Lawn mowers: so I'm prepared the day I win the lottery, what is the best riding mower

[hedgehog]

out there for very uneven ground with lots of hills and corners?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. My 1976 Gravely 812 has been cutting my very steep yard for 28 years with no problems at all.

That's not me and its not my tractor ..... just a picture found on the internets. but it is identical to mine. I got it in 1980, when it was four years old. There is one spot in my back yard, where a tree was removed and the roots have rotted and caused the ground to sink, that is about a 12/12 slope (45° incline) that the tractor has cut twice a week for years. I have had very little maintenance on it. There is rust-thorugh on the 50" mower deck at the point where the grass comes off one of the three blades, but the deck still works perfectly well. One of these years I'll weld a patch on it. I had to buy a few clutches (it has two, one forward and one reverse) and replacement blades and mower deck drive belts over the years and some assorted spring clips and washers and retainers and such. No transmission issues and the (Koehler) engine is as sweet as the day it was made. It will pull stumps in low gear. I have a 48" dozer blade and snow chains for it and use it to clear my driveway and several neighbors' driveways for any snow up about 10" or so.

This thing is a beast. They show up on Craigs List from time to time. And even though they no longer make this type of tractor, Gravely still supports them with parts. I'd guess you could expect to pay between $500 and $1000 for a used one. Why so much? Cuz they will outlive their owners!

Watch these short You Tube clips I found while looking for the picture posted above:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZULgAUJRAuQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mAMqBBjpsY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uin4o5KrpaU

[ret5hd]

2. A very large goat?

[Kolesar]

3. Not MTD, Yardman

They bought out Cub Cadet, but I don't know if they "ruined" that brand.

[hedgehog]

4. Did I mention the 50 some trees and shrubs I have to mow around?

[Dover]

5. All the lawn professionals around here use Dixon

something about being belt driven and easier/less expensive to fix.
Zero-turn radius is supposed to be among the best so great for getting around trees.
http://www.lawnmowerfacts.com/dixon.html

I own a diesel Kubota I bought used at an auction because my brother told me it was
usually a safe bet to buy them used because they were tanks, lasted a loooong time
and there wasn't all that much that would hurt them like regular mowers. So I went
for it and you know what......he was right! I've had it for several years and no
problems. It is an older model though, so is no comparison to the new zero-turn models.