Anyone have experience with a mower that pulls behind your ATV? The wife and I are in the process of buying our first house, which is on 2 acres so we are going to need something more than a regular push mower. My first thought was to just get a lawn tractor, but since we already have the ATVs I got to thinking maybe I should just get a tow behind mower.

Just wondering if anyone here has used this type of mower and what your thoughts are on them.

Something like this is what I was thinking of:

Swisher Trailmower — 44in. Cutting Width, 11.5 HP, Model# T11544 | Lawn Mowers | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

We sold a bunch of Swisher mowers down here from 8 hp up to 20 hp and most of the people liked them! The major problem any were brought in for was the delicate wiring plate by the kill switch that wires could short out from vibration,belts held up good for the most part. Any owners out there can give you their experiences with them since we just repaired em! OPT

 

ATV Shows
My good friend likes his Swisher Mower.


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I bought this one for our resort and after usung if for one year I would highly reccommennd it.

It's going to get a lot closer to everything than a pull behind and the hydrostatic trans is awesome.

 

i would think for the price of some of them you could buy a good zero turn mower which would do a better job i would think. also if you have the wrong tires on the bike it will be hard on the lawn by digging up the grass. just a thought.

 

I have been using a Swisher roughcut mower (bush-hog) for about 8yrs. We have a hunting lease in Ga. It has held up great for what I put it through. When they say it will cut a 2in tree...BS. With a better belt and more Hp it will do larger...hehehe If I can push the tree over with my 4wheeler than I can cut it. Have had to reinforce the deck for the hub assy mounting,reinforce all hitch pieces,now have 18hp engine.
Would think you would be better off with a zero turn mower.You could do a closer trim job on the lawn.Remember that means less weed-eating. A wife does not have no understanding when you mow down their flowers. As mentioned before, also it will not tear the lawn up with the tires.

 

I've got the 60" model, it's been reliable, but if I mow sections fo the yard that I let go too long, it will throw the belt once in awhile, but it is supposed to be the finish mower version, so it's not really built for cutting the heavier stuff like the 44" model is. I would like it better if it cout lower to the ground, and the height adjustment turnbuckles were made too light and broke/bent in short order. It's also got more blade width than it has motor for the thicker grass and weeds, I mow 3 acres with it and my lawn borders cropland on 2 sides, so the fireweed gets pretty heavy on the edges, and I have to creep and stop along while I'm in that or it will kill the motor. The only real advantage I can see to having the pull type mower is riding the ATV makes it seem like less work. If you have a wide open yard with no obstacles and it's flat and even, I would say go for it, you'll love it! If you have high spots and low spots and buildings, poles, etc to mow around, I'd go with a ZTR, it's a few more bucks, but it would save you time and do a better job....these newer ride on mowers all have beer holders on them now too, which is a plus!

 

I knew someone would mention the beer holder on the riding mowers! Can't do without mine! Except it usually holds a Pepsi can! I agree with Oldsman,my next riding one is going to be a ztr,tired of it taking me close to 3 hrs to mow. The Swishers we sold were for the most part for people that had acreage or just brush lots and we even had one at the shop for mowing our property,but as mentioned,didn't cut as low as we wanted,BUT we already had the atvs OPT

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I'd love to have a zero turn mower, but that's just not in the budget right now. Being our first house, pretty much all of our cash is going to the down payment, closing costs, etc. Plus we have to get a washer and dryer, some furniture, and make a few minor repairs to the house. (It's a HUD home) I could get financing for one, but I don't want to be putting too much stuff on credit. Maybe in a couple years after we have some other bills paid off.

I've been looking on Craigslist and there are tons of people selling lawn tractors for pretty cheap so I'll probably just end up going that route for now. I also saw a couple of these ATV mowers for around $500. We're also trying to get her grandparents to part with one of their lawn tractors. They have 3 of them and they hardly ever get used, but they don't like getting rid of anything.

 

These things are basically a trailer, great for wide open spaces, but hard to manouveur. A dedicated mower might be your better bet, depending on any obstacles you may have.

 

Be VERY careful on used lawn equipment unless it's fairly new or you can tell it's been treated well! Usually if like mine,it's rode hard and put up wet! I think lawn equipment is the worst treated of all machinery(after talking to some small engine techs)! Good luck on the new home,been there, done that,I know it's hard at first! OPT