Help me buy a ride on mower

TLRD; We’ve bought a house with a big garden, is something like the husqvarna 214TC going to be ok?

My wife and I have recently moved from our small gardened suburban semi to a bungalow in the country. It’s come with quite the epic garden (at least by our previous standards!). It’s split into two sections with a lower piece that is about 75m by 18m and then a much large bit up round a bit of a corner which is about 130m x 30m. The two bits are separated by a line of beech trees. Currently both bits are surrounded by trees with the lower bit having several fruit trees scattered about, other than the fruit trees and surrounding trees it’s all grass. The whole thing is on a bit of an incline maybe 10-15m over the entire length (total guess – no more than that). It’s on clay soil.

Our basic plan is to more or less rewild the top bit – which will involve planting some native trees (hazel, apple etc) and having something of a wild flower / hay meadow type thing (the wife is the gardener not me!). This is probably going to involve not mowing it.

The bottom bit we intend to keep as lawn – we may take down a few surrounding trees that aren’t attractive and cast a lot of shade (there is also a sliver birch that is too close to the house that has to go). The lawn needs a fair amount of work (a good amount of moss), so following the fix my lawn threads with interest.

So to the point of this thread, my 80 quid plug in mower from B&Q is not going to cut it, so I’ve been eying up ride on mowers (the previous owner had one but took it with him). I think given the number of trees in the lower lawn, one of the mowers that cuts out front will be better than the ‘garden tractor’ type design (the sort that cuts under where you sit). This led me to look at Husqvarna rider mowers, as they have a cool articulated design that looks quite practical.
Currently thinking of the R 214TC (https://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/riders/r-214tc/967846901/) which seems to get good reviews and will probably do the job. Semi tempted by the R 216TC (https://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/riders/r-216t-awd/967847101/) which has the advantage of being 4 wheel drive and the disadvantage of costing a grand and a half more once you factor in the cutting deck.

Other than cutting the lawn I plan to get a trailer and use it to take material (my wifes bee stuff, and also lots of wood to where I’m going to build a shed and pagoda) around the garden.
So – any advice to offer? I’m sort of inclined to just buy the 214TC rather than doing my normal researching the hell out of it! So many jobs to be getting on with! I guess my main worries are 2 wheel drive won’t cope with wet grass on clay – tho given most tractors are RWD I’m guessing this isn’t really that big a concern.

Bit I intend to mow fairly ofter:

Top bit we intend to ‘rewild’ / only cut a couple of times a year and stick some native trees in.

Whatever you buy, new or s/h makes sure you’ve a local dealer who’ll repair/service it.

And budget for an annual service.

Good point. There is a Husqvarna dealer nearby by the looks of things.

What intheborders says. We have a John Deere which I bought second hand. There’s a dealership down the road who will come out and fix and is good for parts. The annual service (oil/filter change) I do myself and get the 3 blades sharpened at about £12 each – learn how to take the deck off. Main drive belt snapped and was a pig to do so the dealer came out and sorted it. Have fun – nice looking garden.

I’d steer well clear of the cheap clones you see in the big DIY sheds. Go for one of the big names with local support. I had a Husky jobbie for 20 years with zero issues but I’m sure the others are just as good.

For a big garden, I really wanted one of the big Kuboto diesel twins rather than a pesky domestic jobbie. Our local Parish Council replace theirs every 3 years after lavishing care on them (and our Ratepayers £££’s). So secondhand might be an option if you can find a non abused/coddled example.

Nonda, Countax, Husky, John Deere (ye ha!) or Kuboto and I’m sure there are worthy others.

I have a similar sized plot and have had two Countax’s with sweeper decks and just recently bought a Husqvarna 214TC.

The Countax’s had the widest possible mowing platforms and were therefore very fast in mowing, but – emptying the grass cuttings slows things down considerably. They also were nothing like as manoeuvrable as the Husqvarna.

They Husqvarna is a delight by comparison – it is incredibly more manoeuvrable, you can cut very close in/right up to trees for example, the front-mounted mowing deck makes everything so much more visible, the ‘service mode’ (swing up) for the cutting deck means it is SO much easier to clean too.

