore out 3 Murrys while ragging on the JD445 we bought 15 years ago. After the third one, he quit ragging on me and bought a Deere. I didn't say a word.

Nothing you can do about blades other than get the Gator blades.. spindles need to be greasable in that size. go commercial and you wont have that problem anymore

I have a TroyBily Pony of which, just so far this year, I've replaced the blades twice due to my deck working itself crooked and just yesterday, my belt broke. Most of my problems are related to the deck and below....that's why I'm looking at a larger mower and coincidentally, I welded deck. I run over the occasional rock but not a gravel pile or pieces of pipe. I know there's a difference in a $1,000 mower and a $5,000 mower but that's my limit...if that. No need for me to keep dumping money into this mower....but am having a hard time spending big money because I know that there will be maintenance/upkeep/etc even on a better mower.

If I may November ... If your pony is big enough in size as far as deck check out this model next time your around a cub dealer. They have completely redone their rider mowers and now have a Fab deck on non-commercial models with KW engines.. don't care if you buy it or not but I just ask you look at it/ drive it.. and this isn't about making a sale because im not even in your area... may save you some money.

http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/cubcadet/lawn-and-garden-tractors/xt2/lx46fab

Nav, what models will the gator blades fit? I have a craftsman mower, a 46" cut I believe, put blades on it once a year, but could probably do twice... I have sandy soil and gophers, its hell on blades!

You can get aftermarket gator blades for just about any mower.

http://www.amazon.com/Mulcher-Replace-405380-Craftsman-Husqvarna/dp/B002T4PYCO

WOW!

Gonna start shopping mower parts on amazon! Those are cheaper than the pos craftsman ones at the store and they ship free... dang.

I bit the bullet. I spent good money and hope I get a good return. I bought the 60" BadBoy with the hydraulic, welded deck. From the little bit of putting around this afternoon, it's going to cut my mowing time by at least half.

Lol you went big! You will enjoy going up to that size Until your neighbors need their lawn mowed too