zero turn

[hurleyjd]

Needing to buy a zero turn. What experience and what brands recommended. I now own a woods mowing machine which is the same as a gravely.Need to power wash and find the fluid leak for the hydros. Could be a line or maybe a seal in one of the pumps.

 

[shaz]

I have a JD 425 22hp 52" cut. It's ok. Easy to work on. Good cut. I cut 4 acres a week and wonder if I shouldn't have upgraded to a commercial mower.

 

[J&D Cattle]

Limited dealers around my area but most seem to have John Deere. I've ran my buddies and it is really nice. He bought it from a local JD dealer who got it in trade from a commercial mowing outfit. That's all they run as well.

 

[torogmc81]

We own a lawn and landscaping company, and companies around here prefer anything and everything.

From 15 years experience, we recommend Toro and Exmark (Toro bought Exmark in '97). They are built tough and tested in the roughest conditions. They also hold their value if maintained properly. Buy a lawn mower from a lawn mower company IMO.

Ferris - we use their walkbehinds, but never have been a fan of their zero turns, just not operator friendly IMO.
Scag - never been on one, here some guys swear by them
Dixie Chopper - overhyped, have not kept up with technology IMO. Just a fad from the 90s
John Deere - expensive green paint, buying a lawnmower from an equipment/tractor company IMO

And remember, you get what you pay for .....

 

[hurleyjd]

Kinda leaning to the Bad Boys

 

[millstreaminn]

Kubota. We have 5. A mix of ZD18, ZD21 and Zd331.

They have from 50 to 1800 hours on them. Change oil, blades and grease. Changed an idler pulley on the mower deck on the one with 1800 hours. Only things we have done to them. Very satisfied.

 

[lavacarancher]

We have a Hustler FastTrak 54. Had it for about six years and done no maintenance except routine fluid and filter changes and blade changes. Not cheap but very reliable and mine was made in USA, lifetime warranty on mower deck. I hear Scag also makes a good mower and I see several lawn maintenance companies using them (and Hustler).

 

[Brute 23]

Scag Tiger Cat

We just bought one for the place I take care of. Reviews were all good and we have been very pleased.

 

[cfpinz]

We have a Hustler FastTrak 54. Had it for about six years and done no maintenance except routine fluid and filter changes and blade changes. Not cheap but very reliable and mine was made in USA, lifetime warranty on mower deck. I hear Scag also makes a good mower and I see several lawn maintenance companies using them (and Hustler).

We've got one of those, nice mower but the 20 Hp Honda is a bit underpowered if I let the grass get knee high. Only problem I've had was replacing both coils this spring when I used too powerful of a battery charger on it and fried them. Steering is a bit sloppy on mine, we had a cheap Cub Cadet model before and it was more responsive.

 

[TexasBred]

I've been using a small Toro for about 5 years now. 42" cut with 23 hp Kawasaki Engine. I replace blades every spring and had to replace one idler pulley this year. Lawn is not large but I mow the highway right of way in front of me and it's rough as he!!....never had a problem but it's definitely not commercial grade.

 

[LRTX1]

Home owner models are designed to run a couple hours a week for a half dozen years. Commercial machines are designed to run 40 hours a week for a half dozen years or more. Buy any commercial machine take care of it and might not ever have to buy another.

 

[torogmc81]

Home owner models are designed to run a couple hours a week for a half dozen years. Commercial machines are designed to run 40 hours a week for a half dozen years or more. Buy any commercial machine take care of it and might not ever have to buy another.

Agreed, well said

Please do yourself a favor and do not buy a Bad Boy. or Bobcat

 

[Sd1030]

Me and my dad have a small lawn care company on the side and we run deere mowers. Before the deeres he had a toro. I have no dealings with the newer toros but the deeres would run circles around his old one, granted it had 1800 hrs on it i think when he sold it. I think both are good machines, for us we was actually able to get in the deere a litte cheaper vs the toro, plus have a local dealer vs having to go to a nearby town for toro. I agree with the comments buy a commerical mower if you can they are built alot heavier and should last a long time if maintained. I also agree i would not go the bobcat route, we have them at the fire dept i work at and they suck in my opinion. Considering what little i know itd be between deere and toro for me.

