Best Zero Turn for my property

[pequeajim]

I am looking for a Zero Turn to mow 5 acres of grass on a hilly property. I understand that some ZT mowers are better on hills than others because of a lower CG. I am curious to hear your recommendations?

Thanks
JiM!

 

[art]

Kubota's have proven superior on hills in our area do to there weight. They offer hydraulic lift as well as a wet clutch pto system that is unique to these units and things you normally only see in tractors.

 

[Redneck in training]

Stability is no problem. I would look at a mower that has the lowest number of maintenance points such as grease points. If your property is really hilly get high traction tires instead of turf. Out land is also hilly and the mower has hard time going uphill without slipping even with high traction tires.

 

[coobie]

Kubota's have proven superior on hills in our area do to there weight. They offer hydraulic lift as well as a wet clutch pto system that is unique to these units and things you normally only see in tractors.

Ditto !! on what Art said.My diesel Kubota ZD326 pro(60 inch deck) holds very well on hills.coobie

 

[pequeajim]

Ditto !! on what Art said.My diesel Kubota ZD326 pro(60 inch deck) holds very well on hills.coobie

What are we talking about for cost with this mower?

 

[coobie]

What are we talking about for cost with this mower?

I paid $10,700 back in 2007.coobie

 

[dex3361]

I bought a Bad Boy mower with a 60" deck I belive it had a 26HP motor on it(it was sold at Tractor Supply) and the mower did a great job on the flat but if you tried to mow across a slope the front end would pull down hill. It did fine if you mowed up and backed back down. If you tried to mow down hill you were going for a ride just like on a sled. I had a deal with the guy at TSC to try it out for a week and if I wasnt satisfied I could take it back for a full refund and that is what I did. I noticed that the ZTMs that seem to do well have the rear wheels that set are wide apart and keep in mind that my experience was with this one Bad Boy mower(its rear tires were not set very wide apart). This series of Bad Boy mower was like a cross between a residential and professional mower it had the HYdrogear 2 integral pump motor drive units instead od the seperate hydraulic pump with wheel motors found on professional units but had a bullet proof deck and frame(probably would have been agreat mower for flat areas). I ended up getting a BX 1500 mower with a 54" MMM and that fills the bill for me.

 

[pequeajim]

I'm getting ready to test mow with a Hustler, and then an Exmark to see how they handle on my hills. I'm ready to buy, just need to figure out which one.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Check out Ferris. The suspension they use will make for a smooth ride and help keep the wheels on the ground when traversing hills and dips.

Chris

 

[EddieWalker]

Buying a zero turn is like buying a tractor. First, set your budget on what you want to spend. Then the most important thing is going to be dealer support. When I started looking at them, I read all the posts that I could find here and over at Lawnsite. com Of the dozen or so top brands out there, only a few have what I wanted in dealer support. Some were sold at Ace Hardware, others from a Storage Unit lot and at the box stores. I wanted a dealer that could help me out with a problem and either have parts in his store, or able to get me the right part when I needed it. I wanted that dealer to be in a reasonable distance from me. While there might be better mowers out there then what I bought, I couldn't find one that fit my requirements better then Scag.

I can't possibly say that Scag is the best, but it is one of the top brands out there. I spent $8,000 for a 60 inch Wildcat that has a water cooled 26hp Kawasaki engine. It also has an oil cooler and is built like a tank. I have yet to find a hill that I can't go up, but my land isn't very steep. I do mow at angles that I would never mow with my tractor and finish mower. It just sticks to the ground and does an amazing job. I recently took off my blades to sharpen them for the first time, which was extremly fast and easy. Scag recomends greasing it every 100 hours. I have 20 on mine so far, so it's not much of a chore to keep it greased. I have solid front tires wich eliminates flats, but have had one flat on the rear tires.

I have two hydraulic pumps and drive motors for each rear tire. This is how commercial mowers do it. If you are looking at spending less, then some of the residential or estate level of mowers have one pump that runs both tires. Of the box store mowers that I looked at, the metal was very thin and a few were leaking fluids just sitting there. Nobody seemed to know anything about them, and I lost interest pretty quickly. I think that the more commercial the mower, the longer it will last and the happier you will be.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[milkman]

I am looking for a Zero Turn to mow 5 acres of grass on a hilly property. I understand that some ZT mowers are better on hills than others because of a lower CG. I am curious to hear your recommendations?Thanks JiM!

If you were closer, I'd come and mow for you with the new to me toy. I don't see how these would turn over unless you run off a cliff.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-buying-pricing/145810-zd21.html

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

i bought my ferris used and it had ag/bar tread tires on it....i thought it looked horrible! my buddy, that had just bought a new bota ztr, told me i was crazy for wanting to go back to turfs and that he'd love to switch his to ag......

well, being cheap i didn't and now have gotten used to the ag treads.......i had alway heard how bad ztrs were on hills, especially going across them......well, let me tell ya, i love this thing on hills.........i just add slight amount more on the oposite lever and it honestly has no trouble..........

i can say, however, that i can really see how they would be scary/dangerous on hills with turf tires and i wouldn't want to get on a hillside where i didn't have an escape path (you know, if you go down the hill you roll in to a ravine!).....

and, before you say it- because i did- the ag tread tires don't tear up the ground......i don't know whether mine are worn out or specially made but the bar lugs aren't that deep.........

i'll most certainly put ag/bar tires back on it......

