OT - Best Lawn Mower out there NOT a Zero Turn

[The Peeper]

My yard is a 3-4 beer cut. I put my baseball water cooler with replacements on the trashcan next to the garage. The front yard is 2 beers and I just swing by to grab a fresh one half way thru then another one on my way to the back yard.

Man I love cutting the yard.

No phones ringing.
No screaming housewives of whatever city my wife is watching on Bravo at that moment.
At least 3 uninterrupted beers while I'm mowing and more in the beer fridge on the back porch when I'm done.
It's therapy for me.............

 

[HomeBoyDawg]

Bet the kid down the street will push mow it for fitty.

 

[MrKotter]

It's a slow day here at the office and I think a new contender has just entered the chat.

Walker Mowers

Dose anyone have any experience with these?

Walker commercial mowers are good so I’d assume the residential mowers are fine as well. The rear wheels leave funny stripes if that matters.

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

I'm going to bet, the uneven cut areas, are when you were having to lean over to cut an area.
Part of my yard is hill side, and I now mow up the hill, and then back down, in those areas.
Yes it takes just a bit longer, but it is effective.
I have a JD X350, 42 inch cut.

 

[WilCoDawg]

We have a stand-behind for our "farm" property. It is MUCH more stable than a zero-turn. We cut backside of the pond levee with it and there's no way you could cut it with zero turn or regular riding mower. It does take some getting used to.

Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.

 

[dorndawg]

Bet the kid down the street will push mow it for fitty.

Username checks out, you guys

 

[Mr Todd French]

Not being a smart *** but did you check the tires? The air pressure

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

Not being a smart *** but did you check the tires? The air pressure

And level the deck, per instructions.

 

[Pookieray]

I would rather move to a larger yard but land prices here in Desoto county are outrageous otherwise we would.

for $6K you could pay someone to cut for you for a long time

 

[MaxwellSmart]

Summer in the south is no fun without AC.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

View attachment 756213
$60 @ Walmart.

Neighbor across the street used a higher end version of this. He mowed like every 3 days. Would also come out with scissors. Yard work was therapeutic, probably to keep him from having to hide bodies.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Not being a smart *** but did you check the tires? The air pressure

No worries. Yes checked frequently.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

And level the deck, per instructions.

Yup tried leveling the deck multiple ways from the deck it's self or just the blades. You could level the deck to the blade elevation and it would sill be off when you cut. It has driven me crazy. The mower had a very thin frame and the deck hangers were even thinner with a lot of slop. Over all it was a bad design.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

I'm going to bet, the uneven cut areas, are when you were having to lean over to cut an area.
Part of my yard is hill side, and I now mow up the hill, and then back down, in those areas.
Yes it takes just a bit longer, but it is effective.
I have a JD X350, 42 inch cut.

Yea I cut most of the slopes up and down not across. Where I have to mow across, it made the deck issue even worse. Mowing up and down or level ground it could be up to 1/2" off between passes and the areas I would have to cut across the slope it could be 1" out of level. Honestly I think it was a compounding issue of a thin deck, cheap spindles, and a sloppy deck suspension. The D110 was one step up from the cheapest mower they made at the time. It was just a bad design to make a low price mower.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

It's a slow day here at the office and I think a new contender has just entered the chat.

Walker Mowers

Dose anyone have any experience with these?

Never ran one, but lots of commercial crews around here use them.

One guy who had a mixed bag of equipment told me the cut quality of the walker was the best, but his exmarks were better on slopes and rough areas, FYI

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I'm going to bet, the uneven cut areas, are when you were having to lean over to cut an area.
Part of my yard is hill side, and I now mow up the hill, and then back down, in those areas.
Yes it takes just a bit longer, but it is effective.
I have a JD X350, 42 inch cut.

It also helps if you have leveling wheels on your mower deck set correctly

I have to cut on a hillside and have mine adjusted down to help keep it level.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

It's a slow day here at the office and I think a new contender has just entered the chat.

Walker Mowers

Dose anyone have any experience with these

Sorry To keep adding comments, but:
Just read through this ad, and

1. Looks interesting for your application
2. Has tire chains as an option (never used them on grass, does this work?)
3. Beware of Kohler engines, especially the EFI models. Lots of issues with engine heat cooking the EFI electronics. I’ve heard there is a module relocation kit for them to hopefully eliminate that issue.
4. I noticed in the ad it is touting a “300 hour oil change interval”. Do not do this. Change with synthetic 10W40 or higher every 50 hours. For comparison, Kawasaki recommends 50 hr changes with 20w50 in hot summer climates like MS/AL.

 

[Walkthedawg]

I'm strongly considering the X380 or the X390 right now.

I don’t think you will be disappointed. I love mine.

 

[cowbell88]

Tell your wife you expect the yard to be mowed, when you go get back from golfing, fishing, or that State ball game!

 

[40 acres and a mule]

Buy an Altoz. Has tracks rather than rear wheels. Supposed to be great on slopes. I want one just because the cool factor is through the roof.

