I live on 6 acres, all mowed. I'm mostly flat, and although it's smooth in some areas, it's fairly bumpy in others. This is not a highly manicured lawn, it may even be more weeds than grass.

When I bought this property I purchased a tractor with a front loader and other 3 point attachments that would be useful for maintaining the property. That included a 72" finish mower. I probably spend 6 hours spread over 2 days using it to cut the grass.

With the time and roughness involved, I am considering buying a zero turn mower. I would mow my grass here, very possibly my mother's (1 acre), and you never know what else I may stumble upon.

Being a believer in it being better to have and not need than need and not have, I'm looking at the Ferris IS3200Z, 72", with the 37HP Vanguard. This is clearly a commercial machine, and I will not be using it commercially by any stretch.

For those that run this type of equipment, is this really too much?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: a1abdj,

6 acres is a lot to mow. For that much I'd go with the commercial grade mower, especially with part of it being bumpy.

Sounds about perfect.
You should get done a lot faster than with the tractor.

Absolutely, but being a Scag fanboy, I'd point you to the Turf Tiger II, which also comes in a 72" deck model with the 35hp Vanguard engine as one of many options. (Personally, I'd go with the Kholer EFI - way easy to maintain, plenty powerful, and sips gas.)

-Rob

I am doing several acres around the house that we mow with a commercial John deere commercial zero turn with 37 hp. I have had lesser mowers that just disintegrated under that kind of use.

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Originally posted by a1abdj:

For those that run this type of equipment, is this really too much?

No. How much time do you want to spend mowing? I cut my mowing time from 100 minutes to 40 minutes. It was well worth what I spent on a used eXmark Lazer Z HP.

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Originally posted by trapper189:

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Originally posted by a1abdj:

For those that run this type of equipment, is this really too much?

No. How much time do you want to spend mowing? I cut my mowing time from 100 minutes to 40 minutes. It was well worth what I spent on a used eXmark Lazer Z HP.

This. The time saved mowing will pay for itself in spades. You could even mow your neighbors yards if they are interested and make a couple hundred bucks. When I was a kid I mowed my grass, and the two houses on the side of my house for extra money. $20 per yard, $40 per week, $160 per month in extra income. Pretty good for a 13 year old.

I have it's little brother and love it. A 2100Z 61" 28 HP.
I mow 4 ac in just over an hour to 1 1/2 hr depending on conditions and how big a hurry I'm in.

I also have a rough lot and that was a big part of getting one with full suspension. I have the shocks set to the softest adjustment. It won't make it smooth but it helps, in extreme cases you might want to add an upgraded seat, (unless thats standard in the bigger unit)

At the price point you are talking about I would ask for an on site demo.

The newer fuel injected Vanguards are Great engines by all accounts I have seen.

Nobody ever regrets going ZTR that I have run across.

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Originally posted by cparktd:

Nobody ever regrets going ZTR that I have run across.

I've owned 3 mid priced JD lawn tractors. They were slow and didn't last very long. Number one was pretty good. Number two was bigger and fancier. It lasted 7 or 8 years before it was junk. Number three cost the most and was junk in about half the time. Cost was about $3,000.

My neighbor and I each bought Zero Turns at the same time and mow the same amount of grass. We both couldn't be happier - he with his JD and me with my Kubota ZG222. He even borrows mine when his is in the shop getting repaired.

(Not meant to be a JD rant)

Mike.

Fence it in and get a couple head of small livestock. Let us know when the cooking is taking place.

Do it. I mow 5 acres and have a full commercial Bob-Cat Predator Pro 61" with 37 hp Kawasaki fuel injected engine. That Ferris is as good as it gets.

I too have a Compact utility tractor I mowed 3.5 acres with. Have a 72 in finish mower on back. We bought a commercial ZT with a 28 hp Cat Diesel.
It really cut down on the mowing time.
I would go for it. If your tractor is a diesel, you might consider a diesel for the Ferris. I like having the diesel on my ZT, it seems more powerful than a 28 hp gas. I had a 26 Hp gas on a Commercial Cub that seemed to have nowhere near the power of this machine.
If I bought another, it would either be a Ferris or a Scag diesel ZT. My brother mowed commercially and he had Kubota diesels, those were pretty good too.

