Need Advice on 0-Turn Mowers

[Admin]

So I am going to be in the market for a zero turn lawn mower. I remember a topic of this very nature on the board years ago, but did not pay too much attention and I am sure there are different options now.

Right now I have about 3-4 acres to cut, some of it wide open, the rest with trees scattered about.

My priorities are:
1) Reliable
2) Does a good job cutting (would rather not have to go over an area twice)
3) Price. I do not want to spend a ton of money, but also know you get what you pay for, so do not want bargain basement stuff.
4) Speed at which it cuts.

Thanks!

-John

 

[ezra]

let it go to weeds or buy a goat

 

[euphoric1]

So I am going to be in the market for a zero turn lawn mower. I remember a topic of this very nature on the board years ago, but did not pay too much attention and I am sure there are different options now.

Right now I have about 3-4 acres to cut, some of it wide open, the rest with trees scattered about.

My priorities are:
1) Reliable
2) Does a good job cutting (would rather not have to go over an area twice)
3) Price. I do not want to spend a ton of money, but also know you get what you pay for, so do not want bargain basement stuff.
4) Speed at which it cuts.

Thanks!

-John

John, I am a little partial to a certain brand for obvious reasons, reliable....stay away from box brands i.e. Cub, Mtd, Troy... there are others too, cutting that much I would stick with heavy duty home owner or light commercial, best cutting deck out there and not just because I sell them is the Toro Turbo-Force deck. Also NO STAMPED DECKS, I don't care who's they are cutting that much grass, Fabricated decks also generally have a higher blade tip speed, make sure too what ever brand you buy the deck is also driven by a 5/8" deck belt, some of the jippo wannabe brands still run a 1/2" belt heavy duty home owner units around 3 to 4 acres an hour, commercial units 5 to 7 acres an hour, contact me... I purchased 2 truck loads of 2019 Toro zero turns, could get you a VERY good price, worth the drive down or maybe arrange pick up, delivery or meet half way with some of the JD'rs on this site. Some of the heavy duty Home owner units I am taking at least $1000 off sale price. have limited amount of commercial units too. 95% of my commercial unit sales are made to HOWA's (home owners with acreage), but the Toro Time Cutter HD would be more that sufficient, the ones I bought heavy on are the My-Ride ones, but have limited qty, again if thinking new contact me.

 

[Yenann]

Get a commercial one. Deere Kubota ExMark Toro all make very nice machines. If you have a lot of trees. A 48" or 54" deck may be better then a 60 or 72. The bigger deck sometimes adds more time if mowing around a lot of stuff. Shouldn't have to double cut with a ZTR unless grass is very tall or your wide open the whole time. 3/4 speed seems to cut best
Sit on em, take em for a test drive and find what you like best. Just like sleds. Everyone has an opinion on the best brand. Just get one your most comfortable on.
Should be able to get an entry level commercial ZTR for 6-8,000. Expensive but worth every penny!!!!

 

[euphoric1]

Get a commercial one. Deere Kubota ExMark Toro all make very nice machines. If you have a lot of trees. A 48" or 54" deck may be better then a 60 or 72. The bigger deck sometimes adds more time if mowing around a lot of stuff. Shouldn't have to double cut with a ZTR unless grass is very tall or your wide open the whole time. 3/4 speed seems to cut best
Sit on em, take em for a test drive and find what you like best. Just like sleds. Everyone has an opinion on the best brand. Just get one your most comfortable on.
Should be able to get an entry level commercial ZTR for 6-8,000. Expensive but worth every penny!!!!

72" decks...I don't care who's they are... unless you are cutting soccer fields or ball diamonds will be the worst cutting deck you will ever own, no fault to the deck or manufacturer just too much out hang, you will find every ant or root mount and imperfection in your lawn, 48" deck... wouldn't do that either, not enough hang out beyond wheels especially on HD or Commercial units, makes it difficult to trim with unit, go around trees etc, stay somewhere between a 52 to 60" deck wont compromise cut time drastically either but at minimum would use a 52" deck

 

[euphoric1]

If you are looking for new the Time Cutter HD My-Rides I have a bit of if you want to look on line are the model #'s 75212 & 75213

 

[renegade]

I bought a used commercial zero turn and love it. 60" cut, works great cuts nice and heavy duty. It is a scag. Ex mark are a good machine also. I went liquid cooled but I don't know if there is a longevity difference between that over a fan cooled. That is the route I would recommend. Lower hour commercial.

 

[old abe]

Ferris or Toro. Both far superior than J Deere.

 

[frnash]

John: I'm surprised you're not looking for a mower attachment for Bid Red … mowing from the comfort of that Big Red cab and all.

(I'm waiting for ol' indy_500 to chip in, I seem to remember he's had a bunch of riding mower experience.)

 

[m8man]

John,

I bought my first one late last summer...I had a 26hp JD with a 54" cut traditional style mower. It took about 5 hours to cut my yard/field. It is something I enjoy doing and love cutting.

over the last year or so, it has started to wear on me so I wanted to cut the time down...I researched pull behind add on mowers, an actual tractor, gang reel mower, and 0 turns........

