I need a faster Zero Turn mower or can I make mine faster?

[fattball]

My dads renter is crazy. His yard was over 2 acres, and I was charging him $30 to mow it. He apparently decided that was too much, and he bought a push mower. He keeps it mowed slick, more often then he paid me to mow it

Wow 2 acres with push mower would take 10 hours but you would be in great shape

 

[RollingsFarms]

I don't mean to be rude, but if you were mowing over 2 acres for $30, YOU might be crazy too. That's less than $15 per acre gross. When you subtract the cost of fuel and wear and tear on your equipment, then it was probably just a breakeven proposition at best.

No the guy who's renting from him is a fool. $30 for 2 acres is a steal. It's better than a steal, it's unheard of! He was dumb enough to think he'd be saving $30 by being stupid but instead he's doing probably 5x the work and I bet he spends a good bit in gas, blades, and the fact that the push mower ain't exactly free(it'll take a lot of cutting to recoup that cost). Not to mention all the free time he's taking by push mowing that much yard.

 

[4570Man]

It took me less than 30 minutes of mowing time. It was only about 1/2 mile away. Round trip took about an hour. Fuel cost was less than $3. I know most people would have got more, but I felt like $30 was fair.

 

[RollingsFarms]

It took me less than 30 minutes of mowing time. It was only about 1/2 mile away. Round trip took about an hour. Fuel cost was less than $3. I know most people would have got more, but I felt like $30 was fair.

Well it's worth keeping your property looking nice plus you make a few bucks. That's one expense I wouldn't want to pay (having someone else do it). Still can't believe that guy thought $30 was too high.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . . So now I just got a Kubota mx5800sht with 72 inch mower and its to slow also in 1st hst gear setting. Im gonna try 2nd gear next mow. . . . The john Deere took 6 hours the Kubota took 5 in 1st hst gear. . . .

When you say "1st hst gear setting", I assume you're talking about low range. Unless your ground is too rough to go any faster, you should be mowing in medium range. Even if the grass/weeds are really tall, you can still mow it in medium and just let off the hst pedal to slow down if you hit a spot that is tall or thick. Medium range will be a lot faster, but not as fast as a zero turn mower.

 

[Mace Canute]

Perhaps a dedicated small ramp trailer that you never use for anything else. Something with short tires and a fixed fold down full width ramp. Attach a couple of correct length straps so they never leave the trailer by bolting or attaching with a clevis and tighten it up really well to discourage you or someone else from borrowing the straps. Drive on, toss a couple straps and away you go.

I had a JD Z225, sold it and did a significant upgrade to a Exmark Navigator. It is almost twice as fast and bags very nicely. So you could dedicate the JD to the rentals and leave it at a rental or on your trailer....and buy yourself a nice mower for your home.

That's strange..both the JD Z225 and the Exmark Navigator list their top speed as being 7 mph.

Shop John Deere Z225 18.5-HP Dual Hydrostatic 42-in Zero-Turn Lawn Mower with Briggs & Stratton Engine at Lowes.com

Lawn Mower | Zero Turn | Exmark Navigator | Alabama

 

[TJP89]

That's strange..both the JD Z225 and the Exmark Navigator list their top speed as being 7 mph.

Shop John Deere Z225 18.5-HP Dual Hydrostatic 42-in Zero-Turn Lawn Mower with Briggs & Stratton Engine at Lowes.com

Lawn Mower | Zero Turn | Exmark Navigator | Alabama

I think there's something screwy with the OP's top speed. 4.5mph is slower than the 5mph top speed of my dinky craftsman lawn tractor. Have you actually tried driving the Z-turn between properties? Even a 5-6mph, 3/4 mi is going to be less than 10min, which is less than load/unload time for a trailer. Whether the thing is road legal is another question though.

 

[DavesTractor]

That's strange..both the JD Z225 and the Exmark Navigator list their top speed as being 7 mph.

Shop John Deere Z225 18.5-HP Dual Hydrostatic 42-in Zero-Turn Lawn Mower with Briggs & Stratton Engine at Lowes.com

Lawn Mower | Zero Turn | Exmark Navigator | Alabama

I knew the Exmark did about 7.0, and I was going on what was written in the original post where it said the JD did 4.5. But it looks like in a race, it would be a dead heat. Unless the race was in reverse, where the Exmark is half again faster than the JD.

I never ran them side by side. Once I got the Exmark the JD went on Craigslist. The JD cut fine actually, but I bag everything and it would clog a lot and I'd have to go really, really slow if the grass was not perfect. The Navigator doesn't really care, it's built around the grass collection system (copy of the Walker GHS). It sounds like there are a lot of mowers that have much higher travel speeds.

 

[Mace Canute]

Well Dave, since you mentioned a race, here you go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxmVdUNADc4

 

[ztrjim]

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