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So we just got a new property that will need to have 6 to 7 acres of bermuda mowed. Lots of trees, I mean like well over 100, most have really large mulch circles around them.

Right now I live on 3 acres, most of which has fescue and I mow that with a Freedom Z 54 inch. I'm guessing I'm going to need something much larger for the new property.

What size do you recommend?

My Scag dealer said $14897 for a 72 inch Turf Tiger 2, $13308 for a Cheetah 2 72 inch, and $9499 for a Tiger Cat 2 61 inch.

Would the Tiger Cat be enough? That is the only one they have available right now.

Personally I've been really happy with my Scag so I'm not sure I want to consider other brands, but are there other brands I should look at?

Thanks.

You may want to do a little more homework.
I would say a 60”-61” would be bare minimum.
72” would be much better.
How low are the tree branches?
How rough is the terrain?
Do you think a compact tractor with a 72” finish mower would work?
Have you thought about a front mount mower, like the Grasshopper?

I'm planning on renting a mower (Tiger Cat) to see how it mows on that property since I've never mowed the property yet.

The trees are actually pretty tall and have very few branches that would get on the way of a roll bar, but I say that just from what I remember, we'll see once I'm mowing. The previous owner used a Super Z 72 inch, it didn't even have a roll bar. I'll definitely want a roll bar because the property isn't as flat as I'm used to, particularly near a pond.

I don't know if the terrain is rough, it feels alright while walking it but I know that can be totally different when mowing it, that is why I'm going to rent one and try it. I'm not taking my own Freedom Z because I also want to see how the seat feels on the Tiger Cat.

Funny you mention a Grasshopper, someone else just recommended that as well, I'm just curious what the advantage of front mount would be?

As far as a tractor, I used to mow my current property with a sub compact and it was pretty awful compared to the zero turn, so no I haven't really considered that.

Take your old mower with you and see how long it takes to do the job and most importantly how close it comes to not fitting between the obsticles and how much double cutting you end up doing.Got customers on 5 acres who mow with a 34" deck faster than they can do the same job with with a 54" deck .
Out front decks are poles ahead , particularly when you have to manouver in tight spaces .
Then there is deck maintanance so much easier if the deck pops up to clean it, sharpen blades etc

Might look at the Big Bog Diablo MP 72" cut nice machine.

14 grand for a lawn mower? Does it come with a pallet of cocaine?

Bigger decks are more maintenance. More blades to sharpen and so on. More fuel usage and harder to store.

See how your current mower works as Bert said.

slomo said:

14 grand for a lawn mower? Does it come with a pallet of cocaine?

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Those are the prices I'm seeing for 72 inch mowers on most places. Are there better prices I'm not seeing?

mntgoat said:

Those are the prices I'm seeing for 72 inch mowers on most places. Are there better prices I'm not seeing?

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I guess not. Pricing gouging at it's best. You can get a nice gently used car for a today's mower price LOL.

slomo said:

I guess not. Pricing gouging at it's best. You can get a nice gently used car for a today's mower price LOL.

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Really ?
How about lack of sub assemblies from China causing more of the mower to be fabricated in the USA ?
last year the factory elves went on strike because the pixie dust they make everything from that cost nothing was low grade & making them cough .
Iron ore prices are the highest they have ever been , Copper is going up faster than a Space-X rocket .

mntgoat said:

-Snip-
Funny you mention a Grasshopper, someone else just recommended that as well, I'm just curious what the advantage of front mount would be?
-Snip-

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I have a front deck 61" Grasshopper 727T6 27hp.
I like the front deck because I can get under and around things much better than with a mid deck.
This greatly reduces the amount of string trimming I have to do afterward. (I HATE string trimmers)
And I don't have to turn the mower in any places that make the longer overall length of having front deck be an issue.

Get a actual tractor and attachments so you can do more than just mow grass

slomo said:

Bigger decks are more maintenance. More blades to sharpen and so on. More fuel usage and harder to store.

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I've owned 54" deck and 72" decks on zero turns and an 84" rear mount deck on my tractor.
The 54" had 3 blades, the 72" decks have 3 blades, my 84" deck has 3 blades.
The blades may cost a bit more on the bigger decks, but there is no difference in maintenance that I have seen.

