How's The New Deere Commercial Zero Turns?

[JDFANATIC]

Originally Posted by gamble77

No reason to get into the Kubota v. JD argument here...Neil you could save us the trouble though if you wouldn't post short degrading comments like your first one, it always leads to this and this is not what these boards are for. I appreciate your input at times but sometimes we could do without...Kubota makes a fine machine but these are Deere boards so lets stick to JD talk.

That being said there have been two main concerns with the Z820. Number one was the power issue, which has to do with the higher capacity deck/new transmission with higher ground speed/new vertical design. Secondly, the belts have been coming off the pulley system. This is the ONLY model in the whole line-up that is causing problems and we are seeing a lot of these issues here in the South, and some of our stores have already sold close to 100 of these machines.

Deere is looking into the issue, they have stopped shipment of the Z820's and added some different deck/hp combinations to the Z810/Z830...hope that clears things up.

gamble,

Funny you mention this. Our church just received a call today about a recall on the belts. I didn't take the call, but understand the dealer is coming out Thursday to install whatever the fix is.

But back to the 820/60" combo, in our application it works really well. Our teams have decreased from 8 to 4 and the time per unit to take care of the lawn has decreased to about an hour from nearly three with our previous set up. Needless to say, we're tickled green!

[Wesdor]

Gamble77 - Thanks for the details. I'll watch the belts on my 820 closely. Thankfully I believe I have an excellent dealer and with the warranty it should be covered.

As for the power issue, I do notice when going up a couple steep hills that the mower bogs down, but it does keep going. I tried an Exmark and it did the same thing, so perhaps the hill is just really steep.

Your expertise is greatly appreciated.

[BleedGreen]

Originally Posted by MessickFarmEqu

Homework?! Maybe someone should stop drinking the green juice and read between the lines of what your told. Deere offers 1 $16,000 diesel model with a hydraulic PTO, every Kubota machine has one. Deere's highend transmission is from Parker. Several other companies have already used that parker tranny, its nothing exclusive to Deere. Kubota's in house transmission has Hydraulic lift rather than a foot pedal, shafts down to the deck rather than belts, and not a single hydraulic hose. Last I heard, Kubota has somthing like a 70% marketshare in diesel ZTR's (not a big player in gas). You can buy a diesel ZD321 for the same price as a liquid cooled gas from most companies. We do actually sell just as many Ferris ZTR's because the gas Kubota's are pricy because they contain all these commercial features. No question which is more advanced though. Btw.. Case / New Holland is really our bread and butter, I know my orange, but am by no means blind to what else is out there.

I apologize - I didn't realize we were talking about DIESEL ZT's. Yes, Kubota has very high market share if you break ZT's out into Gas versus Diesel - on the other hand, they are not much of a player when you look at the ZT market as a whole.

Now on to the hydraulic pumps (not transmissions) If you read my post, I was referring to last years 700 series, which had a Kanzaki Dual Unitized Pump system, which was EXCLUSIVE to John Deere. You are correct that this years new model 800's do have an integrated Parker transmission. You are also correct that several other manufacturers have used a similar type of transmission as well.

No question as to which ZT's are the most advanced??? Since you brought up Kubota ZT's, how old is the current frame design? Does it have cast I-beam caster arms & cast forks? Are the mower decks still fabricated out of several pieces of steel, with sharp corners? Is there an available operator controlled mulching system with movable baffles in the deck? What kind of electrical system do they have? How many electrical switches are on each model? Do they have an onboard diagnostic system? How about an hourmeter that only counts hours the engine is actually running? Maybe, just maybe, there are some other units out there that have advanced features and ALSO are priced competitively with the rest of the industry.

Competitvely priced seems to be the issue with operators in my area not purchasing Kubota. Driveshafts are great, but at what cost? Hydraulic deck lift is great, but at what cost? And lets be honest, cost is one the most important items to a commercial landscaper. Also when I say "cost" I am referring to both the initial cost of these features, as well as the additional cost to repair / replace those features when they break.

After all this typing, I am a bit parched - please excuse me while I go drink some more green juice...

[JDFANATIC]

Originally Posted by BleedGreen

Driveshafts are great, but at what cost?

Driveshafts to the deck also require a gearbox on the mower deck. All the gearbox decks out there that I know of have lower blade tip speeds. Lower blade tip speeds equate to lesser performance.

[JESSE1]

I guess I just got lucky. My dealer was running a promotional sale on the 997's for $12,500. Traded in a '98 JD 4400. So I got an '08 997 diesel ZTR with a 72" 7 Iron deck, gear drive and hydraulic lift. I did buy the rear bumper separately. Does a beautiful job of mowing. Just did my first oil change.

[srs]

Originally Posted by BleedGreen

How about an hourmeter that only counts hours the engine is actually running?

I must be missing something here. What do you mean by this sentence? Thanks.

[shot_gun]

SRS thats easy some manufactures hour meters only turn on when the pto is engaged.

[srs]

Originally Posted by shot_gun

SRS thats easy some manufactures hour meters only turn on when the pto is engaged.

thank you. Doesn't make any sense to me but ok!

[shot_gun]

Stanley, AMEN me either but thats hows it' done.

[Branchminnow]

Ok Im new here how about the smaller Zero turns at lowes and HD???