What mower suits my yard?

[Kimbo]

Hi,

I'd like some advice on what type of mower I should consider for my 1 acre (front and back yard pics attached). I know, no grass yet, but we're working on it, and I'll be buying in the fall

I was leaning towards a ZTR because of all of the trees, but would need something that can also tow a reasonable amount since I expect the trees to keep the yard full of limbs. Fall will also be a challenge with all the leaves, so I'd need something that can mulch well. To add to the trees, the soil is full of rocks, so a a fabricated deck is a must.

I don't think a normal yard tractor will hold up, so it's really between a ZTR or garden tractor (like the Husqvarna TS348XD).

Should I really move past trying to figure out the best ZTR and start researching heavier duty garden tractors? If so, any recommendations?

Thanks

 

[mhavanti]

Kimbo,

I have a MTD Yardman that is by year models, 22 years old. It is actually 23 since it was bought in '95 before the dealer was supposed to put it out on the floor.

It is an all-wheel-steer that just keeps on ticking. It has towed a 20' utility trailer around a two acre yard on many occasions and the little 4x8 trailer it is carried around on doesn't even make it know it is behind the little mower that can.

I've pulled several oak tree from the back corner of my brother's lot to the street last year after some storm damage to his yard. First replacement belt went on the mower year before last and they were the drive belts. During the last season, I actually hit something in his over grown back yard that managed to get between the engine drive pulley and the belt that cut a piece out of the belt. The belt was still hanging in, doing a great job with zero places in it until then.

The steering was upgraded about 3 years back and is actually better now than it was the first 20 years. I'm good with this for sure.

The u-joints in the rear axles are original. I did have to put a carrier in the rear axle due to 3 of the 4 screws backed out of the carrier and this allowed the carrier to get chewed up. Ask me how many gears were replaced and since you're not going to do that, lol. None. Cleaned up the screws, checked the gears, zero damage. Cleaned the holes of grease for the screws then reassembled the rear end and used locktite on the screws. The housing received anti-seize on the screws and it has been super ever since.

Only thing is, the plastic hood doesn't hold up to loaning the mower to a neighbor. It came home without the hood, front grille and side panels. But then, it is now a "modified" and I'm good with that.

So, if you need to borrow my old Yardman to pull some limbs, run on by Searcy, AR. I'll loan it to you considering the front pretty is all gone now anyway. lol

Good luck in your search.

Max

 

[Kimbo]

Thanks for the offer Max. I'll be up in Branson next summer, so if you're close (and I have trees down) I may take you up on your offer.

I glean from your post that your tractor is built like a tank and with some love will keep on going.

One other plus of a garden tractor over a ZTR that comes to mind is being able to ride around the neighborhood like George Jones...

 

[mhavanti]

Its far from a tank. lol.

Just a good ole mower that doesn't seem to know it was supposed to lay down several years ago.

One thing I do need to do it is replace the pulleys. Although the original belt worked in the deck very well. The new belt doesn't like the mower too well and has never performed as the original. I've made adjustment after adjustment and finally got it to "idle" while disengaged. The drive pullies are all a bit worn as well. The replacement drive belts have not performed as the originals either. All the belts are direct replacement belts.

Other than that, it is a good ole mower, does what it is supposed to and replacing the pulleys will cost more than the mower would bring if you could find a buyer. But then, I couldn't find a replacement mower for the price of a set of pulleys.

I just returned from Branson just last week. Was there for the National Baseball Tournament for the 10 to 12 year olds. Great little ball players.

Stop by and say hello.

Max

 

[bertsmobile1]

With all those trees and heavy shade I seriously doubt you will have much success with grass.
That looks like native forrest so have a look around the local regions for some of it growing natually and see what grows underneath it.
You might do better with shrubs and ground cover prostrate plants and forget about mowing except for your utility area.