 

[skip dog]

I finally convinced my wife to let me buy a new lawn mower and need the pack's input. My previous mower was an old John Deere D110 42" from Lowe's, and it was a good mower, but it couldn't cut a level yard to save its life, so I'm looking to upgrade. I mow roughly 3/4 of an acre, but my house sits on top of a hill, so there are a few steep slopes along the sides and in the front.

Initially, I had my mind set on a Zero Turn in the $6K range, but I'm getting concerned about being able to safely mow my yard. My old mower handled the sloped areas fine, but I had to sit on the edge of the seat to keep from sliding off. This brings me back to looking into a regular lawn tractor type mower. It seems like everything is going to zero tuns and the lawn tractors are becoming a thing of the past.

I'm planning to go through a dealer and do not want to buy one from a big box store. I have in mind a 48" deck so I can haul it in my truck if needed. My biggest requirements are a good deck suspension that will cut evenly on a slope, easily serviceable and a maximum price between $5K and $6K.

zero turn will always be more stable than a lawn tractor. I have had both.

if buying from a "big box" store, all you are getting is a engine that spins blades. First problem that you need to correct.

I have a 10 year old exmark, and I baby it, b/c I will never get that much mower at the price i got or with the quality......

going a little higher than the cheapest base model in any zero turn will give you somewhat of a "floating deck" w/ anti scalp rollers on the deck.......just think that the deck "flexes" with the lay of the land.

As far as uneven cut, if you cut correctly (directional, respect to your grade changes, and not to low (which most are guilty of)), then uneven cut can only be attributed to user error and probably going to fast........which if using a lawn tractor, is probably part of your problem.

While I do have a exmark, which is a leader in the zero turn market, if I had to buy on a budget, I would probably start looking at Hustler (assuming that you are not that mechanically inclined and don't have a desire to look at the used market, and some do it yourself repairs). May ex brother in law has a 44" model (maybe 48) that sits low, has a deep deck (which allows mulching blades to work much better) and the front tires have a wider foot print. All these things will give you a more stable feel on slopes.

https://www.hustlerturf.com/products/dash-xd

 

[o_Hot Rock]

I hope my next mower mows on auto pilot. My ten year old vacuum still going strong but it does get hung up once in awhile and I have to go find it eating a shoestring or whatever gets left out..

 

[HumpDawgy]

Chicken!

 

[Double Dawg]

View attachment 756425Summer in the south is no fun without AC.

How long can you run that bush hog before the a/c filter clogs up? Dad bought a 3000 series John Deere with the full cab on it. We could only do 30-45 minutes of bush hogging before the filter clogged up & the cabin got so hot you almost couldn’t breathe. The next one was a 4000 series with an open station & a canopy.

 

[leeinator]

If your yard slopes are over 12%, don't use a zero turn. I almost tipped one on a 10% slope.

 

[MaxwellSmart]

How long can you run that bush hog before the a/c filter clogs up? Dad bought a 3000 series John Deere with the full cab on it. We could only do 30-45 minutes of bush hogging before the filter clogged up & the cabin got so hot you almost couldn’t breathe. The next one was a 4000 series with an open station & a canopy.

I've never had mine clog up. 6 hours is about the longest I've run mine at one time. The A/C will freeze you out.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

How long can you run that bush hog before the a/c filter clogs up? Dad bought a 3000 series John Deere with the full cab on it. We could only do 30-45 minutes of bush hogging before the filter clogged up & the cabin got so hot you almost couldn’t breathe. The next one was a 4000 series with an open station & a canopy.

There was something wrong if it was clogging up the filter that fast.

 

[ronpolk]

How steep is your yard? Every zero turn I’ve been on handles hills fine but I’ve never been on a real steep yard I guess.

Im still a push mower guy. My yard is on the edge of being big enough to justify a riding but I’m going to keep pushing it as long as I’m able. My only advice is Honda motors are far greater than Briggs motor

 

[theoriginalSALTYdog]

I finally convinced my wife to let me buy a new lawn mower and need the pack's input. My previous mower was an old John Deere D110 42" from Lowe's, and it was a good mower, but it couldn't cut a level yard to save its life, so I'm looking to upgrade. I mow roughly 3/4 of an acre, but my house sits on top of a hill, so there are a few steep slopes along the sides and in the front.

Initially, I had my mind set on a Zero Turn in the $6K range, but I'm getting concerned about being able to safely mow my yard. My old mower handled the sloped areas fine, but I had to sit on the edge of the seat to keep from sliding off. This brings me back to looking into a regular lawn tractor type mower. It seems like everything is going to zero tuns and the lawn tractors are becoming a thing of the past.

I'm planning to go through a dealer and do not want to buy one from a big box store. I have in mind a 48" deck so I can haul it in my truck if needed. My biggest requirements are a good deck suspension that will cut evenly on a slope, easily serviceable and a maximum price between $5K and $6K.

If you've got a yard w/slopes or you live on a hill then you probably need to make sure you get a commercial mower. If not, make sure it has an oil pump. If you don't, you'll eventually ruin the engine.