However, being a composting type mower (blows the grass cuttings back into the grass) it needs to be mown more often… as if you leave it a while then cut it you will leave lots of dead grass lying on the top of the lawn. Not necessarily a problem, but something to be aware of.

Our 2wd version is ok on sloping land (like you, our garden is sloping and on clay) but I try not to cut it when wet (whatever the mower). As you’re towing trailers around you may wish to go for the 4wd version.

I would say get a triple blade deck, I had an old wheelhorse with 12hp and triple deck, it was bloody fantastic, then it got stolen and it was replaced with an 18hp twin deck supposedly a far superior machine, unfortunately it was total shite compared to the relic.

Go and speak to the husky dealer about an automower, unless you want to cut your grass forever. Also removes the need to get rid of cuttings.

And if your land is flat then the 2wd version should be ok…. ours is on a slope on clay and while I try not to cut it when wet my 2wd Husqvarna coped well enough.

Do you mean that the mower didn’t like it when it was wet due to the slope? Ours is certainly not flat – I probably won’t do much cutting when it’s wet, but might want to pull the trailer to the top conceivably. I don’t fancy emptying the grass cassette so the self mulching ones are attractive.

Thanks for all the advice so far 🙂

Are ride on mowers the new T5?

Ride on mowers, any advice.

Better than a T5…. only got one seat, they are a soft top, have a beer holder.

Stiga website has a tool for “sizing” a sit on mower.

Better than a T5…. only got one seat, they are a soft top, have a beer holder.

Even better, you can hack of the grass cutter, alter the motor height and make a great garden racer during lockdown. 👍🏼

Are ride on mowers the new T5?

There is zero chance that this thing will be not worth twice the value of my car 😀

By ‘rewild’ you do of course mean ‘pump track’, right?

Our basic plan is to more or less rewild the top bit – which will involve planting some native trees (hazel, apple etc) and having something of a wild flower / hay meadow type thing (the wife is the gardener not me!). This is probably going to involve not mowing it.

This sounds nice. Why not do more of this and less lawn? Less work for you, much better for wildlife and the environment. Also that pump track idea sounds good 🙂 … and a shed or two.

Beer holder, didn’t see that in the optional extras list. May need to google this.

At our previous house we had a significant amount of grass to mow – it was getting on for about an acre and a half.

I bought a second hand Stiga ride on mower which had a triple blade mulching cutting deck.

It was a cracking bit of kit and the mulcher deck blew the cut grass back into the lawn so no requirement to keep on emptying the grass onto an ever growing grass pile.

If I have a lawn in the future that is worthy of a ride on mower I’d get another Stiga.

The size of the lower bit doesn’t really make a ride on absolutely necessary but it would make life easier.
If you’re only going to cut the top bit a couple of times a year then I can guarantee that whatever you buy will NOT be able to cut it – the grass will simply be too long.
You have three options:
Cut it more often (i.e. quite a lot) but you’ll need a mower with a bigger cut than that Husky.
Regularly cut a path through it so you can walk around (you won’t be able to otherwise) and leave the rest – but it will look a mess after a couple of years and you’ll have issues with invasive weeds such as docks, thistles and ragwort (which you have a responsibility to remove).
Regularly cut a path through it and get a local farmer to take the grass for hay once or twice a year. This is what we do for one of our paddocks and it works well, but you need good access for large machinery.
Do not underestimate the amount grass grows and the time involved in its upkeep – I’m saying after 19 years of living with 6 acres of paddocks.

Re that Husky: obvs up to you but there’s no way I’d have a mower that only mulched. Mulching started in the US where they have grass types and climate better suited to mulching – in the UK it really only works for a couple of months a year. Trying to mulch long wet UK grass just doesn’t really work, especially in the spring.
Other points about that model: 100cm cut is too small and, looking at the pics of your lawn,you don’t need an articulated drive system.

Get something that can discharge onto the grass or can have a collector fitted. Diesel and power steering are all gamechangers.

