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Hi

I have a 61" ferris ztr (IS2000) and a 5+ acre lot. The ferris is reeliable, cuts great, moves fast, but is very heavy ~ 1300 lbs - add my weight and we're talking over 1500#. In the early spring and fall the ground is soft, so the mower leaves deep wheel tracks that don't go away until next winter. Tires are 22 x 11. I need recommendations for a much lighter weight mower with wide tires.

You should be able to get dual wheels for your Ferris
Other than that it will be a lightweight domestic ZTR and they are throw aways with a lot smaller decks .

21" Snapper Commercial push mower. All 0 turns leave ruts in the turf. Like you said they are 1,000 pound machines.

slomo

The rubbish RTZ huskys ( or the rebadged alternatives ) with a single cylinder engine are a lot lighter as are the small JD's EZ 335 ? or whatever it is now days .
These are sub 1000 lbs.
Swisher wide area walk behinds come up to about 50" and they are light, Toro do some big ones as well
Should not be a big deal as you only need them for a month or so till the ground firms up.
A tow behind & quad bike which sits equally on 4 wheels so will have less ground weight per wheel.
Then there are the standers , again lighter than the regular ZTR's
Or consider a couple of tons of coarse river sand as a top dressing
Allows better water drainage & run off

Thanks for your replies. I don't mind a smaller mower, since its only in the beginning and end of year. However, a 21" walk behind is a non starter. I have a 30" toro walk behind and it takes 12 miles of walking to cut the lawn - not something I am interested in doing. Dual tires sounds interesting, but I can seem to find much info on getting them for my ferris. It seems all the smaller ztr's (42-48 inches) have tires that are narrower, so the gain I get in weight reduction is somewhat lost with narrower tires.
Any other suggestions?

Go to the store and buy 100 helium-filled balloons. Tie the balloons to the Ferris. It will then be lighter than 1300 lbs.

Just be careful driving home from the balloon store.

Hello, For soft soil the ventrac is a great machine. My is3200z Ferris is much more comfortable. I put cruiser run stones on top of where i have soft or wet ground . It does work. Good luck , Mike The ventrac can be used for many things other than cutting grass.

changing your mowing pattern will also help. Rolling the lawn will help. dual tires will help. 2 pounds less in the tires will help. A tail wheel with adjustable down pressure will help.

OK Dual tires seems a popular answer. Where can I get a dual tire kit or components?