first lawn tractor, any tips?

[maverick06]

Well i bought my first lawn tractor, yep, a cheap one from lowes. Its a troy bilt pony, 17.5hp. After a 10% coupon and military discount the price was just a little higher than a used one on craigslist. For my 1/2 acre yard, it should be good, its what the neighbors all seem to use.

Anyways, its my first tractor, and I am looking for whatever mowing tips you have? Specifically slopes. The front yard is pretty steep, within the 15deg hill limit, but not by much, I measured the driveway at 11-12deg at the worst spot. So mow up and down, no big deal, the very not-busy street is at the bottom and driving onto and off of that isnt a big deal as there is nearly no curb. Took it for a spin today, sure felt a bit strange being on the lawn on it. Will take a while to get used to I think.

attached are 2 pictures, one is the front yard and the other is the back. The back is flat, but there is a small transition piece (far side) to get up top. I suspect I will have to get out the shovel and flatten it out a bit to get up to the top, not sure. The other is a picture (christmas obviously) its the best angle of the front of the house i found quickly. There is a big slope between the driveway and the lawn (you can only get the tractor onto the lawn (moving perpendicular to the slope) below the light post. But that levels out fast (2 passes with the push mower), then the lawn is just sloped front to back.

Any other tips or things I should consider? (Please omit the "you should have bought a XXXX " this was what fit the bill at this point in my life. it is what it is. If its wrong i will write back complaining in a few years. haha)

Thanks!

Rick

 

[BrotherBart]

1. Cut across the slope right to left and lean left in the seat.

2. Beer in the cup holder sloshes and goes flat.

 

[semipro]

Rear tire chains as discussed in a recent thread.

 

[fbelec]

agree with brotherbart that is how i do my front slope. you'll get used to leaning if 1: you have been on a motorcycle. 2: you try to turn up the hill and the machine stops.(rear tire towards top of the hill spinning) you lean toward the high side of the slope and you continue.

 

[velvetfoot]

The FIRST day I got mine I got it stuck at a corner on the slope of the back yard. Never since, but I put windshield washer fluid in the tires and rear wheel weights. I still haven't got an "ideal" pattern set in my head. I've been trying for concentric passes, discharging outwards so that it doesn't pile up in the middle, after a couple passes on the outside so too much grass doesn't wind up on the driveway. Of course, my lawns are irregularly shaped.

 

[gzecc]

Good luck with your troybuilt. I was given one by a customer of mine. He was fed up with it. He wasn't mechanically inclined and didn't have a way of getting it to a repair facility. He gave up and got a lawn service. When I got it, I needed to adjust the valves, fix a flat tire and replace bad gas. Just stay after it from a maintenance standpoint, read up on how to adjust the valves (its not hard), and don't abuse it. It will work well for cutting grass.
It was the newest lawn tractor I ever owned. I got it for free, fixed it up and sold it.

 

[coaly]

1. Get a trailer to haul wood

2. Get a Huskee 22 ton splitter at Tractor Supply

3. Install hitch to move splitter

 

[bmblank]

Mow once going one direction, then the next time you mow go 90° to that. And continue alternating.

 

[Freakingstang]

Mow once going one direction, then the next time you mow go 90° to that. And continue alternating.

why do you say that? I live out in the country and don't need a golf course looking pattern....


as others have said, I have a helluva ditch. I use chains all year round as well as proplelyne glycol in the rear tires. Winshield washer fluid has alcohol in it and will rot the tires.

 

[velvetfoot]

Winshield washer fluid has alcohol in it and will rot the tires.

Ooops. There I go again.

 

[Ashful]

Mow once going one direction, then the next time you mow go 90° to that. And continue alternating.

Yep. I have a pentagonal shaped property, and mow parallel to a different property line each time. It keeps the lawn from getting rutted, from using the same pattern week after week, year after year. It also makes the lawn look real nice, with criss-crossing stripes, but that's more a zero-turn thing than a lawn tractor thing. With a lawn tractor, it's tough to make sequential striped passes, so the best options are box pattern or interlaced stripes (think TV scan pattern). The interlaced stripes is preferred, gives you the striping effect of a zero turn, still allows you to alternate patterns (moves the ruts / turn damage around), and so that's how I'd go with a lawn tractor.

In either case, do your first two passes around the perimeter of the property, with the chute pointed into the center of the property (to keep clippings off the street and your neighbor's lawn). Then either start your interlaced stripes, or work your box pattern outside to inside with the chut pointed outward. Just skip any areas too slopey for the tractor, and get them later with the push mower.

Filling the tires is one way to deal with the slope, but will make them feel and ride harder, as there's less air volume in the tire to compress. A better option for most is cast iron wheel weights. They also sell concrete wheel weights, but they're usually too light to be useful for much (think 35 lb. concrete vs. 50 lb. each for iron). The point either way is to lower your center of gravity / reduce likelihood of rollover. Anyone with a new machine always feels like they're going to roll it at first, but you'll quickly get used to exactly where the tipping point lies. Lawn tractors are pretty darn stable, compared to other tractors.

I second getting a trailer to pull behind it. My current favorite is this little job: link.

edit: If you do fill your tires with liquid, RimGuard is the preferred non-corrosive antifreeze solution for tubeless tires. Again, not the best option on a dedicated lawn machine. Wheel weights will do a better job on most lawn tractors.

