Ride on mower vs tractor and topper?

[sandspider]

Hi all

 

I have an ancient compact tractor (18hp ish) with 1.1m topper that I use to cut a paddock and some patches of lawn. However, it doesn't do a great job on the lawn (especially in tight corners), and is getting a bit long in the tooth.

I was wondering, is it possible to get a ride on mower that will do a neat job on the lawn but will also handle topping a paddock? Paddock has long grass, lots of bracken, brambles, the odd small tree etc. It's also fairly steep in parts, so a fair amount of power would be needed. I'm guessing that a ride on mower won't be up to doing the paddock on a regular basis...?

 

Thanks.

[TIMON]

We used to have a walk behind Scagg mower with a 36” flail deck on it. It would cut through rough brambles etc.. and would leave a reasonable finish on the big house lawn as well.(with stripes). Hydraulic drive and zero turn enabled it to get into tight spots as well. If you keep a decent edge on the flail knives it will give a fairly good finish.
Domestic ride on mowers won’t cope with doing a paddock very well and will wear out quickly.
Not sure what your situation is, but we have a large area to mow at one of our places (almost an acre) and we pay a contractor to cut it for us once a fortnight , after years of struggling with inadequate machines constantly playing catch up with maintenance and overgrown grass, it was the best solution.

[Matthew Storrs]

I used to hire a ride on machine called an Efco Touareg. It had a low center of gravity and could handle grass and weeds so high you couldn’t see where you were heading, fanstastic machine.

[sandspider]

Thanks chaps. I've looked at both of those (something therapeutic about watching videos of mowing!) and both look good options, especially the Efco. However,  they're both pretty pricey. Maybe I'll see what I can hire. And look at contractors too!

 

Forgot to add, ideally the machine would be diesel, and would be able to collect the grass cuttings or mulch / just spray them wildly depending on where I'm cutting. Total area to mow is about 1.5 acres, but only about 1/2 of an acre needs to be neat.

[GA Groundcare]

A zero turn mower will do your needs and be much quicker than a conventional tractor / topper.

 

We are a Bob-Cat zero turn mower dealer and the CRZ 48" is around 5k plus vat for new. 5 years warranty etc

 

We sell loads to small holdings maintaining paddocks, farmers doing around the farms and field edges etc...

 

We have a demo machine that's done 20 odd hours that is subject to some extra discount...!

[sandspider]

Thanks GA

 

That's a good bit more than I was hoping to spend, but you never know! Will it cope with thick vegetation, small trees etc?

[Jonny69]

On 11/09/2018 at 11:24, sandspider said:

Hi all

 

I have an ancient compact tractor (18hp ish) with 1.1m topper that I use to cut a paddock and some patches of lawn. However, it doesn't do a great job on the lawn (especially in tight corners), and is getting a bit long in the tooth.

I was wondering, is it possible to get a ride on mower that will do a neat job on the lawn but will also handle topping a paddock? Paddock has long grass, lots of bracken, brambles, the odd small tree etc. It's also fairly steep in parts, so a fair amount of power would be needed. I'm guessing that a ride on mower won't be up to doing the paddock on a regular basis...?

 

Thanks.

I would say that there is nothing on the market that will cover that, then you mention that it would be nice to collect which again adds another problem. It will always be a compromise with one machine. 

 

The only possibility is to get an outfront with a flail deck. These have loads of hp, will smash down thick stuff and leave the neat areas pretty good. They are about 20k new and second hand ones with some hours have generally had a hard life (I've spent a fair bit of time on them and would not want to buy one we used to use)

 

The other option is to put a flail deck on your tractor. Trimax are excellent if they do a little one, it will be just as effective but quite a lot slower than a decent outfront. 

 

In my opinion a zero turn will not handle your field conditions well. It will tire the machine really quickly, they have really small, high speed blades and fine cut well maintained grass very well. They are not much use in the rough, certainly not for long anyway. 

[sandspider]

Thanks Jonny, I feared as much. Suppose I'd better try and keep the tractor going, and fix my old petrol lawn mower!

[Ian88]

A ride on brushcutter would do the trick for you. I have had this about 2 months now and its a great machine. This is a powerfull 4x4 with 98cm cut width but a smaller two wheel drive i expect would be ok for you.

[difflock]

I tested an Attilla, an Etesia model,  many years ago, for a 2 WD machine its traction was phenomenal, only matched by its apparently indestructible nature and cutting prowess.

The test site was bramble covered well-steads on a fairly steep slope.

There had to be a downside but it was not obvious on the test.

m