One acre to mow - considering Toro Timemaster 30"

[kiwi_guy]

Hello all - first post here, but been reading a lot here and elsewhere as we've just purchsed a 1 acre property (~4300m2) with a lot of lawn to mow. It's mostly flat, with no slopes of note, but a few trees (see pics below - it's number 63 & 65).

The lawn is pretty nicely manicured at present, and I'm keen to keep it that way, but am also keen to take on the mowing jobs myself (good exercise + good for the soul). A section of it consists of a grass tennis court and a small area is enclosed as a swimming pool, so more than one mower is likely needed whatever the strategy.

My current 18" mower (350AL - Series 450 | Masport New Zealand) is on its last legs and it's time to replace / upgrade in line with the new house. It would probably take me 4 hours to mow with it, as the throttle is bad, the engine weak, and the catcher flap held on by a bungy cord!

I had been considering a ride on lawn tractor but:

1) I'm not yet sure of the exact layout of the property in terms of gaps and obstacles
2) I've gotten keen on a ZTR, but would want to buy a good one i.e. Hustler/Grasshopper/Toro but need to save some coins up, plus need time to evaluate the property and see what the local dealers will support. Here in NZ the markups are - to put it politely - "aggressive" compared to what you lucky USA people pay.
3) Given the tennis court, I may need to get a reel mower if I'm keen on playing tennis on it. Not yet sure about this.

In the interim to deciding the above, I've pretty much decided on a Timemaster 30", which looks like it should keep the lawn under control & me fit. Was planning to mulch rather than bag 1 acre's worth of grass.

Another option I am thinking would be to keep the current professional on & observe what works for him/her before pulling any triggers.

As always, your esteemed opinions (both enabling and cautionary) much appreciated!

 

[Ric]

Personally I'd keep the current professional on & observe what works for him/her before pulling any triggers. The 30" Timemaster would do the job depending on how much time you have to devote to the upkeep of the property but one of smaller Ztr's maybe the Hustler Raptor or a Toro Titan would be my choice.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Nice piece of turf you got yourself there.

Good advice from Ric but a few things you are going to think very seriously about.

If you are thinking about playing tennis on that grass court you are taking on a full time job.
It will need to be mown with a barrel mower as you thought, doing it with a rotary causes really funny & unpredictiable bouncing.
It will also need to be rolled, aerated & mowed every couple of days and watered daily as grass need to be about 1/2 long.
Alternatively raise the net & pay badminton.

Think about putting in some grass level edging around things like the garden, retaining walls , hedges & steps.
You can then mow directly over the top of them with a hover mower ( like flymo ) which will be a lot quicker than using a line trimmer and I can see better than 1 hours worth of trimming before you start.
If you are going to mulch remember to trim the hedges first then blow the hedge trimmings on to the lawn before you mow, saves a lot of work.
Would I be right in assuming you are looking at a Toro from a Grey importer same as we get over the Tasman for about 1/2 the RRP ?
If so have a think about a bit bigger deck, You will find the John Deere 42" ZTR about the same price . Oddly enough the garden equipment line is quite reasonably priced and the parts are quite moderate comparred to most mowers.
The Time cutter is an excellent machine I am now servicing a lot of them, due to the discount grey imports, but probably a bit of overkill for a single residential property at around 100 hrs/yr .

Regardless of which mower you get remember if you use the wash out fitting on the deck , after you have finished with the water drive it over a hard stand area and let it spin for a good 10 min or you will be paying a lot for deck & spindle repairs. I have done spindles on 4 mowers that were less than 1 year old and they were all full of water from using the washout.

 

[Ric]

If I were to buy the Toro Timecutter it would be the Timecutter MX with the high end residential 2800 drives. I'd have nothing less, they would last you forever with area your mowing, the EZT drives IMO aren't worth having.

 

[kiwi_guy]

Thanks for the input & suggestions.