 

[MudHog]

Like everything, buy what is in your area that can be serviced locally. If multiple brands in your area, buy which has the longest warranty coverage. I just bought a Hustler 42" to replace the Troy-Bilt 42" with a bad Kohler engine. The Troy-Bilt was 5 years old and the counter weight on the crank failed. Come to find out this is a known problem with the Kohler Courage line of motors. The Hustler has a v-twin Kawa engine and is night and day. Only thing I don't like about the Hustler is the front axle doesn't pivot like the Troy-Bilt did. If the front tire drops off an edge, the deck will scalp. Other than that I really like the mower. I wish it had a foot operated deck, but it is a residential model with a fabricated deck which was the selling point for me. I can live with the lever operated deck for a longer lasting deck. Buy a more with a v-twin engine as a v-twin will run much smoother by nature than a single cylinder engine.

One thing to remember is that most all brands use the same brand hydro pump/transmission. JD, Kubota, Hustler, etc do not have their own branded pumps/transmissions.


If you want to splurge, Ferris has independent suspension and is the cats meow for ride or Dixie Chopper is the cats meow for as speed. If your yard is rough, you will feel like you've been in a boxing ring with nothing but kidney punches on the Dixie Chopper though.



Edited to add: Don't buy a John Deere from Lowes. It is not the same mower as one bought from a JD dealer. Hustler claims the same mower at Lowes is the same at the dealers, but I still bought mine from a dealer. If you buy anything from Lowes, you have to bring it to them and they ship it to some central service center in your area.

 

[John SD]

Ive got a couple zero turn Cub Cadets with steering wheel. I have never used a stick machine, but I do like my steering wheel :nod: Drove my cousin's Rhino stick machine around the yard once and didn't really care for it.

The steering wheel gives me something solid to grab hold of getting on and off, to lean on while I'm running, and to hang on to on steep slopes. Also easy one hand operation so I can hold my beer in the other if i wish :mrgreen: I have found square Lipton ice tea bottles do not fit as well a they should in the round cup holder :lol: :lol: :lol:

Last year I bought a 50" with stamped deck and Kohler 23hp engine. I mowed stuff that is asking too much of any mower including a few grapefruit sized rocks and have had some extensive repairs done to the deck in 85 hours last season It' s going again now and on loan to a neighbor.

About a month ago I bought a 54" formed deck with Kawasaki 23hp engine. Turned over 49 hours on it yesterday with zero problems so far. Gotta be careful when driving the 54" deck into the 6' wide stock trailer, with the plastic deflector it takes most of the trailer width IMO, the $600 price difference in the bigger heavier built machine is worth it :idea:

I've done more mowing so far this year than all of last year. I've covered the church yard/cemetary and the community hall/fire hall 4X. Done a couple lawns in town for absentee owners 3X. A swipe down each side of a mile of my road ditch 3X. Yesterday I covered the whole yard here at home in one day. Had done all of it in sections 2-4X before, but never all caught up at one time

I am known at the local store/PO as a "mowin' fool"

 

[D2Cat]

We have a Grasshopper with powerfold deck. Has Kubota engine, 62" cut. Use it to mow several properties, and it flat out mows! Second one, actually. First did not have the powerfold deck. It is a real nice feature. Electric over hyd. cyl. brings deck up to about 60 deg. for each servicing. Change engine oil/filter and grease. Never any trouble with hyd motors. Grasshopper says change hyd. oil at 1000 hrs. Only thing I've replaced was the Operator Presence Switch.

 

[TexasBred]

The steering wheel gives me something solid to grab hold of getting on and off, to lean on while I'm running, and to hang on to on steep slopes. Also easy one hand operation so I can hold my beer in the other if i wish :mrgreen: I have found square Lipton ice tea bottles do not fit as well a they should in the round cup holder :lol: :lol: :lol:

This is the major drawback to all zero turn mowers I've learned....can't find a way around it either than to just come to a complete stop everytime you get to a shady spot.

 

[Nesikep]

Here's what I got..
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=98441
It's dead simple and built tough.. the rosehip bushes quiver when I come around with it.. it's only 10 hp which is a little underpowered for deep stuff

My buddy has a few Toro mowers, all powered by Kubota diesels.. one is a BIG machine, 45 hp turbo

 

[Son of Butch]

Toros are good.

 

[Quickdraw Farm]

Kubota ZD 326S, 60" deck, 3 cylinder diesel. Full commercial machine with shaft drive, hydro deck lift, suspension seat, and is a beast. I mow A LOT of grass. I have owned several, the Kubota ZD 326 is the best I've ever owned. Blade speed is 1,800 rpm's and I regularly mow at up to 9mph. The only negative is it weighs around 1,400 pounds so it takes a little getting use to in order to prevent scarring the yard when turning.