Comparison 50" used Zero Turn vs Tractor with 60" finish observations

[Tifford]

My lawn is moderately hilly, about 5 acres, trees here and there.

Tractor is a Mahindra 25horse diesel new with a very used Italian 60" side discharge finish mower.

Zero Turn is a Toro 725 cc Zero Turn that is very used.

Advantages of Tractor.
Nice seat, hydrostatic foot control, straight line speed, 4 wheel drive option, quieter than the zt, less bumpy ride, diesel doesn't go bad like ethanol does, tractors are very handy for a lot of jobs, the tractor feels less stressed than the zt while mowing, In a straight line in 2wd the tractor feels like it would win a race. I have not verified speed though, you're further away from the grass clippings, seems to use less diesel than the zt does gas.

Disadvantages of Tractor
Tree limbs that you can run into because you're up high, not as tight of a turn, you sometimes twist your head to see where the mower is, a new tractor does cost more $.

My Toro ZT is used and I just got it. The maintenance was not kept up on it. It struggles to go up hill and it has difficulty turning right. I'll take it to a dealer and have a tune up done on it when time allows. It beats on you when the ground turns rough. It feels like only the right tire pulls hard while the left tire doesn't pull very hard.

I can see that if you have a properly running zt that it would be great on a lawn that has obstacles.

I would take a tractor with a finish mower in a second if there's not many obstacles.

 

[4570Man]

I have similar setup and my thoughts are the ZTR is better except when the terrain becomes un passable with the ZTR. Using machine specific specs like power output and seat isn’t exactly fair for a ZTR VS tractor comparison. The top speed of the tractor is better than my ZTR, but my L3800 with my 72” finish mower stands no chance of laying down more grass than my 428D Grasshopper 72” deck. My B7200 with my 60” finish mower stands a better chance against my 50” Dixie chopper but in good mowing conditions it’s still going to loose. The b7200 is by far the closest thing to indestructible and un stuck able mower that I own. I don’t think I’ve ever had that tractor stuck and it’s not because of lack of trying.

 

[Tifford]

4570Man,

I agree. I had a bad 1st experience with this ZT due to poor upkeep from the previous owner. It came with the house. I can see a ZT saving time. The next time I mow with it I'll wear hearing protection that I use on the range. Once the lack of power on the left wheel is figured out I'm sure it will be better. Til then I'll use the tractor on the wide open spaces and the zt will make left turns around the trees.

 

[GrumpyJoe]

Is this an ether or? One or the other? A zero turn is pretty much one dimensional. Cutting grass is only a small part of what I do. There are endless possibilities with a tractor. Hauling wood, grading a driveway, plowing snow, moving dirt. See where I'm going with this. Having a front bucket beats a wheel barrel hands down. If you live in a neighborhood and all you plain on doing is cutting grass than a zero turn will probably work. But, if there is any chance of doing any of the above? I would get a tractor. Unless you have a ****-ton of money then buy both.

 

[Ritothebull]

My neighbor wanted a small tractor and his wife talked him into a zero turn because she likes running around on them, now he's always belly aching that he should have gotten a tractor every time he has to do something that he can't with that new fancy mower. And I would be real careful about buying a used zero turn, sellers like to paint them up real nice but most of them are worn out.

 

[DK35vince]

The hill behind our house is steep enough our zero turn doesn't do well on it.
I use the tractor with 4 WD to mow it.
But for the rest of the yard our 35 HP 72" zero turn will easily out mow our 35 HP tractor with 84" rear finish mower.
As for ride, our Hustler Super Z zero turn rides a good bit better with 7-8 PSI in the turf tires, suspension seat and flex forks vs the tractor has stiff R-4's with 35 PSI in the front tires and 15 in the loaded rears

 

[Tifford]

In agreement with you grumpyJoe. Not so much an either or but to inform those that may have the money to only buy one or space for only one or for those who don't want excess machinery around.

I love my tractor for the reasons you stated. It is a fantastic snow blower and I use it more than I ever thought I would.

 

[DK35vince]

In agreement with you grumpyJoe. Not so much an either or but to inform those that may have the money to only buy one or space for only one or for those who don't want excess machinery around.

I love my tractor for the reasons you stated. It is a fantastic snow blower and I use it more than I ever thought I would.

Sure, not everyone wants more than 1 machine to buy, maintain and store.
And tractors generally do just fine for mowing.
We bought a zero turn for 1 reason, to help cut our mowing time on an 8 acre lawn.
The tractor does everything else, including much of the mowing.

 

[4570Man]

If the choice is buy a ZTR or a tractor. It’s tractor for the win. Buying a MMM in place of a ZTR doesn’t make any sense IMO.

 

[kthompson]

Was cutting our lawn with B2710 kubota with 72 inch bushhog rfm. Bought bushhog ztr mower with 52 inch deck to trim only. I could cut the lawn in 3/4 the time with the zero turn I could with the tractor and 20 inch wider deck same brand and tractor has hydro transmission. All things considered ztr will out cut tractor as it will whip around trees and such and save a lot of string trimming.