Sounds like you have 15-20 trees per acre, quite a few. Depending on specifics, that will make for considerable maneuvering. Overall then I'd ease into getting a new mower, especially with the kind of money you may be spending. I go along with other suggestions to bring your old mower and take some time to figure out what's best.

Beyond that, 6-7 acres with trees could mean considerable additional work. If so, a tractor with mowing attachment could make sense and would allow many more attachment options for bagging, hauling, etc.

mntgoat said:

So we just got a new property that will need to have 6 to 7 acres of bermuda mowed. Lots of trees, I mean like well over 100, most have really large mulch circles around them.

Right now I live on 3 acres, most of which has fescue and I mow that with a Freedom Z 54 inch. I'm guessing I'm going to need something much larger for the new property.

What size do you recommend?

My Scag dealer said $14897 for a 72 inch Turf Tiger 2, $13308 for a Cheetah 2 72 inch, and $9499 for a Tiger Cat 2 61 inch.

Would the Tiger Cat be enough? That is the only one they have available right now.

Personally I've been really happy with my Scag so I'm not sure I want to consider other brands, but are there other brands I should look at?

Thanks.

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Hustler 104 or a exmark 96. The hustler is a gas big block engine and the exmark comes with a hangar 3 cylinder diesel

Seriously, consider 8-10 beef animals for food, some sheep or goats, etc...no fuel problems, a little less maintenance....and a lot less mowing! You might even make some money and improve your food supply! Cooperative Extension Service can give you guidance!

I like a midmount and a a grasshopper is a good mower .I currently own a scag and simplicity the scag is a better mower.

I demo’d a 72” machine before buying. If you fall behind on your mowing for any reason, usually rainy weather, a 72” deck will really be spitting out some clippings. It’ll look like hay ready for combing even with mulching blades. I went with a 60” deck for that reason. If you get a machine that really scoots, the 60” cut will probably be fine and save you some time. Just my two cents. ?

mntgoat said:

So we just got a new property that will need to have 6 to 7 acres of bermuda mowed. Lots of trees, I mean like well over 100, most have really large mulch circles around them.

Right now I live on 3 acres, most of which has fescue and I mow that with a Freedom Z 54 inch. I'm guessing I'm going to need something much larger for the new property.

What size do you recommend?

My Scag dealer said $14897 for a 72 inch Turf Tiger 2, $13308 for a Cheetah 2 72 inch, and $9499 for a Tiger Cat 2 61 inch.

Would the Tiger Cat be enough? That is the only one they have available right now.

Personally I've been really happy with my Scag so I'm not sure I want to consider other brands, but are there other brands I should look at?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

You might consider the Exmark (Toro) Lazer series. My 2014 Lazer-Z 60" has been bulletproof. All I've done is change oil & hydro, lube it, and it's only had two belt changes.It's a commercial mower that I paid a bit more than $9,000 for, but it's been worth every penny.

I have about 5 acres I mow, also with lots of trees and other obstacles, and have been really happy with that ZTR. I had so many crappy consumer mowers in the past that I decided to finally buy something that will last. I'm on my 8th mowing season. I never got more than 8 seasons out of the consumer mowers, and that was pushing it because they were just barely functional at that point.

If you consider Exmark, make sure you look at the commercial line because they're making some higher-end "consumer" models that don't look nearly as well built. My mower will also mow tall prairie grass (Little Bluestem, Grease Grass, and Indian Grass) in the spring. Before I got my 8N and rotary cutter a couple of years ago, I used the Lazer-Z to cut the dead grass in late April: raised the deck to the highest (transport) setting and only mowed about a 3-foot swath at a time, but it didn't even struggle.

Exmark has gone all out with their commercial line, and even has a water-cooled, shaft-drive model now. Pricy, of course, but they make great quality equipment.

