What's it like owning a zero turn?

[aczlan]

OKie dokie.. So my manual is wrong then? And you havent actually watched a commercial mowing outfit mow? Really?

I have mowed commercially (using Exmark and Huskvarna commercial zero turns with 60 or 72" decks). If you are skipping a pass or have enough "headland" space to make a loop turn, you don't need to do a K turn, but if you are going back to mow the pass right after the one you just mowed and have the standard 2 passes of "headland" space, you have to do a K turn on most lawns or you WILL tear the grass. It might not be noticable, but it was to my boss, so we were required to do K turns.
You have a Gizmow (per your list of equipment) which does some fancy stuff to reverse one wheel on tight turns. It is about the only mower that does that (Cub may also do that on their mower with a steering wheel).
From a commercial user on Lawnsite:

I wouldn't say it's better or worse than a comparably built ZTR. I think it would just be a matter of how the operator prefers to steer. They are incredibly stout, fairly quick, and give a great quality cut. The steering wheel is nice.
The front casters are not just floating - they're linked mechanically to the steering wheel with a chain and sprocket arrangement. As you turn the wheel the inside rear wheel progressively slows and then reverses at full lock giving it it's zero turn capability. The only issue I've had so far was a steering chain that popped off after I hit an unseen and pretty deep hole at full speed. It was simple to reinstall and adjust after I read the manual. No problems since. I attached a water bottle holder to mine and it's great to be able to take a drink as your zipping along, steering with one hand. It also allows those super nice lawn guy waves to potential clients as well as potential dates.
Gizmow's claim of super traction is pretty accurate - I had an incident where I had a race car on a trailer end up stuck in a deep, muddy ditch. (don't ask) The truck I had at the time had an open differential and couldn't get any traction to pull the trailer out. I got a brilliant idea to mount a hitch ball on the front of the Gizmow and see if it would pull the trailer out - it did easily - it was actually pretty amazing and I wish I had pictures.
However, the claim of no turf tearing is a stretch. Mine came with the ag tires and I ended up switching to turf tires because it would tear turf in wet conditions - i think anything will. The turf tires have helped quite a bit with that issue.
One more thing - the pictures of the Gizmows with the fenders and lights are a European version. We don't get all that stuff here.
I also find the color to be beneficial when it comes to visibility. I have a few hundred feet along a state highway and the color stands out nicely. That's reassuring when cars are buzzing by at 60+ mph.
I think the Gizmow is a great machine on par with the best out there. Unfortunately, the companies marketing and dealer network stink. I'm glad I got my hands on one and would buy another.

Aaron Z

 

[Midniteoyl]

I have mowed commercially (using Exmark and Huskvarna commercial zero turns with 60 or 72" decks). If you are skipping a pass or have enough "headland" space to make a loop turn, you don't need to do a K turn, but if you are going back to mow the pass right after the one you just mowed and have the standard 2 passes of "headland" space, you have to do a K turn on most lawns or you WILL tear the grass. It might not be noticable, but it was to my boss, so we were required to do K turns.
You have a Gizmow (per your list of equipment) which does some fancy stuff to reverse one wheel on tight turns. It is about the only mower that does that (Cub may also do that on their mower with a steering wheel).
From a commercial user on Lawnsite:


Aaron Z

Oh, I agree that mine is 'different' in that regard, but, I have been on some others with sticks and was told the proper way of turning was one stick full forward, the other (inside) stick full back. This is what the 'fancy setup' on the Gizmow replicates.. cause it doesnt have sticks If you cant do that on your ZTR, then its setup/miss adjusted wrong, or a design error.

What tires you have on and their PSI also has to do with it, along with type of surface - ie: I have sand. It tears up just looking at it

 

[aczlan]

Oh, I agree that mine is 'different' in that regard, but, I have been on some others with sticks and was told the proper way of turning was one stick full forward, the other (inside) stick full back. This is what the 'fancy setup' on the Gizmow replicates.. cause it doesnt have sticks If you cant do that on your ZTR, then its setup/miss adjusted wrong, or a design error.
What tires you have on and their PSI also has to do with it, along with type of surface - ie: I have sand. It tears up just looking at it

You can do it on the mowers I have driven, but I wouldn't unless I was trying to do doughnuts on pavement. It sounds like a good way to flip the mower of on a bank (ie: one full forward, the other full back) 1/2 forward and 1/4 back is about all I would do on our mowers... The issue is that if you want to flip around and mow the next pass, you have to have the inside wheel move over ~1' while the outside one needs to move over ~4' and its hard to do that without a K turn OR enough space to make a "loop" (which then makes your lines look funny at the ends)

Usually I would go from both sticks full forward, to the outside one at half way forward and the other ~1/4 back (Red line in the picture below), then switch which was fwd and which was back to back up while turning (Blue line), then both forward (Orange line):

Total time, ~5 seconds.

Aaron Z

 

[yelbike]

Presently I mow 2 1/2 acres with a B7800 and 6 ft mower and it takes nearly three hours because of the obstacles of trees, etc. It's not a lot of backing and forwarding, just going around trees makes it harder. There is a lot of open ground to go fast on but it's those obstacles that slow me down. My ground is flat as a pancake with a few bumps but I have 0.00% grade.

If I got a 6 ft Deere or similar zero turn, what would I expect in terms of experience and time savings?