Now tractor will handle slopes and wet ares is not safe on or will not handle and never had to pull tractor out of wet spot for mower but ztr will bog in hurry.

As to noise you should wear ear protection on both. Should wear eye also. As to dust, some of that depends on the exact mower. Our bushhog ztr no problem on debris on operator, our ferris is a problem. Diesel does use less fuel. Tractor can also travel faster from one lawn to another if need be driven there. As to ride, our ferris will ride ever bit as good as our B2710 but our bushhog mower will beat me to death.

 

[cphilip]

I tried cutting my larger yard with both. Just once so far. It actually wasnt worth it. The paths I had to then follow with the ZTR after mowing what I could with the grooming mower and tractor took up more time than I though they would. I have too many trees to really use the grooming/finish mower on that area. It has its places. But in that role, of dual cutting, the Toro really is best. The Toro is 54" and the Finish is 60". No real advantage all things considered.

 

[TractorGuy]

Got rid of my 50" zt last year and replaced it with a 72" rear discharge finish mower. Already had the tractor. Don't miss the zt at all.

 

[Will_C]

They both have their place. First tractor I bought was a BX. I used it for everything on my 2.5 acres and my mother's 2 acres. I used it for 8 years and bought a 52" zero. Cut mowing time dramatically-from 1.5 hours at my mothers to 1 hour.
I bought 9 acres and then bought a B2620. I mow 6 acres of that with the zero and 3 acres with an old 60" mower behind the tractor-that 4 acres is too rough for a zero. Each takes me about 2 hours.

Bottom line is a tractor is the choice if you can only have 1 machine. If you have lots of relatively smooth mowing, the zero is a worthwhile addition to save time, and I suspect wear on the tractor-my zero cost $7200 and the my tractor and FEL was $15,500.

Will

 

[Texasmark]

My lawn is moderately hilly, about 5 acres, trees here and there.

Tractor is a Mahindra 25horse diesel new with a very used Italian 60" side discharge finish mower.

Zero Turn is a Toro 725 cc Zero Turn that is very used.

Advantages of Tractor.
Nice seat, hydrostatic foot control, straight line speed, 4 wheel drive option, quieter than the zt, less bumpy ride, diesel doesn't go bad like ethanol does, tractors are very handy for a lot of jobs, the tractor feels less stressed than the zt while mowing, In a straight line in 2wd the tractor feels like it would win a race. I have not verified speed though, you're further away from the grass clippings, seems to use less diesel than the zt does gas.

Disadvantages of Tractor
Tree limbs that you can run into because you're up high, not as tight of a turn, you sometimes twist your head to see where the mower is, a new tractor does cost more $.

My Toro ZT is used and I just got it. The maintenance was not kept up on it. It struggles to go up hill and it has difficulty turning right. I'll take it to a dealer and have a tune up done on it when time allows. It beats on you when the ground turns rough. It feels like only the right tire pulls hard while the left tire doesn't pull very hard.

I can see that if you have a properly running zt that it would be great on a lawn that has obstacles.

I would take a tractor with a finish mower in a second if there's not many obstacles.

Won't bore you with what I have gone through in the past 40 years but my current, favorite mower, out of the 10ish active mowing devices of tractor driven shredder; tractor driven 3 blade, 4 wheeled finish mower; conventional riding mower; and 3 ZTS on the place, is a 61" Ferris ZT with a 52" sun shade attached to the ROPS bar with my add ons: soft springs and soft riding tires.

On width, 61 vs 52 is noticeable, as is ground speed. The Ferris is fast and wide. I do have a variety of terrains and do use other mowers for specific mowing like my yard, mowing around my pond at the water line, mowing grown up pasture.

I no longer have the tractor mounted finish mower. I bought it years ago for my yard and the problem I had with it was in turns. Sticking out the rear, any turns around any kind of an obstacle, meant that rear.....where the mower is located, would swing wide and bump into things. On mowing anything other than the lawn, it just bounced over the ground if you were going any speed at al......useless.

My Ferris mows better running fast than slow. Compare it to an automobile on a bumpy road. Go slow and you feel every bump. Go fast and the suspension system absorbs the shocks. Add to that the fact that turns are a no brainer and you don't waste time making loops and all in getting the tractor lined back up or having to come back and X the field to pickup the missed grass in corners and all. On slopes you are low to the ground so you don't worry about roll-overs.

 

[jhasafety1]

I have both, use zero turn for speed and ease of use. Considering going back to tractor for open field use while wife mows trees and house areas with zero turn. I agree with the others if only getting one go for the tractor. That's how I started.

 

[varmint]

If your yard is sort of rough, like ours, a finish mower doesn't leave a good cut, and with various buildings, trees, shrubs, wood piles and other obstacles, takes forever. I settled on a commercial grade Cub Cadet ZT, but only a 48" deck, so it handles bumps and dips pretty well, without scalping or leaving high areas, and sure is quick to zip around the obstacles. (I found a super clean used one, with only 155 hours, for $3250, so the choice was simple.)
If you have a large, open and smooth lawn, then maybe the RFM is great. On the other hand, can't imagine getting along without a tractor for heavy work and hauling stuff. Tough choice, if that's what it boils down to!