Choosing The Right Ride On Mower For Your Lawn

In 2022 the ride on mower market alone was valued at over $300 million, which is anticipated to grow by 4.1% annually. This rapidly growing portion of the mower market indicates how popular ride on lawn mowers have become. All this popularity has led to manufacturers producing a wide range of models that have various functions and abilities. There have also been major leaps forward in terms of technology, making these machines cheaper, more accessible, and more versatile than ever before.

With this ever-increasing market and new models and capabilities being introduced on a regular basis, we, at BS Power, understand that when purchasing your own riding mower, you may be a little intimidated by the number of choice available to you. As professionals in the space, we know exactly what makes a good ride on mower, and what machine would work best for different environments.

In this article we want to share this information with you; we will provide you with a comprehensive guide on riding lawn mowers. Including highlighting several aspects that we believe are important for you to consider before investing in one of our machines. Of course, if any further information is required or you simply need confirmation of your choice, our friendly team of professional sales associates are available to make the decision that much simpler.

What Are Your Lawn Needs?

When choosing a ride on mower, there are many things to consider. However, not all the factors you need to think about are part of the machine itself, in fact, the first place you will want to begin is in your own backyard. Before deciding on the machine you may want, you should first think about what the machine will be used for.

These riding mowers come in all shapes and sizes, making them incredibly versatile in several outdoor environments. So, having a clear understanding of whether you will need it for commercial or private use will be a major deciding factor in helping you choose the sort of machine that may suit you.

However, for the purposes of this article, we want to focus on private use, specifically your own backyard. So, in this section, let us investigate a few factors in your garden you should consider that will help you make a more informed decision.

Lawn Size And Terrain

The size of a backyard varies widely, and each property has its own set of unique circumstances. That is why one of the most important things you will need to think about is how large is the lawn that needs to be maintained and furthermore, what the terrain of that area is like.

If you have an expansive lawn, you may want to consider a larger machine, which is usually less manoeuvrability-focused and more geared towards cutting large swathes of grass efficiently. On the other hand, if you have a smaller, more intricate lawn, you will want a machine that is focused on moving around tight spaces and can make sharp turns effectively.

Understanding the terrain of your lawn is also critical. You may have an area that is not particularly flat or sits on a gradient. In that case, you would need a machine that has a better gear system, so that it has the power to move around your lawn. Perhaps your lawn has some rough patches that are not covered by grass, but rather by forest thicket or rougher soil. In these cases, you would need to think about getting a riding mower with a more robust tire set up, capable of traversing these areas without damaging the blades underneath.

Environmental Considerations

Now that you have a clear picture of what your lawn challenges may be, there are other environmental obstacles present in many backyards that you should also think about. Let us look at a few of them here:

Seasonal Changes: Depending on where you live in the nation, the season may impact your lawn in distinct ways. For instance, areas in the northern provinces may have drier winters but have a lot more frost which can kill grass, whereas in southern provinces with higher rainfall, the grass may sodden for periods of the year. Understanding how your lawn reacts in different periods of the year can be important in helping you make the right choice.

Irrigation And Moisture Levels: Another environmental condition that is good to factor in is whether you have an irrigation system installed in your lawn set up. Sprinklers are an effective way to keep lawns well-watered but may also impact the speed at which the grass grows. Understanding how much water your lawn gets on a regular basis can help you better gauge how quickly the grass will grow, and consequently, how often you would need to mow your lawn.

External Environmental Factors: Finally, there may be certain factors in the environment surrounding your lawn that could impact your choice of machine. Think about whether your garden is close to protected wildlife habitats or large bodies of water. These environmentally sensitive zones may require you to use a more sustainable machine, like those that are fitted with electric motors, rather than an engine that runs on fossil fuels.

Let’s Look At Ride On Mower Types

Now that we better understand the environment you expect to use the machine in, we can turn our attention to the ride on mowers themselves. For these riding mowers to be used in variable environments, many models have been designed to handle specialised tasks. For this reason, riding mowers have begun to be separated into different categories or classes, which denote the technology they are built with.

