Why zero-turn mowers?

   / Why zero-turn mowers? #1  

RayCo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
1,027
Location
Chester County, PA
Tractor
Kubota BX24, Case 580 Super L
I've wondered for a while why people get zero-turn mowers. They are typically quite expensive and I'm not sure what justifies the cost. I have a number of tractors, but when it comes to cutting the grass, I use a 15 year old John Deere LX176. It has a 36" deck or something small like that, but it gets the job done quite well. I have probably less than an acre that I actually have to mow, so it seems suitable.

The tractor starts when I need it to and it performs its only task I ask of it - cutting the grass. When it dies some day, I won't get a mower deck for my Kubota or either Wheel Horse or anything. I'll instead pick up another sub-$500 tractor on E-bay or elsewhere and use that until it dies.

I realize it's a matter of to-each-his-own, but I'm wondering what it is about zero-turns that I just don't get that makes so many people want them.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #2  
When I bought mine I literally cut my mowing time in half, at least the time spent riding the mower in half. because of the ZTR manueverability I coulld cut closer to trees and the house and that in turn gave me less to trim with my string trimmer and time spent with the weed eater was cut as well.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #3  
I have a lawn service and ZTR mowers that i use can take a beating and keep on going they are made to mow everyday all day. They also mow twice as fast as a regular mower and give a nicer cut. The ones you see at home depot are for home owners and are not as tuff as the commercial grade ZTRs. I paid 7500 for mine and its worth ever penny. If you have a small yard a ztr is over kill but if you have alot of lawn to mow you cant beat a ztr. I mow 4 acres in about 2 hours and i have alot of stuff to mow around.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #4  
I don't own a z-turn, but I do have an old Snapper rear engine rider that someone gave me. I think I can probably turn my CUT around in a smaller place than that Snapper. You have to go over already mowed grass dozens of times to make the turns....you have to do big loops. Drives me crazy.

I'm sure newer conventional riders turn better than this Snapper, but I can definitely see why someone with a lot of grass or a lawn service would require a Z turn. Time is money.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #5  
It would take me 4hrs to do the lawn,but after I purchased my ZTR the time was cut in half. The replys posted so far are dead on. You would be amazed how much time is lost on turning with a conventional mower. Mine is a 42 inch cut and it is fast but does a good job. I would not give it up and go back to a conventional mower.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #6  
Afternoon Ray,
Ive allways kinda felt like you ! I mow my grass at my Ct home with an old Wheel Horse. It does a great job and Im only mowing an acre so whay bother spending big money on something that works good allready !

Fast foward to this past spring, a friend of mine works part time down at HD. He let me know about a Toro ZTR that someone bought the previous year used it once and bought bigger. They were looking to get rid of it cheap, thats were I came in ! ;) I bought this 42" ZTR 16hp homeowner model really cheap to mow my yard around my Vt home. That thing is just great, I can knock off an acre and a half in no time at all. Just spins on a dime and really moves ! My Uncle Dave up the road from me has a Toro Professional 52" cut Kawasaki engine and I got a chance to run that thing this past weekend, and it really screams, just flys along at quite a clip ! As another poster previously stated, its a time saver,. I think thats the bottom line !
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #7  
RayCo said:
I've wondered for a while why people get zero-turn mowers. They are typically quite expensive and I'm not sure what justifies the cost. I have a number of tractors, but when it comes to cutting the grass, I use a 15 year old John Deere LX176. It has a 36" deck or something small like that, but it gets the job done quite well. I have probably less than an acre that I actually have to mow, so it seems suitable.

The tractor starts when I need it to and it performs its only task I ask of it - cutting the grass. When it dies some day, I won't get a mower deck for my Kubota or either Wheel Horse or anything. I'll instead pick up another sub-$500 tractor on E-bay or elsewhere and use that until it dies.

I realize it's a matter of to-each-his-own, but I'm wondering what it is about zero-turns that I just don't get that makes so many people want them.

In just plain old English, it beats the h*** out of your JD rider any way you look at it. You will not know the advantages until you have used a ZTR for a while. You will notice that most commercial lawn service people use them. Why, TIME IS MONEY. You may say, why do they cut so fast. The answer is because they can.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #8  
As the name of my Woods 54" front deck mower says..Mowing Machine! I used to have a JD175 hydro similar to yours, The Woods ZTR cuts my time (2.8 acres) almost in half. I sometimes get out my MF 1040 with a Woods 72" rear discharge finish mower just for fun on the tractor; but the ZTR will mow circles around that set up also even being a smaller cut. I have used many ZTR's and i much prefer a Front Deck ZTR to a mid deck as I can trim around trees and shrubs without the need for a weed eater or push mower. hehe you could not run fast enough to get me to go back to a small tractor type mower like the JD175. The MF 1040 is fun but when I want to get the job done in the least amount of time, I start up the true mowing machine...my ZTR.
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #9  
In defense of the old fashion way:

I have arthritus and my John Deere X748 can be driven with one hand so I can let my other hand come back to life.

In the winter the 4X4 X748 and hydraulic angle snow blade beat the snot out of a ZTR for snow removal.

I get more seat time:)
 
   / Why zero-turn mowers? #10  
I've owned a Cub Cadet and a Craftsman "lawn tractors" and a little Toro ZTR. They all worked great, but the ZTR for Comfort, Speed, Maneuverability, and Convenience.
 
 
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