I think I'll keep the current pro on for a while until I get a sense of the property's mowing characteristics and decide about how enthusiastic I'll get over maintaining the court as playable for tennis (a major job, and one for a pro I think) versus nice lawn (a lesser job which I am happy to do).

Sadly, I can't find any grey Toro importers here. Ride-ons of all brands and stripes are rigorously marked up here in good ol' NZ.

Will update you all in due course.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Thanks for the input & suggestions.

I think I'll keep the current pro on for a while until I get a sense of the property's mowing characteristics and decide about how enthusiastic I'll get over maintaining the court as playable for tennis (a major job, and one for a pro I think) versus nice lawn (a lesser job which I am happy to do).

Sadly, I can't find any grey Toro importers here. Ride-ons of all brands and stripes are rigorously marked up here in good ol' NZ.

Will update you all in due course.

Yes I know how you feel.
Some of the Americans on this list have no idea of prices outside the USA.
And while the product information is good it has to be weighed up against the fact that many mowers are 3 times the USA price in Aust & NZ and when it comes to parts, with the sole exception of JD & Honda I can buy parts full retail,in the USA, pay excessive currency fees plus astronomical freight to Australia and they still end up being about 75% of my wholesale price in Aust and that is before I add my 35 %.
You are in the same boat as us which is why I suggested the JD.
you will be paying abut 3 time the USA price which on the toro would equate to around $ 900/yr over the 10 year efficient running life and it will rust away well before you wear it out.
Where as the JD is around 1/2 that price at $ 5000 and again it will most likely rust out before it wears out.
Unlike all the other brands they have a large distribution network based principally around real tractors so the mark ups are quite reasonable and I quite like the JD's I work on.
Well designed for easy home maintenance , the height adjustment with a pin & hole set up is a bit old fashioned , but that same pin is a 13 mm socket which fits every chassis bolt on the entire machine
Where they are a PIA to fit JD put a speedy nut as a retainer on all the chassis bolts which is a lot easier than growing a third arm.
I have just welded the deck lift arm on one that had been used commercially for 4 years and was amazed at how quick & easy the job was where as to refit the similar deck mounting rod on a Time Cuter was a 4 hour job.
mind you how they managed to spring an 1.25" rod out of the pillow blocks in the first place is well & truely beyond me.
The Time Cutters are excellent machines built strong enough to go to war in, thick steel plate and plenty of it but for what you are doing it would be bordering on cracking walnuts with a 100lb jack hammer.
particularly when you will get hit $ 40 each for the Toro blades and $ 19 each fr the JD blades , which are thinner so will need to be replaced more often than the Toros, but not that more often

 

[Lawnboy18]

I am aware of the price of life in NZ. I kow a couple that moved from Canada to NZ. It is ridiculous.

An important thing would be to see which machine has the best warranty and dealer support. That is a big plus.

Also, is there an irrigation system on that tennis court? It seems very dry.

 

[Ric]

Yes I know how you feel.
Some of the Americans on this list have no idea of prices outside the USA.
And while the product information is good it has to be weighed up against the fact that many mowers are 3 times the USA price in Aust & NZ and when it comes to parts, with the sole exception of JD & Honda I can buy parts full retail,in the USA, pay excessive currency fees plus astronomical freight to Australia and they still end up being about 75% of my wholesale price in Aust and that is before I add my 35 %.
You are in the same boat as us which is why I suggested the JD.
you will be paying abut 3 time the USA price which on the toro would equate to around $ 900/yr over the 10 year efficient running life and it will rust away well before you wear it out.
Where as the JD is around 1/2 that price at $ 5000 and again it will most likely rust out before it wears out.
Unlike all the other brands they have a large distribution network based principally around real tractors so the mark ups are quite reasonable and I quite like the JD's I work on.
Well designed for easy home maintenance , the height adjustment with a pin & hole set up is a bit old fashioned , but that same pin is a 13 mm socket which fits every chassis bolt on the entire machine
Where they are a PIA to fit JD put a speedy nut as a retainer on all the chassis bolts which is a lot easier than growing a third arm.
I have just welded the deck lift arm on one that had been used commercially for 4 years and was amazed at how quick & easy the job was where as to refit the similar deck mounting rod on a Time Cuter was a 4 hour job.
mind you how they managed to spring an 1.25" rod out of the pillow blocks in the first place is well & truely beyond me.
The Time Cutters are excellent machines built strong enough to go to war in, thick steel plate and plenty of it but for what you are doing it would be bordering on cracking walnuts with a 100lb jack hammer.
particularly when you will get hit $ 40 each for the Toro blades and $ 19 each fr the JD blades , which are thinner so will need to be replaced more often than the Toros, but not that more often