As above. I had to mow ours every couple of weeks in order to keep on top of it. The novelty of the ride on mower soon wore off and was replaced by constant checking of the weather forecast to find a window of opportunity to cut the grass before it got too long for the mulcher to handle.

Regularly cut a path through it so you can walk around (you won’t be able to otherwise) and leave the rest – but it will look a mess after a couple of years and you’ll have issues with invasive weeds such as docks, thistles and ragwort (which you have a responsibility to remove).

This is our plan – cut a few paths in it with the ride on. I figured i’d need to get a petrol strimmer and spend a day cutting it a year? The access isn’t big enough to get a tractor or anything in there. Forgive a stupid question, but why have we got a responsibility to remove docks, thistles and ragwort?

Re: the time, yes, definently aware it’s going to get labourious and we may give up and pay someone to do it – will still be useful to be able to move things around the garden.

What would you suggest for a non-mulching mower?

I saw the thread title and read ‘Help me build a ride on mower’, and immediately thought of WCA

Forgive a stupid question, but why have we got a responsibility to remove docks, thistles and ragwort?

Ragworth is bad and can kill (Thistles and docks just look horrible!):
“Under the Weeds Act 1959, landowners/occupiers must control ragwort within risk areas for grazing or forage production. This means there is a legal obligation to remove ragwort where it’s growing on this land or there is a high risk of spread to it.”

Once it’s established it’s a shocker.

I figured i’d need to get a petrol strimmer and spend a day cutting it a year?

Hmmm.
130 x 30 = 3900sqm. At 1.5 mins/sqm it would take you 43 hours (a working week) to strim it once – and even then you’re left with the cut grass lying on top.

What would you suggest for a non-mulching mower?

IF you were to mow all of it regularly then pretty much anything will do – but bigger is always better….. obvs!
I bought a 6 year old John Deere X740 (22hp diesel commercial mower with power steering) with a 54″ side discharge deck. I can cut a 5900sqm paddock in 45 mins which is very acceptable – this will take a bit longer if the grass is long (i.e. first cuts of the year).
I have a powered collector for doing the lawn nicely and it also has a front loader for moving stuff around.
I’m not saying you should get one but it’s been brilliant and although it cost the same as that Husky (the x740 is >£10k new I think) it’s still worth the same 7 years on.

You need to do this with it.

130 x 30 = 3900sqm. At 1.5 mins/sqm it would take you 43 hours (a working week) to strim it once – and even then you’re left with the cut grass lying on top.

Hmmm, fair point. The problem i’ve got is that the side access isn’t massively wide. I think i’d get that husky down it (the other reason i want the articulated one) but nothing much larger. It backs onto a farms field but there’s a hedge and a fence in the way (not to mention I don’t know the farmer having moved in five days ago!).

So what we’re saying is, keep realitively on top of it, but it’ll be a disaster. Hmmm. This will not got down well with my rewilding wife!

The goat is a great suggestion. Seriously.

The problem i’ve got is that the side access isn’t massively wide.

That’s easily fixed. Seriously, don’t spend all that money on something with a poxy 36″ cut – allowing for overlap you’ll actually only be cutting 26-30″!!
Think about making the access better so that you can get some proper hardware in.
(I don’t understand why you’re so keen on articulated – AFAIA their only benefit is smaller turning circle for those who mow around a lot of trees….. i.e. a proper orchard.)

Or go with goats – which would be a laugh some of the time!

Unfortunately the house to the left will disagree that the access problem is easily fixed! I will do some detailed measuring this evening, I doubt i’ll get anything much wider than a meter and a bit down the side. I guess partial disassembly is an option (take the wide bit off).

The lower bit has a lot of trees on it, i wouldn’t quite call it an orchard, but there are quite a lot. The plan for the top bit is to also plant a load of stuff. I also figured the articulated nature would help get it into the back as there is a turn to negotiate.

Stihl or Husqvarna. Or John Deere if you are rich.

I’d go with sheep, goats or donkeys.