I have a 2 acre lawn and a 4 acre pasture with a couple dozen trees and surrounded by a split rail fence. For equipment, I have a 45HP Kioti hydrostatic tractor with a 3-point 72" John Deere grooming mower and I have a Scag 61" Turf Tiger. I've mowed the pasture with both setups and prefer the Scag hands down. Maneuvering the tractor around trees and fencing requires at least 50% more time and you can't trim as close as the zero turn so more trimming is required. The only time I break out the Kioti/JD setup is when I let the pasture get out of hand. Sometimes that requires the 72" Woods brush mower. I can't comment on the Bermuda grass, but I mow my pasture about every 2 weeks. If we get a lot of rain, the grass is a pretty good load with the 61" deck. I would worry you might have issues with a 72" deck depending on how often you want to mow. BTW, I mow my lawn every week.

We mow 6 acres weekly. Even on a fast 72" it will take a great deal of time especially with the number of trees you mention. I have a 72" Ferris IS4000Z with mulching blades and it never leaves a windrow. Figure 20 minutes per acre if you have lots of turns. Rough ground slows you down. 72" ZTR is the minimum. Get a Ferris 72" with full independent suspension. Makes a huge difference in ride quality. If you have property, a big quality mower is part of the obligation. We just added the Hustler Super 104 and it makes a huge difference on the open ground. I just cleaned the deck and added mulching blades. The deck was clogged with over 20lbs of old clippings that the previous owner never cleaned off. Probably mowed in the wet a lot and let it build up. He had the flat low lift blades also. Got the 104 with less than 140 hours on it. Test mowing today.

Grasshopper front mount is what I suggest for getting around trees. The deck tilts up for easy maintenance. They are built like a tank and ride way better than a Scag.

If you can find a Jacobsen Turfcat like I did from a high school sale or other establishment you will never regret it.

I have 14 acres and mow about 9 acres of it I have LandPride FDR1672 finish mower behind a Kubota L3600
Tractor. I have trees but nothing close to 100 in the mower no area, but still plenty to dodge. Your note says that all the trees have mulch beds around. While mowing is your focus you may wanna consider a tractor because mulching 100 trees will certainly need a loader bucket or a strong willed and strong back to move he yards of mulch every year.

I’ve had very good luck with the setup I run and I also have a 46” lawn tractor which is my trim Mower. Finding one machine to do everything you need maybe a challenge. I think renting a machine is brilliant and a good way to get a handle on what will work for you.

Zero turn 72 inch deck should do a good job as long as the engine is strong enough to knock down the height and thickness of the grass you face

I have 6 acre property and mow about 5+ of it, due to build outs and driveway.
I have VERY rough 2.5 acre. VERY.
Lots of hills and things of that nature. It's RPITA to mow.
I had 60 inch ZTR and I could do entire mow in 2.5 hr.
With trees so many, you are destined to go ZTR. The larger it gets, the harder it will be to manuever, keep that in mind. With ZTR, you can turn on a dime.
If money is not a problem, get one with floating deck in the front. Also, one that flips deck vertical. It is much easier to maintain blades. Get good quality blades and do not save on engine horse power, and it will take on saplings just fine. Also, ask yourself a question, why pro mowers like stand on mowers so much. If you can stand for so long.
Rider ain't gonna cut it for you around all the trees.

You won't maneuver around trees with tractor. I mean, you will, but it will be time wasting pain to do it. Tractors are mowers for open fields, that's about it.

You've enough property to qualify for a small tractor..I've an 8n. 1948. Then you get a bushhog, 60"

So now you have a tractor for not only cutting the grass, but with the purchase of a box blade and

landscaping blade you can keep that gravel drive nice and tidy...

Being more of a buy it once type person I'm a manual shift tractor guy. Less maneuverable than Zero true but you'll have a dozen Zero's piled behind the barn by the time a good tractor even begins to wear out. But' thats me... Nothing to see 50yr old tractors going strong, nothing to see 5yr old zero's scrapped daily too so purchase wisely with this much mowing!
My neighbor uses his Kubota (bought used 2yrs old) on his 14 acres with a cheap mower to trim all around trees.
The Jacobson is a beast to last also but the attachments tractors offer like backhoe, FEL, Tillers etc.. hands down will be a lifelong machine ready for anything life throws at you while others are so limited for little money difference.

Hal12 said:

You've enough property to qualify for a small tractor..I've an 8n. 1948. Then you get a bushhog, 60"

So now you have a tractor for not only cutting the grass, but with the purchase of a box blade and

landscaping blade you can keep that gravel drive nice and tidy...

