Talk to me about zero turn mowers

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spittinfire

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I’m thinking about a zero turn mower because I now have about 4.5 acres to mow but I no experience with them. Can those of you with experience point me in a direction?


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They turn in their own radius....thus why they call them zero turn....Lol

My buddy just got a Bad boy and he loves it. Another friend of mine has a commercial John Deere..from Deere... not Lowe's crap...and he likes his.

Hustler
Scag
Toro
John Deere
Bad boy
Dixie chopper
Cub cadet

They all are pretty good from what I hear.

DS
 
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They’ll speed up your mowing considerably, but they don’t do hills, especially front to back very well.
 
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I used an Exmark for one summer in Waynesville about 7 years ago. That thing would break loose and take off down hills. There was no stopping it. Scared the crap out of me a couple of times. The Scags would go down the hill at a crawl if you wanted them to.
 
SPST said:
I used an Exmark for one summer in Waynesville about 7 years ago. That thing would break loose and take off down hills. There was no stopping it. Scared the crap out of me a couple of times. The Scags would go down the hill at a crawl if you wanted them to.
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That’s what we have. The culvert ditches in front of the house scare me. It will wheelie and spin around.
 
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noway2 said:
They’ll speed up your mowing considerably, but they don’t do hills, especially front to back very well.
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It depends on how you drive them. I have a pretty step hill right out the backdoor and it gets owned by my mower.
 
I have a commercial Ferris. It'll hold a hill way past my comfort level.

Do your research, pick a brand, buy it, and never look back. A lot of manufactures are offering 0% APR.
 
Went from a JD riding mower to a bad boy zero turn last summer. Cut my time from almost 3 hours to 1. I have a zt elite 60” and love it. The only significant hill I have is our ditch and it handles it as long as it’s dry.
 
BurnedOutGeek said:
Seconded, plus suspension is a big plus
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Forgot about that. The ferris has adjustable coil overs at the corners. It's a smoother ride, but "smoother" is relative. The deck is welded 0.25 steel, not stamped, avoid stamped anything. The blades are a little thicker than 0.25 and can take a beating unlike residential blades.

7 hours down to just under 2. My only complaint is it makes a beer go flat in about 2 seconds.
 
So far I've seen Dixie Chopper and Toro with 0% financing and while I wasn't planning on buying a new one if someone wants to lend me the money for free I'll keep mine and use theirs. I guess I'll start there.

@amnesia How much are you mowing there and what machine are you using?
 
noway2 said:
They’ll speed up your mowing considerably, but they don’t do hills, especially front to back very well.
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I'll beg to differ.
I run up and down a hill that drags the rear bumper in the ditch.
I'll try and get a picture tomorrow.

I'll even run it sideways. Just have to go slow or the ass end will slip down into the well.
 
I'm the dissenter, get a SCUT with a 3 PTH finish mower and front end loader. You will find more uses for the tractor than just mowing.
 
I have a toro 6000 60 inch with the 990cc kohler 34 hp fuel injected motor its a beast and will cut as fast as you can stay in the seat (rough yard ) I have even cut the horse pasture with it and it does not miss a beat I havent hooked the finish mower up to the tractor in 3 years now tractor is a Kubota b3700 su and a 72 in finish mower i bough mine under the equine equipment program 25% off https://equineequipment.com/
 
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We bought the largest JD Lowe's carried back in March, after our beat MTD Toro finally croaked on us after 12 years. With a 54" deck & 25hp v-twin, it's a bit overkill for our slightly less than one acre, but it cut my mowing time by more than half. Cuts nice, too. Definitely can't see going back to a regular riding mower.
 
spittinfire said:
So far I've seen Dixie Chopper and Toro with 0% financing and while I wasn't planning on buying a new one if someone wants to lend me the money for free I'll keep mine and use theirs. I guess I'll start there.

@amnesia How much are you mowing there and what machine are you using?
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Look up " Tractor Time with Tim" on YouTube.
He recently did a review on the Dixie chopper I believe. A pastor was given a new old stock ZT that Tim got from Dixie chopper. The pastor goes and cuts yards for free for people that are unable; elderly , disability, etc

DS
 
cold1 said:
I'm the dissenter, get a SCUT with a 3 PTH finish mower and front end loader. You will find more uses for the tractor than just mowing.
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I've considered this greatly. I'm going to end up with a tractor eventually, just not sure if I'll be using it for mowing or not.
 
I’m on my second Bobcat zero turn. 61” deck.

Been mowing with them for 20 years now, and I’ll put mine on hills that will make most folks say nope. I earned my slope balls running heavy equipment. Been on slopes with my mower that made the uphill tire spin in mid air
 
A Scag Turf Tiger will run with any when it comes to steep slopes. The below seat gastank assures that but be warned there are slopes that are better avoided with any mower especially when wet. Also nothing on the market is built tougher or more durable than a Scag.
 
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Burt Gummer said:
I’m on my second Bobcat zero turn. 61” deck.

Been mowing with them for 20 years now, and I’ll put mine on hills that will make most folks say nope. I earned my slope balls running heavy equipment. Been on slopes with my mower that made the uphill tire spin in mid air
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I have steep hills to mow myself. I put ATV tires on my zero turn and it'll track sideways on the steepest hills.
 
J R Green said:
I have steep hills to mow myself. I put ATV tires on my zero turn and it'll track sideways on the steepest hills.
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When I replace my back tires it’ll be with atv tires. Keep me from sliding when the grass is wet
 
Also, any of you that have one with solid front tires, when those tires crap out and you want to save some money, I converted mine to pneumatic for less than half the price of replacing the solid tires
 
Brian K said:
Forgot about that. The ferris has adjustable coil overs at the corners. It's a smoother ride, but "smoother" is relative. The deck is welded 0.25 steel, not stamped, avoid stamped anything. The blades are a little thicker than 0.25 and can take a beating unlike residential blades.

7 hours down to just under 2. My only complaint is it makes a beer go flat in about 2 seconds.
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You must have a nice smooth yard, ours sucks. Can't keep a damn thing in the cup holder while mowing.
 
spittinfire said:
So far I've seen Dixie Chopper and Toro with 0% financing and while I wasn't planning on buying a new one if someone wants to lend me the money for free I'll keep mine and use theirs. I guess I'll start there.

@amnesia How much are you mowing there and what machine are you using?
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In that picture you’re looking at 25 acre field. My Kubota needs an oil change and I’m waiting on supplies to be delivered. I needed the field mowed before the rain last week to suppress the weeds while the new fescue came in.

it’s a gravely ZTHD 60 inch deck. It’s the top of the line residential and also can be warrantied for commercial because it has a welded deck not a stamped deck. Plus other things that make it beefier. It handled our land before the one you see here for over 3 years around 7acres mowed.

Just remember these zero interest deals the money comes from someone. Typically, there is an addditional 5-8% markup so be sure to ask the cash price. Either way it’s probably worth it to most to not pay out of pocket vs 500-900 in interest over the payment terms.

RE: tractor

Mowing in a tractor sucks and I’m in a cab with AC and music so that says a lot. It would be fine if don’t have hills or a lot of turns. The little subcompact John Deere’s that have the belly mowers is basically a 16k lawn mower with the ability to do light residential work.
 
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