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I was just reading about the John Deere 100 and x300 series. I didn't realise that cruise control is a standard on these, that sounds like a great option to have. The residential market mowers look great, and I assume they are aimed at those with large lawn areas around their house. Is there any real need to look for something more if you need something for a large area like a field?

These tractor ride on mowers.........depends on what size you require as you need to go down narrow paths.........so this is what you need to think about.
Depends on if it is domestic or commercial...........huge difference.:biggrin:

A couple of options:

1) Go with a small, economical garden tractor for your "finish mowing" (lawn) work and then get a tractor for your field mowing (either with a larger finish mower or rotary cutter). In this case something like a 100 series would be good up to a few acres, and as for the kind of tractor, it would depend on the size of your fields. Anything from an older compact tractor to an old vintage 8N or something like that.

2) Get one machine to do both jobs. In my opinion, when you're in the price range of an x300, for a couple thousand $ more you can go up to a subcompact like a 2305, which will give you the next jump in terms of power, weight, and 3-point hitch/PTO capabilities. Plus it will open up a lot of other implement possibilities.

That said, plenty of people use their garden tractors to mow fields, so long as the field is in good shape.

How much lawn and how much field do you have?

Get the BEST quality you can afford...
If you are considering $3000 for a new residential mower... don't overlook what you can find in GOOD USED commercial grade equipment...

You can use a lawn mower in a field... but you will not do it for many hours in a row without replacing it regularly...

There are a lot of differences between a 'lawn mower', 'lawn tractor', 'garden tractor','compact tractor' and a utility tractor...
Light weight equipment will not stand up for the type of use you will likely encounter mowing a field...
If you go looking at the different 'types' you will soon appreciate those differences in construction ...
:smile:KennyV

Thanks for the replies. We don't need a ride-on for our garden lawn as it's manageable with a regular mower. The larger area ia around 5 acres and we are developing it for a caravan site. I expect that around a third of the space will need mowing, once the vans are set up. Until then we are spending time getting it into some kind of shape.

I was wondering if there was a real need for an industrial type machine, and I see I need to do some more research on the differences between all the possibilities.

I don't want to be cheap and regret it later, that's for sure.

I gather that a "caravan site" is what we would call a camping trailer park (tow behind camping trailers).

I hope the field is fairly smoothe and level. If that is what you are talking about - think about ALL the needs and not just the mowing. Get a piece of equipment that can do multiple jobs and not sit idle when there is no mowing to be done. Just an idea !

Just Buy one.......they are so cheap these days........what is stopping you?:biggrin:

Twinkle,
A lot would depend on how much of the preparation work you intend to do with the 5 acres. Obviously the small compact utility tractors are a good choice if you have drives or roads to maintain, moving materials around and other duties besides mowing.

If you only plan to mow the 1 1/2 to 2 acres of grass as mentioned then a much smaller and less costly X320 and above would be a better choice. While a good used mower can work for you I wouldn't know what to recommend in your locale. I would not buy the 100 series mowers because of transmission issues, you need to look at the X320 and above to get more reliable models.

For very large properties, cruise control would be a must have in my opinion, but I don't see it as usable for an average home or smaller property.

Hershey said:

For very large properties, cruise control would be a must have in my opinion, but I don't see it as usable for an average home or smaller property.

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Very true when speaking of mowing but very handy to have on a hydrostat when tilling.

I like the hydrostat but to be honest it's not a deal breaker if a mower doesn't have it. I don't mind shifting gears and there are some advantages to the gear like not having to have cruise control if it's more money or not available as an option.