riding lawn mowers

[Punatang]

I had a Hustler Zero Turn not too long ago. It had the "fabricated deck" that leilanidude advises. It means the deck is welded and not stamped. Much stronger. Hustler also guaranteed the deck and they indeed replaced mine free of charge. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot that can go wrong. LOTS of DIY! Based on your solenoid advice I would suggest you consider alternatives.

Here is one and maybe you can help start something beautiful. Looking around kaleos, I see a bunch of folks who are going to have a hard time maintaining an acre. If not now then very soon. Makes me wonder why so many people want that acre of yard to maintain. Since it's zoned ag and since food is so expensive here, is there any way you could parcel off part of your grounds and either use or lease that for actual ag use? Maybe you, or a young couple in the neighborhood could use half or a quarter of your acre for a veggie plot or a greenhouse or something? I see cottage food offerings popping up all over HPP. Imagine being able to get everything you really need without ever leaving the park. Imagine not ever having to worry about barges stopping or pandemics. Maybe the problem (mowing ag land) is the solution?

[kalianna]

Uh... we have planted our acre with dozens of fruit trees, ornamentals, native plants and perennial vegetables. It is most definitely used for "actual ag use". Weʻd rather spend our time weeding, pruning and planting than maneuvering a lawn mower through all of this. Your suggestion for "a veggie plot" is condescending and not at all helpful.

[leilanidude]

Uh... we have planted our acre with dozens of fruit trees, ornamentals, native plants and perennial vegetables.  It is most definitely used for "actual ag use".  Weʻd rather spend our time weeding, pruning and planting than maneuvering a lawn mower through all of this.  Your suggestion for "a veggie plot" is condescending and not at all helpful.

A zero turn mower is very easy and quick to maneuver around trees and with the deck up front can get really close up to things. While my lot in Leilani is technically an acre, after subtracting out house, driveway, flower garden areas, etc. I probably only mow just over 1/2 acre. It takes me less than 20 minutes. When I had a John Deere garden tractor with 43" deck, it took 40 minutes and didn't get near as well around/close to trees.

[Punaperson]

I'm with terracore's suggestion on this.

After factoring the $ to initially buy, regular maintenance , and the stress of when something breaks, sometimes it makes more sense to hire someone else to do the job. As I age, the DIY aspect loses some of its appeal. I call it reality.

Depending on who you find to hire, it sounds like you might be in the position to trade some of your fruits/veges instead of some of the cash.

[HiloJulie]

As we too both age, my husband and I agree that eventually, our riding tractor will succumb and die as well as my just 15-year-old grandson no longer finding that cutting the lawn is as "neat" and/or as "cool" as I've led him to believe it is!

I am wondering if anyone has ever tried one of these?

I'm thinking the 450X or 450XH model (cutting height being the difference between the 2 models) We have just over an acre of lawn to cut and this claims it's good to 1.25 acres. 

Only roadblock I have right now is no shipping to Hawaii.

https://www.husqvarna.com/us/robotic-lawn-mowers/

Or there is this "redneck" - or, one could say "Punatik" model:

https://youtu.be/b-DP_VeNAR4?si=dOHB_x1OceUsosvF

But this one has me almost ready to whip out my credit card:

https://youtu.be/T-0wTjeldeo?si=x7E1RoUWapYsVoPP

[Punatang]

Uh... we have planted our acre with dozens of fruit trees, ornamentals, native plants and perennial vegetables.  It is most definitely used for "actual ag use".  Weʻd rather spend our time weeding, pruning and planting than maneuvering a lawn mower through all of this.  Your suggestion for "a veggie plot" is condescending and not at all helpful.

Uh...your original post stated that your acre is "mostly grass". Your response was rude and childish.

[Rob Tucker]

Shipping to Hawaii isn't that big a deal.  It's not free though.  Have it shipped to DHX in Long Beach.  They will containerize it and ship it to your island.

[Durian Fiend]

Another option is to not mow at all, or mow very little. My latest strategy is to mow in the fall sometime and then let it go for rest of the year. Grass doesn't grow much in winter.
This method can be accomplished by either hiring the job out or, of course, doing it yourself. I bought a Billy Goat brush hog to mow since the grass can become too tall in places for a conventional mower. It's possible that one of the higher quality commercial riding mowers could handle the tall stuff, IDK.

A friend on PFR has essentially the same approach that's more labor intensive and less expensive. She only uses a scythe for cutting the grass. No, she's not a young lady! Early 60's I believe.

A brush hog is more heavy duty than the riders, with less moving parts. Expensive? Yes, but got it on sale at Garden X. For a small area immediately around the house I semi regularly keep it cut short with a standard walk behind lawn mower.

[terracore]

We use sheep. The downside is that they don't limit themselves to the grass.

[My 2 cents]

One added attraction of a rider, any kind, is that you can get a trailer/wagon for it.  They generally hold at least 3 times what you can get into a wheelbarrow and will get from place to place while you rest in the seat.  I probably use mine that way more than for actually mowing.