Riding Mower, Lawn Tractor, Garden Tractor????

[Stevedore]

So we're planning to move to a new home which will likely have more property. We've lived at our little .2 acre property 1500sq ft house for almost 39 years, and despite our ages (70/67), we decided to "upsize" for a few years.

The houses we're looking at are on 2-4 acre lot sizes. In most cases, a lot of that is lawn which would need to be mowed. So I'm researching riding mowers, etc.

Should I look at just a riding mower, or should I look at the various residential tractors that are available? Some have steering wheels (easier to hold beer while mowing), but some have the dual lever driving/steering deal (like driving an army tank, woohoo). I have a relatively new Ariens 28" snowblower, but with more driveway to clear (a good possibility), something to ride on might be nice, i.e., a snowblower attachment on a garden tractor.

Standard riding mower, zero-turn, tractor, hydrostatic drive, attachments, etc., etc., etc.; my head hurts.

[snide]

I'd say wait until you buy your new home/property before you decide what you need.

And if you're looking for 4 acres, my 2500 sqft, 4 bedroom house is for sale. And yes, I have 4+ acres of land.

[Stevedore]

Originally Posted by snide

I'd say wait until you buy your new home/property before you decide what you need.

And if you're looking for 4 acres, my 2500 sqft, 4 bedroom house is for sale. And yes, I have 4+ acres of land.

Well, that would be the sensible thing to do, but where's the fun in that? Besides, I may have no money left by then.

Some of the places we've looked at have had 4 acres, but I don't want that unless most of it is wooded. And around here, the price gets up there; $600K+.

But if you're in the Long Valley, NJ, area, I'd be happy to take a look...

[Brett K]

Originally Posted by Stevedore

So we're planning to move to a new home which will likely have more property. We've lived at our little .2 acre property 1500sq ft house for almost 39 years, and despite our ages (70/67), we decided to "upsize" for a few years.

The houses we're looking at are on 2-4 acre lot sizes. In most cases, a lot of that is lawn which would need to be mowed. So I'm researching riding mowers, etc.

Should I look at just a riding mower, or should I look at the various residential tractors that are available? Some have steering wheels (easier to hold beer while mowing), but some have the dual lever driving/steering deal (like driving an army tank, woohoo). I have a relatively new Ariens 28" snowblower, but with more driveway to clear (a good possibility), something to ride on might be nice, i.e., a snowblower attachment on a garden tractor.

Standard riding mower, zero-turn, tractor, hydrostatic drive, attachments, etc., etc., etc.; my head hurts.

If you have 2-4 acres to mow, you want a zero turn with a big deck!

[snide]

Originally Posted by Stevedore

Well, that would be the sensible thing to do, but where's the fun in that? Besides, I may have no money left by then.

Some of the places we've looked at have had 4 acres, but I don't want that unless most of it is wooded. And around here, the price gets up there; $600K+.

But if you're in the Long Valley, NJ, area, I'd be happy to take a look...

We're in a better location: New Hampshire. And the asking price is much less than $600K. Taxes are much lower here too.

[Black94lt1]

Originally Posted by snide

We're in a better location: New Hampshire. And the asking price is much less than $600K. Taxes are much lower here too.

Is there still no sales tax in NH? My sister lived there in the early 90s, no sales tax but made it up in property tax

[Black94lt1]

I prefer a traditional lawn/garden tractor but I only have about an acre to mow. As for the snow blower, I use a 24" Ariens for my 150 foot long driveway which goes from 10' wide at the road to 30' wide at the house and it works great

[markids77]

You can buy a lot of lawn service for the price of a premium lawn tractor or zero turn. That would also leave both hands free... one for the beer, and one for the snack while you watch the "help" sweat.

[JRD77VET]

I would suggest a garden tractor for what you need. I'm a big Cub Cadet fan but not so much of the new ones.

I would suggest either a garden tractor ( GT ) or a super garden tractor (SGT ). The difference between the two is wheelbase, height and horsepower. You would also have a choice between gas or diesel power.

You could get something with 60" mower deck and a 45" two stage snowblower. ( single stage are snowthrowers and two stage are snowblowers)

If you decide something like this may be what you want, I can get more info from the Only Cub cadet forum for you ( I'm " Jeff in Pa" over there and make parts for the Cub Cadets )

Here's my 1968 Cub Cadet 125 ( 12 hp. hydrostatic drive and hydraulic lift ) powering a QA-42 ( 42" ) single stage snow thrower clearing my driveway with 12" of snow. I now have a soft cab for it and have cleared snow that was as high as the hood .

1968 Cub Cadet 125 with QA-42 snow thrower - YouTube

[MrPeabody]

Hire illegal aliens to cut your lawn.

[snide]

Originally Posted by Black94lt1

Is there still no sales tax in NH? My sister lived there in the early 90s, no sales tax but made it up in property tax

No sales tax, except on restaurant meals. Home sales have a 1% transfer tax that is paid by both the buyer and seller - 1% each.

Property taxes can be high, but the tax rates depend on the town. Vehicle registrations can be high for expensive cars, which makes up for the lack of a sales tax on the purchase of that car.

[Stevedore]

Thanks for the replies.

I've definitely given some thought to transitioning lawn care into the "things I pay people to do" category as I get older, but I probably have a few more years left of doing it myself.

I do like the idea of some sort of tractor with a snowblower attachment, assuming that I'll have enough driveway to make it worthwhile, as compared to continuing to use my current blower. We'll see.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by snide

No sales tax, except on restaurant meals. Home sales have a 1% transfer tax that is paid by both the buyer and seller - 1% each.

Property taxes can be high, but the tax rates depend on the town. Vehicle registrations can be high for expensive cars, which makes up for the lack of a sales tax on the purchase of that car.

Don't forget that NH does not have an income tax.

They do tax interest and dividends over 4,000.00

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Brett K

If you have 2-4 acres to mow, you want a zero turn with a big deck!

That's OK if you will only mow the lawn. If you plan on doing other yard work and need to use the tractor to tow or dig then it's not the best option.

[CeeFour]

I used to have lawn tractors with snowblower attachments. Tire chains are a must-have with these. With my asphalt driveway, I quickly had dig marks from the chains all over the driveway. Switching from mower deck to snow attachments and installing / removing chains can be a pain. The only advantage I can see is you don't have to heft around a cumbersome 2-stage walk behind blower.

I now have a couple of 2-stage walk behinds that do the job for me. Easy to get out, you can use them without chains so no driveway damage, no need to switch attachments. I'll use these until I can't heft them around anymore.

If you do get a tractor / blower setup don't cheap out. When you get the weight of a blower up front you need good axles / steering and a light frame pressed steel front axle won't cut it.

[JRD77VET]

Originally Posted by CeeFour

I used to have lawn tractors with snowblower attachments. Tire chains are a must-have with these. With my asphalt driveway, I quickly had dig marks from the chains all over the driveway. Switching from mower deck to snow attachments and installing / removing chains can be a pain. The only advantage I can see is you don't have to heft around a cumbersome 2-stage walk behind blower.

I now have a couple of 2-stage walk behinds that do the job for me. Easy to get out, you can use them without chains so no driveway damage, no need to switch attachments. I'll use these until I can't heft them around anymore.

If you do get a tractor / blower setup don't cheap out. When you get the weight of a blower up front you need good axles / steering and a light frame pressed steel front axle won't cut it.

Chains with no wheel weights are next to worthless. Loaded ( filled ) tires and/or wheel weights make a major difference in traction.