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

[KennyV]

6 acres isn't enough land for livestock

This is absolutely correct...
If you do not have the acreage to support stock... You are essentially operating a 'feed lot' ... and that will really upset your neighbors and community government...
Farming/Ranching is a bit of work But it requires a lot of space... On your size spot, after taking some of the 6 acres out for your house ... you may have enough left for 1 cow, any more and it will eventually become bare ground. :smile:KennyV

 

[robert]

KennyV, its important for everyone thinking about purchasing a zero turn mower to understand the limitations of this design; and the biggest myth that must be put to rest is that ANYONE can make a zero turn on turf without causing damage to the grass.....have you read the info on the Scag site?, or for that matter have you read the info about engine applications in zero turn mowers on the Briggs site??

I will admit that for individuals in your situation a zero turn is good to have in the stable, but for those of us unable to have more than one machine a zero turn is dumb, real dumb.

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree six acres is not enough for livestock, you wind up with poor conditions for the people as well as the animals.

I am also betting the six acres is more like pasture than a lawn that has been smoothed and planed for fast mowing. A ztr mower is fast for mowing once you get the lawn in good shape but will do little to help you get to that point. A ztr would be a good choice in a few years after you have the lawn in a smooth finish where you can maintain the higher ground speeds.

You could either hire out the ground work needed or get a large GT or small compact tractor to do this initial work. A small tractor and tiller along with some implements such as a landplane/grader works extremely well to smooth up lawn areas.

I do alot of this type work and use a Deere 4520 cab tractor, 110tlb cab tractor and an X749 to handle the close quarters work. You don't need to own all the equipment to do it one time though and I would recommend you hire out the initial work or rent the equipment for a short time if you wan't to do it yourself. Once you get the whole thing smoothed out then a fast riding mower or ztr would be the thing to have.

 

[jenkinsph]

KennyV, its important for everyone thinking about purchasing a zero turn mower to understand the limitations of this design; and the biggest myth that must be put to rest is that ANYONE can make a zero turn on turf without causing damage to the grass.....have you read the info on the Scag site?, or for that matter have you read the info about engine applications in zero turn mowers on the Briggs site??

I will admit that for individuals in your situation a zero turn is good to have in the stable, but for those of us unable to have more than one machine a zero turn is dumb, real dumb.

My own issue with ztr mowers is their limited usefulness, no 8 in 1 tool which most people need. I much prefer the x749 GT with aws and 4x4 for my mountain terrain. With a three point hitch and 540 pto it is very handy to have when it is time to do other jobs.

 

[robert]

jenkinsph, I believe that the 749 would be an excellent match for the op-many here cite the ability of zt's to accept accessories. I know my Exmark was very limited as to towing, I believe it was a 200lb max limit on the hitch, knowing this I suspect that most zt's are in the same ballpark. Some here maintain that the Grasshopper can do all sorts of things and there are many accessories for this machine and while there are alot of very expensive attachments for the GH I was curious as to what these can tow-would you believe that the official guideline is to tow with this machine only the load you can move by hand :laughing: big bucks for a machine that should not even tow a consumer lawn vac with

I wonder if any of the zt crowd here knows just how little weight the unitized and pump/motor drives are rated for....?

 

[robert]

The people in Europe get all the good stuff

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkjnkP1agTE

 

[RobertBrown]

The people in Europe get all the good stuff

John Deere X749 Ultimate Diesel with Westa Type 450 snowblower (heavy snow) - YouTube

I don't know anything about snow removal, but it seems to me that John Deere has all that it wants with that job.

 

[Black Bart]

jenkinsph, I believe that the 749 would be an excellent match for the op-many here cite the ability of zt's to accept accessories. I know my Exmark was very limited as to towing, I believe it was a 200lb max limit on the hitch, knowing this I suspect that most zt's are in the same ballpark. Some here maintain that the Grasshopper can do all sorts of things and there are many accessories for this machine and while there are alot of very expensive attachments for the GH I was curious as to what these can tow-would you believe that the official guideline is to tow with this machine only the load you can move by hand :laughing: big bucks for a machine that should not even tow a consumer lawn vac with I wonder if any of the zt crowd here knows just how little weight the unitized and pump/motor drives are rated for....?

Robert this is a stupid comment clearly you don't understand how these thing work.
The 200 pounds would be hitch weight NOT what it could pull.

I have a boat and trailer that weighs 3000 lbs and I use the grasshopper for pulling it.
When putting it in the garage only the GH turns tight enough to put it where I store it.

Robert my Grasshopper would pull you CC tractor back-wards and never slip a wheel.
It has bigger drive tires and weighs more than twice as much as your CC

 

[Black Bart]

I don't know anything about snow removal, but it seems to me that John Deere has all that it wants with that job.

Take another look at that video the snow is not deep except what he is blowing.
It has been pilled up their left lay and he is moving it.
The snow is not deep anywhere other than that pile

Fresh snow moves easy wet heavy snow that has been pushed into a pile is really hard to blow.

 

[Parkmower]

Robert my Grasshopper would pull you CC tractor back-wards and never slip a wheel.
It has bigger drive tires and weighs more than twice as much as your CC

Awesome!!!