Riding mower.

Getting tired of the old push mower and I have been eyeing a rider for a while. At first I wanted to go all out with a blower attachment but it really isn’t practical or necessary for my setup.

I have a suburban house with a 0.3 acre lot. One small hill and the one side of the lot is a little sloped. I have a tendency to overdo it when buying things, but I really just need something quality to cut grass, and I want a bagger for leaves. We have 4 enormous trees and I envy my neighbors who just bag every few days rather than doing my epic raking sessions.
I probably want the smaller deck.

Looking at john deere or cub cadet so far. I plan to be mowing for another 30ish years so I would hopefully use it for it’s entire lifespan.

I don’t have a dog in this fight, but for me a zero turn cut my mowing and trimming time in 1/2,Might be something to consider if you find a unit in the size you want, I never have used one, but those Cyclone baggers sure look like the ticket for bagging

Beast wrote:

I don’t have a dog in this fight, but for me a zero turn cut my mowing and trimming time in 1/2,Might be something to consider if you find a unit in the size you want, I never have used one, but those Cyclone baggers sure look like the ticket for bagging

My dad just bought a zero turn cub cadet and said the same thing. Cut the time in half and he’s been very happy with it.

He’s had a couple of cub cadets and they have been bullet proof. We still have my grandfathers from 1965 if you need proof of longevity.

Re: zero turns…. whats your experience with one on hills? I have a rolling hilly yard – and am bot sure how much longer i can keep my cub cadet functioning…

To the OP – as far as cub cadet mowers – i highly recommend them if you like wrenching on crappy stuff. If you prefer reliability, avoid them, IMO.

How are the zero turn mowers on hills? I have some fairly steep hills on my property, difficult for my 46″ Craftsman.

We have a lot of riding lawnmowers in our neighborhood. Mostly John Deere but a few Cub Cadets also. All seem to get the job done and some of the riding mowers have been around awhile. I bought a John Deere with a 42 inch deck second hand and it has been a really nice tractor. Don’t think you can go wrong with either one.

Must admit a zero turn would be nice but get by fine without it.

Snake ii’s wrote:

How are the zero turn mowers on hills? I have some fairly steep hills on my property, difficult for my 46″ Craftsman.

there ok if you can go up and down them but side hilling is no good with zero turns. gravely makes a nice zero turn mower if thats what you want

.3 acres is not much. My only advice is to not get talked into some mower that’s way beyond what you need. I’d think a pretty basic rider would get the job done.

I push mow a yard that’s .3 acres and trim it with a Stihl in ~45 minutes. We use riders at our land and down the road at our buildings, but I don’t think I’d ever bother with one by the house in our yard.

.3 acres, get a Toro personal pace push mower, especially since there are trees to go around….IMO

For .3 acres I would get a small lawn tractor. It will cost significantly less be able to be fitted with a good capacity bagger and should give you trouble-free use for years. It will also cost far less than any zero-turn. Also, the lower-cost zero turns have not done well on longevity and reliability. The problem is that the clutch/transmission is quite complex and at the lower price points does not seem to be able to last.

Also in that yard size with a 42″ riding tractor you will be done in 20-30 minutes even if you bag.

Husqvarna makes a nice tractor. They used to make the Craftsman tractors for Sears. I have one of those that is 20+ years old and never needed anything other than oil changes and blade sharpening.

I have 2 John Deere and 1 Cub cadet. I hate the Cub cadet, it’s one problem after another. They are made by MTD. As a matter of fact it’s apart right now in my garage waiting for parts. Most of my problems have been with the mower deck, throwing belt, breaking belt, I’ve had to have it welded a couple times. As for the tractor itself, leaking valve cover gasket, reverse switch works intermittently, cracked muffler. Mine is a 2012 LTX1045. I’ve seen the new ones a L&M and they look like they are built better, so who know, I hope so.

I have a small 30 inch cut rear engine Cubrider. It is 4 years old with no problems yet mechanically. Had to put a tube in 2 tire is all. I have a yard about your size. So far so good. By the way it is hydrostatic. Much quicker than shifting.

onestout wrote:

.3 acres, get a Toro personal pace push mower, especially since there are trees to go around….IMO

I do 1/3 of an acre with a Toro Super Recycler – 21inch. I have quite a few pine trees and obstacles and it takes a little over an hour.
My neighbor has slightly more movable area and cuts with the Toro Timemaster – 30 inch deck. He’s done much faster than I am.
That’s the way I’d go for that size yard. The Super Recyclers are also fantastic leaf mulchers.

