Riding mower deck size

not sure about that. a service is about $60 every two weeks and that's without all the frills, just a grass cut. My neighbors pay about $3k a year with all the frills and talking about .4 acres or less of mowable land.

 

I had a box store 42" John Deere riding mower that I used on .5 acres. Did the job well and quickly, but it wasn't really anything to write home about. Bought it for $500 on craigslist and sold it for $500 five years later.

 

yes you can cut "more" lawn with a larger deck but, you cant get into tight areas, and corners the larger you go. that makes for more trimming. get the largest deck you can without needing to trim, or you will be buying a push mower and or weed whacker and adding more time to the lawn.

i mow over 2.5 acres with a 52" deck zero turn in about an hour, came from a 48" deck garden tractor, that took me close to 2 hours. dealer was pushing for the larger 60" deck, i wanted a 48 to match my current striping patterns, etc... they were out of 48" decks, settled on the 52", that still meant every 12 passes i "got a free pass"/ whereas the 60, i would have gotten one every 4 passes. with the 52 i still need to trim quite a bit.

also if you have holes, obstacles, undulating terrain, the bigger mowers "miss" quite a bit of "lawn", and or scalp more. leave the large decks for golf courses, ball parks, and commercial outfits.
you will thank us later.

Ski

 

Richie, don’t accept that. 3ft. Screw drivers at dawn!

 

No service will meet my quality expectations, nor will they give me that moment I crack open a beer & survey my perfect lawnscaping.

 

This is why I can't really go bigger than 42" deck. I have 1.4 acres with a lot of growth (palm trees/scrub, pine trees, pepper trees) and a lot of undulating terrain. Anything bigger and I'd be scalping a lot of areas and have to do a lot more edging.

I'm slowly trying to clear some of the younger growth out, and may make an investment at some point to level out portions of the yard with fill, but for now I'm just trying to maintain it to a degree where it doesn't start swallowing my home. It's a lot of damn work, and really taxing during Florida summers when the growth is much more rapid.

 

I have already cracked open 4 or 5 before you have cracked open your first while I watch my service cut it.

 

42” is fine. However, if the chassis size you’re looking at has a 54” offering, go with that. The additional width allows more trimside overhang, which is really nice to have. If the deck is the same width as the drive tires, you have no overhang for trimming. However, if you’re on very uneven terrain, less overhang is better to mitigate scalping. The 54” is ~29% wider, so it’s quite a bit quicker mowing time. The 42” should be a twin-blade and the 54” a triple-blade. Three blades will leave a nicer finish and better handle discharge material, as will high-lift blades.

Above all, I hope you’re looking at a zero-turn. That’ll save more time than deck width. My 42” ZTR outmows a 60” diesel lawn tractor, on the same property.

I have a 30” Toro TimeMaster, 42” Hustler FasTrak, and 60” Hustler X-ONE.

 

I purposely bought a walk behind so I would be made to get a bit of exercise.

 

I have a little less than an acre with about 10 trees and a bunch of other stuff to mow around. Bought a 42" ZTR off craigslist and I'm glad I didn't go any bigger. Definitely a time saver vs. a lawn tractor.

 

Does that help when you notice that Hose A missed a stripe with the mower and Hose B didn't weedwhack around the airconditioner?

 

Doesn’t bother me in the least, they will get it next week.

 

Are these Hose A and Hose B twin brothers? Probably are and their Mom has no legs, her name was Consqello...

 

Nothing more amusing than watching a bunch of guys in a deck measuring contest.

 

<<<66"

 

Hustler Super Z?

 

You sure you don’t want to enter the fray to see how your deck measures up against the other deck holders?

 

You are the guy On a Quest For Deck.

 

Swisher tow behind. About to be replaced with a 72" Toro Groundsmaster.

 

No. A French moderator has it out for me for some reason.