My property is 1.3 acres, but only about 3/4 acres needs mowing. I have a lake to mow around. Much of the shoreline has large flat rocks stacked to form a wall along the shore, but other areas do not. Some of the rocks can rock, they do not lie perfectly flat. The slope down to the water is anywhere from flat to as much as maybe 20 degrees.. The area that requires mowing is not continuous, There is a waterfall that comes down in one corner. So at both ends of the "loop", you need to do a u-turn. I can prodive pictures if that would be helpful. I currently have a zero turn (Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 50"), but have nearly ended up in the lake multiple times. So I am looking to replace it with something else. I really want to minimize string trimming. What would everyone recommend?
Need Mower Recommendation
- Thread starter mernst
- Start date
With any zero turn, you could end up in the lake. Have you thought about getting a pull behind mower from Swisher or DR.? You can set those things to mow at an offset.
There are other alternatives. One is a push mower and the other is a weed eater.
Tiger Small Engine
Lawn Addict
All zero turn mowers are different as to ability to hold a hill, as well as the operator. I know Scag and Ferris are good on hills from personal experience.
Why risk ending up in a pond with a zero turn?
GearHead36
Well-Known Member
I have a steering wheel ZTR and a lap-bar ZTR. The steering wheel ZTR does MUCH better on slopes & hills. I would trust it to mow a bank around a pond, but not down to the water.
One thing that might help is better tires. My steering wheel ZTR is commercial (Cub Cadet Pro Z 154S), and has better tires (Carlisle Turf Master) than the lap-bar ZTR, which has Carlisle Turf Savers. For a long time, I thought the tires were the same, so I was confused when the Pro Z was able to back up hills that the lap-bar machine couldn't. Then I discovered that the tires were different. So my Pro Z's steerable front wheels help on slopes, and so do the better tires. I still wouldn't use it mow down to the edge of the water. For that, IMO, you need something that can be towed with an offset, like what MParr mentioned.
One thing that might help is better tires. My steering wheel ZTR is commercial (Cub Cadet Pro Z 154S), and has better tires (Carlisle Turf Master) than the lap-bar ZTR, which has Carlisle Turf Savers. For a long time, I thought the tires were the same, so I was confused when the Pro Z was able to back up hills that the lap-bar machine couldn't. Then I discovered that the tires were different. So my Pro Z's steerable front wheels help on slopes, and so do the better tires. I still wouldn't use it mow down to the edge of the water. For that, IMO, you need something that can be towed with an offset, like what MParr mentioned.
There's no scarier feeling than thinking that your piece of equipment is going in a pond. I was cutting around a pond with a Challenger MT455 4wd equiped with a boom mower. It had turf tires and not agricultural tires. It started sliding towards the pond. Quick thinking was the only thing that saved it. I stopped my forward motion and put the mower head in the pond. I used the hydraulic operated boom arm to push away from the pond while slowly driving forward. Whew!
Probably needed a wash anyway LOL.