At BS Power, we are proud of our range of state-of-the-art premium Husqvarna machines. We have several different categories of ride on mowers available to you. In this section, let us review the four different types of riding lawn mowers we offer. This is also important in helping you pick out the perfect machine for your needs:

Ride On Mower

As the name of this category of riding mower suggests, ride on mowers are the standard model and what most people might picture when thinking of this type of machine. On standard riding lawn mowers, the blades are located on a cutting deck underneath the vehicle. They are generally fitted with a seat and a basic steering wheel.

Ride on mowers, like the Husqvarna TS114 mower, are perfectly suited to cutting the grass of medium to large lawns, with its moderate manoeuvrability. However, although these standard models are effective for lawn maintenance, they are not well suited for some of the other tasks discussed later in this section.

Zero Turn Mower

If you are in the market for a particularly manoeuvrable machine due to tighter working spaces, or the setting is faced with many environmental obstacles then we would suggest a zero turn mower, like our Husqvarna Z242F model.

Zero turn mowers share some features with the standard models discussed above, like the cutting deck located underneath the vehicle with an ergonomic seat. But the most prominent differentiating feature is the two lap bars that replace the steering wheel. This provides the operator with control of each mower wheel independently, allowing it to – as the name suggests – turn on a zero axis.

This type of riding mower is not only better than the standard models in cramped spaces but is also faster at cutting large areas due to its enhanced manoeuvrability.

Deckless Rider

Technological innovation in recent times has led to the development of a newer type of riding mower, referred to as a deckless rider. As BS Power, we have some of these models available, like the Husqvarna R316T AWD, which is sure to be the envy of your neighbours.

Unlike the other two models discussed above, the deckless rider is categorised by its lack of a cutting deck, which would be located under the vehicle. Instead, these types of riding mowers are designed to fit several different attachments to the front. This includes cutting decks, leaf blowers, power brushes, and even a snowplough.

The interchangeability of the front attachment makes this vehicle a lot more versatile than the other models described above, as you only need one machine to perform a host of gardening tasks. Some manufacturers provide extra “kits” that can be fitted to ride on mower and zero turn mower models. This does allow for applications like leaf mulching or snow removal, but it is not as effective, as the kits do not fit as well as front attachments specifically designed for the deckless rider.

Ride On Mower Features – What Else To Consider

At this point we have not only looked at the environment you will be using your ride on mower in, but also at several types of mowers you can choose from, each with its own unique advantage in different settings. Although these factors are of primary importance when choosing one to purchase, there are some secondary factors that you may want to consider.

Although most types of riding lawn mowers can be categorised into the three models, described above based on their general characteristics, due to the competitive market hosting so many manufacturers, many models are built with extra selling points or features that might attract the attention of customers and gain a competitive advantage.

In this section, let us review a few of these features that may interest you and could even impact your final decision.

Noise Level

As the popularity of riding mowers increases, many people are purchasing them for use in their own gardens, oftentimes these gardens are situated in large suburban settings, in which people live close to one another. In scenarios like this, you may want to consider buying a mower that has built in noise level reduction features, allowing you to operate your machine without worrying about disturbing neighbours.

Reverse Mowing Capabilities

Sometimes, a garden may have narrow areas in which it is impossible to turn the machine around to continue mowing. Generally, these spaces are so small that even a zero turn mower could not comfortably make the switch. In areas like this, you would want to purchase a riding mower that has reverse mowing capabilities, which not only allows the mower to reverse (a feature that is not standard on every model) but also to continue cutting.

Comfort And Ergonomics

If you are working in large open spaces, maybe you live in a manor house with extensive gardens or on a farm, then you will want a machine that you can use for longer durations. In these scenarios, if you expect to spend a lot of time on the vehicle, then it is recommended that you find a model with seating that is designed to be ergonomic and comfortable. This can prevent back pain or strain while using the machine for long periods of time.