I have a 1/3 acre yard as well. I’m on year three with a toro timemaster 30″ 10hp self propelled push mower. It takes less effort to use than the 36″ jd rider i had before. The turns and hills i have to deal with made staying on top of the rider a chore. Plus it cuts better.

I have a Deere along with the snowblower attachment. If you’re going to do it do it right the first time and don’t go the cheapest route. Fast mowing and snow blowing.

Whatever you decide I would highly recommend a hydrostatic for better control.
I have a JD 42″ and mow about an acre with it. Its been bulletproof.

thats not very much land to mow. so i would get something small. JD tractors made for home depot and lowes are ok as well as cub cadet. zero turns are great if you have a lot of land. unless you get into a really nice one, they can bounce the crap out of you. for you i’d recommend a small rider with a 42-48″ deck.

what i would avoid at all costs is anything craftsman/MTD

i’ve not yet met someone who loved theirs. either that or they’ve never had anything else.

I have a deere X360 I just bought at an auction that I got a good deal on. Cut the mowing time with a 21″ honda from 75 minutes to 20.

onestout wrote:

.3 acres, get a Toro personal pace push mower, especially since there are trees to go around….IMO

This. I have a half acre with a fairly significant hill. I do it with a Toro walk behind in about an hour. We have neighbors with riders, but we have too much stuff to go around. My son is 8. Just a few more years and it’s his problem.

So, are the Timemasters worth it? I’ve been strongly considering one when my “regular” mower dies, but last I checked, they’re like 3x the cost and take up more garage space.

I would love to recommend a zero-turn as others have said but at .3 acres I’d say push mower. A lot less garage/shed space to take up, less maintenance, much less cost.

For those that asked about a zero turn on hills, I’m a 2-month pro at zero turns so I know the scoop (just kidding). The manual for mine says to start at the bottom of the hill and work your way up and that’s so damn true. It’s got a lot of power to turn uphill and move uphill but when you turn even the slightest downhill the tires, without much traction, just get caught up in gravity and start sliding. After a few uncomfortable skids and not being able to stop as well as the marks its leaving I’m just going to start push mowing some very small areas on steep spots on banks.

onestout wrote:

.3 acres, get a Toro personal pace push mower, especially since there are trees to go around….IMO

And if you get the Toro personal pace electric, you can do half of a .3 acre lawn at a time before needing a recharge! We got one last summer, and it actually works out well for our yard to do half at a time, but I’d be disappointed with almost any other lawn.

I have a 20hp Deere with 42″ deck and its a good machine. As far as a rider goes its engine I relatively quiet and smooth operating. I mow about 4 acres at the cabin with it and have had 0 issues. The Huscvarna 18hp with the same deck width is in the shop all the time up there it seems and when it is running will vibrate the heck out of you even with new bearings in the deck and new, balanced blades.

The deck metal on those Cubs is about half the thickness of that on the Deeres.

I’ve got a Toro 32” zero turn for a lawn about the same size. I have the bagger as well but have mainly used that for leaves. The mower has worked well for me especially with having some knee and back issues. One thing I also like about it is I can pull an aerator or dethatcher behind it to do some more lawn maintenance.

Are you planning on towing anything with the mower? Hauling wood, rocks, leaves, etc. Take that into consideration. I think at least some zero turns are not made to tow things.

Before you spend ANY money on a zero turn hire a lawn service.

For .3 of lawn about anything with a motor will get the job done. I have a Simplicity (way more mower then you need) and it turns real tight for a rider. Very happy with it. I mow between 3 & 4 acres twice a week and it holds up well. Oil & blades and grease once a year.

Whoa lots of replies. I have a weird foot with staples in it and something about mowing the lawn makes it sore. I can hike, I can walk, I can do other stuff but push mowing aggrivates it – I think its something about the repetitive motion under stress.

I don’t want any snow stuff, just to mow and bag leaves, then stick it in the shed for winter. It takes me 45min to push mow with my old 21″ (1hr for wife) and maybe 10 to trim with my milwaukee. Thing is I barely mow once a week, sometimes every 2 weeks. If it was easier I would do it more.

Is the bottom of the line ok or is a step up gonna get more longevity?

It’s a cost vs return thing. For the little bit you mow I wouldn’t get anything near a top of the line unless you could score a used one somewhere. Otherwise just buy a new cheap one and hope for the best.

If you plan on keeping it for a while. I would look for a deal on a good mid range model that does what you want, maintain it and put it in the shed and forget about it. If you can find a bagger, the forest gump models are sweet and do everything you needed.

Just kinda worried about used when I can get a warranty. I will buy from a dealer not big box.

Not a fan of the spend oiless oil change systems though.