Zero Turn Mods

[Kubota Tee]

what about a radio? years ago i put a 8 track tape player on a motorcycle. that was before there was much music for motorcycles. with all weather radios for tractors it wouldnt be hard to find a place to set it.

kydick - Thanks for bringing up the radio topic. What I have found to be most practical for a lawn mower or an open air tractor is something that provides hearing protection in conjunction with content (music, pod casts, talk radio, etc). Of course, this totally changes in a closed cab situation. For my new zero turn, I plan on using my portable devices (ipod nano with radio or iphone) along with ear protection that allows for a headphone type connection. This was the main purpose for including a USB power connection as part of my first mod. To take it one step further, I may look at investing in new headphones/ear protection that offers bluetooth connectivity in order to remove the hard connection between myself and the source device. Something like this.

 

[Kubota Tee]

This is not something you would want to do Kubota Tee but someone might want to. My nephew made a very simple discharge shoot shut off for his. He used a 1" board and a couple eye bolts and used a bungee cord for a spring. It sets up in the vertical position out of the way when not in use and just flips down over the shoot when he wants to block the shoot so he can mow next to a flour bed or something. He just reaches down and flips it ether way with his hand and the bungee cord holds it in place, I can't send a pic because the mower is over a hour away and my camera wont focus well that far, it would be all blurry. Kubota Tee no insult intended I just assume you would want something more polished. Ed

Ed - It's actually a very good suggestion. Fortunately for me, Toro has an answer with an optional accessory that accomplishes the same effect. Here is the description and picture from the Toro website

Operator-Controlled Discharge Chute
Landscape friendly rubber discharge chute provides complete control of clippings. with three discharge settings, from wide open to blocked, the OCDC will put the clippings where you want them and not in beds, streets, etc. The integral design allows the discharge chute to remain in place and on the machine, reducing the risk of personal injury and property damage.

 

[JerryK]

I made a wood cover to plug up the chute on my old commercial Toro ZTR. Going to made something like your stock chute cover thing this winter. They make one called a grassflap that is foot operated, and I am going to make one similar to that... except a couple hundred dollar cheaper..... like me, cheaper....

 

[Kubota Tee]

Everything is wired up and functional. My neighbor came by this evening while I was finishing up the wiring and commented that he may want to copy my mods for his JD zero turn because he often gets chased off his lawn by the darkness. I told him that I was more than willing to help! Here's an initial picture I took. More to come when it gets darker outside.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Spent about 30 minutes last night giving the new lights a good work out. This will definitely be a game changer for me, especially during the late summer and fall when I often find myself getting home from work after the sun has gone down. In the past, the lawn would get overgrown and I'd spend the weekend mowing (usually twice) to deal with the extra long grass. Now I'll be able to keep up with the lawn work, even in the dark. Some additional pics from last night .....

 

[Kubota Tee]

Just completed my next customization on the Toro Z Master 6000 - a rear hitch plate. I want to eventually do something like 4shorts did on his Kubota zero turn (see pic below), but I'll need to farm out the machine for a while at the welding shop, and I just can't have it out of service right now. For now, I decided to just go with a simple hitch plate. I found the Toro accessory part number and saw they wanted $70 for it. I found an equivalent on Amazon for half the price, but most reviews said they needed to adjust the holes to make it fit various machines - more of a generic replacement. However, everyone commented on how beefy the part was, so I decided to go for it. I did have to drill out the slots in order to make sure it fit, and put some spacers to accommodate the gap between the bumper and the frame. But I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The first pic is 4Shorts custom bumper, the rest are of my hitch.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Can you guess my next mod?

 

[farm boy00]

Can you guess my next mod?

I'm guessing a horn???

 

[4570Man]

I like the light, but I would bust them. I need to make a draw bar that is a little nicer than the current 2x4 board.

 

[Ford850]

I have a hitch similar to what you got from Amazon, and I use it all the time. It works great for my trailer, sprayer, and spreaders. I've even pulled light harrows when seeding areas.