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DITTO'
I'd buy a used tractor and roll too cause I know how much better a tractors built. So many like to have that perty new paint but one can buy perty new paint without the new tractor, people forget that it seems.

I've read all of these comments and they are all way off. Get yourself a walk behind Toro 21". Mow 1/2 acre and explain to wife that it's better for the planet.

mntgoat said:

So we just got a new property that will need to have 6 to 7 acres of bermuda mowed. Lots of trees, I mean like well over 100, most have really large mulch circles around them.

Right now I live on 3 acres, most of which has fescue and I mow that with a Freedom Z 54 inch. I'm guessing I'm going to need something much larger for the new property.

What size do you recommend?

My Scag dealer said $14897 for a 72 inch Turf Tiger 2, $13308 for a Cheetah 2 72 inch, and $9499 for a Tiger Cat 2 61 inch.

Would the Tiger Cat be enough? That is the only one they have available right now.

Personally I've been really happy with my Scag so I'm not sure I want to consider other brands, but are there other brands I should look at?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

mntgoat said:

So we just got a new property that will need to have 6 to 7 acres of bermuda mowed. Lots of trees, I mean like well over 100, most have really large mulch circles around them.

Right now I live on 3 acres, most of which has fescue and I mow that with a Freedom Z 54 inch. I'm guessing I'm going to need something much larger for the new property.

What size do you recommend?

My Scag dealer said $14897 for a 72 inch Turf Tiger 2, $13308 for a Cheetah 2 72 inch, and $9499 for a Tiger Cat 2 61 inch.

Would the Tiger Cat be enough? That is the only one they have available right now.

Personally I've been really happy with my Scag so I'm not sure I want to consider other brands, but are there other brands I should look at?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Wife and I live on 25 acres in Texas. I cut about 6 acres with my SCAG Tiger Cat II 61” Kawasaki and another 10 acres or so with my Mahindra 25/55. I could probably cut it all (time permitting) with my SCAG but with the hog problem we have, there are some areas with rather large ruts and I don’t want to abuse my SCAG when I have other ways of cutting.

I mow 8-12 acres, some flat, some sloped, all with trees. Started with a 10-year old bad boy 60” zero turn that I got at an auction for $2K. Upgraded first of the year to a new eXmark radius 60” that I put lugged tires on. Wasn’t happy with the cut quality plus it seemed to use a lot of gas, changed the blades to low lift, made a world of difference. Eliminated the dual stripes of uncut grass and the engine doesn’t lug down as much.
Other options I considered included a light tractor / bush hog (trees are a problem), tried an ATV pull behind mower (very difficult around trees) and a rotary cutter on my Takeuchi track loader (maneuvering around trees is difficult, tracks tear up ground, operating costs are higher).
Don‘t know what kind of slopes you are dealing with, but steeper slopes can get really dicey when damp when using a zero turn.

Mow 5 acres every week April - October. Lots of trees and small hills. Have a Kubota Z331 72". Takes me about 2 hours. Comes down to what your time is worth. Sure a smaller non-commercial grade mower will get the job done but you'll spend half the day cutting.

Joed756 said:

I've read all of these comments and they are all way off. Get yourself a walk behind Toro 21". Mow 1/2 acre and explain to wife that it's better for the planet.

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I mentioned this before to a fella' on here. He got pissed and said I was rude. The wife and I have a great time with his and hers 21" Snapper pushers. Nothing like free exercise.

You guys are using the wrong tool for the job. Totally wasting time with those tiny little inferior 0-turns. Time to get a real mower.

Use to cut 8 acres with a good old fashion Craftsman riding mower...... It more about how tall you let it get.When it got too tall it was a 6ft. Brush Hog and a IH 560 : )

Firstly, anyone that thinks $14K is outrageous for a good, large mower has never purchased a real commercial grade machine. Now, back to your question. I am a Hustler fan personally but there are several other brands I would consider (i.e. Scag, Gravely, Exmark) In my opinion the size of the deck is not the single most important thing to consider when talking about time. My 60" Super Z HD with a Kaw 1000 will out maneuver and cut 3-4 MPH faster than my Super Z with a 72" deck w/ Kaw 850 especially if there are hills, dips and obstacles to work around. If the area is very flat and you can run wide open most of the time, obviously the 72" will cover more ground but that is something you wont really know till you mow it once. One other thing, almost all manufactures offer their best deals in the spring, if you can use your current mower for the rest of this season you will likely save several hundred dollars by waiting AND your used mower will be worth a premium at that time as well.
Good luck!

