Mower for 6 to 7 acres

[mntgoat]

So we just got a new property that will need to have 6 to 7 acres of bermuda mowed. Lots of trees, I mean like well over 100, most have really large mulch circles around them.

Right now I live on 3 acres, most of which has fescue and I mow that with a Freedom Z 54 inch. I'm guessing I'm going to need something much larger for the new property.

What size do you recommend?

My Scag dealer said $14897 for a 72 inch Turf Tiger 2, $13308 for a Cheetah 2 72 inch, and $9499 for a Tiger Cat 2 61 inch.

Would the Tiger Cat be enough? That is the only one they have available right now.

Personally I've been really happy with my Scag so I'm not sure I want to consider other brands, but are there other brands I should look at?

Thanks.

 

[MParr]

You may want to do a little more homework.
I would say a 60”-61” would be bare minimum.
72” would be much better.
How low are the tree branches?
How rough is the terrain?
Do you think a compact tractor with a 72” finish mower would work?
Have you thought about a front mount mower, like the Grasshopper?

 

[mntgoat]

I'm planning on renting a mower (Tiger Cat) to see how it mows on that property since I've never mowed the property yet.

The trees are actually pretty tall and have very few branches that would get on the way of a roll bar, but I say that just from what I remember, we'll see once I'm mowing. The previous owner used a Super Z 72 inch, it didn't even have a roll bar. I'll definitely want a roll bar because the property isn't as flat as I'm used to, particularly near a pond.

I don't know if the terrain is rough, it feels alright while walking it but I know that can be totally different when mowing it, that is why I'm going to rent one and try it. I'm not taking my own Freedom Z because I also want to see how the seat feels on the Tiger Cat.

Funny you mention a Grasshopper, someone else just recommended that as well, I'm just curious what the advantage of front mount would be?

As far as a tractor, I used to mow my current property with a sub compact and it was pretty awful compared to the zero turn, so no I haven't really considered that.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Take your old mower with you and see how long it takes to do the job and most importantly how close it comes to not fitting between the obsticles and how much double cutting you end up doing.Got customers on 5 acres who mow with a 34" deck faster than they can do the same job with with a 54" deck .
Out front decks are poles ahead , particularly when you have to manouver in tight spaces .
Then there is deck maintanance so much easier if the deck pops up to clean it, sharpen blades etc

 

[hlw49]

Might look at the Big Bog Diablo MP 72" cut nice machine.

 

[slomo]

14 grand for a lawn mower? Does it come with a pallet of cocaine?

Bigger decks are more maintenance. More blades to sharpen and so on. More fuel usage and harder to store.

See how your current mower works as Bert said.

 

[mntgoat]

14 grand for a lawn mower? Does it come with a pallet of cocaine?

Those are the prices I'm seeing for 72 inch mowers on most places. Are there better prices I'm not seeing?

 

[slomo]

Those are the prices I'm seeing for 72 inch mowers on most places. Are there better prices I'm not seeing?

I guess not. Pricing gouging at it's best. You can get a nice gently used car for a today's mower price LOL.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I guess not. Pricing gouging at it's best. You can get a nice gently used car for a today's mower price LOL.

Really ?
How about lack of sub assemblies from China causing more of the mower to be fabricated in the USA ?
last year the factory elves went on strike because the pixie dust they make everything from that cost nothing was low grade & making them cough .
Iron ore prices are the highest they have ever been , Copper is going up faster than a Space-X rocket .

 

[edporch]

-Snip-
Funny you mention a Grasshopper, someone else just recommended that as well, I'm just curious what the advantage of front mount would be?
-Snip-

I have a front deck 61" Grasshopper 727T6 27hp.
I like the front deck because I can get under and around things much better than with a mid deck.
This greatly reduces the amount of string trimming I have to do afterward. (I HATE string trimmers)
And I don't have to turn the mower in any places that make the longer overall length of having front deck be an issue.