Buying house with 6 acres - Need help selecting a mower - JD or Dixon?

[Sprinkler Buddy]

KennyV is so right "The Donaldson type air cleaner is a big plus". Most all major brands have gone to them, they make kits to convert to that system if you find a used mower you want to buy.

Outstanding air cleaner!:thumbsup:

 

[robert]

With the amount of property you have a good used compact or very large GT would be, by far, your best bet-you will find lots of other things to do with it that a ZT could never, ever do; in the long run a nice diesel tractor will last longer than you do and pay for itself a few times over. A sixty one inch deck is huge, your property is gigantic-I don't see anything but a cut, gt making it more than a few years.

Then again if I were so smart I wouldn't still be stuck with a poop zt that has been in the shop more than it has been in our yard.

 

[RobertBrown]

With the amount of property you have a good used compact or very large GT would be, by far, your best bet-you will find lots of other things to do with it that a ZT could never, ever do; in the long run a nice diesel tractor will last longer than you do and pay for itself a few times over. A sixty one inch deck is huge, your property is gigantic-I don't see anything but a cut, gt making it more than a few years.

Then again if I were so smart I wouldn't still be stuck with a poop zt that has been in the shop more than it has been in our yard.

Although a zero turn is going to the most efficient way to cut grass, a compact tractor is much much more versitile. I know you've spent a lot of time laboring over this decision and I don't want to confuse you but 6 acres is a large parcel and if you have any serious landscaping aspirations, consider the compact tractor if you have not already.

 

[yoyoboy96]

A zero turn would probably be the fastest, however since you said a lot of trees, will you be able to get between them with a 60" deck? You may also want something with a bagger. I don't think it is very fun to rake 6 acres...
If you plan on using the tractor for things other than mowing (snow plowing, snow blowing, towing, etc), then I would suggest getting a regular tractor with pedal drive. John deere would be a good choice for a long area, so would simplicity. I would try to avoid the cheaper brands like MTD, Craftsman, Murray, etc.

 

[robert]

Robert, I have reached a surpising conclusion, a zt, on normal sized properties, is not necessarily the fastest way to mow-that 3 point turn that you really have to take in order not to skuff the turf takes up time and I don't believe that, except for the fastest mowers you can make up the lost time in turning.
For that matter, can you even use the fast speeds of alot of zt on anything other than manicured grass with no or very slight bumps?
Now 6 acres, depending on the sq ft of grass may change things, then again it may present even a stronger argument in favor of a cut/or large gt.

At any rate, if the op goes zt the machine will have to be upper commercial quality to hold up-big engine, big deck, big hydro's-no powder metal here he needs the real deal.

I'm thinking a Kubota 'B' / Cub Cadet Yanmar or Mahindra which is alot of diesel tractor for the cash, an awful lot of tractor for the cash.

Wish I had his 'problem'.

 

[woi2ld]

hmm , great thread , i may re-consider now also......3-6 acres and you may hav some brush/pasture type mowing , ZTR could break..........compact tractor with PTO may be the better option.......is this correct .???

 

[RobertBrown]

hmm , great thread , i may re-consider now also......3-6 acres and you may hav some brush/pasture type mowing , ZTR could break..........compact tractor with PTO may be the better option.......is this correct .???

I personally had to make a similar choice and I went with a compact tractor. This is my second one, I sold the first (i don't collect mowers). I just got off my machine, and I stood back and admired it for a few seconds before I came in for water (it's 107F here now).
I don't know what the buget is but I wouldn't necessarily let money drive my selection process. You don't want to buy the wrong machine. That can get costly, very costly.
Remember a tractor lasts a lot longer than most mowers, so it's a long term investment. The cost to consider is what you paid for it minus what you could potentialy sell it for. If you bought an older used tractor in good condition that is easy to get parts for, you could make money if you ever decided to sell it.
When you think about the versitility of a small (15-35 hp) tractor, with a loader, box blade, finish mower and bush hog, it makes sense to at least consider that purchase, if you do your homework.
If you have ever thought of making some serious landscape changes or cultivating portions of your property, you may need a tractor.

 

[jmac1]

We are getting ready to close on the house in November, so the mower is back on my mind as I haven't purchased anything yet. Thanks for all the responses. I wanted to clarify a few things that have come up.

The property is six total acres, all flat. It is basically a 2 acre by 3 acre rectangle with a drive cutting to a house in the middle of the lot. Some trees, but plenty of room to mow around them. With the exception of 8 fruit trees that are pretty close and will need some careful manuevering. Maybe a little push mowing in this area.

I was leaning towards the jdz465 when an interesting alternative presented itself. A friend has a jd x485 gt with 60" deck and 54" plow for sale for $5,000. His son works in the jd service dept and this thing is an immaculate 2002 with 700 hours. So the new z465 zero turn is the same price as a used x485 gt. I have enjoyed the discussion about
the benefits of a gt, especially with the long drive which will need snow removed this winter.

Any suggestions? Is $5,000 a fair price for the x485?

I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Black Bart]

We are getting ready to close on the house in November, so the mower is back on my mind as I haven't purchased anything yet. Thanks for all the responses. I wanted to clarify a few things that have come up.

The property is six total acres, all flat. It is basically a 2 acre by 3 acre rectangle with a drive cutting to a house in the middle of the lot. Some trees, but plenty of room to mow around them. With the exception of 8 fruit trees that are pretty close and will need some careful manuevering. Maybe a little push mowing in this area.

I was leaning towards the jdz465 when an interesting alternative presented itself. A friend has a jd x485 gt with 60" deck and 54" plow for sale for $5,000. His son works in the jd service dept and this thing is an immaculate 2002 with 700 hours. So the new z465 zero turn is the same price as a used x485 gt. I have enjoyed the discussion about
the benefits of a gt, especially with the long drive which will need snow removed this winter.

Any suggestions? Is $5,000 a fair price for the x485?

I appreciate the feedback.

Years ago I tried to plow snow with a GT I put on tire chains and it was better but still would not push snow so I added wheel weights better but not enough so I added 400 lbs and then with the chains on it would push snow straight ahead but if I angeled the blade it would just push the front of the tractor across the drive.

Pushing straight ahead the snow slid off the end so I gave up and sold the tractor and blade bought a JD 430 with a snow blower and now it don't matter how deep it is I just clear the drive with no problem.

The dirty little secret that people don't tell you is you can only plow 1 inch maybe 2 inches if you got a big heavy tractor.

If you buy a tractor buy a blower NOT a blade .

I have not used a belt drive blower but they should work OK my JD is a shaft drive and works with the hydraulic system.I live in northern Indiana and I need something that will move more than a couple inches of snow.

I would not even consider mowing that much with a tractor but if you are retired and have nothing else to do maybe you won't mind spending all that time on the mower.

If you buy the tractor buy a swisser 66" trail behind mower.
Then with 126 inch cut you can almost mow as fast as the Z465 can.

 

[jmac1]

Do you really think the zero turn saves that much time vs a tractor? I've never mowed with a ztr so I am seriously asking. Even when we are comparing the same size deck - 60"? Is it because you can mow at a higher speed?