SCUT or CUT, To Mow or not to mow.
This is something that anyone shopping for a new tractor needs to consider. This is also a very hotly debated topic on many tractor forums. I think its time we took a close look at this subject for our technical articles subscribers.
The Executive Summary of this Article suggests that you consider the following points.
· The “one machine argument” and my opinion on this matter
· What are the points that merit consideration?
· Is buying a mid-mount mower for a tractor a wise use of your money?
· How do you plan to use your new tractor?
· How do the mowing results compare between an MMM and a stand-alone mower?
· In the end what decision is best for YOUR needs?
Before we dive into the issues about the tractor mower versus another mower, let’s talk about your lawn mowing expectations, as these really are very important in the decision process and, in fact, may be the most important. What do I mean by your mowing expectations? Specifically,
· How particular are you about the mowing results? Do you want a striped lawn without any windrows of grass clippings? Or do you simply want the grass cut, and as long as it's generally the same length, you will be happy?
· Do you notice and care about things like changing the mowing direction weekly and ensuring there are no lawn clippings on the lawn when you finish?
· Do you understand the difference between mulching and collecting lawn clippings and debris for composting?
The arguments for and against mowing the lawn with your tractor or purchasing a dedicated mowing machine.
A dedicated mowing machine is any mowing machine, whether a zero-turn mower or a small garden tractor or other mower, used solely for cutting the grass, while your tractor would be used for other tractor-related duties. Essential considerations in your decision-making regarding this choice include.
1. The size of your lawn area. This is very important because its going to dictate the size of the mowing deck on the tractor or the dedicated mowing machine you would need to purchase in order to make this practical.
2. The time you are willing to spend mowing the grass weekly. This will also determine the most appropriate machine to complete the task.
3. Do you plan to mulch, collect clippings and compost, or cut the clippings into the lawn in a manageable manner?
4. What is your budget for the mowing portion of the tractor purchase?
There are some factors that are going to make using your tractor for lawn mowing much less practical and even dangerous. Let’s address those concerns now.
Is your tractor going to have an enclosed cab?
While tractor cabs are becoming more popular and offered on smaller tractors, its important that anyone considering a machine with an enclosed cab consider these facts about the cabs.
A. Enclosed cabs profoundly change a tractor’s stability and its center of gravity. The smaller the tractor with the enclosed cab, the more impact the cab will have on the tractor's balance, operator safety, and center of gravity.
B. You really should try to test drive a tractor with the cab and the same model without the cab so you can see first hand the changes to the tractors balance and stability. They are significant.
C. When a tractor has a cab, it also requires careful consideration of the roof clearance for every area where the machine will be used. The cab changes the tractors entire operation plan.
D. You should not use the tractor near water, such as ponds, lakes, and rivers. If you have to mow on a slope and there is water nearby, the risk of the tractor ending up in the water increases. If the tractor has a cab, the hills and slopes make the rollover risk greater.
The very doors and windows that protect you from the elements can also trap you inside the cab. You need to be fully aware of how the doors and windows on the cab open, as they can restrict your “exit plan” from the cab in the event of an emergency.
Let’s take a careful look at how the tractor cabs' doors and windows function, as these are critical safety issues should you end up trapped inside the cab. The front and rear windows are generally hinged at the top, and the doors are usually hinged to open in a “suicide door” manner, with the front opening and the hinge located at the rear of the door. If you found yourself trapped in the cab, either submerged in water or in other unfortunate circumstances, how would you safely exit the cab in an emergency?
Opening a door or window against water pressure is extremely difficult and may even be impossible. Also, if the machine ends up positioned where the hinged opening of a door is prevented, would you realistically be able to exit the cab safely by opening a front or rear cab window?
The truth is, on smaller tractors, the front and rear window openings can be limited in size, making it difficult to use them for a safe escape, which should be taken into consideration. I always carry a firearm and decided that should I end up in the tractor cab in a lake or river or pond, I would shoot the glass to gain a safe exit. It is wise to consider such situations before you possibly find yourself in them.
Additionally, low-hanging trees and limbs pose a significant risk to mowing with a cab, as they can damage the cab and even potentially overturn the tractor in extreme conditions. If the upper portion of the cab strikes large limbs, the wrong angle could result in the tractor being tipped over or even pushed towards trouble such as water, steep slopes, etc. .