Hesermon said:

Firstly, anyone that thinks $14K is outrageous for a good, large mower has never purchased a real commercial grade machine.

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Hope this was directed at me. If so I wouldn't be looking for an over built and priced "lawn mower" to cut 6-7+ acres. 0-turns evolved from typical Craftsman riding tractors. Look at me, I have a thicker deck. Oh I too offer a thicker deck. Look at me, I have hydro drives. Oh I too have hydros. Look at me, I put the letters commercial on mine and charge 4 times the price. Oh I did it too. And there's the commercial 0-turn world.

Pound your chest all your want. 0-turns are toys compared to real tractors and the many attachments they can support. For 7+ acres I would have a tractor.

25 sheep should do it

I am serious as I type this.. Is the property set up so you could fence some of it off and put cattle or Goats on it? Usually ther's a neighbor close enough to rent it from you and save a ton of summer work. And make a few bucks to improve elsewhere.

I mowed our 8 acre lawn for years with my 35HP tractor with an 84" deck before I bought a zero turn.
The 35 HP 72" deck zero turn will mow circles around the tractor with an 84" deck.
Tractor with 84" deck took me around 3 1/4 hours to mow our 8 acre lawn , the zero turn will mow the same lawn in just over 2 hours.
I purchased a commercial grade zero turn because I wanted to cut my mowing time and I wanted the mower to last me 25 years.
(50-60 hours average per year x 25 years should put me around 1250-1500hours) a commercial mower ( Hustler Super Z) should do that with ease.

DK35vince said:

I mowed our 8 acre lawn for years with my 35HP tractor with an 84" deck before I bought a zero turn.
The 35 HP 72" deck zero turn will mow circles around the tractor with an 84" deck.
Tractor with 84" deck took me around 3 1/4 hours to mow our 8 acre lawn , the zero turn will mow the same lawn in just over 2 hours.
I purchased a commercial grade zero turn because I wanted to cut my mowing time and I wanted the mower to last me 25 years.
(50-60 hours average per year x 25 years should put me around 1250-1500hours) a commercial mower ( Hustler Super Z) should do that with ease.

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Only if you service it regularly .
What many forget is most mower contractors will service their mowers weekly , & monthly and some I know change blades daily .
Way too many of my customers bought commercials thinking that they will run forever without any servicing at all .

I have cut about 10 acres for around 20 years, started out with a John Deere LX178 garden tractor from a place in town, then using a Farmall H with a KK 84" finishing mower for large open area's. The John Deere garden tractor did not hold up on large property. Traded that in on a used John Deere F1145 and a new John Deere 2305. The F1145 cut great around tree's and evergreens with a 72" offset mower. The John 2305 had a Curtis Cab, 62" deck, 60" front mounted thatcher, 54" snow blower, loader, and Peco 50 cubic foot trailer vacuum. This year we purchased a Ferris 3200Z for 11K out the door with taxes. We are currently using a John Deere F1145 for trimming around tree's and stuff, the Ferris if it for cutting in big open/ruff area's and the John Deere 2305 when running for leaf pickup, spring thatching with pickup, and snow blowing during winter. The John Deere 2305 and newer John Deere products have been a disapointing with a lot of expensive repairs.

bertsmobile1 said:

Only if you service it regularly .
What many forget is most mower contractors will service their mowers weekly , & monthly and some I know change blades daily .
Way too many of my customers bought commercials thinking that they will run forever without any servicing at all .

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All my equipment gets well serviced/maintained.

slomo said:

You guys are using the wrong tool for the job. Totally wasting time with those tiny little inferior 0-turns. Time to get a real mower.
View attachment 58134

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LOL, that wouldn't fit in my yard.