I settled on a 62" zero turn and I spent around 5 grand on it. I love it, it now takes me 2 hours and 15 minutes to cut the grass. it cuts so fast I could use a seatbelt. I do think it wouldn't have much use in a sloped or bumpy property. I don't like the zero turn for grades that you cut sideways on.

in summary, I love it.

feel free to swing by in the spring and try it out if you'd like before you spend a bunch of cash. My uncle has a few options to note, he has a traditional riding mower, 35HP tractor with a belly mower, and a tag along self propelled offset attachment (cuts about 8ft wide in total). He has had those for 3 or 4 years.........he just bought a zero turn mower two weeks ago.

you are always welcome to give it a rip.........fyi it's hard to carve..........

m8man

 

[chunk06]

Best bet is buy a commercial unit and run it the rest of your life. If I remember from shopping they start at about $8-8500 I bought a Kubota Z400 higher end homeowner grade unit that has been flawless with a good warranty. It is a bit underpowered though with the 60 inch deck. I wish I would have spent the money on a commercial unit though. There are a ton of good brands depending on dealers up that way. My favorite is SCAG. My fathers Commercial mower is 25 years old with nothing but oil and filters, blades and tires. Buy once cry once. At the very least make sure the drives are serviceable and not throw aways.

 

[xsledder]

I have a J Deere Z445 w/a 54" deck. My Dad used it to cut 5 acres around his Iowa farmhouse for 10 years before he sold the farm and I got it. I have been running it for the last 5 years on a small lot. 15 years without problems. Now, it is probably not made by J Deere, probably MTD, but it was bought from a John Deere Implement, not Home Depot, and the Kawasaki engine is very good. I added a small after-market 4' plow to it to push snow. It pushes the snow with ease, not that you need it with Big Red. If you can find a good used one, I would recommend buying one. If you need parts, I am sure they would be easy to get being a John Deere.

 

[1fujifilm]

72" decks...I don't care who's they are... unless you are cutting soccer fields or ball diamonds will be the worst cutting deck you will ever own, no fault to the deck or manufacturer just too much out hang, you will find every ant or root mount and imperfection in your lawn, 48" deck... wouldn't do that either, not enough hang out beyond wheels especially on HD or Commercial units, makes it difficult to trim with unit, go around trees etc, stay somewhere between a 52 to 60" deck wont compromise cut time drastically either but at minimum would use a 52" deck

Good advice on deck consideration.
We have 4.5 acres and need a 48" ZTR as we have to go in and out of the dogs fenced in 1 acre at least once a week all summer.

My play; a new J.D. Z535M for $3,600 (sale to come in May/June), own it 2 years (it has a 3 year warranty) and sell it with 1 year warranty to a neighbor for $2,300. I budget $700 a year to cut grass.
Change oil ,sharpen blades and let someone else change belts and fluid.

This is my year to switch if anyone wants mine $2,300.

Bear

 

[slimcake]

John, it's easy. Go to Pat's in Greenland get a graveley equivalent of a zt hd with a 60 inch cut. Made in Wisconsin and tough as nails.

 

[slimcake]

Airens and graveley are the same. When you look at the deck on those mowers you will know. Kawasaki engines as well. Built like a tank!! I have a deck for that tractor in the picture but don't use it. After mowing with a zt you can't mow with a tractor.

 

[krash]

I had a John Deere for years and finally got tired of all the clumps of grass clippings it left in the yard and traded it for a Toro HD Time cutter my ride with 60 inch deck and couldn't be happier with it. The seat suspension system is a great feature.

 

[euphoric1]

As far as drive lines try to stick with a minimum hydro-gear 3100 series zt transmission, next up in durability is a pump and wheel motor type drive and the toughest out there right now is the Parker UHT drives, still a wheel motor/pump set up but integrated into one unit, no more sharing oil, no more hoses, easier to service, no purging when necessary. Nothing towards the people that have offered theirs up for sale on this post, but just buyer beware when buying used, maintenance and driving styles really have effect on life and longevity, I have a landscaper customer that spends a lot of money om maintenance, some of his machines have over 5000 hours on them, I would feel more comfortable selling you one of those instead of some of the ones I see come in that have less than 1000 hours on them, so buyer beware. Engines... Kawasaki preferred choice amongst commercial users, Toro/Exmark engines have been bullet proof, in 6 years being in business have turned in 2 warranties on their engines and they were both for electric starters, I don't believe in bad mouthing other companies so I wont mention brand but if you are buying used and the engine has "Courage" anywhere in the name... STAY AWAY FROM IT! I don't care how good the deal.

 

[chunk06]

Look into a suspension seat upgrade as well. Unless your yard is really smooth these things ride pretty rough. As you can tell most of these companies source drives and engines from the same source, after making sure those are quality components next thing to look at is the deck. One big BS thing i found while shopping is that most of the non commercial units have sealed bearings on the deck with no grease zerts

 

[snoluver1]

I was in the same situation 2 years ago and have the same amount to mow. As others have suggested, I would definitely go with a commercial grade unit no matter what you buy. It was a painful check to write, but you should only have to do it once in your lifetime. I went with the Ferris IS2100 with 60" deck, mainly because of the full suspension. My back field is very rough and the Ferris made a huge difference! I cut 3.5- 4 acres in about 1.5 hours. One other thing to consider is if you have a lot of low hanging trees, you might be better off with a front mouth deck versus a mid mount deck. You can get closer under the trees without getting clotheslined by branches.

 

[yamadooed]

Toro 4225 Kohler powered with a stamped deck is on Yooper year #5 with no issues... (Cost and availability was my decision at time) I've learned that Yooper grass dust rock harvesting is nothing like mid western green mulching...

PS: I would be able to give a hand with delivery north of the 312 iffen you needed.