I need a good riding lawn mower that I can also use with a cart for picking up rocks & sticks. What is the best one? I don't have a lot of grass, so a 42" blade would be big enough. Thanks

I don't know if ill be any help but I run a lawn care service and have used alot of different mowers. Gravley and Dixon mowers held up better than any. They are little more expensive though. My advice is to spend the extra money and buy something that will hold up.

Thanks jsand. Pardon me while I highjack my own thread.....
I'm trying to combine a lawn mower/bushhog and small tractor. I went and looked at a new Kubota B2620HSD today, It's 26HP, power
sterring, 4WD, with Loader and 4' bushhog for $14,500. Add in tax and insurance & no down payment & no interest for 42 months = $363/mo and free delivery. Can get a scrapper blade for $500, but plan to talk them out of that. I don't have much grass to cut, and will probably get far more use out of the bush hog. What do y'all think? He had something similar (about 10 years old) for about $10k. I talked to a local who had one and he liked it, but worried about it turning over - not good...
Thanks, Randy

If you already have an ATV, those trail (pull behind) mowers are awfully nice. You can get a 42"-60" rough of finish type pretty cheap.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200311307_200311307

If you don't have an ATV, they're awfully versatile. Especially the 2 across seating type.

I just bought a 22 John Deere and it is a mean machine. As they say nothing runs like a Deere or cost like a Deere. I love it and you can get lawn stuff for it like wagons, spreaders etc. I bought it because I can get good local service. No matter what kind of lawn tractor you buy it is eventually gonna need some sort of service so keep that in mind. I have heard of people buying them at Home Depot and turned in to a nightmare when they need some service on it.

Randy, check around for others like Kubota and Case. They are more affordable. If you put the liquid in the rear tires, it cuts down on the danger as long as you stay sober when you get on it. Use the ROPS for life and maiming insurance.

I think you will get a lot more use out of a small tractor than a mower. I can no longer imagine living without a front end loader. It is my back saver.

Thanks guys,
bobad, I don't have an ATV, I use an old '70 Datsun truck instead, but I think I'll sell it and get an ATV. I would use it a lot more than the truck, and I really like the mower attachment idea you suggested. heybud, the Kubota & JD dealerships are both about the same distance from me, but I agree about the service consideration.
Dave, I really do want the tractor, and everyone I've talked to says the same thing that you did about the loader.
I'm going out of town for a few days and will probably decide when I get back. I hope I talk myself into the tractor.

Randy, FWIW, I have 2 of each and consider the ATV's indispensible. However, I have no experience with the pull behind mowers and they sound like another lawn mower to maintain. I actually pull a small, heavy duty, trailer with my 400cc Yamaha when hauling loads of corn and ladder for deer feeders.

My JD with the FEL is about 6 years old and still doesn't have over 400 hours on it. And, I use it as a Farm tractor. Last weekend, my wife got on the tractor and lifted me and a chain saw to trim big branches on oak trees. ASAP, I need to hook up the mower to clobber a whole bunch of thistles that are trying to take over.

One thing to consider is depreciation. Small tractors with loaders seem to always hold their value. ATV's depreciate by 50% when they leave the dealership.

I couldn't get along without both. I would probably go with the tractor and keep my eye out for a gently used, adult ridden, ATV. Both seem to get stolen pretty quickly if you aren't real vigilant.

I second the tractor. I'm on my 3rd one. Just bought a 46hp Kubota with loader and 6' finishing mower. I would never be without a tractor and loader. Resale value was awesome on the 2 I sold at 600hrs. Owning them was like renting for ~$2 a day, or operating them for ~$5 an hour. Plus fuel.

I have the ATV and Swisher Rough Cut (similar to the one in the link above) mower combination. I really like the Swisher mower, I bought the one with the most powerful motor and it will cut through some fairly thick brush. In California we get Manzanita brush which is notoriously tuff stuff. My swisher will demolish a small to medium size plant. For the most part if the ATV can run over it the Swisher will cut it up. So I give the Swisher two thumbs up.

ATVs are great to go from one place to another and carry people and light to medium loads (a dumping bed in an ATV is a great feature).

All that being said if I had to do it over again I would buy a smaller tractor first. There are just too darn many things that you can do with a tractor that are much more difficult (if not impossible) to do with an ATV.

Take a look at tractorbynet.com forums for more information than you ever will need about tractors.

Get a tractor with a loader and a box scraper for the 3 pt. You can do a lot of damage with that combination! I've got a 1969 Ford 4000 and it's a workhorse. During the winter, I put a snowblade on the loader and a 78" snowblower on the back. My wife,Kat,just bought a Club Car utility cart with a dump box for working around the property. 2 rider mowers handle 5 acres of grass.

Wow Dave ..... you actually got in the bucket of the FEL and let the wife at the controls. She must be really great. My wife doen't have that short of memory from "stuff" I have said or done to ever get me in the bucket.

There were a couple of times when she showed her lack of understanding about the controls. No contusions other than the ones I caused from my own stupidity.

Gotta admit that being 10 ft in the air with a running chain saw is no time to have a neophyte at the controls. Nor is it a good time to have a careless old goat in the air.

I second the Swisher mower. I have the 60 inch cut I bought used for $650 and love the way it cuts. If you use a ATV make sure it's water cooled and has a fan. My Honda gets pretty hot but the fan keeps everything in check.