Zero turn consumer grade riding lawnmowers

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jrcowboys

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Round Rock Texas
Guys:

Just wandered what your opinion/experience is with consumer grade ($2500-3000) Zero turn riding lawnmowers? I have a 1/2 acre lot with a lot of trees/ground cover and a lot of tight turns.

I was considering something like a 30" mulching system from someone like Toro or craftman.

Any suggestions/cautions?

JR
 
The Toro's are ok.However try to avoid any mower that uses those very thin cables to engage the mower blades.Those cables break too often. I can offer a time saving method to adjust valve clearances in the B&S engines if/when you want.
 
Are you looking for how they are dependability wise, or if they will give you much time savings over a lawn tractor? Dependability should be ok, the time savings will be huge. I ran a landscaping company for 8 years, had a Dixie Chopper and Exmark Lazer HP. Both could mow a lot of grass really quick, even with lawns that had odd layouts. A half acre should take you 15-20 mins with any zero turn. With that little use, it should last for a long time as well.

Are you going to use it for leaf removal? If so consider that heavily in your decision. Personally I would go with the Toro everytime.
 
Guys:

Thanks for the info. I was mainly concerned about the reliability because if it needed work I would have to have it hauled to the dealer (no pickup or trailor). I have a lawn tractor (very cheap one given to me by neighbor), but it is very combersome and frustrating to use around ground cover and trees.

Thanks again.

JR
 
How are these zero-turn mowers on not super smooth lawns? I have an acre in the Texas hill country that takes me 5 hrs on a good day with a 46" MTD Yard Man tractor...
 
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Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
How are these zero-turn mowers on not super smooth lawns? I have an acre in the Texas hill country that takes me 5 hrs on a good day with a 46" MTD Yard Man tractor...


I suppose it's been 4 or 5 years ago now that I bought my first zero turn-a John Deere 757. It's a used commercial ZTrak with a 60 inch deck.

I was using a combination of a John Deere 325 to trim with, and one of my Ford N's with a Woods 60 inch finish mower. It used to take me about 2-1/2 hours to mow the 3 or so acres of our property that I finish mow-most of which is fairly hilly and includes a ditch at the road..

With the 757 I can mow it in an hour.

My local Deere dealer usually has several used commercial units in stock-they only take the best in on trade and do a pretty complete inspection. I paid just over $3000 for my 757, which is only slightly more than the consumer grade zero turns.

I have no doubt it will last me the rest of my life and I couldn't be happier with it.
 
Originally Posted By: Rat407
you will safe a ton of time that is for sure. Took me almost 2hrs to mow our two acres with a Cub Cadet tractor mower with a 60" deck, got an ExMark Lazer Z HP with a 48" deck and I can mow it now in 50 minutes.

Sorry about a newbie question, but what is it about a zero turn mower that allows it to do the job faster?
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Sorry about a newbie question, but what is it about a zero turn mower that allows it to do the job faster?



They tend to have faster ground speeds. That, in combination with the maneuverability *should* equal get it done faster for you.

To the OP, I had a 2010 model year Cub Cadet Z-Force with a fabricated 44" deck. For MTD/Cub, this was considered high-end residential. It did have nice components on it. The HydroGear ZT2800 drives were serviceable and each had it's own spin-on filter. Everything was greaseable and it had good size wheels and tires on it. The hardware was all pretty substantial on it and the deck was one heavy chunk of metal.

The bads? It was a rough ride and tough to use on rough terrain. The deck was incredibly LOUD as well. It was marginal mowing on inclines, once you got a pattern down. After about 1.5 seasons of use, I HATED it compared to my Cub 2544 garden tractor.

My point is; Look/feel/component quality of the machine is only part of the equation. You need to go high-end if you want a ZTR for rough terrain. The bigger, heavier units ride and handle better in that situation.

FWIW, I don't own either of my Cubs anymore. In mid 2011 we moved to more home, less property.

Problem is, you can't touch a decent used commercial ZTR in my area for $3500 this time of year, unless it's totally beat with a ton of hours on it. Off season, maybe. Obviously this will vary by region.
 
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Avoid MTD. I believe Craftsman is made by MTD. You should verify.

Toro would be a good choice.

I think a self propelled walk behind would be your best bet. A 1/2 acre is not a lot. Good exercise.

I have a Husqvarna riding mower. But I do the majority of my lawn with a walk behind. Around my pond I do with the riding mower. You can get many places with a walk behind that you cannot with a zero turn.
 
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
How are these zero-turn mowers on not super smooth lawns? I have an acre in the Texas hill country that takes me 5 hrs on a good day with a 46" MTD Yard Man tractor...

Uhhhhh. What?

I have a 21" push mower. It takes me two hours to do an acre.
 
The Toro's are ok.However try to avoid any mower that uses those very thin cables to engage the mower blades.Those cables break too often. I can offer a time saving method to adjust valve clearances in the B&S engines if/when you want.
 
Zero turns are just way more efficient since you can get close to everything and still keep up speed. Plus the ground speed is faster.

As for uneven ground, I mow my father-in-laws 4.5 acres in 2hrs and he has some uneven areas, you just have to slow down some so you don't bounce out of the seat, but the cut is still even, no scalping if that is what you are asking about.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Avoid MTD. I believe Craftsman is made by MTD. You should verify.

Toro would be a good choice.

I think a self propelled walk behind would be your best bet. A 1/2 acre is not a lot. Good exercise.


Agreed. I mow ~1/2 acre with a 21" self propelled. Takes me about an hour.

In regards to MTD, Toro, etc. IMO it doesn't matter in the $3000 and under crowd for a new ZTR. They're all the same. Pretty flimsy, MTD or not.
 
http://www.toro.com/en-us/Homeowner/Mowers/Zero-Turn-Mowers/Pages/Model.aspx?pid=TimeCutter-SS4260

That is if I was restricted to a NEW $3K or under ZTR. For residential use it will last a long long time if you take care of it. It is a consumer mower. Stamped deck etc. It ain't made to use 6-8 hours/day 5 days a week. If all you have is 1/2 acre, well it might be overkill, but that is a good thing in my book. 30 minutes of work (riding around) then you can get back to important stuff like grilling/beer etc.

Anything made by MTD is essentially a throwaway.
 
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Originally Posted By: Trav
John Deere with a nice Kohler engine.


A Kohler is nice, but a KAWASAKI is better and alot less maintenance.
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
How are these zero-turn mowers on not super smooth lawns? I have an acre in the Texas hill country that takes me 5 hrs on a good day with a 46" MTD Yard Man tractor...

Uhhhhh. What?

I have a 21" push mower. It takes me two hours to do an acre.


Forgot to mention I bag all the leaves/clippings to my wife's compost pile.

Even with that removed from the equation, it takes at least 3 hours to do my whole acre - I have 38 oak trees and lots of obstacles and rocky terrain.
 
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