IIRC the Ferris has front and rear suspension. I would be envious of that rig.

I used to mow an acre with a lawn tractor. It involved lots of extra riding around to trim around a bunch of trees. I went with a 44" Ferris with a 19hp Kawasaki. It cut my mowing time way down. That suspension system definitely helps on rough ground. I picked the Ferris over a Scag or Exmark for that reason.
If you don't have very many obstacles, you probably won't save much time.

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You should get done a lot faster than with the tractor.

My thought years ago was that a regular zero turn would be just as rough or rougher than the tractor. If I couldn't go faster due to the terrain, I would have the same productivity.

The suspension on this machine would negate some of that, especially on the parts that are smooth.

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but being a Scag fanboy, I'd point you to the Turf Tiger II,

No suspension.

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You could even mow your neighbors yards

I only have one neighbor with a yard, and he's also on 6 acres. He's from an urban area, and when he first moved in he came over to look at my tractor. He then went out and bought a 52" big box special lawn tractor from Lowes or Home Depot. Granted he doesn't mow it all, but to his credit he hasn't killed it yet.

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I have it's little brother and love it. A 2100Z 61" 28 HP.

This was the one I had originally looked at. Then in typical Tim "The Toolman" Taylor I started thinking that bigger has to be better.

I don't believe the seat does anything different, although I do believe the back is a bit higher. I have read that some guys buy aftermarket air ride seats.

The local dealer said he wouldn't have a problem bringing one out here. He also has an outlot next to his business that can be mowed.

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Fence it in and get a couple head of small livestock.

I have critters on two sides. They are fun to visit with, but I don't think I would want to be responsible for their care.

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If your tractor is a diesel, you might consider a diesel for the Ferris.

I have a number of diesel trucks and tractors that I keep here. If I mowed commercially I may consider it, but for the additional cost, it pushes the price way up there. Hard to justify it in my case.

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If you don't have very many obstacles, you probably won't save much time.

I need to take a GPS out with me on the tractor, but I suspect the fastest I can go on it and still mow properly is around 6 MPH. When I hit the rough areas, I likely go about half of that.

My thought is that speed alone will make a huge difference. Not only the speed in straight lines, but also the time that is spent staggering the rows with the tractor. The zero turn will just spin around and you're ready to go again.

Ferris is not your only option if you want suspension. The Toro My Ride has a vey nice full suspension also.

https://www.toro.com/en/profes...72-31-hp-921cc-75968

If you think either the zferris or Toro 6000 Series is overkill for you, it's the 72" deck that pushes you into that class of machine. If you went with a 60" deck, that opens up a lot more choices either through the Commercial lineup or higher end residential, even mid range residential.

That is a nice mower. If I had that much to mow, I would definitely have a commercial mower. My friend has a commercial landscaping company and runs about ten Exmark Lazer Z mowers that his crews are very happy with. Maybe you should demo the Ferris as well as other mowers on your property. Does the full suspension add a lot to the cost? Is it possible to smooth out the bumpy areas of your property? If the full suspension doesn't add much to the cost, then go for the Ferris. Their products are top tier.

BTW, you might want to check into the dealer's reputation. Having a dealer with a good service and parts department is important.

Hustler Super Z are great! Have had one since 2009 and have not regretted it. Very sturdy, and does a great job. We have just under 5 acres, and lumpy, bumpy it is. Not perfectly flat at all, so this mower does take a bit of a beating. Just routine maintenance, and cleaning.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
My thought is that speed alone will make a huge difference. Not only the speed in straight lines, but also the time that is spent staggering the rows with the tractor. The zero turn will just spin around and you're ready to go again.

Your logic will be borne out over & over. Tractors are rougher than a ZT, even w/o suspension. You will mow faster in a straight line, as well as reduce wasted moves.

I'm in about the same situation having a tractor with 72" deck and wondering if a Zero Turn may be a better choice for mowing? Ferris 2100Z 61" and Gravely Pro Turn 200 are on my short list and I'd really like to find out just how the Ferris rides compared to the Gravely or any of the others that don't have suspension?