Rover Mini Rider

Used about 30hrs of mowing. TWO idle arms have broken in half. Dealer is making it impossible to get the second one under warranty. When idle arm breaks, belt falls off all the time. Time lost investigating, way way too much. The idle arm is pathetically designed, so thin around the bolt hole that it just fatigues & breaks easily. No I am not… Read more

rough on the machine. Machine shudders like sh-it. Machine goes thru belts at an incredible rate. It is very fickle, gutless & will only cut 2-4ins of grass "on a bowling green surface". FAIL. Two months later, used 3 times, the crankshaft seal has failed so machine can no longer hold oil.

Little beast of a machine – Ok so… I’ve had a few ride on mowers over the years. The last one was a McCulloch and a pile of rubbish, that ended up costing me more in repairs than the actual machine did. So my boss had overheard me talking to one of our subbies about buying his old one and a few days later this turned up. I would never have brought this machine myself. But… Read more

it seems heaps better than the other rubbish I’ve had prior.

I will need to get use to the no mowing in reverse, but that by all appearances seems to be its only fault.

Our lawns were quite long and thick as the other one had died a fortnight ago. ‘she’ had to be lifted and grass cleared of the deck several times but this was not the mowers fault but how long our grass was.

It has a very good turning circle which surprised me. I had to mow on the highest setting due to the length of the grass and it still cut very neatly.

We are on half an acre and by all appearances it will be more than adequate for the job at hand!

EDITED: April 23 purchase Nov now. Ok so the grass if not kept short does get stuck a lot, when the blades require replacing I will just go an inch shorter which should alleviate this. Fuel economy on this thing is an absolute beast - not sure how many litres it takes but a full tank will do 3 whole mows. And the way it cuts is by far the neatest cutting mower I have EVER had. Still the main issue I have with how our summer is progressing here in Aust is that humidity, sun rain repeat I am having to mow every 5 days to keep it short (and make it easier to use the mower) this week I was unable to do that and I have had to whipper snip a large portion of the land all because I stretched out to about 8 days and still unsure how I’m going to get the grass down for a portion of our land. In case you can’t tell this would be my biggest frustration with this mower!

A surprising versatile little mower! – Mower was purchased by my father for me 3 months ago to mow his and my lawns. I was very sceptical at first thinking what a waste of money and believing it to be not suitable for tight mowing situations. After 7 hours of use I can say I was wrong! First once you get used to the top heavy feeling, you can take it anywhere within reason. Around… Read more

plants, trees and right up to tight edges. It’s controls ( hydro model) are easy to master, it’s got plenty of power and a turning cycle that is surprising tight. It fits through nearly all gateways ( with mulch plug) and starts every time. Fuel usage is not bad and the quantity of cut excellent. So there must be drawbacks right…… well yes there are. No LSD in the drive means that in reverse on a steepish downhill slope it will spin the driven wheel. I’ve not encountered the problem in forward drive. The seat is rubber mounted and tends to “ move” around underneath you on slopes which can be a little disconcerting until you get used to it. I have read in other reviews that reverse is a little slow, but on my two tighter blocks I don’t find this an issue. Overall really it’s a 4.5 out of 5 and after using a set propelled Honda for 4 years I would have trouble going back!

YEAR 4 OWNERSHIP UPDATE: After 4 years I still stand by what I wrote above! My current thoughts are: - Fuel usage is higher than I expected. - no mechanical issues whatsoever. - front steering links wear quickly and need replacing every 2 years. - Batteries last about two years. - regular servicing a must! Overall I’m still happy with the mower. Note: in my opinion it’s not built for commercial purposes, but for the large home block, it’s ideal!

Has its foibles – Bought the Micro Rider 6-speed 24 inch for my large yard. Grass had overgrown, about 30 cms tall. I didn't expect this mower to plough through it at walking pace but I was disappointed that it bogged down rather badly and had to be very slowly driven to cut a channel and then back and forth shaving about 15 cms along the edge of the channel using… Read more