 

[Freakingstang]

Ooops. There I go again.

It won't for a few years.. lawn tractor tires are relatively cheap anyways. Those stupid 35lb composite wheel weights they sell are a joke anyways.

I built a rear receiver for my Kubota G1900 (real lawn mower/garden tractor, no pto or three point). I use it to move trailers and also have a weight box I slid into the rear when I put the plow on the front.


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[bmblank]

It just keeps the repetition down. Helps prevent running tire tracks into the ground, blowing city grass in the same spot over and over. Plus if you have a tenancy to miss anything this is a good way to make sure it's got. Plus it breaks up some of the monotony.

 

[Ashful]

Interesting to see a new way to abuse the rear end of that little Kubota G1900, but I'm not sure what any of that has to do with owning or mowing a lawn with a Troy Bilt Pony. My only question is, with that nice old compact parked behind it (I spy a cat.1 three-point hitch?), why bother putting all that gear on the Kubota?

I would NOT recommend doing any of that with a Troy Bilt Pony.

 

[Freakingstang]

Interesting to see a new way to abuse the rear end of that little Kubota G1900, but I'm not sure what any of that has to do with owning or mowing a lawn with a Troy Bilt Pony. My only question is, with that nice old compact parked behind it (I spy a cat.1 three-point hitch?), why bother putting all that gear on the Kubota?

I would NOT recommend doing any of that with a Troy Bilt Pony.

Abuse? hardly. Because I had the Kubota long before I got my mini tractor. BTW, the G1900 is not abused. you could get one with a 3 point hitch (1K option). you could put a direct drive tiller on it, as well as plenty of other factory Kubota attachments. They even made a rear weight bar that is the same thing I have, but uses suit case weights. counterweights (within reason) are not going to break the tractor in half...

I suppose a loader on a small tractor is abuse too?

100-200 lbs of weight on the ass with my 160lb butt is not different than a 300 lb man mowing his lawn

 

[Highbeam]

If you mow the same way every time for years, then try and mow it backwards one day. Weird stuff happens. The grass will have been trained to lay a certain way and going against the grain might not give you a nice look.

I have a riding lawn mower. Tractors are not cheap from lowes. Mine is a craftsman from sears, pretty bottom of the line, and has been a very dependable machine for mowing an acre. I bag every bit of it.

 

[begreen]

Our property is largely sloped, some of it fairly steeply. In springtime, fresh grass and lots of rain makes it like mowing on a greased sheet. I put chains on the ole Craftsman and have not slipped once since. The ride is a bit lumpier, but the traction is great.

 

[PapaDave]

Yep, tire chains year round. I alternate based on where I start mowing. Once it grows back, you can't tell anyway.
Well, here that is.
Water cup in the holder sloshes everywhere, but doesn't go flat.
Put a top on it, so grass and bugs don't get in.....they will get in if you don't.
I put a spinner on the steering wheel.
I must be quite a sight while mowing the ditch.......leaning the opposite way, ready to jump and hoping the tractor doesn't grab me when it flips.
The roadside of the ditch is too steep so gets weed whacked, push mowed, or just left to grow to it's full glory (where it's at now).
If you store it outside under a lean-to, or in a shed where mice get in......arm yourself. The little bastages got under the motor cowling and chewed the coil wires.......twice.
They fried (literally) once I got it running.
Same thing just happened on the push mower, but no chewed wires yet.

 

[Sprinter]

I second getting a trailer to pull behind it. My current favorite is this little job: link.

I have this same trailer as well and I like it a lot. Be careful not to pull more weight than your mower allows. Hydrostatic transmissions can be damaged with too much stress.

 

[begreen]

So can people!

 

[Sprinter]

For a half acre, your mower will do fine. I had a bottom of the line Craftsman for two acres in the 90's and it lasted for about 7 years of rough use, although I did have to weld on it a few times. If the turf is rough, go slow or it will beat the thing to death. You'll know.

 

[fbelec]

good luck with your machine. they are great tools. i pull my 4 x 8 trailer with it with at least a half cord of green wood on it and it doesn't even sweat. also i have a drop spreader for it and a dethatcher and airater. the machine will cut your time down doing lawn work in a big way.

 

[pyroholic]

Got this the other day at TSC. Bolts into the hitch pin hole and provides a ball up top (for the splitter), a hole for the yard trailer, and two cleats for a rope or chain(not sure how much is use that on my little cub, but maybe on a bigger ride). Seems well made... So far.

 

[pyroholic]

Here is the package for anyone looking for one. In the mower section, not the trailer/towing section at Tsc.

 

[Ashful]

good luck with your machine. they are great tools. i pull my 4 x 8 trailer with it with at least a half cord of green wood on it and it doesn't even sweat. also i have a drop spreader for it and a dethatcher and airater. the machine will cut your time down doing lawn work in a big way.

Careful, there... you can definitely pull a little utility trailer around with a lawn tractor. Not much sweat, there. But an aerator is a whole other ball of wax. Lawn tractors are not designed to pull aerators, and you can easily overheat a hydro unit (or worse) on a typical lawn tractor, doing so.