New ZT for rough terrain for woman who drives like NASCAR driver

[CLHall201]

We recently (like a year ago) built a home on 3 acres...we tamed the wilderness ourselves with the help of a tractor/front end loader/shredder. The lawn is now established with actual GRASS, but there is an area of some thorns, etc...but for the most part it is civilized. I made my husband get rid of the tractor as we are done with the heavy lifting, gravel moving and such. Until now, the mowing was done (since we have finished with the shredder) with a ride on mower that I have run into the ground...we bought it for like $800 bucks. My husband rebuilt the deck a few weeks ago because I literally drove the thing around here like I was on a go cart, chopping up anything in my path. But the thing corners like an 18 wheeler, and around the house my husband has to use a push mower because we have a bunch of landscape rocks and such....and SO MUCH WEEDEATING because I cannot get around all the trees.
SO. We need a quality (read STURDY) zero turn. It does not have to be attractive. It doesn’t have to pink, green, or purple. I don’t care about comfort (in fact, he says if it is bouncy I might slow down). I do care that the lawn (Bermuda) looks good and that I don’t have to lean into the turns and that it will chop someone’s leg off and never look back (we don’t have children). I mean, it has to chew rocks, man. Just because we have tamed the wilderness won’t mean I won’t look down at my iTunes and run over a boulder.
Price is obviously a thing...but we will spend what we have to to have a machine that lasts more than a week under my direction. All the ”review“ websites I have seen seem to be very ambiguous. Any sage words of wisdom aside from the obvious ones of “slow it down, girl!”?
Thanks!

 

[tom3]

Start off with basics. You'd want a fabricated and welded deck. Biggest rear tires you can find. A twin cylinder engine. And a Hydro Gear transaxle minimum size of the 2800, then 3000 or above better. Might look at one with spring suspension if you want to hot rod on that rough ground. But maybe the number one thing is a local dealer that actually sells >>and services<< what you'll be buying.

 

[CLHall201]

Start off with basics. You'd want a fabricated and welded deck. Biggest rear tires you can find. A twin cylinder engine. And a Hydro Gear transaxle minimum size of the 2800, then 3000 or above better. Might look at one with spring suspension if you want to hot rod on that rough ground. But maybe the number one thing is a local dealer that actually sells >>and services<< what you'll be buying.

This is helpful info. We live in the back of beyond, but it is agriculture country, not suburbia, so it is easy to find dealers that sell most the major brands I am familiar with...Kubota, Gravely, JD, that ilk....and I am sure that with the help of the Google I could find most of the others fairly easily. Any better than others? Or any specific features I might want to pay extra for (or don’t need at all)?

 

[bertsmobile1]

I am rather fond of the JD residential ZTR's
For your block a 355 or 400 series .
It is the little things that stand out like al the fasteners you might need to get to when mowing are 8mm metric with a 13mm head and the deck height pin has a 13 mm head built into one end like a tyre wrench.
The deck spindles are bigger & stronger than a lot of commercials and you have a really big choice of blades .
The rear body work unbolts , using that same 13mm wrench to give clean access to the engine the oil filter can be changed without looking like you are a driller on a rig
So the whole mower has that I HAVE BEEN DESIGNED BY SOME ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY DOING feel about it .
Grevelys are quite solid but need 5 tools to do any job
With only 3 acres you mighr be ale to get by with a smaller deck which will reduce the time spent with the weed wacker.
Alternative is to oput some sort of non crowing greound cover around the trees, Sawdust , bark mulch etc etc .
Then it is just a quick spray with your favourite weed killer 3 or 4 times a year

 

[CLHall201]

I am rather fond of the JD residential ZTR's
For your block a 355 or 400 series .
It is the little things that stand out like al the fasteners you might need to get to when mowing are 8mm metric with a 13mm head and the deck height pin has a 13 mm head built into one end like a tyre wrench.
The deck spindles are bigger & stronger than a lot of commercials and you have a really big choice of blades .
The rear body work unbolts , using that same 13mm wrench to give clean access to the engine the oil filter can be changed without looking like you are a driller on a rig
So the whole mower has that I HAVE BEEN DESIGNED BY SOME ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY DOING feel about it .
Grevelys are quite solid but need 5 tools to do any job
With only 3 acres you mighr be ale to get by with a smaller deck which will reduce the time spent with the weed wacker.
Alternative is to oput some sort of non crowing greound cover around the trees, Sawdust , bark mulch etc etc .
Then it is just a quick spray with your favourite weed killer 3 or 4 times a year

OK! We will look at the residential JDs. I like them, and we can certainly get it done with a 52 inch... There is not a flat bit of land on this property, and some of it is quite rough (where the rain drains down under the grass)....it’s just not smooth mowing. As long as a “residential“ grade mower isn’t thinking it is going to be going over a suburban patch of land, it would be cheaper for sure.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I think there is a fabricated deck available for them.
It s when you get underneath that you notice the difference between the machines that were designed from the wheels up and those that were tossed together.
Things like engine bays that were designed to accomodate V-twin and not a single that they just tossed a twin into so nothing fits .
If you will be maintaining it check oil filter placements & fuel filter placements .
The down side of domestics is they all have small tanks , not sure if they will do 3 acres in one hit