one side of the cutting blades. It may cut straight through shorter grass but it would have to be about 10 cms high at most. I did have the blades set at the highest position. Auto throttle does not rev the engine very much for cutting, not really more than idle speed, so cutting power is moderate, and having to ride the brake pedal to control the forward speed for slow cutting was a real pain. The lowest speed setting (2) was still too fast in long grass. My left leg was quite fatigued after three hours cutting, riding the brake pedal as I needed to. A bit more than one litre in the tank is not much fuel - it doesn't last as long as I would like. The knob on the FWD/REV shift lever kept coming off - it's only a push fit. I needed to drill through the knob and lever to fit a split pin. Not being able to cut in reverse is annoying so there is constant shifting to disengage the cutter drive, shift into reverse, then into forward again and re-engage the cutter drive. The engagement of the cutter drive seems harsh and noisy, almost like something is wrong, and the blade disc does not seem very well balanced, although vibration is not too excessive. The cutter drive must be engaged over previously cut grass as the blades will not rotate in long grass and, as I found, trying to engage the cutter drive in even moderately long grass results in slipping of the drive belt - and even smoke! However, I'm sure that if I keep the grass down and use this mower when it isn't so long then I should be able to run it at a suitable speed without having the ride the brake pedal all the time because that is really tiring. But the speed control does apparently partly apply the brakes rather than any kind of throttle speed control which I guess means that the brakes will wear out fairly quickly since dragging brakes is the primary method of speed control. Also, rear wheels can lift on uneven ground and wheel slip occurs with loss of forward drive. And there is apparently no charging of the on-board starting battery so it will need to be charged with a suitable external charger when it gets weak, and for this reason the lack of a manual starting method (by pull cord or whatever) is a significant design omission. Overall, seems like a good little mower but somewhat in the toy category of ride-on mowers. If used on relatively short grass I expect it will perform adequately and it is comfortable to drive (expect for the leg fatigue from riding the brake pedal as I needed to). Turning circle is good (about 1½ metres) but manoeuvering can be tiring when needing to frequently shift into reverse as detailed above. I paid $2900 plus $120 for the optional mulch plug but a catcher attachment (not available) would surely be a bonus.

When it works it's great – Bought our Rover mini rider in December 2017 for our corner residential block. Went like a charm until December 2020 when the belt broke. Put it in for a service, got it back, mowed twice before the blades were not engaging and it wouldn't mow. Took it to a local mower repair place and paid $149 for replacement belt. It mowed a few times… Read more

before blades stopped engaging. Called the place we bought it from asking for it to be serviced as it wasn't cutting. Took 6 weeks before they picked it up. 2 weeks later got it back and it cos us $260. Mowed once and blades not engaging again. Called them and put it back in and paid another $240 for them to pick it up and fix. Got it back and it mowed twice before the same thing happened again. Same thing happened again. Could not find any information on the Rover Mini Rider Hydro and the manual is useless. Any way, finally found that they are almost identical to the Troybilt Mini Rider mower (possibly rebadged in Australia) and found a YouTube clip that solved our problem. There is a part called the belt keeper next to a pulley and the gap is just big enough for the belt to slip out. That was our problems. My son slightly bent the keeper towards the pulley and now no problems. If you have issues search YouTube for Troybilt Mini Rider as there are heaps of helpful videos and information. I now realise that we kept on getting charged by the Rover Dealer just to put the belt back behind the keeper.

Down on power especially in reverse, otherwise a good product – My Rover Mini Rider Hydro is now around 3 years old - purchased from KC Machinery Co in Lismore NSW 2480. I mow a 780m2 mixed grass block, which is mainly on the level - but also have a 20degree tilted council nature-strip to the road that cannot be mowed by the MIni for safety reasons - [well over 11 degrees.] Have to use my self-propelled Rover… Read more

'Personal Pace' for that task. Cuts in reverse and this is a bonus. The M/Rider is quite able to "jump" a 5" path with cutter off/highest deck setting for the front lawn . It will also just fit through our front gate! Power in reverse is poor even on gentle slopes/paving stone edges. Turning circle is good. I can mow this block x3 times on one fill of 95octane fuel and a bit to spare. Fuel tank "window" is handy. First servicing was relatively expensive at around $340, including $50 for transport around 2km back/forward to this dealer in South Lismore. Overall a good product and not over-priced. The foot-brake is difficult to use as it is too high - needs to be on before being able to start. Reverse/Forward pedal better designed. Recommended for light duty/back-yard use. [Note: I weigh 100Kg - this mover definitely needs a V-twin engine for more power on reverse operation.]