 

[Kimbo]

With all those trees and heavy shade I seriously doubt you will have much success with grass.
That looks like native forrest so have a look around the local regions for some of it growing natually and see what grows underneath it.
You might do better with shrubs and ground cover prostrate plants and forget about mowing except for your utility area.

Thanks. Many of my neighbors have St. Augustine with similar shade/sun. In fact, at my last house, it did quite well with less sun than I get here. We are also looking into Zoysia to see if we can find a variety that could work. The tree canopy was recently trimmed, so more light is getting to the yard. Either way, I agree an am not going to put the cart (tractor) before the horse. As for the groud cover, we did have ivy growing under some trees, but we ripped it out. I don't like ivy, and we wanted to take away the snake habitat (discovered 3 copperheads while pulling the ivy).

Considering the landscape, and assuming grass does grow and fill in, I'd like to know which (GT or ZTR) would be the better option with my requirements of mowing and towing. (and driving to the store like George Jones)

 

[bertsmobile1]

Copperheads well ,that does make things a bit different.
I have red bellied blacks all over the place and to an extent encourage them as they are a timid snake and will even run away after you tread on them, a little better than the other common snake around here, the eastern brown which is up there in the top ten for both aggression & toxicity .

As for your requirement, you are not going to find what you are looking for in a single mower
I don't see too many US mowers down here but I would suggest a real garden tractor for the hauling and a small ZTR for the mowing.
Real garden tractors have horizontal shaft engines , a chassis and a splined PTO.
Anything with a vertical shaft engine is just a flashier lawn mower and will not last
An old Bolens - Troy Bilt Dura track would be ideal and as they are all getting on so are cheap used. They also come with a blade that can actually push and a fabricated deck that will knock over saplings.
Got a customer who has a PTO driven log splitter on the front and a cart on the back good for near a ton.
And we are talking Aussie hardwoods , not wimpy US furs.
Not many modern ZTR's with small fabricated decks and you really are looking at something sub 40".
A stander will most likely serve you better for mowing and I think the Gravely comes with a fabricated deck
Other than that Toro used to do a 30" fab deck for the Time Master but I rather think they did not sell well & they dumped them all down here cause we got the fab deck for the same price as the pressed deck.
After that you are looking at brush hogs or similar.
You might also check out the stand on loaders, most will take a flail mower and flails are swing back so they bounce over rocks.
A bucket on the front comes in real handy but most only tow backwards ( or push forward once you get the hang of it ), all hydro driven so no belts to worry about and being skid steer design will turn 360 on the spot.
Again used you should be able to get a complete package with a bucket, mower, broom, auger, trencher , plow , snow blower & cement mixer for sub $ 10,000 and that is the last cent you will spend on heavy tooling.

 

[mhavanti]

Kimbo,

What is the narrowest point between two immovable objects? That is your deck measurement and if you have a small push mower or Weed Eater to make up the one place I see in your photos, I'd go for a 54" lawn tractor you can pick up fairly cheaply right now on Facebook Marketplace. On the marketplace, you can see the faces of the folks you're dealing with and so many folks are dumping their lawn tractors and riders they are dirt cheap.

Go for a large displacement motor with a hydrostatic transmission so that it has some ground speed and you can make fairly quick work clearing off the grass and brush around the house.

Add this to Bert's logic and you'll be in the tall cotton pretty soon.

As far as deadliest snakes, Bert has us both beat. Those Browns downunda are just plain bad. Copperheads are very aggressive as well. Here in mid-Arkansas, we have those nasty CopperHeadedRattleMoccasins that will chase you, bite you and tattoo you just for kicks. Just glad we don't have any Browns! lol

Keep us informed. Looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

Max

 

[Kimbo]

Kimbo,

Keep us informed. Looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

Max

Here's what I ended up with. Found it on CL for $800 for the GT, lawn rake, spike aerator, and grader, Since I don't have any grass yet, I figured a $3K new Husqvarna GT was overkill.

 

[mhavanti]

That should do a good job for a very long time. Keep the steering lubricated often.

Max