You act like your prices the ones you're complaining about are our fault or something. I've purchased a couple of items from NZ and Australia and had them shipped here so I know about your prices and shipping fees, duty fees. It works both ways in and out. Things I can get here for one price cost me double and triple to buy from down under.

 

[kiwi_guy]

Nah - we all recognise it's the importers and dealers who all clip the ticket on the way through which adds up to exorbitant Australasian prices. Sad, but as true as it is inevitable, I'm afraid. That said, we get some advantages for this price uptick - our consumer laws are quite strong. If anything goes wrong within the reasonable life of the mower, the vendor is pretty much required to put it right. In the case of a multi-thousand dollar mower in a cared-for residential setting, I would expect that one could reasonably expect this period to be 5-10 years.

The pictures of the tennis court above are at least a couple of years old. It looks nicely green and cared for now, although it's presently cut far too long for tennis.

Thanks to the advice above, I'm considering a Deere Z235 (around $4800 NZD), a Deere Z425 (around $7600) or a Toro ZS4200T (around $5700). Each appears to have pros and cons in terms of serviceability, ruggedness of construction, transmissions, engines etc. I can maintain my own machines and look after 'em. I like to buy something as decent as possible up front, including commercial gear, and aren't averse to finding a good deal second hand either.

I'm not in a rush - as stated above I'm keen to get to know the property a bit, and see how the current groundcare is practised.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Nah - we all recognise it's the importers and dealers who all clip the ticket on the way through which adds up to exorbitant Australasian prices. Sad, but as true as it is inevitable, I'm afraid. That said, we get some advantages for this price uptick - our consumer laws are quite strong. If anything goes wrong within the reasonable life of the mower, the vendor is pretty much required to put it right. In the case of a multi-thousand dollar mower in a cared-for residential setting, I would expect that one could reasonably expect this period to be 5-10 years.

The pictures of the tennis court above are at least a couple of years old. It looks nicely green and cared for now, although it's presently cut far too long for tennis.

Thanks to the advice above, I'm considering a Deere Z235 (around $4800 NZD), a Deere Z425 (around $7600) or a Toro ZS4200T (around $5700). Each appears to have pros and cons in terms of serviceability, ruggedness of construction, transmissions, engines etc. I can maintain my own machines and look after 'em. I like to buy something as decent as possible up front, including commercial gear, and aren't averse to finding a good deal second hand either.

I'm not in a rush - as stated above I'm keen to get to know the property a bit, and see how the current groundcare is practised.

Yep.
You got it in one.
Way too many people trying to make way too much money from way too small a turnover.
means way too high mark ups.
Then they squeal like stuck pigs when some one brings in a container full of Toro's and then sells them at 1/2 the Aust RRP. Which has dropped about 30% in the past couple of years. (wonder why? )
I won't arge with Nick about the Toro being a better built more robust machine but IMHO it is too expensive a piece of overkill for residential use and the parts prices will make it a lot worse comparred to the JD's over its service life and doing your yard alone you should be looking more at a 15 to 20 year life span particularly as you won't be cashing it in & out of a trailer 12 times a day.
The 42" deck will be more than big enough for 1 acre and with the layout of your yard all you will be doing with a bigger deck is a lot of double & tripple cutting