I need a mower for my new place, but refuse to spend more than $3k for something that will see less than 50 hours a year. My yard is about 3/4 of an acre and is mostly open (just a big rectangle with minimal flatwork) and has a slight incline from front to back.

That mostly limits me to box store options, but I don't have an opinion on lawn tractor versus zero turn. I had a Cub Cadet Z-Force 44 that I bought new back in 2006 or so with a Kohler engine. It was fine, but I had it in and out of the shop for random things over the years - nothing major, but still required loading it up and hauling it in. I sold it years back and it was running great at the time because I had all the bugs repaired by then.

I've looked at a 42" Toro TimeCutter (75742). I think it'll be fine, but I'm not sure about the engine. It's a Toro engine and I have zero experience with them. From other things I've seen online, Toro started building engines and then branched out into equipment that uses those engines, but that doesn't really tell me much. All of the reviews are "5 star - unboxing was super easy, but I have yet to use it", "purchase experience was top notch, and the mower worked flawlessly when I used it for the first time yesterday" and other worthless crap like that.

I've also looked at a Cub Cadet XT1 LT50 tractor. It's about $600 cheaper than the Toro, but has a Kohler 7000 engine. Looks like that engine has been around for a while and that it was fairly buggy back when it came out 8 or 9 years ago. It seems that it was improving over the years, but the latest discussions I can find are 5 years old or more. I can't find any recent reviews on it, good or bad.

I'm also open to any other suggestions, zero turn or tractor. I've been using a buddy's 40-something inch Bad Boy and it's been great, but is $5K new and has mixed reviews. He has a 54" Bad Boy, too, but it's constantly broken, which speaks to the reviews I've seen.

I have a half acre lot and have been buying riding mowers for 40 years. Last summer I bought a zero turn Hustler and will NEVER buy anything but zero turn again.

I bought a Hustler last year, a used one with 30 hours on it. Love that thing, its a monster.

I bought it from an auction site that handles a lot of repo's, paid @60% of new cost.

https://www.crankyape.com/

Ive bought quite a bit of stuff from them (Mower, trailer, & even a boat); if you are patient you can find a good mower deal on there. They have new auctions every week, & they generally have a couple of mowers on sale every time.

I have had a Toro 54" zero turn for more than 2 years and it has worked fine. I either run ethanol free gas or add a healthy dose of stabilizer. All I've done is change oil, fix flat tires and replace a belt I broke one time after running over a piece of rope and getting it wrapped up underneath. I put it on a trickle charger over the winter. The shock absorber seat suspension is a nice feature. I bought mine at HD because they had free delivery. The only thing that bugged me was lack of hour meter. I use it pretty hard on rough terrain. It will mow down knee high grass no problem.

Martin Cash said:

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I have a half acre lot and have been buying riding mowers for 40 years. Last summer I bought a zero turn Hustler and will NEVER buy anything but zero turn again.

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I bought a Hustler once, it was eyeopening to say the least.

Thanks, guys. I've been doing more research and am going to go with the Toro zero turn. I haven't used a lawn tractor since the 80s and am used to zero turns, so I'm worried I'll kick myself over a couple hundred dollars down the road.

Plus the Kohler 7000 series engines sounded like they started out pretty buggy and that Kohler was screwing people on warranty work. Basically, some engines puke oil from a crank seal while in use and the user doesn't know. The motor then seizes up and craters. Kohler is taking the approach of "user error - ran out of oil and locked up motor" while not addressing the cause of the oil loss. I can't find enough recent data to show that they've corrected the problem, so I'm going to avoid that engine.

Home Depot has the Toro listed at $2,699. The Toro engine is manufactured by Loncin, a Chinese company who has been making small engines for a long time and started by making engines for Honda scooters way back when. Most of the "branded" engines (Toro, Craftsman, etc.) are manufactured by them and, other than being from China, most people seem fairly satisfied with them. I'm going to check for any upcoming sales events at HD and purchase accordingly.

Watch the Tractor Supply ads for similar units and $$.

I had a small JD lawn tractor for years. Cleaned it up and sold in no time on Craig's list. Bought a JD Zero turn and would never use anything else

If you are doing only mowing - ZTR all the way and twice on sundays.

I have a 2 acre lot and bought a Kubota ZTR - only a 48" deck because that was as big as I could get and still get the mower into my storage barn. I can whip out my entire yard mowing in about 2.5 hours, and it's nice.

ZTR's can be used to pull little trailers around and what not, but they aren't as good at it as a regular riding mower is. But they are so much better at mowing that i wouldn't look at a regular lawn tractor personally.

If you need more than that, then you need to look at the subcompact tractors (Kubota, JD, Mahindra, etc.) that have belly mower capabilities. Not as fast as a ZTR, but the ability to have a FEL and implements more than makes up for it.

For mowing:
ZTR -> Subcompact Tractor - > Riding Lawn Mower

For utility:
Subcompact Tractor -> ZTR -> Riding Lawn Mower

I've had this since June of 2017 and mow close to 2 acres with it. Going on 89 hours and have had zero issues. No it's not commercial grade but at half the price it is a decent mower.


https://www.lowes.com/pd/John-Deere-20-HP-V-Twin-Dual-Hydrostatic-42-in-Zero-Turn-Lawn-Mower-with-Mulching-Capability-Kit-Sold-Separately/1000607721

Emeril - Where are you located?

I'm near Fort Worth, and have a Hustler 42" ztr with Honda engine that I won't be needing much longer. I'd let it go for much less than you're talking about.

mosdefn14 said:

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Emeril - Where are you located?

I'm near Fort Worth, and have a Hustler 42" ztr with Honda engine that I won't be needing much longer. I'd let it go for much less than you're talking about.

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I'm pretty sure he's in Navasota, if Emeril is who I assume he is. I just texted his wife to get his attention to your post.

Wifey here!!
We are near Aggieland but our location is a non factor. We would figure it out a way to get it.

Can you email him information at whoop03atgmaildotcom

Thank you!!