Riding Mower advise

ctdave said:
I am now 76 years old and I no longer want to mow my ~1/2 acre lawn - with my current push mower. What brand/ model riding mower would you recommend. I do want a reliable unit, price less of a concern. Any cutting width will likely suffice

My 80 year old dad mowed his 4+ acre "lawn" for many years with a John Deere 60 (??) inch cut riding mower - clearly a leading mfgr choice

Thanks for any advice!! -dave
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I'm 77 and still mow my grass. 14 years ago I bought a Hustler Raptor 42" zero turn with the 22hp Kohler engine. It has been trouble free and it is a pleasure to mow with. I'm not sure how much I mow. I have 7 acres of wooded property and probably mow 3/4 of an acre that I consider to be the yard. For the other parts, I have a 25hp Kubota tractor with a shredder. Mowing on either one for me is somehow therapeutic for me. When my wife determines that I seem slightly irritable, she reminds me that I need to go ride the tractor or the zero turn. Maybe I am weird.
 
GearHead36 said:
This, IMO, is a bit of an exaggeration. My ZTR is an entry level commercial/prosumer model (CC Pro Z100), and it weighs in right at 1000lbs dry. 2500lbs is more like my utility tractor. The point is valid, though. The OP doesn't need a big heavy ZTR for 1/2 acre.


This IS one of the advantages of RERs. Most, if not all, of them can be stored pointed straight up, sitting on their tail. Takes up not much more floor space than a push mower.
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Yeah, a bit of an exaggeration, I'd say. My notoriously heavy Kubota 60" diesel ZTR weighs much less than 2,500 lbs.
 
Johnboy, Im 80 and your 76, I think you should buy what ever you will have the most fun on, I did.

Now someone mentioned Ferris, I have seen that mower compete with them all and it blew away everyone of them, but way overkill, the engine wouldnt be up to operating temps before you finished your mowing. Ha!ha!

Stay with a dealer, box stores are a pain in the rear.
I had severe pain in the rear with local deere dealer what a crook.
I like Kubota.
Pricey like everything these days.

Look them over and go with what you want, if cost is not a concern then pay the dealer to do the repairs if you ever need them, mowing a half acre most any decent mower will last a long time, if you have any ditches or steep inclines you will need a tractor type, zero turns will want to slide down into the ditch. Get one with a welded deck and not a stamped deck, stamped decks wont last, I live in Florida and all we have is sand.

I mow an acre with a 42 inch deck tractor type mower and love it. Make sure you need to drive it to make sure the steering is easy enough, at our age power steering is a plus, I have a lot of trees and objects to mow around.
Good luck and keep mowing.
 
ctdave said:
I am now 76 years old and I no longer want to mow my ~1/2 acre lawn - with my current push mower. What brand/ model riding mower would you recommend. I do want a reliable unit, price less of a concern. Any cutting width will likely suffice

My 80 year old dad mowed his 4+ acre "lawn" for many years with a John Deere 60 (??) inch cut riding mower - clearly a leading mfgr choice

Thanks for any advice!! -dave
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My neighbor has a lawn about that size, and he uses a Ryobi battery-powered self-propelled mower and loves it. I'm assuming you don't necessarily want a rider. I have a farm, but the part we mow is small. Our orchard needs to be trimmed to look nice. My wife uses a SunJoe battery-powered mower, and I have been amazed at how long it has lasted and is still going! I do not like weeding the grass between the corn in my garden, so she takes the SunJoe down between the rows of corn. I have never had to change oil, and it has never refused to start! I'm 77 and she is 73.
 
If buying new I recommend a 42” Bad Boy with Kawasaki engine. Some box stores carry Bad Boy with B&S engines. I recommend against.

I don’t think a 42” ZTR will be too big for 1/2 acre if you can get through gates.
 
BigBand said:
Whatever you do, only consider a zero-turn rider. A 42" deck will do you nicely.
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Assuming the wheel base width is something less than 42" . I'd recommend a deck that had slightly more width than the tires as it makes edging possible without dragging the tire across whatever is being mowed,
 
I am 85 and I also have about 1/2 acre, which is sloped. Last year a bought a Husqvarna with a 42-inch deck. It cuts well but it does not perform well on the slope. Some section that are really sloped I decided to let go/return to nature. But it's behind the house so I don't care. I am still able to change belts, etc., and I enjoy that sort of thing. Just consider the slope if you have such.
 
I'm in the lawn mower parts business my view point comes from the parts we sell. Several have suggested getting a Zero turn mowers are good quick mowers but the maintenance level is higher on the drive system because you have 2 separate drive systems and it's not like sitting behind a steering wheel, second several have recommended Snapper RER the Snappers of old are gone. My recommendation for a Z Turn is a Hustler Raptor they a good mowers and parts are easy to find in both OEM & After market, steering wheel mowers I personally would go with something made by Husqvarna for the same reasons and I would stay away from models with PTO clutches. Good luck and Happy mowing.
 
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