Also, the cost of damaging the cab roof panel ($1,500+ for the roof panel) or one of the cab windows is incredibly expensive. I just replaced the rear window in my Mauser Cab on my 1025r John Deere and the glass alone was over $600 and it is perhaps 28” to 30” in height and width.
Mowing with the cab on the tractor will require trimming all tree limbs up to where the tractor roof has at least 8 feet of clearance at the base of every tree. Take a look at your property and see how realistic it would be or the magnitude of the project to trim every limb to this height. Often, its quite a lot of work.
Terrain of your lawn. This will be a crucial factor in determining the direction this decision takes. Some factors will make using a tractor for mowing less practical, impractical, and even downright dangerous. And terrain is at the top of the list.
Risks to avoid when mowing include operating on steep grades and hills with a tractor due to the increased risk of rollover. When mowing weekly, you should alternate the direction of each pass. That means if your yard is on a steep grade, one week you mow top to bottom, the next on a diagonal, and the third, across the sidehill.
A tractor isn’t safe due to its higher center of gravity and rollover risk. You should always approach all inclines and grades, even seemingly minor ones, with the plan of climbing and descending all inclines in straight lines, avoiding climbing or descending any hills at angles.
The argument for a single use machine often involved comments such as the tractor with a mower would be “the Swiss army knife” of machines for completing many tasks. However, when was the last time you selected a Swiss army knife as the tool to complete a task? The simple reality is that, in theory, the Swiss army knife has great utility; however, its efficiency as a tool of choice is quite poor.
Time is really a crucial factor which must be considered
The reality of the decision about whether to mow with a tractor or spend the funds on a dedicated mower often comes down to the mowing time required with the tractor mower and its overall efficiency. Many mow with a tractor with a MMM because that is the equipment they own. However, when given the chance to try a dedicated mower for completing the task, many find that a quality dedicated mower can be significantly faster and more efficient than mowing with a tractor-mounted mower. It seems that for many, the realization that the right dedicated mower is a superior selection over a tractor-mounted mower occurs after the funds have been spent on the tractor-mounted mower and they have been mowing with the tractor mower for some time.
Other considerations include having the space to store a dedicated mower and the weekly time savings of using one. If the tractor’s mower is to be used, the tractor has to be reconfigured by removing the FEL or rear 3-point attachments, which are on the tractor for other tasks and projects. At that time, the issue must also be considered.
Often, when shopping for a new subcompact or compact tractor, typically those with an engine size under 40hp, the appeal of having one machine that can handle mowing and other small tractor duties is appealing. But is it really practical and the best choice for mowing with the new tractor and Mid Mount Mower? The most accurate answer is that for some people, the tractor is the best mowing choice; for others, it is not. The only way to truly know is by mowing the same property with both types of equipment.
Important considerations to keep in mind when selecting a new tractor and determining whether to use it for mowing include the following.
· Weight and maneuverability of the tractor for mowing
· Does your lawn and landscape accommodate the turning radius of the machine or is it too large?
· Will you need to remove the front-end loader and rear 3-point implements to mow?
· Test drive both the tractor with the mower mounted as well as the dedicated mower, so you have a good comparison of the operation of both.
· Make sure to compare the total cost of the mower with the mower deck, all attachment costs and any “auto-connect” type optional equipment. Often, the total cost of adding the mower to the tractor is more than anticipated.
For years, I mowed with a mid-mounted mower under my large diesel powered garden tractor. It was when the tractor needed mechanical repairs and we had trouble getting the replacement parts that I was offered the chance to try a commercial zero-turn mower to cut the lawn. I have to admit, it was a major eye-opening experience.
The sheer efficiency of the commercial zero-turn mower was hard to deny. The dedicated zero-turn mower could cut the grass much more quickly and with better results than I could with the mid mount mower on the lawn tractor. How much faster? I cut the mowing time down from two hours to one hour each week.
To make the best decision for you, you need to consider these factors carefully.
