Finish mower vs zero turn

[majorwager]

The Ferris brand is unique to the zt industy with suspension at chassis, front and rear as well as at the seat also. There is unlikely to be agreemant on this subject. One vs the other machine type.

As noted, speed isn't always the objective. Some folks enjoy mowing, despite the time element. Folks w/ hobbies like sailing, camping/hiking, golf, don't desire seat time mowing. Others bond w/ their tractor and like the mowing chore. Having multiple machines is cost prohibitive for many, so the tractor is often the provider of 4 season versatility.

New wrinkle, given my choice, I'D own the tractor and not the zt, but rather a kubota F series out front mount mower. 39 hp. AWD, super maneuverable, fast, equals pure bliss, cab even available for the potential lottery winner.

 

[prof.fate]

My ZT was $3300..about the cost of a MMM for many kubota's - and it's ready to go 24/7.

My (used) kubota came with a MMM that runs off the PTO in the back and uses the 3pt to lift and lower.. for many jobs it needs to come off, or is a lot better if it's not on the tractor.

Just something else to consider..teh time/hassle of putting the deck on and off adds to the 'mowing' time.

Now it is a LOT easier than my old garden tractor was to do this, and I'm making a mod to the deck so I can drive over it, making it easier still..but then the deck is very heavy and I lack a FEL to move it about when off the tractor.

 

[chim]

My ZT was $3300..about the cost of a MMM for many kubota's - and it's ready to go 24/7.

My (used) kubota came with a MMM that runs off the PTO in the back and uses the 3pt to lift and lower.. for many jobs it needs to come off, or is a lot better if it's not on the tractor.

Just something else to consider..teh time/hassle of putting the deck on and off adds to the 'mowing' time.

Now it is a LOT easier than my old garden tractor was to do this, and I'm making a mod to the deck so I can drive over it, making it easier still..but then the deck is very heavy and I lack a FEL to move it about when off the tractor.

Good point about the implements. When we were taming the ground to add it to our yard, there was a lot of switching stuff. Even with two tractors, there weren't enough 3-point hitches for everything. Alternating between a box blade, scraper blade, York rake, and a home made "leveller" required some dancing with implements. Most of my tractor time is mowing with some snow removal or brush fork work. I bought a quick hitch about 4 years ago but never installed it.

Unless there's an odd project, the 3PH is occupied with either the RFM or snow blower. The FEL and arms are in the shed unless I'm using the loader. When it's time to use the loader, I'm glad to have something hooked up on the back of the tractor.

 

[Beaudeane]

Mmm won’t be an option on my Mx5800. Will be a 3 pt finish mower if I go that route instead of ztr. Again, anyone got any input on value or average price for the used woods rd990x finish mower I found?

 

[majorwager]

Beaudean,
Not much help w/ mower price. However that woods mower is very heavy. Limited # of compacts would handle it well, guess operator would need a tractor in the 3800 lb class. Weight more imp than hp as 35 hp would likely power it. How long has it been for sale?

I have been told by several dealers that the advent of less expensive ZT's has severely reduced RM demand. Offer $2k. Nothing to lose, you can go up or he lowers price. Opinion is there is limited market for him but it just takes one buyer. It is a good mower, with care, should last 20 years.

My befco C-70 9'-2" is a handful for my MX w/o loader attached. If I were in the market, it would not be worth more than 2k to me. That said I pd. $5500 new for the befco but I was contemplating mowing 80 acres at the time, -3 x annually or more and the added width to +9' was imp.

 

[conropl]

I would be curious to know if you were running R4 tires or turf tires on your tractor?

I used turf tires... better than R4's as far as ride goes. Don't get me wrong, I used a mmm for many years and you can cut grass fairly comfortably (taller tires and slowing down helps). I just think given the right set up and seat a zt is a better ride and it can be done quicker. I will admit you can get a zt that is not that comfortable and probable pay less... but I am getting older and wanted something that saves time and my back. So I had different priorities (age seems to do that). And I tested out several to make sure I got what I wanted. By the way, when I got my new tractor and I got the Kubota survey I suggested they put a seat in it like the ExMark Radius "X" Series... that would really improve the tractor ride a lot.

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[Beaudeane]

Thx major, I was kinda thinking along the 2000 range but didn’t know if that was gonna come off as low ballin real bad or what. Guess he will either sell it for that or not. Him saying he been tryin off & on for 2 years to sell it makes me think he might take what he can get if he gets an offer on it. That mower says 1333 lbs on the woods website. I wanna think that Mx5800 is in the 3700 lb range per Kubota site. Probably be pushing it’s limits for sure. At 50 pto hp it’s on the low end of what woods says is required also, 45-75 pto hp. I will try to ride the low market side of selling it due to the ztr mowers available now too. $2k for a finish mower sounds easier to me than $11k for the ztr I’d want if I go the ztr route

 

[mattwithcats]

I just refurbished an old Craftsman tow behind 42 inch mower...

Dead 8 horsepower motor replaced with a 14.5...

Self powered, it can be offset to add to a MMM’s width, or pulled directly behind anything that moves...

They come in widths up to 60-66 inches...

 

[rkidd]

I used turf tires... better than R4's as far as ride goes. Don't get me wrong, I used a mmm for many years and you can cut grass fairly comfortably (taller tires and slowing down helps). I just think given the right set up and seat a zt is a better ride and it can be done quicker. I will admit you can get a zt that is not that comfortable and probable pay less... but I am getting older and wanted something that saves time and my back. So I had different priorities (age seems to do that). And I tested out several to make sure I got what I wanted. By the way, when I got my new tractor and I got the Kubota survey I suggested they put a seat in it like the ExMark Radius "X" Series... that would really improve the tractor ride a lot.

