Thinking of buying a zero turn mower????

[miltrade]

I toiled away for four years, mowing the four or five acres of my 13 that are cleared and have grass using either a riding mower and/or my JD4500 pulling a six foot landpride mowing deck. Usually, after golf on Saturday or all day Sunday, I went out and suffered through about 3.5/4 hours of driving back and forth, trying to figure out a pattern that I could cut that would allow me to not have to back up to try to make tight turns etc. 4 HOURS!! My property is not symmetrical like a football field. It has lots of decorative trees, horse fencing, garden beds, etc. I'm telling you, four hours in the hot VA sun is not pleasant at times. Not to mention the fact that after I was done with just the mowing I had to try to get other chores done. That is, if I had the energy or inclination.

So, I decide to go ahead and sell the riding mower (for only $100 less than I paid four years ago!) and a woodchipper (turned a profit on that one, thanks JINMA!) on Craigslist and take the cash and apply it toward a zero turn. I browse Craigslist for a few weeks and find a commercial grade Husqvarna with only 200 hours on it. Retails for 10K, guy is asking 5500. I offer 4000, we settle on 4500. I go out to pick it up and turns out it belongs to some millionaire who got foreclosed.

Anyways, the zero turn mower has literally changed my life. Using a standard digital watch, I have timed my first three sessions mowing the entire area I used to do in 3.5/4 hours using the riding mower and tractor. It has taken me between 59 minutes and 65 minutes each time! That's ONE QUARTER the time it used to take!! I can mow my 4 to 5 acres in less time than it takes some surbabanite to mow his postage-stamp yard!! Now, I can mow on Friday after work before the wife even gets home. I have discovered this thing that they call a "weekend". It's a strange and wonderful period of time between two work weeks when you can garden, play golf, spend time with the kids, repair your house, work on projects, engage in some "physical" activities with the wife and/or girlfriend (depending on mood).

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT A ZERO TURN, DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[two_bit_score]

Good info on your experience.Been thining about a Scag for the areas around the farm house. Got about 3 acs around the house that aren't pasture.

Anybody have experience with a Scag you'd like to share?

 

[miltrade]

Trust me my friend, you will be amazed and excited about what you can do with all the extra time and at the same time kicking yourself for years of suffering through the heat, dust, bee stings, sunburn, and neglect of other projects.

 

[WH401]

I have 11 acres, 7 -8 those are grass, mostly open field. Up until last September, I was cutting all of that with a 1972 IH Cub w/ a 59" Woods belly mower. Needless to say it was a very time consuming process, were talking 7 - 8 hours depending on how much I would cut. For the past 3 years that I had been doing this, I kept running into problems with the tractor. I would fix one thing and then something else would break. Not to mention the fact that the tractor is only 11 hp from the factory and with the considerable hours that had been put on it over the years, who knows what it was worn down to by then. If you didn't keep the blades sharp and the deck clear of grass build up, then you were going to have a tough time cutting.

After the 3rd year of problems, and wasting almost an entire week in terms of hours spent mowing, I decided it was finally time to go look at something else. Originally I was looking at a ZTR, as that would be the quickest route to getting the grass cut. My only problem with the ZTR was the enormous hill on my property that has to be cut. That then led me to look at older Kubota front mount mowers, such as the F 2400's. While one of those would've been great, I still really needed another tractor for the capabilities of the FEL. My other FEL tractor is out of commisson at the moment and I had things that required an FEL that needed to be done.

Ultimately, I had to pass on the ZTR and front mount mower machines because of my needs. I now am cutting with the 3320 and 72" Woods RFM in my sig. The difference between cutting now and then is sheer amazing. What use to take me 8 hours to cut, now takes me 4. I used to have to split mowing each field into two evenings. Now I can get the entire property done in 1 day. The power is also great, there is no more thinking "will it cut it or won't it cut it".

I know that you rave is about the ZTR and I agree that a ZTR is one of the best things for grass cutting. But I just wanted to input my experience of using a newer machine as well. Good luck with your new cutting experience.

 

[sld]

I know exactly what you mean.

It used to take 6 - 7 hours to mow my Mom's 5 acres filled with obstacles. Now I do it in just under 2 hours with a 50 inch ZTR. The full day job has turned into a week night task. I love it.

They are amazing at what they are designed to do - cut grass. My time keeps getting faster as I get better too.

Luckily I still have a bush hog for when the areas around the pond get out of hand. We have had so much rain there are areas I can't mow. It just goes to show you that for all conditions, you almost need the ZTR and a bush hog.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My next door neighbor runs a commercial mowing operation and just picked up a 72" Ferris ZTR with a 37HP Kawasaki. He claimed it mowed 7-8 acres a hour and I said yea right so he invited me along to one of his commercial jobs. Its a 6 acre parcel with 3 buildings and a pond. Building 1 is about 2500 SQ ft, building 2 is about 1600 SQ ft, and building 3 is about 1000 SQ ft. I would estimate the pond at 100' x 150'. There is a drive about 400' long and 16' wide with parking for about 6-8 cars then there are sidewalks between the building plus the property probably has 50 trees and the standard commercial landscaping to deal with. Anyway I timed him and from the moment he started the ZTR on the trailer till he shut it off back on the trailer was 37 minutes. I was amazed until I leaned a unit like his runs $13,400.00 Anyway gives me something to dream about.

He said it mows at 12 mph and can do that due to its full suspension along with the seat is a air ride type that gives a smooth ride for the operator.

Chris

 

[Rockford]

I got a new 72 in scag last summer and i just love it. I think they are built the best, all parts heavy duty.

 

[crbr]

Good info on your experience.Been thining about a Scag for the areas around the farm house. Got about 3 acs around the house that aren't pasture.

Anybody have experience with a Scag you'd like to share?

Scag is right up there as the cream of the crop. Go with the Turf Tiger and never look back.

Scag would be my first choice then Kuboata.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would not rule out the Ferris brand. They are owned by Toro/Simplicity and they are what the serious guys use around here followed by Dixie Chopper then Scag is third about equal with the high end Cubs and Husqvarna. Of course a good local dealer is probably as important as the brand.

Ferris Industries, Commercial Mower Specialist, with a reputation for reliability and innovation. Zero-Turn, Zero Turn, Lawn Mower, Walk Behind, Walk Behind Mowers, Riding Mower, Ferris Mowers, Mowers, Mower, Commercial Mower, Lawn Mowers, landscape,

Chris

 

[Alan L.]

I have a 61" Scag. It will mow at 11mph. There are some stretches that are too rough, but I still seem to manage about 2-2.5 acres an hour. But the grass is usually 6-8 inches tall when I mow it. Much faster than the brush hog which is probably under 2 acres an hour. And a whole lot prettier cut.