A. The terrain of the lawn and your mowing standard expectations.
B. Whether the new tractor you are considering has an enclosed cab.
C. The actual time to mow your property, start to finish, using both the tractor mid-mount mower and the use of a dedicated mower, such as a zero-turn.
D. The need for mulching, lawn debris collection, etc and the cost for these additional implements for the tractor as well as the dedicated mower
E. Storage space for both the tractor and a dedicated mower.
The “One fuel argument”.
At times, the owner of the tractor or the dedicated mower will comment about their desire to have “one fuel” on hand for their lawn care needs. Whether this fuel is gasoline or diesel fuel, both have similar handling concerns and storage requirements, and both require the addition of fuel supplements to treat fuel that will be stored in fuel containers for fueling these machines.
While having one fuel would seem to be easier, unless your area has a limited supply of diesel fuel sales locations, either gasoline or diesel fuel should be readily available. The truth is, whether the one fuel is diesel or gasoline really doesn’t make much of a difference. I personally use 80 to 100 gallons of gasoline per month for mowing. I use approximately 12 to 15 gallons of diesel fuel per month for the tractor. I buy the fuel in 6-gallon fuel jugs and treat both the diesel and the gasoline to help its stability for storage. I have another blog post on this topic scheduled to be published in the next few days.
Ensure the equipment you are comparing is properly aligned to make a fair comparison.
To ensure the equipment you are comparing is “fair and realistic,” I suggest using the cost of the Mid Mount Mower installed on the tractor as your starting point for selecting the separate mowing equipment to evaluate. If the cost of adding the mower to the tractor is $4,000 for the mower deck and another $1,800 for the connection equipment (Auto Connect, etc) , then the stand-alone mower you consider should have a similar purchase price for you to measure the difference fairly.
You can’t compare the mowing results of a $5,800 mowing deck option against a $20,000 commercial mower as clearly, the commercial mower is going to be a significantly better machine. Ensure that the values are comparable to make the results more relevant.
With that said, if you were to try a mid mount mower which cost $5,800 against a stand alone mower of similar value and find you prefer the mid mount mower, make sure you also determine whether or not you are going to need mulching kits, material collection systems for the mower or other options, as these can all rapidly escalate the price of the equipment once fully equipped.
The bottom line is to
· try to obtain test drives of the specific equipment you are interested in owning and see how you feel about their operation and the results they produce.
· Mowing your own property produces the most accurate information for you to consider.
There isn’t a “right answer” or “wrong answer”, because the questions being asked are going to vary based upon where they are used. Etc. You need to try both pieces of equipment for mowing your property and see your impressions of each piece of equipment’s capabilities and results for your property.
Often, the answer is obvious after the test mowing on your property.
Interestingly, most who try both their considered tractor with a mid-mount mower and then a dedicated mowing machine on their property come to a very clear conclusion. The debate seems to rage among those who haven’t tried both mowing methods and who have strong opinions about the equipment they own.
However, the moment they objectively try both the tractor and mid-mount mower, as well as a dedicated mowing machine for their property, I don’t know a single person who didn’t make a clear decision about which mowing method best suited their needs. For some, it's clearly the tractor-mounted mower. For others, having the dedicated mowing machine is unquestionably the best choice.
This is another reason why we encourage you to work with a local dealer on your equipment, allowing you to test-drive it on your property before making a purchase. Not all dealers offer delivery and test drives of equipment before purchase, but many do. Request the test drive; the worst that can happen is they deny your request.
Just remember, when it comes down to the actual purchase of the equipment, if the local dealer who allowed you to test drive machines before buying them has a slightly higher sales price than an online seller or another dealer who wouldn’t allow the test drive, the test drive is well worth paying a slightly higher price to buy the equipment. After all, there are costs associated with the dealer providing the test drive equipment, but there is truly no better way to decide which equipment is right for you. Reward the dealer who provides the best service with your business. Don’t let the lowest price solely drive your purchase decision.
Interestingly, I have found those who are uncertain about which mowing equipment is best for them are usually those who haven’t tried both pieces of equipment on their property. Having taken the time to consider this issue, you are more likely to end up with the equipment that best suits YOUR mowing needs. And in the end, that’s what matters the most.
If we can help answer any questions you might have on this or any other tractor-related topic, please feel free to contact us.