Thread: Ride on Mower

mate cuts lawns for a quid
His first one was a ZERO, the one he has now is a WARRIOR.
Both are zero turn, neither of them cheap, about $20 000. The warrior has mor features and in a lot of ways is a better mower but the zero was better for doing under low trees
If you want a contact number let me know
cheers
blaze

Hi Numpty
They bought a 48"(I think) Toro at work to replace one of the ride ons,they were so impressed they ended up getting a real big version 78" to replace the big mower on the tractor.
The small one is a 20hp petrol,the biggie has a diesel that sounds pretty wicked.
Both are zero turn and are steered with bobcat style handles rather than a wheel.
The gardeners love them,much more comfortable and stable than the usual style ride ons.
Andrew

Working on Commertial mowers is what I do for a living on the Golf Course and there are a few good quality Domestic Lawn Tractors around but there are a few things to look out for.

John Deere and Toro both make good domestic and for 5 acres I wouldnt be going for any sort of quality below that.

I would also be considering zero turn mowers over the lawn tractor type as they are (with a bit of practice ) faster and in my opinion more comfortable.

If you are after a lawn tractor then make sure it is Hydraustatic and not belt or cone drive as with that sort of work load it would wear out the cones and belts quite fast.

Also look at things like the front wheels and make sure they have bearings and not just steel/bronze bushes.

Also look at the way the deck has been pressed and and strengthened and what the spindles are like.

If the deck has sharp corners pressed in it and they are not strengthened then it will crack along those folds/corners.

The spindle housings should be cast and not pressed steel as the pressed steel ones go out of shape and can cause them to cut uneven and cause the bearings to go constantly.

Also try to steer clear of Zero turns that have the Hydro and wheel motor built in as 1 piece as they are hugely expensive if they fail to fix/replace.

My picks would be,

Lawn tractor:
John Deere LX series
Toro


Zero Turn:
Scag (the best, we have one at the golf course and it is unbelievably tough)
Great dane
Ferris

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Hi Numpty
They bought a 48"(I think) Toro at work to replace one of the ride ons,they were so impressed they ended up getting a real big version 78" to replace the big mower on the tractor.
The small one is a 20hp petrol,the biggie has a diesel that sounds pretty wicked.
Both are zero turn and are steered with bobcat style handles rather than a wheel.
The gardeners love them,much more comfortable and stable than the usual style ride ons.
Andrew

Thay are both Zero turn mowers.

Toro's a called the 'Z' and the big one that andy is talking about I think will be 72" which is 6' and runs a Kubota D112 engine I think.

We wanted to demo one when we bought the scag but as it has a lot of plastic on it and you sit a bit higher on the toro than the scag we went for the scag.

The scag with a 3cyl Diahatsu turbo diesel (25hp) and 72" recycle deck can cut 20 acres in about 2 1/2 hrs of fairly flat open area and is faster than an out front in tree's.

First, what state is the the surface? Rough bushland with roots, sticks, rocks, humps, hollows? Rough grassland with sticks, & rocks removed, & humps and hollows not yet filled in? Smooth grassland? Lawn? Second, what are the gradients? Third, what is the weight of the rider? If the first two, buy a tractor and slasher, fit a front or under blade to scrape the humps into the hollows, and as the surface is transformed by regular mowing, cleaning, and weed control, replace the slasher with a roller mower. If the third or fourth, then consider a rider mower, and if there are steep grades and a big rider of 100kgs or more, make sure it is at least a 25hp diesel industrial mower, not a domestic one. Many rider-mowers are barely capable of carrying a big operator up a steep slope without mowing at the same time. Also, many of the suburban allottment type rider mowers will not last more than 2-3 years in acreage use. You will find it cheaper to buy the right equipment in the first place rather than the false economy of buying a small domestic rider and replacing it regularly.

Numpty

You must have got a bit of rain today out on the Island I would think.

I brought an acre (4030 Sq M) in August and have taken a punt and purchased a 12.9 HP Murray.

Muriel the Murray


$3k it will do for the time being. I looked at several and if I could justify the $5k price tag I'd have brought the Kubota. IMHO for you 20000 Sq m it would come down to either Kubota, Toro or John Deere.

Note I would not buy a Murray again.

Cheers, A

Kubota Australia :: Categories :: Products :: Models :: Details Oh and this is a bit more n $5k

Originally Posted by numpty

We are in the market for a ride on mower. Will be mowing up to 5 acres, slight slope with slight undulations. A tractor and slasher are out of the question at this time. Have been looking at mowers in the 20 to 25 hp range. eg John Deere, Greenfield

Does anyone have first hand experience of what brands are good/bad, and or recommendations.

Cheers in expectation

If your area to be mowed is rough and not flat, with natural vegetation, tufted grasses and low scrub and and you intend paying 5K or less, DONT buy a mower with Bar Blades, get one with a Disc with blades around outside diameter. The Toro's, MTD's, and so on have the bar blade cutters and unless your mowing lawn or a golf course they are useless. There is not enough momentum with the bar cutters to chop through heavy grass, tufted grass or scrub (unless tractor type slasher bars, long heavy and Expensive), when they hit resistance they throw the belts and usually stuff them up.
Dont go for a Hydro gearbox, when they break they cost more than the mowers worth and if you have any slopes or the ground is soft or wet then you need a solid axle diff that wont leave you spinning one wheel and bogged.
I recommend Cox Mowers, They have Cone and Disc drive that is simplicity itself and takes only minutes to adjust, when needed.
I have a 13hp Cox and mow native tufted grasses, Blacckberry, low shrubs sticks and rocks and in 3 years of mowing my 1.1 acre have never had a breakage, the blades are cheap and easy to replace, parts of my property are steep and I weigh 110kgs and it handles the steep bits like they were flat.
My Cox is towards the smaller end of the scale and cost around 3K new, but they make bigger models and I believe the new models have Honda and Kohler engines now.
The Cone and Disc Drive with solid axle (no diff to slip) and the large cutting disc with cheap and easy replacable blades which will cut scrub and lawn just as easy were the Big selling points for me, I believe it is Australian Made as well, bonus, price replacement Drive boxes, Diffs and cutter bars and compare to the Cox equivalents, Regards Frank.

G'day Numpty

I would tend to agree with Tank, the Cox and Greenfield are both Australian made units, and your local council used Greenfield's from memory, but are swinging to JD as the local dealer, the Nissan bloke, is doing good deals a Cox or Greenie would probably do your place, as a suppliment to you self-propelled bovine ones


cheers