With my z465....2.5 acres, no slope but trees. I'd guess at an hour. I mow about 7 acres with limited obstacles and its done in 3.5 hours.

 

[yelbike]

A lot of poeple who don't have to make a living on their ZTR make zero turns. You'd be out of business in no time doing that on customer lawns though, since it tears the heck out of the turf. Most guys make a 3 pt turn same as on a tractor. The biggest advantage ZTR's have (at least commercial grade models) is in higher BTS's that allow you to mow cleanly at faster ground speeds. The maneuverability around obstacles in another advantage, but not as much as some like to think. There is an advantage, but it is based on comparing a ZTR to an average lawn tractor. You still have to be careful not to make ruts from going around obstacles the same way every time you mow. If you have a good hydro tractor with PS and side by side hydro pedals, you can mow almost as efficiently and quickly. I use both tractors and ZTR's in my business. It just depends on the terrain and conditions as to which one, when.

This chart is a fair indicator of productivity for a ZTR-
Mower Productivity - Exmark | The Efficiency of Our Lawn Mowers

I disagree with you ruts observation. Once you get good there's no reason for turf damage from turning. Keep in mind I don't now in the rain or when it wet. I slow down before entering a turn..

YMMV but these are my experiences after two full summers of use and some 300 hours of mowing.

 

[DK35vince]

Presently I mow 2 1/2 acres with a B7800 and 6 ft mower and it takes nearly three hours because of the obstacles of trees, etc. It's not a lot of backing and forwarding, just going around trees makes it harder. There is a lot of open ground to go fast on but it's those obstacles that slow me down. My ground is flat as a pancake with a few bumps but I have 0.00% grade.

If I got a 6 ft Deere or similar zero turn, what would I expect in terms of experience and time savings?

I mow around 7 acres.
Using my 35 HP tractor with a 7' RFM takes me 3 1/4 hours to mow.
With my Hustler Super Z zero turn (35 HP Kawasaki with a 6' deck) I can mow the same 7 acres in 2 hours.

 

[Midniteoyl]

You can do it on the mowers I have driven, but I wouldn't unless I was trying to do doughnuts on pavement. It sounds like a good way to flip the mower of on a bank (ie: one full forward, the other full back) 1/2 forward and 1/4 back is about all I would do on our mowers... The issue is that if you want to flip around and mow the next pass, you have to have the inside wheel move over ~1' while the outside one needs to move over ~4' and its hard to do that without a K turn OR enough space to make a "loop" (which then makes your lines look funny at the ends)

Usually I would go from both sticks full forward, to the outside one at half way forward and the other ~1/4 back (Red line in the picture below), then switch which was fwd and which was back to back up while turning (Blue line), then both forward (Orange line):
View attachment 361094
Total time, ~5 seconds.

Aaron Z

I think I figured it out.. Its all in semantics.. The '3 point turn' referenced earlier is noit really a 3 point turn like we think about while driving four wheeled vehicles..

This is the way I was pretty much taught, and they call it a '3 point turn', but its not.. Its more a '3 step turn'.

I was taught to do it really, really quick, thus the 'full back/full forward' on the sticks.

 

[RG1]

I disagree with you ruts observation. Once you get good there's no reason for turf damage from turning. Keep in mind I don't now in the rain or when it wet. I slow down before entering a turn..

YMMV but these are my experiences after two full summers of use and some 300 hours of mowing.

I've been mowing commercially for a long time now. Ruts or turf wear from repeated tires passes will happen if you mow the same pattern regardless of when you mow. Mowing when it's dry helps for sure, but many don't have that luxury due to work, family schedules etc, so they mow when the lawn is wet. If you cut for a living, you mow in the wet a LOT. It's just the nature of the beast. Many landscape layouts don't allow for much variation in mowing patterns, so the same basic one or two are used weekly. Slowing down does help, but when you have that much weight, wear to the turf is a fact of life.

 

[RG1]

I think I figured it out.. Its all in semantics.. The '3 point turn' referenced earlier is noit really a 3 point turn like we think about while driving four wheeled vehicles..

This is the way I was pretty much taught, and they call it a '3 point turn', but its not.. Its more a '3 step turn'.

I was taught to do it really, really quick, thus the 'full back/full forward' on the sticks.

That guy is describing one way to make a tight turn at the end of the row, but it is not what most commercial cutters are referring to when they say 3 pt turn. The true 3 pt turn is like the letter Y, only the bottom of the fork is radiused vs pointed like a true Y. Come to the end of the row, slow and turn toward the next row in the headland. Stop. Back up in a semi circle. Stop. Pull forward into the next row, and go.

Like I said, it would take a lengthy post to cover the different ways there are to do it, but the 3 pt turn as I described it here is the most common turn used.

 

[RG1]

OKie dokie.. So my manual is wrong then? And you havent actually watched a commercial mowing outfit mow? Really?

What are you talking about here? I mow for a living, so yea, I think I have seen commercial cutters mow. I was saying you must not have watched very many commercial cutters. My area is flooded heavily with them. I get to see all kinds of machines mowing. I never said anything about your manual or specific machine, however, I believe the OP is talking about a std ZTR with sticks. What I said is correct.

Like I said, go to Lawnsite and read or ask, and not in the HO forum. Go to the commercial forum and read or ask guys who do it every day.