I have about 10 acres of grass to mow on my property, and looking for a more efficient way to cut it. It is all generally pretty hilly, with about 10% of it containing slopes over 15 degrees. Steepest slope is slightly over 20 degrees.
I currently have a Ventrac 4200 with the Diahatsu turbo diesel 31 HP. I have two decks, the 84" contour deck and the 72" side discharge. I love the way the 84" deck cuts, but it is a maintenance nightmare. Clogs up with grass every time I cut, and parts are constantly breaking on it. The 72" cuts good, and has reasonable low maintenance. The tractor itself is the next issue. It runs great, but overheats whenever it is pushed. Even on a 60 degF day, it overheats, because radiator gets clogged with grass. On hot days, it will overheat when the radiator is clean, because the cooling system is undersized for the motor. The tractor handles the slopes great, but it is very slow on them. I have to switch to low gear whenever the slopes are more than about 12 degrees, and I can't even go full speed uphill in low gear. Anyways, I just takes too long, and there is too much maintenance involved with this machine to be as productive as I would like.
So, I am looking for something better to mow faster. Perhaps a 72" ZTR, that is beefed up to handle the hills. I was thinking maybe a Ferris, and replace the drive tires with either knobbies or bar tires. Perhaps fill them with calcium for more hill stability, and lower the pressure. I was also thinking of a 72" Bad Boy Outlaw, and you can get these with bar tires from the factory. I do have a JD 757 60" ZTR, but it is not good on the hills, and because of the smaller deck cuts no faster than the Ventrac on the flat areas.
Just looking for advice anyways. I am going to keep the Ventrac for all of the other things that it does, but I want something else to at least take some of the mowing burden away from the Ventrac. Thanks.
I currently have a Ventrac 4200 with the Diahatsu turbo diesel 31 HP. I have two decks, the 84" contour deck and the 72" side discharge. I love the way the 84" deck cuts, but it is a maintenance nightmare. Clogs up with grass every time I cut, and parts are constantly breaking on it. The 72" cuts good, and has reasonable low maintenance. The tractor itself is the next issue. It runs great, but overheats whenever it is pushed. Even on a 60 degF day, it overheats, because radiator gets clogged with grass. On hot days, it will overheat when the radiator is clean, because the cooling system is undersized for the motor. The tractor handles the slopes great, but it is very slow on them. I have to switch to low gear whenever the slopes are more than about 12 degrees, and I can't even go full speed uphill in low gear. Anyways, I just takes too long, and there is too much maintenance involved with this machine to be as productive as I would like.
So, I am looking for something better to mow faster. Perhaps a 72" ZTR, that is beefed up to handle the hills. I was thinking maybe a Ferris, and replace the drive tires with either knobbies or bar tires. Perhaps fill them with calcium for more hill stability, and lower the pressure. I was also thinking of a 72" Bad Boy Outlaw, and you can get these with bar tires from the factory. I do have a JD 757 60" ZTR, but it is not good on the hills, and because of the smaller deck cuts no faster than the Ventrac on the flat areas.
Just looking for advice anyways. I am going to keep the Ventrac for all of the other things that it does, but I want something else to at least take some of the mowing burden away from the Ventrac. Thanks.