A Joy to use – Having just used my new Mini Hydro for the first time I have found it to be a real pleaasure to use . It is going to take time to get familiar with the controls , but it's ease of use so far is great . I have not found any faults ,but I've only just used it , maybe in time , nothing is perfect. With 5 years Warranty and a great product I can't go wrong I hope. Show details

2 years later and still very happy – I have a large sloped lawn with tough buffalo grass, and many curved garden edges. The Rover handles it with ease and with the mulcher attachment leaves it looking good. Starts first time and have had no issues with it at all. Just regular oil changes and a clean up now and again. You need to charge the battery over winter and the oil change is a… Read more

bit messy bur for the price I highly recommend this little machine.(mine is the manual with option to cut while in reverse- a definite must) Rob 10 Jan 2022

Over-regulated child's toy – Would be the biggest piece of rubbish I have ever bought. When I go to start it, I have a 50/50 chance of mowing the lawns with it. So many safety features that prevent the job getting done I just throw my hands up and grab the push mower. Just not worth the frustration and grief.  Show details

just purchased 30 inch mini ride on happy with it – just purchased 30 inch mini ride on happy with it lot of people say they have issues with not running after short time I haven't had that happen but I do know its the fuel solenoid when it gets hot shuts off fuel supply have that replaced and no drama after that and not happy with reverse cutting out when cutter ingaged but I put a cable tie around the switch at the lever solved that problem  Show details

Love the Canadian makes life easier – Fairly easy to manoeuvre but not so with forward and reverse in hindsight should have got the auto model so the cutter works in reverse and perhaps ease of forward and reverse. Slightly sloping block of Kikeau grass. The little engine works hard at times. Have to refill the mower after doing the front and back yards the block is a normal 1/4 acre block Fairly comfortable for what it is. Show details

I love mowing again – Good mower, just what my 1.5 acre yard needed. Surprised at how well it handled even the worst grass (long and thick) that hadn’t been mowed in years. Some talk about not being able to mow over undulating areas, it will, but you have to position the mower correctly, you will get wheel spin if turning over bumps or hitting them at the wrong… Read more

angle. I see mention of not being able to cut in reverse, my Mini Rider Hydro 382/30 allows you to turn off that safety feature. Pros: Turning circle Ease of use Safety features Being able to turn some of those features off 5 year warranty

Cons: Wheel spin Full lock turns require a bit of force on the steering wheel to straighten up. Long wet grass will clog up side discharge chute.

Great Mini Ride on But – I purchased my Rover auto model mini ride on to cut grass around our home about 2 months ago. I live on about 1.5 acres in a rural setting with some moderate slopes. I only have two problems with it and that is you cant wash the mower after mowing and cooled down...it won't start again..and, being suto, you can't push them even using the by-pass… Read more

lever..I dare you to push it any distance..lol. Anyway, it goes well, cuts well, and mine is fitted with the rear catcher which works surprisingly well, as long as the grass is not wet. Then, it just clogs the shute and you have to manually remove the grass to unclog. But good mower for the price. Hope this helps make your choice..happy hunting..price $3k in Brisbane southside.

Excellent cut for a small ride-on but – Good turning circle, cuts as good as a push mower, ideal for up to an acre but has developed a reluctance to run for more than 15 minutes. Only 40 hours in 18 months, so not a lot of use, property has a gentle slope and I have replaced the original fuel filter with a clear one. When the engine miss starts starts, I can see the fuel is really low… Read more

in the filter even when tank is almost full. Fuel is gravity fed and I have noticed other recent comments along similar lines so am wondering if rover have a fix?

Great for large blocks – I live on basically half an acre suburban Melbourne. Mowing was done with a mulcher which was OK when I was younger. It was a big job. Took over an hour. Now I'm 58 so I thought I'd get the Rover Mini ride on. I got the manual version, and maybe for the xtra $400, should have got the auto, but the manual is lighter and does the job very well. I… Read more

had to "tweak up" the mower a bit so I can cut backwards and get off without the engine stopping. Only real negative is that the oil plug and outlet is very, very badly located. Its in a very hard location to get to-absolutely NOT user friendly- very, very dumb place. I had to modify this outlet with an extension so I could easily run the oil out. Apart from that, the mower does a good job. I still have to use the hand mower to get into corners and tight spaces under trees etc. But overall, It was a good purchase for the price of $1800.