• RME Gear & Apparel

Are Riding Lawn Mowers Phat?

mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Maybe this should be another thread? What's the skinny on riding mowers?


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I'm going to need to make some trimming adjustments for the rock landscaping on the front porch and near the rear garage entry. I hate trimming around those rocks. The narrow spot on the north side of the house is about 8-9' wide.

Red is mowing area. Yellow is the wasteland areas I need to figure out how to make look acceptable
 
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Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Love mine, a 42" Cub Cadet with a bagger. We have about 3/4 acre in grass, there's no way I'd want a walk behind. We have LOTS of trees on our property and come Fall, the bagger is worth it's weight in gold.

I had a 42" Ariens riding mower before, bought it new and in about 10 yrs it was worn out. It was a Home Depot purchase, I understand the mowers you buy at the big box stores are built cheaper, for a lower price.

I feel like the Cub Cadet is a higher quality mower without a doubt.
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
They are a bit of an investment and I'm a cheap sucker as all of you know. As Greg mentions, you tend to get what you pay for. I would guess I have .20 of an acre of grass. Takes right at 1 hour to mow with a walk behind mower.

Questions are storage.They seem to take up a bit of a footprint. Is it worth the footprint for the convenience?

Did you tailor your yard to not have to use a push mower for the edges up against the house, fences, flowerbeds or whatever ?

Should I buy a used unit and see if I like the concept before dropping $2k? (Definitely the way I'm leaning)
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Look for a lightly used one, try to find a better brand with lower hours and run it for awhile. If you can justify a nicer one after a few years then do!

I bought my Cub Cadet XT1 used for $1200. Had to drive 90 min to get it, others near me were selling for $1800-2000. New they're $2300-2500. 😳

I have room to store mine, an overhang behind the shop.

I end up with a bit more trimming than I would with a walk behind, corners are what get me with a big 42" deck. I do love my Dewalt electric trimmer though.

I really dislike the hours spent doing yardwork, more than half my day today was mowing, trimming, spraying, spreading fertilizer... I figure if I can enjoy my time on the mower because it's nice, then it makes the work less painful.
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
mbryson said:
They are a bit of an investment and I'm a cheap sucker as all of you know. As Greg mentions, you tend to get what you pay for. I would guess I have .20 of an acre of grass. Takes right at 1 hour to mow with a walk behind mower.

Questions are storage.They seem to take up a bit of a footprint. Is it worth the footprint for the convenience?

Did you tailor your yard to not have to use a push mower for the edges up against the house, fences, flowerbeds or whatever ?

Should I buy a used unit and see if I like the concept before dropping $2k? (Definitely the way I'm leaning)
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Used is fine. I treat my Cub Cadet like trash and it keeps ticking. It had a pretty bad leak in the axle seals, which caused reverse to stop working. A little YouTube university and $18 for new seals and fluid… no more leaks and reverse works great now.
 
Gravy

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Location
The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
I bought a used 21hp Craftsman with a 46" deck for cheap. Had to do new fuel lines and a new fuel pump, mow deck engagement lever, slapped a cheap seat cover on it, cleaned the carb and sharpen the blades. Came with a trailer. Spent 1/10th new.
20240727_183859.jpg

It was a whole lot cheaper than buying another bush hog to pull behind my tractor. It's a bit of a pain though for my acre+ of weeds, but I don't feel too bad if I clip a rock for what I paid.

I'm hoping it will survive with a nice cover until I can build a little lean-to for it cause it isn't going in a garage... It takes up a ton of room.
 
Spork

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
Location
Saratoga Springs, UT
I got a craftsman older than Gravy's and need to replace some fuel lines on mine. I've clipped plenty of rocks, you can buy new spindles off Amazon if you really clip them. The zero turn is a lot better for getting in close, I mentioned in a another thread my dad had a Dixie chopper, it's way too much machine if you don't have a football field to mow but the zero turn is great for getting in the hard to maneuver areas. If mine ever dies I'll be looking for a zero turn.
 
1969honda

1969honda

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
Cache
I'm with @The_Lobbster on this. I used to mow commercially on church rc properties, retirement home communities and apartment/townhouse complexes. I was spoiled as such and really don't like traditional riding mowers as a side effect now.

Where you said you have about .2 acres that says to me there's some narrow sections that a tradition "yard tractor" type will struggle to turn around easily. Usually that means it may require multiple passes or driving over somewhere you already mowed or frequent backing up. Or also means more trimming in my experience, I hate trimming.

My current mower was a KSL find with a blown engine for $500, PO ran it with no oil for 3 of his 5 acres of lawn. I rebuilt the 33hp generac and sharpened the blades for another $850 and now I have a heavy duty 60" commercial grade Dixie Chopper. That cut my mowing time from a couple hours to about 45 minutes on the acre I have grass, timing takes about 30 minutes. With my "yard tractor" it used to take really double that and I can turn around anywhere.
 
moab_cj5

moab_cj5

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
The Village of Kay
I finally got my lawn tractor up and running this year for my youngest to use while mowing my lawn. I have had it for about 16-17 years. It sat for a few years with a broken deck belt and dead battery, but it has an 18hp Kohler engine and it keeps plugging along now.

I would love a zero turn mower, but they are too expensive and won't fit in my shed, so the lawn tractor stays. My yard looks to be about the size of yours and it is only marginally faster with the rider vs all push because I have so many areas I have to use the push mower on due to tight constraints. If I could only use the rider, it would be fast, but that isn't happening without a major yard redesign, which I won't be doing.
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Hickey said:
I feel spoiled for the fact that my riding mower will also mow in reverse. Zero turn money is rockcrawler money.
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This is where I'm at. Maybe I just buy another Honda walk behind and roll with that. I'd rather put zero turn $ in other places. A sub $1000 rider seems like a decent fit? If I have to still have a walk behind, I think I'll just spend the extra time (15 extra minutes in my case?) with each mowing.

If a lawn tractor can push snow, maybe I can build a better case for the lawn tractor (I'm sure a 4x4 ATV would be the thing to have there). The snow blower I got from @BCGPER will handle most anything I've run across.
 
johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
I got rid of my riding lawn mower when kids were old enough to mow. Walk behind mowers makes kids into good adults. Recently got it back from the guy who had it for my son’s yard care business; cub cadet zero turn mower, Kawasaki engine. Would recommend.
 
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