Mower suggestions

[7300]

HI, Nice site.
I own 6.7 acres and I keep it mowed with a 1954 Ford Jubilee and a 5ft bush hog. Takes about 3-4hrs to cut. I am about to buy a home on one acre.
What I am looking to do is sell the tractor and buy something that will mow both lots. The 6.7 acre piece of land and the one acre that my home will be on.
I have about $3,000 to spend. I know it's not much but with buying a new home, I'm on a budget.
I know I'll probably have to buy used.
So which mowers/brands hold up the best. I mean which mower would you buy given the budget and the amount of grass that needs to be cut.?
The 6.7 acres is cut every 2-3 weeks. The home lot will be cut every week.
:D

[John Gamba]

Get a Lazer Z with at least 25HP 60" Ultracut Deck.
john

[65hoss]

Your problem is wanting 1 machine for both but only spending $3k. You will not get anything for $3k that will cut the 6.7 acres in any feasible time. Why not leave the tractor at the 6.7 acre place and use it there and by a 48" eXmark w/b for the 1 acre place. Now you within your budget.

[Critical Care]

A couple of questions...

1. How much do you think you could get for the ol' Ford?
2. Will there be slopes or hills to mow?
3. Considering the acre around the new home, will you still want to sling grass as you did with the bush hog, or will you want to mulch, or bag?

Another thing to consider is that a lot of these mowers are rather slow. Hustler, one of the sponsors on this site, has a fast guy that cruises along at 15 m.p.h., but most will fall short of that. If all that you're mowing is wide and open, I certainly would look for a 60" deck or more.

If you find a used mower that falls into your price range, you can always tell us what type of mower you've found. I'm sure you would get lots of comments.

[7300]

Originally posted by 65hoss
Your problem is wanting 1 machine for both but only spending $3k.
Yea, I thought it was a pretty tall order.



Originally posted by Critical Care
How much do you think you could get for the ol' Ford?
$3,000. That's where the $$ for the new/used mower would come from.

Originally posted by Critical Care
Will there be slopes or hills to mow?

Nope. Flat and very few trees.

Originally posted by Critical Care

3. Considering the acre around the new home, will you still want to sling grass as you did with the bush hog, or will you want to mulch, or bag?
I'd want to mulch around the house.

[stslawncare]

i agree with keeping tractor at the large property and buying a walkbehind mower for the new property, walk behinds are great at mulching and great on smaller lots just that size, and tractors are great for large lots like that. a ztr would be to small and slow, im guessing ur mower with the tractor is pretty big.

[GripB]

If you don't have the cash, consider looking at some of Exmarks financing offers. They even offer a low payment plan (1% of amount financed). Just a thought.

[7300]

OK, I stopped by the local lawn mower dealer today and there sat a used Dixie Chopper. 50" cut. They said it had about 400hrs on it. They're asking $3,995.00 It looked it be in good shape.

I've never even drove a ZTR mower before so what kind of things am I looking for when buying a used ZTR?

[7300]

It has the kohler engin. It would be used to cut the 6.7 acre lot every 2-3wks and my home lot every week(1 acre).
I'm in the new house now. :D

[ddthomas2]

I run an x2500-50 Dixie. So my times should be representative of what you would see. Depending on how many obstacles you have, you should expect about 2 hours for the 6.7 acres, and about 20 to 30 mins for the 1 acre.

Dennis
985-246-9319

[7300]

You guys are right. I'm just going to keep the tractor and figure out a way to haul it around. I'm gonna take the bucket and bucket frame work off though. Thanks for the replies.
http://img1.imageshack.us/img1/4674/DSC02203.jpg
http://img1.imageshack.us/img1/1701/DSC02206.jpg

:D