 

[Alan L.]

I have the same Scag mower as Eddie, and mow across a couple of pretty good slopes with no problem.s Seems very stable and not hard to keep going straight ahead even though gravity would want it to go downhill.

 

[milkman]

I'm new to the zero turn crowd, and mowed some steep banks yesterday, discovered that to steer, it works better to use the wheel on the low side to speed up or slow down to turn. If I use the upper wheel to try to turn, it will spin or scoot. Sure is fun learning.

 

[dfeck]

I have a Ferris IS3000 with the 32HP big block engine. I like the Ferris due to the full suspension and quality of the mower. Built like a tank! The tires are set pretty far out. I don't have an issue because I mow on level ground. This has been my 3rd Ferris and really like it. I once used it on my brothers lawn which has a large hill and going up was not an issue it's going down. If you try to slow down the wheels would lock up and you start sliding. I know bar tires would help out with this. I would see if there's a local Ferris dealer that would be willing to let you try one out. My zero turn is 1300lbs and cost me $9400. This was a fairly decent deal because I purchased mid-season last year and he gave me a better deal than purchasing early spring.

Doug

 

[LBrown59]

i bought my ferris used and it had ag/bar tread tires on it....i thought it looked horrible! my buddy, that had just bought a new bota ztr, told me i was crazy for wanting to go back to turfs and that he'd love to switch his to ag......

well, being cheap i didn't and now have gotten used to the ag treads.......i had alway heard how bad ztrs were on hills, especially going across them......well, let me tell ya, i love this thing on hills.........i just add slight amount more on the oposite lever and it honestly has no trouble..........

i can say, however, that i can really see how they would be scary/dangerous on hills with turf tires and i wouldn't want to get on a hillside where i didn't have an escape path (you know, if you go down the hill you roll in to a ravine!).....

and, before you say it- because i did- the ag tread tires don't tear up the ground......i don't know whether mine are worn out or specially made but the bar lugs aren't that deep.........

i'll most certainly put ag/bar tires back on it......

I don't know where the they do myth came from.

 

[wushaw]

Weight and tire size I feel has alot to do with a ZTR ability to hold a hill side. I have two ZTR, a 36" and a 61", the little one has a hard time holding a hill side, spins tires, slides...etc. the big one has no problems, both have turf tires.

 

[MilesToEmpty]

We just sold our Encore Prowler 61" and bought a 61" Scag WildCat.

Its amazing, thing is a tank, will cut anything, and leave it as smooth as a carpet. The whole setup has NO flex in any of the chassis unlike our Encore.

We have a 40degree hill I mow with the Scag, does fine. At the steepest parts i go perpendicular with the hill. No issues.

It does like gas, and alot of it haha.

Oh, we have about 7 acres of grass that I mowed in just a few hours today. It hadent been mowed in a month. 3 acres of it was just bush hogged last week and the clippings were THICK. Some areas the grass was 2ft tall... Did it all great.

 

[pequeajim]

Ok, I am pretty much sold on the Exmark series with an UltraCut deck. I cut my 3.5 acres of grass 1-2 times a week. I would like to bag some of the time, but do not need to always. I live on the side of a small mountain and most of my yard is rolling with the exception of a 70' x 40' hill at 15 degrees, and a 70' x 50' hill in back at 22 degrees. I have lived with an underpowered mower in the past and do not want to repeat my mistake. I have also cut my property very successfully with a Ventrac (sim to a Steiner) 31 HP.

I am down to two choices:

A local guy who has a 2007 Lazer Z AS with a 25 HP engine and 60" ultra cut deck, bagger and trailer. All for less than the price he paid for just the ZTR at the end of 2007. The mower has 5 hours on it and 3 months warranty left. The guy was going to try to break into the lawn care business when his car was broadsided and he severly injured his back. The extremly low hours on the machine are verifiable as he lives 3 miles from me and I recall reading about him in the paper.

The second option is to buy a new Next Lazer Z with either the 29 or 34hp Kawasaki if I feel the 25hp is underpowered. I would be scraping just to buy the mower, no bagger and no trailer. But I have no doubt that it would handle the larger hill going up or down.

I am bringing the 25hp ZTR over here tomorrow to do some cutting with it.

I will be having a local dealer deliver either the 29 or 34HP kaw here later in the week so I can try them also.

Right now my mindset is that if I feel the 25hp with run up and down my larger hill while mowing, it is the better deal as I will get the bagger and trailer for much less than a new (larger) model. If I am unsure, I will end up leaning towards a new model and will have to bag the bagger idea, (sorry, couldn't help that one...)

I would only bag my front yard sometimes, and never the back. So, it will be important that I can get the bagger on and off fairly easily?

Anyway, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I really would like the 25hp to work, but am suspecting that it might not be enough in the long haul.

Anything else I should be looking for when i test drive it? Experiences with the Exmark bagger, (version that dumps from the seat with a lever)

 

[Redneck in training]

The mowing deck uses most of the power of the engine. As somebody already posted previously the mass, tire size, tire thread etc. (read traction) of the machine determines how well it will do on slopes. If it has better traction 25 HP might do better than 35 HP.