OT - Best Lawn Mower out there NOT a Zero Turn

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

I finally convinced my wife to let me buy a new lawn mower and need the pack's input. My previous mower was an old John Deere D110 42" from Lowe's, and it was a good mower, but it couldn't cut a level yard to save its life, so I'm looking to upgrade. I mow roughly 3/4 of an acre, but my house sits on top of a hill, so there are a few steep slopes along the sides and in the front.

Initially, I had my mind set on a Zero Turn in the $6K range, but I'm getting concerned about being able to safely mow my yard. My old mower handled the sloped areas fine, but I had to sit on the edge of the seat to keep from sliding off. This brings me back to looking into a regular lawn tractor type mower. It seems like everything is going to zero tuns and the lawn tractors are becoming a thing of the past.

I'm planning to go through a dealer and do not want to buy one from a big box store. I have in mind a 48" deck so I can haul it in my truck if needed. My biggest requirements are a good deck suspension that will cut evenly on a slope, easily serviceable and a maximum price between $5K and $6K.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

You should move to a house with a smaller flat yard. You are welcome

 

[CochiseCowbell]

 

[Xenomorph]

You should move to a house with a smaller flat yard. You are welcome

I doubt his wife would let him.

 

[WilCoDawg]

Just get a walk behind. If it’s that sloped and that small, you don’t need a rider. Plus, you’ll get some needed exercise. Or landscape the slopes.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

You should move to a house with a smaller flat yard. You are welcome

I would rather move to a larger yard but land prices here in Desoto county are outrageous otherwise we would.

 

[YesIAmAPirate]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Roundup-Weed-and-Grass-Killer4-with-Sure-Shot-Wand-1-Gallon-Ready-to-Use-Weed-and-Grass-Killer/5014441311

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Just get a walk behind. If it’s that sloped and that small, you don’t need a rider. Plus, you’ll get some needed exercise. Or landscape the slopes.

Exercise is something I surely need more of but I barely have time to cut what I have right now so a walk behind is out of the question. I probably underestimate how much I cut because we have some wooded areas on our lot.

 

[johnson86-1]

I finally convinced my wife to let me buy a new lawn mower and need the pack's input. My previous mower was an old John Deere D110 42" from Lowe's, and it was a good mower, but it couldn't cut a level yard to save its life, so I'm looking to upgrade. I mow roughly 3/4 of an acre, but my house sits on top of a hill, so there are a few steep slopes along the sides and in the front.

Initially, I had my mind set on a Zero Turn in the $6K range, but I'm getting concerned about being able to safely mow my yard. My old mower handled the sloped areas fine, but I had to sit on the edge of the seat to keep from sliding off. This brings me back to looking into a regular lawn tractor type mower. It seems like everything is going to zero tuns and the lawn tractors are becoming a thing of the past.

I'm planning to go through a dealer and do not want to buy one from a big box store. I have in mind a 48" deck so I can haul it in my truck if needed. My biggest requirements are a good deck suspension that will cut evenly on a slope, easily serviceable and a maximum price between $5K and $6K.

Don't think this really helps you, but if I spend $6,000 on a mower, I would only need to mow my yard 134 times and I will be ahead compared to paying my guy to do it. At least if you ignore the cost of gas and any maintenance and the value of my time.

 

[Dawgbite]

The old three wheel Yaxoo mower was the best mower I ever owned. Simple design that rarely broke down. You still see one occasionally is someone's yard thats pretty impressive for a mower that hasn't been produced in over 20 years.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Don't think this really helps you, but if I spend $6,000 on a mower, I would only need to mow my yard 134 times and I will be ahead compared to paying my guy to do it. At least if you ignore the cost of gas and any maintenance and the value of my time.

If I could find someone to cut my yard for $45 a cut I would have it cut. I when I'm out of town for work it is usually for a few weeks at a time and I have my neighbor's lawn guy cut it for me at $75 per cut (and by far the cheapest). It is absurd what people pay around here for lawn care. At $75 per cut it puts it at 80 cuts or about about 2.5 years to recoup my investment.

To be honest I enjoy grabbing a few beers and clearing my mind for an hour or so cutting the grass.

 

[NTDawg]

You should move to a house with a smaller flat yard. You are welcome

this is correct. No mower will cut even if your yard is uneven. This is something I have struggled with. I had a lot of "holes" from two trees that I cut down years ago, and over the years, as the roots have decayed, they left a lot of depressions. I have handled most of the worst problems by top-dressing my lawn. However, my lawn isn't level, so each year about a month after the grass starts to green up I add sand to my low spots but I don't think that it will ever be completely level.

 

[TimberBeast]

I bought an EGO self propelled push mower last Spring for about $550 at Lowe's. I'm never going back to gas for my mower. I love the thing, lasts a long time on the single battery. It's much more powerful than I thought it would be too. I'm pretty sure they have riding mowers, no idea on the price.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

this is correct. No mower will cut even if your yard is uneven. This is something I have struggled with. I had a lot of "holes" from two trees that I cut down years ago, and over the years, as the roots have decayed, they left a lot of depressions. I have handled most of the worst problems by top-dressing my lawn. However, my lawn isn't level, so each year about a month after the grass starts to green up I add sand to my low spots but I don't think that it will ever be completely level.

