Brain Hurting over Zero Turn Mower

[Diamondpilot]

With buying anything like a tractor or mower you need to look at the support in your area. My neighbor is a commercial mower running mainly Ferris and one Scag. When we go on road trips we notice what is poplualar. In town A its brand A, ect.

Where I grew up NH tractors are king. I would guess 70% are NH, 15% Case, and JD maybe 10% with the other 5% covering the rest. Where I live now 75% are JD, and the rest Case. I have not seen but a handful of NH or any other large brand.

It all comes down to the dealer in the area.

Chris

 

[donn12]

I would recommend a used mainstream brand commercial. Exmark, Scag, John Deere(excluding 800 series) or Toro all have great reputations.

 

[American Bulldog]

I have a JD 60" Zero turn, and it has been a good machine. IT has a 25 HP Kawasaki, that has always run well. The shocks on the Ferris sound interesting. I have some uneven ground, and if I go too fast I bounce up on the seat, which kills the motor and the PTO. It starts running again when I settle, but sometimes makes a backfire sound as the unburned fuel explodes in the exhaust. The JD seats are too darn sensitive to bumps.

Another note, air cooled gas engines on these things are complete gas hogs. The money is one thing, but it is a downright hassle to have to fill up the tank all the time. A diesel unit will get you mowing more, and filling the tank less...:laughing: Unfortunately, most are probably out of your price range.

Best of luck.

 

[firemech]

I have and use a Toro Z4200 Timecutter and an older Husqarvarna Z4818 mower and like them both. The Husky seems to put more dust in your face but the larger tires give me a better ride than the Toro. Have not had any trouble with either (Toro 3 years, Husky 5 years).
firemech

 

[yomax4]

I have a Husqvarna 25HP and would like to trade even up for a K-Mart Blue Light Special.. At least it may perform. In case you have not caught on, Save yourself, Do not buy a Husqvarna anything....

 

[JSUnlimited]

I would'nt discount CC yet. Make sure you are looking at the commercial series of ZTR mowers. I bought a M-60 Tank several years ago and I beat it pretty hard and have had zero problems. It's 60" with the Kohler 27hp engine. Here is a couple of pics for you, the mower and some of the area I mow. Theres more I mow not shown in the picture.

My only regret was not buying the 72" model with the CAT diesel.

FYI, unless things have changed, LESCO was making these for CC.

 

[D33r3 6r33N]

i would lean against a ZT after a while of cutting the grass burn marks will appear where u are always turning

You have take it easy on them turns I actually use almost a Y pattern to turn around

 

[D33r3 6r33N]

@Mega

I don't think I would look at anything over 60" unless your ground is as flat as a ballfield

 

[JDL538]

I have a Exmark Lazer z 60 in. cut 06 model. Its one heck of a machine it cuts grass faster and better than anything I have ever used.
Have used just about every kind of Tractor, they are a little ruff, if you go to fast, but boy or they fast can cut in half the time, plus it looks like a gulf coarse when done.
They can take some time to get used to, don't go down hill on wet grass ever.

 

[EddieWalker]

Before buying my Scag, I set out to buy a mower that would get the job done, but nothing too fancy. My goal was to spend what it took to get quality, but to also find something that I could get good support from. I didn't have a brand favorite, but started out looking at the low end stuff. With a set budget, I was very disapointed in what I saw, and very curious about the stuff I couldn't afford.

With time, and reseach, I realized that I need to raise my budget. I read more, and also really started paying attention to what the pros were using. And not just what they were using, but what they were driving and how profesional they appeared. My reasoning is there are guys out there making a living with junk, and those who are doing very well who can afford to buy the best.

Scag and Exmark are what I see most of the time. I looked at other brands, but none compared to the quality of build, or the dealer support of the Scag. Then after realizing that the Scag was what I was using as my standard, I spoke to a few dealers a second time to get their feel on why their product was better then the Scag, and why I should consider buying from them instead of the Scag.

I spent a few months looking, and havn't regreted buying Scag. I know that a few guys on here like other brands, and Dargo had me seriously looking at Grasshopper, but that dealer wasn't too keen on making a sale of the mower I wantd, and instead, wanted to sell me something else. Not knocking Grasshopper, but that dealer killed any chance of a sale by not listening to me, and wasting my time.

Number one rule in all tractor, farm related purchases is to buy from the best dealer around. Brand is on as good as the dealer, and if you have worthless Scag dealer, then buying a Scag would be a big mistake for you.

My dealer is awesome, and my Scag is amazing, but it's the only zero turn that I've ever owned, and like most of us on here, that's all we can talk about.

Good luck,
Eddie