Any reason not to get this mower?

I cut about 2.5 acres with a JD 425 and a 54" deck and it takes me about 2.5 - 3 hrs to mow everything. That mower is built like a tank and will last for decades, but I'll probably swap it for a zero-turn to cut my mowing time in half.

Victor brings up some great points about different mowers being ideal for different terrain. All of the local dealers will let me demo anything that I'm seriously interested in buying. I would highly recommend doing that before making any purchases. I'd also keep in mind that a zero-turn takes a bit of time to get used to. A lot of people want to give up on them after the first test-drive, but they're very easy to work with once you get a feel for how they operate.

I really like Grasshopper mowers. More specifically, I like their models with the deck out front instead of the mid-mounts. Having the deck out front, you can easily flip it up to clean the underside of the deck, change and sharpen blades and get under low-hanging objects while mowing. The front-mounts are quite a bit longer than the mid-mounts, but I don't have any tight places to worry about turning around in. The ride on a front-mount is also a LOT smoother than a mid-mount.

 

Because someone will mow the lawn for 20-30 bucks and the heaviest thing I have to lift is a pen, call me lazy. Sorry.

 

You can get someone to mow 2.5 acres for twenty bucks? Point them my way!

 

The lawn at my other house is 2.01 and the guy mows it for 40 bucks, weedwacking and all.

 

Kubota zero turns do have a brake pedal and does work well in a pinch. Like you said all others I seen do not have brakes but only takes a little while to get used to. You definitely do not want to get close to a dangerous slope or retaining wall till you know how to hadle one. They take several times to get used to.

 

Hahahahahaha!!!!


(And yes it was!)

 

They should also have something called "ROPS" - Roll Over Protection System - essentially a roll bar to protect you in the event of a flip.

unless you were doing something radical or had a massive slope, I think it's pretty hard to flip a Zero-Turn. I don't have slope, but I've been off a curb and that's hairy, but no flipping.

 

They have it. Seat belt too.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Im so freakin stupid I didnt catch on to reading the username backwards. Who else would know so much about mowers?

 

That's amazing. I don't see how that's profitable for the guy doing the work, but you're getting a great deal.

 

Only on Fchat could there ever be a 4 page thread on a lawn mower : /

 

Nope, go to lawnchat.com, 100s of pages

 

Nice.

My dad bought two John Deer's, one riding mower and then some other yard machine both were used. Thing is they only had about 2-3 hours on them total. He guesses is someone bought them, used once and returned. They are sent back to John Deer for maintenance. To my dad it looks and feels brand new and he saved a bundle.