All and all my yard doesn't have holes or mounds just some side slopes. My last mower had a poorly designed deck suspension that it couldn't cut level between passes even on flat ground. When we first moved in, I had a Forest Gump style snapper and that booger would cut my yard like a sheet of glass. Other than the time it took to cut my yard I loved that little mower. The demise of the mower came when a magnet came loose from the fly wheel and cracked the block. The JD D110 was the best I could afford at the time.

 

[RocketDawg]

If I could find someone to cut my yard for $45 a cut I would have it cut. I when I'm out of town for work it is usually for a few weeks at a time and I have my neighbor's lawn guy cut it for me at $75 per cut (and by far the cheapest). It is absurd what people pay around here for lawn care. At $75 per cut it puts it at 80 cuts or about about 2.5 years to recoup my investment.

To be honest I enjoy grabbing a few beers and clearing my mind for an hour or so cutting the grass.

I only have about 5500 sq ft of grass. The rest is house, driveway, and mulched beds. The cheapest to get it cut is $70 - $280/month for once a week. I just do it myself and do a much better job.

But back to your original question - I don't think you'll ever get a smooth cut with a riding lawn mower. You actually need a mower with rollers such that the deck follows the ground, like golf courses use.

 

[Walkthedawg]

I finally convinced my wife to let me buy a new lawn mower and need the pack's input. My previous mower was an old John Deere D110 42" from Lowe's, and it was a good mower, but it couldn't cut a level yard to save its life, so I'm looking to upgrade. I mow roughly 3/4 of an acre, but my house sits on top of a hill, so there are a few steep slopes along the sides and in the front.

Initially, I had my mind set on a Zero Turn in the $6K range, but I'm getting concerned about being able to safely mow my yard. My old mower handled the sloped areas fine, but I had to sit on the edge of the seat to keep from sliding off. This brings me back to looking into a regular lawn tractor type mower. It seems like everything is going to zero tuns and the lawn tractors are becoming a thing of the past.

I'm planning to go through a dealer and do not want to buy one from a big box store. I have in mind a 48" deck so I can haul it in my truck if needed. My biggest requirements are a good deck suspension that will cut evenly on a slope, easily serviceable and a maximum price between $5K and $6K.

I’ve got a John Deere X394 and it’s a Cadillac for what yard I have. 4 wheel steer, power steering, thick steel deck.. you can get X models with less bells and whistles to get the cost down.. but get what you want, take care of it, and you will never be kicking yourself later about “I should have just bought ____”.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

I’ve got a John Deere X394 and it’s a Cadillac for what yard I have. 4 wheel steer, power steering, thick steel deck.. you can get X models with less bells and whistles to get the cost down.. but get what you want, take care of it, and you will never be kicking yourself later about “I should have just bought ____”.

I'm strongly considering the X380 or the X390 right now.

 

[stateu1]

1988 model Snapper with a 24" blade and a sweet handlebar.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Don’t know if Kubota is available near you but they make some smaller sized riding mowers that aren’t zero turn. I have one for my yard and it does great and its very reliable.

 

[DawgInThe256]

There's another thread on this somewhere, but I personally hope that my next mower will be a robot

 

[HotMop]

Did your landscaper get deported?

 

[The Peeper]

There aren't many manufacturers left that make them and most are all made in the same few factories now. MTD makes Craftsman, Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt. Deere still makes theirs but their higher end ones are made in one place and the lower end big box stuff is made in TN. Briggs & Stratton bought bankrupt Murray and has a subsidiary that makes them now. Husqvarna still makes their own.

That said I bought a Cub Cadet XT2 LX46" lawn tractor w/ 22hp Kawasaki and 46" deck 8 years ago from an authorized dealer and still going strong. They have some Cub Cadets at Tractor Supply and Home Depot too but I prefer the dealers and not some teenager at Tractor Supply taking care of it. In that 8 year period it broke a belt last Spring and I got that one and the other one that hadn't broken both replaced along w/ an idler pulley that was squealing a little bit so I had them change it too. I thought the clutch was gone out awhile back but thank goodness it was only the PTO Switch that cost me $100 for switch and labor. Parts are still readily available, Cub Cadet ones are higher than a giraffes azz but lots of aftermarket ones available online. About this time every year I order a "Maintenance Kit" w/ everything in it and change it all out myself (oil, oil filter, 2 spark plugs, air filters, fuel filter)

I bought mine in the Spring of the year but it was a leftover from the previous years inventory, had little less than 7 hours on it.
List price on it was little over $2,100. They had a $450 rebate on it because of it being previous year model from Cub Cadet so in all it cost me little over $1600 w/ rebate. Today they are over $3,400 w/ a Kohler engine and without rebates. I would buy another one no problems but they don't have the Kawasaki engines anymore from what I understand.

 

[Tractorman]

Don't think this really helps you, but if I spend $6,000 on a mower, I would only need to mow my yard 134 times and I will be ahead compared to paying my guy to do it. At least if you ignore the cost of gas and any maintenance and the value of my time.

