Lawnmower advice !

[Jamouk]

Moved house finally and not got a bigger bit of "garden" not all flat and some a bit boggy , have a little mountfield ride on which hits the bumps and gets stopped and stuck ! Am I better off with a small tractor mower or a tow behind the quad flail jobbie , needs to be "all terrain" don't want the blade deck hitting the ground , and also some overgrown bits not massive circa 2
5 acres , need some advice and does anyone out there need a hardly used smaller ride on mountfield

 

[eldon]

Moved house finally not massive circa 25 acres , need some advice and does anyone out there need a hardly used smaller ride on mountfield

Is there a dot missing?
Lol

Husqvarna ride on mulcher saves messing about with grass cuttings which on 2 acres plus soon adds up.
Having done a few acres with the above it does have its shortfalls unless you are constantly keeping on top of it.
Burnt out belts and plastic idler pulleys can be an issue and factory parts belts are like £40 each.
Boggy and overgrown, especially if it had rained recently or a heavy dew, then I wouldn’t advise a Husqvarna mulcher.

John Deere ride ons, make sure the model your looking at doesn't block the grass cutting chute. One I used, had to be poked out every 5 minutes with a stick otherwise it just left a right mess.

Again damp, long grass is a challenge.

Kubota ride on, boggy ground, again it just sinks then sits on its deck with wheels spinning. A length of scaffold pole comes in handy to pry it back onto dry land!!!

 

[tackb]

Sheep?

 

[wytonpjs]

I started with Westwood ride-ons and worked my way up to Countax hydrostatics. Took an old 22hp C series, changed console and chassis and then updated the transmission to one with 2 hydraulic pumps in it, firstly to fit a driven front axle to make it a 4x4 (with diff lock) and 3 months ago, power steering. With the HGM cutting deck and chevron tyres, I cut brambles and rides on the shoot with ease! Very much a Frankenstein and Grandfather’s axe which as above, will eat belts if you push it too hard but I now run Kevlar ones to limit changes. Look at a Countax AWD with HGM deck - they are good

 

[HonestJohn]

I started with Westwood ride-ons and worked my way up to Countax hydrostatics. Took an old 22hp C series, changed console and chassis and then updated the transmission to one with 2 hydraulic pumps in it, firstly to fit a driven front axle to make it a 4x4 (with diff lock) and 3 months ago, power steering. With the HGM cutting deck and chevron tyres, I cut brambles and rides on the shoot with ease! Very much a Frankenstein and Grandfather’s axe which as above, will eat belts if you push it too hard but I now run Kevlar ones to limit changes. Look at a Countax AWD with HGM deck - they are good

View attachment 430092View attachment 430091View attachment 430093

Looks like they went bust

 

[angusb1]

We have a 5 year old Countax. It's well suited to flat ground, but a lot of our garden is pretty lumpy since most of it was once an orchard. The sweeper has broken several times and I would say it is of very typically Chinese build quality. Not difficult to fix but hassle you don't need. The whole outfit does cut well and leaves an excellent finish but you have to be careful on the lumpy parts and it has needed repairs when it goes in for annual maintenance. If our ground was any lumpier I'd go for a mulching mower then all the sweeper woes would be gone.

 

[Ruby Tuesday 2]

Deer fence it and get some nice quiet tame fallow…..

 

[tackb]

have you considered a small kubota tractor with a three point linkage mounted deck ?

also gives you other options for grass care and it sounds like you have a fair bit of ground for a domestic style ride on , cutting 3.5 acres with a 48'' deck is tedious i've tried!

you can also get towed decks for a quad or even a small 4x4 that have their own engine on so self contained , might be an option?

 

[wytonpjs]

Looks like they went bust

They were bought out by Ariens a few years ago and are still in business. However, the older machines are far better and are usually quite cheap. The 4x4 models do come up occasionally and are the one you need - forget the sweeper unit - you just need a HGM deck. For the area you are suggesting though, a Kubota as @tackb suggests is a good idea although a quad with towed flail (not topper) might also do if you can easily tow the area. Just bought a front mounted flail for the quad for cutting in rides - I’d hate to use it for a large area though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/376348560744

 

[Dunwaters]

A couple of robots?
Or one big one?
There are some commercial models that may suit you, they seem expensive until you start factoring in the cost of labour.
It gives me a nice warm glow to watch mine running around in the rain while I sup coffee.

 

[eldon]

This does the business but you need to decide if you want a flail or a grass cutter?
Obviously your land and access etc. will dictate this.

 

[eldon]

A couple of robots?
Or one big one?
There are some commercial models that may suit you

Umm
..... all good until you start jet washing and the things come to sabotage you're electrical supply.
Ask me how I know?

 

[VSS]

Sheep?

Deer fence it and get some nice quiet tame fallow…..

As someone with both of the above (except for the fact my fallow aren't tame, despite being enclosed), I'd just like to point out that neither provide a simple solution to the OP's situation.
And he'd still need some kind of mower (topper) to cut back inedible things like thistles, bracken, rushes and rank grass or they'll just take over.

 

[Dunwaters]

Umm
..... all good until you start jet washing and the things come to sabotage you're electrical supply.
Ask me how I know?

Yeah, they do have little personalities. Mine gets lonely, no matter where it is or what it’s doing, if I go out and sit down it comes over and bumps my feet. The dogs hate it.
However….its still a big improvement over 3-4 hours work a week from March through to November.

 

[tackb]

As someone with both of the above (except for the fact my fallow aren't tame, despite being enclosed), I'd just like to point out that neither provide a simple solution to the OP's situation.
And he'd still need some kind of mower (topper) to cut back inedible things like thistles, bracken, rushes and rank grass or they'll just take over.

goats?

 

[wytonpjs]

As someone with both of the above (except for the fact my fallow aren't tame, despite being enclosed), I'd just like to point out that neither provide a simple solution to the OP's situation.
And he'd still need some kind of mower (topper) to cut back inedible things like thistles, bracken, rushes and rank grass or they'll just take over.

Add some muntjac to eat the brambles (or cattle)

 

[VSS]

goats?

I've owned goats in the past, too. They tend to be very selective feeders, in so far as they'll eat only the best bits of a plant and waste quite a lot. But if you concentrate them onto a bit of land they can be quite effective.
Believe it or not, you can actually hire a herd of goats for scrub clearance! Someone somewhere in the UK offers that service. I forget the actual details.

 

[camodog]

Sheep?

Er,....'ride on ones' ? He's in Kent, not Wales.

 

[Jamouk]

Er,....'ride on ones' ? He's in Kent, not Wales.

You just reminded me to update my location !

 

[Jamouk]

Anyone need a small Mountfield ride on ? May put up in classifieds about a year old