hey all
like many of you around here are on some acreage so I'm looking at getting a ride on mower soon
there are as many on the mkt as hot dinners
so I'm after some real world knowledge from people who have had em n have em n would like to know the good the bad n the ugly of what to n not what to look for in a reliable and long lasting machine

I prolly will have about 1-2 acres of grass to cut that is undulating in places n will need to drive it up n down dales to get to the grassed areas for cutting so diff lock no doubt instead of dear as poison 4x4
I'm currently using my tractor n slasher + my old push motor mower
n no doubt killing it n me in the process
so as summer is approaching I can see lots of inefficient hours pushing a mower about when I don't really have to with a ride on

I've been checking out the local dealer n he has huski's which look good n I spose a fabricated deck will last longer than a pressed out jobby
any comments appreciated good bad indifferent
many thanks in advance
cheers pauly

oh yeah..
I'm a bit partial to a hydro as my tractor is of that calibre n it's easy as to do the go fwd/rev thing also

if you have slopes dont get a skidsteer . Hydros are king .
I have abused my , no absolutely smashed my Husky 48 inch ride on and it has been amazing takes every thing I can give it. I mow lawns for a living and have worked in the turf grass industry for over 20 years.
If you dont have hills just slopes then skid steers are king look at the Dixon or toro trime cutter or the ariens.
As for pressed or fab decks a pressed deck is fine for most apps very long lasting unless youy start running into things and cutting rocks.

Mitchell

A friend of mine got a Graden, and swears by it.

Over the past 30 years or so, I've had three ride-on mowers, plus a Kubota and slasher. The first two mowers enabled me to make a good decision as to what to buy next.

My current ride-on, which I bought new about 20 years ago, is a John Deere. Apart from 2 deck bearings, drive belts, and blades it has given excellent service, and I would buy another John Dear [sorry,Deere], if this one ever wears out!

I bought my Toro 17 years ago and paid $7,000 for it and has never let me down, and have recently bought a John Deere. What ever you do don't buy one of those $2,000 jobs.

Most USA or European made mowers are good...

John Deere - are excellent

I would go with the Husky

they make good gear...

I've been mowing with ride ons for a living for about 20 years. The best are usually hydros and Toro are a more durable deck. But today most contractors around our way are going for John Deere. We have both a Toro midmount and a JD. The JD is a much easier deck and machine to service but the Toro deck is more durable and its given us about 12 years of good service.
As for the undulations, I have had water in the tyres to lower the center of gravity.
Kubota if you have dollars and MTD at the other end of the price range.

We have a small paddock which I mow with an Aussie made Cox. First one I hit an old steel pipe and broke the mower disk shaft, my error not the machines, still starts runs okay. So brought a latter model the thing is tough as, no hills though, would buy one again.

We also have a small garden which we plough with a 2wd
kuboda the thing is bullet proof, lives in a fallen down lean-to bit rusty but I live in the middle of the ocean. Keeps starting easy and keeps ploughing great! Had the thing about 15 years now, no drama, do have another mate with a 4wd version he had a bit of drama with his but he flogs the poor thing.

Trick is as it is with most things service regular and don't give the things a flogging! Probably no help to you what so ever as we are not a commercial operation just my ten cents worth!

Just a PS. Not really on the subject... but its amazing what you spend on a ride-on and I compare that to the price I bought my Bug. I could have bought 2 beetles for one new JD!!

Quote:

Originally posted by Marilyn71 Just a PS. Not really on the subject... but its amazing what you spend on a ride-on and I compare that to the price I bought my Bug. I could have bought 2 beetles for one new JD!!

Take it from someone with 100acres of grass which this time of year needs mowing weekly, as long as you dont suffer motion sickness Zero turn mowers are the only way to go.

Dad and I could never go back to ordinary ride-ons anymore, they are so fucking slooooooow.

We have 2 Diesel Toro 6 foot zero turns and the 2 of us can get 100acres mowed in abit over a day.

A little toy petrol one with a 42-50" would barrel 2 acres in an under an hour easy and they aren't that dear either start from around $4K.

We have some hills that give mountain goats grief, the front wheels barely touch the ground going up and they are as steady as you could want.

We do also have a big 4cyl diesel outfront Kubota and it is pretty maneuverable but it to is on the slow side.


That said the only John Deere I ever had problems with was the little LT150. I was ready to burn that heap of shit.
It truely was a half tanked apprentice friday afternoon special....

I've had a greenfield and for the last 13years have had a Rover Rancher 13hp although it was one built in Brisbane back in the day.
I also used to do warranty claims on the hydro units so I tend to stay away from them but thats because they made me bitter and twisted. My Rover is a Friction drive and i'm about to change the corks so I may yet go back to hydros.... Be aware that most brands are now made in China and the likes of Husqevarna and McCulloch have changed ownership many times and are nothing like they used to be. I notice the councils use John Deeres so there's a pretty good recommendation.

trust me I've had more moments on the slopes on the ride ons and the outfront Kubota than the Zero turns.

Once you start sliding on a ride on or outfront there is not a real lot you can do to get traction again but when you spend enough years on a zero turn on slopes you learn how to pull them out of slides fairly easy.

also hydros have a diff which means less traction.

I would endorse a zero turn if you can afford one. For $3200 I bought a Husky 17hp conventional for one acre and it does the job. Zero turn however are dearer but much better.

A few things I've learned. 20 years ago I thought I'd done my research and wanted an aussie built mower. I bought a Rover at the time a new generation ohv model for my then lawn mowing round. Error! the turning circle drove me nuts. Something you dont normally consider but as you come closer to finishing your patch you had to make a huge circle to get back to the next line. The Husky by comparison turns in around 2 metres- much better.

I have flogged a greenfield for years and would recommend them. Poor thing!
It took the punishment that would kill most rideons.

The mowers in those photos posted earlier... well I'd be interested to see some of them race at Warwick.... or maybe not race at all!!
Seriously I have just seen an add for a Grillo on undulating ground. The site is at http://www.rideonmowers.net.au 
I havent seen them used but there is some info that might help.

hey
cheers for the eggsellent feedback
I have learnt a lot
I'm tending to really look for a zero turn as the $ spent on a lawn tractor are similar to a zero turn so I've been finding out
anywho I looked at an aussie graden - nice n solid but a bit exxy for me n only a 36" fab deck
n also checked out the US hustler 48" fab deck n I didn't mind the solid build quality + I could put a factory rops on it which is safety +
also checked out the JD, nice colours n drink holder but no fab deck n similar priced to the Aussie one
anything else I should look out for with a zero turn jalopy
I get they have no diff lock but they are quicker in doing the job n I like not having to spend extra time doing something when I could be putting feet up with a beer or three
cheers pauly

Husqvarna make a really nice rideon but they have a strange quirk.
Counter rotating blades that chew each other up at the first sign of trauma.
Be wary of any deck with this setup.