Don't think this really helps you, but if I spend $60,000 on a truck, I would only need to Uber 6,000 times to and from work and I will be ahead compared to paying my Uber guy to do it. At least if you ignore the cost of gas, insurance and any maintenance.

 

[3dawgpups]

Cub Cadet, 13th year cutting 2 acres. Less than a $1000 spent on it including regular maintenance. LTX 42" V-Twin Kawasaki engine. Love it.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

Toro 30" timemaster twin blade. Will go through a half acre of choppy, unlevel grass almost as fast as any small rider NOT a zero turn. Super smooth cut, will even stripe a very cool pattern with the right blades.The wide turnaround time BS with tractors in small yards is nuts when you start to quantify it.

If you're having leveling/scalping issues with a 42" deck, you need to find an old rear engine snapper rider in 30 or 33 inch cut, or, a dual blade self propelled like the Toro or Exmark.

 

[NWADawg]

Maybe this kind of walk behind

 

[Ranchdawg]

$60 @ Walmart.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

Maybe this kind of walk behind

View attachment 756212

These actually can pull a small platform for you to stand on.

I have never run a commercial stand behind, but a few that have told me they're much more stable on hills than a ride-on zero-turn.

 

[dudehead]

I really like my Ego self propelled 20" mower

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Maybe this kind of walk behind

View attachment 756212

How am I supposed to drink a beer and mow at the same time with one of those?

 

[MrKotter]

These actually can pull a small platform for you to stand on.

I have never run a commercial stand behind, but a few that have told me they're much more stable on hills than a ride-on zero-turn.

 

[YesIAmAPirate]

Find somebody that has army worms and grab you a handful

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I got a Kubota BX2680 in 2017 and I kick myself every day that I waited until then to go that route. I went thru at least 10 of those 1,000 to 1,500 dollar tractors, with an all electric Raven mixed in, from 1990 until then. I do have 2.7 acres (about 1.5 of cuttable grass) with some decent elevation changes and had to replace the mower every 3 or so years at a max. Burned 4 hydrostatic transmissions. The Kubota sub compact tractor works every time and I have a front end loader which allows me to move stuff all over. no need for wheel barrows. And it's a 60 inch deck. Also added a brush hog to mow the areas under the trees and keep it less snaky.

They have smaller ones in the same series.

 

[WilCoDawg]

These actually can pull a small platform for you to stand on.

I have never run a commercial stand behind, but a few that have told me they're much more stable on hills than a ride-on zero-turn.

I’ve heard just the opposite and the explanation is due to center-of-gravity being higher on the stand-behinds. They may be safer in the event of a rollover though. They’re definitely not any cheaper though.

 

[MagnoliaHunter]

I’ve heard just the opposite and the explanation is due to center-of-gravity being higher on the stand-behinds. They may be safer in the event of a rollover though. They’re definitely not any cheaper though.

We have a stand-behind for our "farm" property. It is MUCH more stable than a zero-turn. We cut backside of the pond levee with it and there's no way you could cut it with zero turn or regular riding mower. It does take some getting used to.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

It's a slow day here at the office and I think a new contender has just entered the chat.

Walker Mowers

Dose anyone have any experience with these?

 

[johnson86-1]

Don't think this really helps you, but if I spend $60,000 on a truck, I would only need to Uber 6,000 times to and from work and I will be ahead compared to paying my Uber guy to do it. At least if you ignore the cost of gas, insurance and any maintenance.

Well, if your average Uber Ride is $10 including tip, pretty sure you might could do even better by walking or biking.

But you also seemed to take a stupid joke personally.

Does @Tractorman sell lawn mowers and tractors?

 

[johnson86-1]

If I could find someone to cut my yard for $45 a cut I would have it cut. I when I'm out of town for work it is usually for a few weeks at a time and I have my neighbor's lawn guy cut it for me at $75 per cut (and by far the cheapest). It is absurd what people pay around here for lawn care. At $75 per cut it puts it at 80 cuts or about about 2.5 years to recoup my investment.

To be honest I enjoy grabbing a few beers and clearing my mind for an hour or so cutting the grass.

I don't have much of a yard and I still suspect when my guy quits I'm going to be at $60 minimum. I suspect my guy may do it cheap to stay out of the house and away from his wife.

My dislike is not cutting the yard, it's weed eating and edging. But even then, the real reason I pay for it is just the flexibility. Seems like a few times a summer, the time the grass is tall enough to be cut and the time that it is dry will only be like a one or two day window, which may or may not be on a weekend, and my schedule is just not flexible enough for that.

 

[The Peeper]

How am I supposed to drink a beer and mow at the same time with one of those?

Mine came w/ 1 cup holder but my yard is a 3 beer yard. Hence, I added 2 more cupholders......

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Mine came w/ 1 cup holder but my yard is a 3 beer yard. Hence, I added 2 more cupholders......

My yard is a 3-4 beer cut. I put my baseball water cooler with replacements on the trashcan next to the garage. The front yard is 2 beers and I just swing by to grab a fresh one half way thru then another one on my way to the back yard.