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Thanks for the response. Having turfs you had the best ride you could get for sure. As for the age part and priorities, I am there and can appreciate what you are saying. I see you bought a real nice tractor in the cabbed 3560 also. Good for you. That is a great tractor.

 

[chim]

Mmm won’t be an option on my Mx5800. Will be a 3 pt finish mower if I go that route instead of ztr. Again, anyone got any input on value or average price for the used woods rd990x finish mower I found?

Pretty certain my one BIL who lives next door has that model. He stopped over to show me the deck so I snapped a couple pics. He test drove this one (pic below) in red, but bought an orange one to match his tractor. I don't know what he paid for his new deck, but think it was over $4K. It is a real beast of a deck. It makes my 6' LandPride look small. He uses it to keep a few small meadows under control. I thought it was interesting the blades swing, resembling a rotary cutter more than a finish mower.

Because of his mowing habits, I can't tell you much about the job it would do in a real finish mower application. His MO is to wait till the grass is a foot or so tall, then cut it down to about 4". He gets windrows, but it's likely due to his approach to mowing.

 

[D2Cat]

The mower in the pictures is a brush mower. A finish mower will have 3 spindles (three sets of blades) and not free swinging.

 

[chim]

The mower in the pictures is a brush mower. A finish mower will have 3 spindles (three sets of blades) and not free swinging.

https://www.woodsequipment.com/productDetails.aspx?id=30

 

[majorwager]

The mower in the photo appears to be a finish style. As for swinging blades, my C-70 befco is 100 percent finish mower and it has 3 spindles and the blades ARE the SWINGING type. Six blades total. Woods model appears similar per link provided in post above.

 

[gcmiller]

Thx major, I was kinda thinking along the 2000 range but didn’t know if that was gonna come off as low ballin real bad or what. Guess he will either sell it for that or not. Him saying he been tryin off & on for 2 years to sell it makes me think he might take what he can get if he gets an offer on it. That mower says 1333 lbs on the woods website. I wanna think that Mx5800 is in the 3700 lb range per Kubota site. Probably be pushing it’s limits for sure. At 50 pto hp it’s on the low end of what woods says is required also, 45-75 pto hp. I will try to ride the low market side of selling it due to the ztr mowers available now too. $2k for a finish mower sounds easier to me than $11k for the ztr I’d want if I go the ztr route

I'd start at $2k, but if you guys meet in the middle at $2,500 I think you'd be getting a good deal.

I own a ZTR and a 91" RFM and I love them both. Considering you have 3.5 acres with only 2 trees and you already own the tractor, I'd go with the RFM over the ZTR and save yourself +/- $8,000, so long as you're confident that MX won't make ruts. If you're worried about ruts you might need the ZTR.

 

[gcmiller]

The mower in the pictures is a brush mower. A finish mower will have 3 spindles (three sets of blades) and not free swinging.

I think the number of spindles is dependent on the size of the mower. My Caroni TC910 has 5 spindles.

 

[D2Cat]

Ok, I stand corrected. I'm hiding under a rock!

 

[Jimc3165]

I’m getting my Mx5800 in a couple weeks. Since I will have the power unit already I’m wanting input on zero turn comparison for doing the yard with a woods or land pride 7.5-8’ finish mower vs a 60” zero turn. I know the ztr is fast & fun & I know the tractor should be fun but not sure on how fast. I’m considering a Ferris 3200 for the ztr. Finish mower would be a woods rd990x. Don’t know the model of landpride.would be a wider cut with the finish mower. I just have a 3.5 acre field for yard. It’s not sod but it’s really thick grass. 2 trees in the whole yard is all. Tractor would be much heavier than a ztr but I don’t cut grass when it’s wet so do I really need to worry bout ruts in the yard from the tractor or not? That mower is heavy for a ztr also.

As others have pointed out a finish mower in an open field is great but around trees and flowers that Ferris is great. I purchased one with a 60in deck and my mowing time for 4-5 acres went from 5 hrs to 2 hours. That Ferris would zip through Bahai like it was butter and had a much smoother ride than comparable ZTR's.

 

[Oliver]

I’m getting my Mx5800 in a couple weeks. Since I will have the power unit already I’m wanting input on zero turn comparison for doing the yard with a woods or land pride 7.5-8’ finish mower vs a 60” zero turn. I know the ztr is fast & fun & I know the tractor should be fun but not sure on how fast. I’m considering a Ferris 3200 for the ztr. Finish mower would be a woods rd990x.....

I bought a 72" mmm deck with my B2650 to mow I don't know how many acres of grass, too many probably 4 or more and somewhat rough ground. Anyway it was rough riding and slow. I don't have a *lot* of obstacles to mow around say 20 trees and the house. It just seemed like it was taking too long to mow because I was having to go so slow to not get pounded to death.

Last Summer I bought a Ferris Z2100 60" deck zero turn and it's a much better mower. I wish I would have not bought the $3,000, 72" deck for my tractor. The Ferris mows much faster, rides better, and cuts grass better.

 

[Bulldog777]

If money wasn't an issue.... in my situation I would buy a cab tractor with finish mower and mow in the AC, dust controlled environment. My sinuses would appreciate it. The money I would spend on a zero turn could go toward the cab, but that is me.
I don't have a lot of things to mow around, and the things I do have get a good dose of round up.

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