Bought new Zero Turn

[Superduper]

We just bought a new zero turn mower. It's a snapper pro S200x. First I'll tell a funny story, then I'll follow up with my observations of this mower.

So after plunking down $6200 for this mower, even though wife did not like seeing the funds shrink from our account, we finally got chance to put it to use. Ground dried sufficiently and we really wanted to get a head start and mow down last years dried growth before it mixes with this years new growth. Hopefully, neighbors might like us a little better too since our place looked really unkempt like a messy jungle. Anyhow, a couple weeks ago one sunday when the weather was really nice, wife said "sooo how do you operate this thing." She'd been eyeing it ever since we got it. I filled up the tanks (there are 2) and went through all the controls. Since I had work to do on another piece of equipment that I picked up at auction, it was fine by me if she wanted to do the cutting. There was 2.5 acres to cut and most of the stuff was last years growth, ranging from 1' tall to 3' tall. Neighbors said we should brush hog it. But the growth wasn't too stalky -- I figured a heavy duty machine like this would cut it fine. Anyhow, with that, off she shot and started buzzing around the yard. I mostly could hear her cutting in the back. I knew she wasn't in trouble or anything because I could hear the machine moving about. Then I saw it..... she scooted around to the front full blast and bounced and plowed into and over all the berms and holes and mounds... (we had skidsteers & excavators out last year installing septic and water line and power lines under the property so it was pretty rough). She went upslope, downslope, sideslope... some of those area's I wouldn't dare mow with my Craftsman garden tractor, and probably not with the deere either. I swore she popped wheelies and got front wheels airbornes more than once. My daughter ran over and said "you really should tell mommy not to drive like that -- she's using that like an ATV." Indeed. I tried to flag her down while flapping my arms but she drove back to the back-field. She obvously couldn't hear me and I guess she didn't see me. She mowed any which way, no pattern, zig zagging, many of the spots she must've mowed several times already. When she wanted to turn around, she showed why these machines were called "zero turns." All the while her legs were flapping around like she was a raggety ann doll as she bounced around the field. I thought to myself, OMG, she's gone crazy. I was certain that her azz must have really taken a beating. Finally I got her attention and suggested that the speed controls were proportional and not on/off. She knew that of course but it was clear, she was just having way too much fun. Funniest thing of all is that when I asked her if her butt hurt after all that pounding, she said no, but praised the seatbelt for keeping her in the seat. No kidding. She put 1.2 hours on the machine to mow the 2.5 acres.

Anyhow, last week later after hosing down the mower as it was completely filthy from dust, I looked underneath and found that she also somehow mowed over a rope of some sort as it was entwined around all 3 blades. I also found as she later confessed that she mowed up a flag put there by the power companies to identify untilty locations and also ate up 1/2 a tree (a 4' juniper which previous owner planted at the lot boundaries). She said she didn't realize how wide the mower was and tried to "sneak" between those two trees and clipped it, eating 1/2 the tree. After clean up, the mower looked like brand new and I saw virtually no wear save for some scraches and paint rubs.

I did get a chance to do some final mowing of the places she missed. Here is my review (or observations) of this machine.

I picked this guy up for $6200. Model is Snapper Pro S200X and I'm guessing it's last year (or maybe older?) model and they wanted to clear out old for new. Current models cost $8900 per dealer. This one came with Vanguard 32hp big block motor, has the beefy 5400 transaxles, and 61" deck. I was actually looking for a bad boy mower initially, but couldn't get them to budge on the price. Dealer told me bad boy would not allow them to sell for less then list price. Really? Well, I think that's just BS but true or not, it looks like Snapper dealer wanted my business more. What attracted me to the Bad Boy was the 1/4" welded deck. It's solid 1/4" thick steel and if you can imagine a 61" deck manufactured that way -- that thing will likely last forever. But then I looked at the overall weight and the snapper pro and the badboy weighed in close to the same (around 1200lbs). I figured that their deck must've weighed a lot more but the overall weight was similar making me think there is some cutting elsewhere in the machine, so I bought the Snapper and the rest is history. Oh, BTW I did look at a used BB mower that the dealer had on their lot (trade in), and it was falling apart. Deck looked great still but the rest was all shot. Cables were all snapped and Even the hydro gear fluid reservoir was shattered like it was made of thin cheap plastic left in sun too long. That on a 3-year old mower. Seeing that made my snapper pro choice so much easier.

What I liked: 32hp = plenty of power. Cuts anything with little effort. Extremely stiff and solid frame; evident as any uneveness in the ground will result in 1 wheel lifting off the ground instead of the chassis flexing to take up slack. Not sure if that's good or bad, but just observing how stiff the frame is. Controls are very smooth and responsive. Solid front wheels (instead of pneumatic which as you know, always need inflating). Solid deck. Not as thick as the Bad Boy deck but it's fabricated and gusseted in all the right places = well thought out and efficient use of materials. Can't imagine needing it to be any thicker -- it's far more hefty than the residential stuff. Sits up high enough to get a good perspective of the field. Like wife noted, seats are very very comfortable and while I would not drive it like she did, never did I feel like my butt was taking a punishment. It feels very stable and on smooth areas of the field, seems to just glide over it like a stingray. Machine weighs about 1170 lbs and feels stable as a rock. No rattles, vibration or anything suggesting cheap construction. Bolts on access panels backed with nyloc nuts. There are places that I normally would not even consider mowing with my other mowers but I had no trouble mowing those side slopes with this guy -- felt stable the whole time. I wondered this before I bought this guy (and internet research did not result in anything conclusive regarding side slope stability compared to riding mowers) but if anyone is wondering the same thing -- let me tell you that this mower will comfortably mow those slopes that I felt real tippy with on my Craftsman GT mower (with wheel weights). However, it's important to note that this model is wider than many of the smaller ZTR's available from the big box stores or even TSC. Has Zerk fittings all over the place for easy maintenance. Obviously the price alone suggest the same but this machine clearly is in a different league from residential geared products. Happy with the choice I made and glad I bought it.

What I didn't like so much: After mowing, I found shredded hay all over the mower, in every nook, cranny, above every pully, in the transaxle fans cups, around the battery, all around the engine compartment... I don't know what could've been done better in design but just felt like maybe better shielding to prevent debris infiltration would've been nice but maybe ZTR's are all like this? Let me just qualify this observation by stating that this was completely dry hay that we cut and length was from 1 to 4 feet tall so this type of chore is not indicative of what we are going to be cutting the rest of the season. In other words, not normal mow job. Anyhow, it took from 1/2 to 1 hour to clean off most of it. If this was my craftsman, the mower deck probably wouldn't be working right anymore with so much packed cuttings. But even though the pulley/belt sheilds were packed with the stuff, it never bothered the machine at all. I suppose most commercial operators might not care how their machine looks after a mowing but I like to keep my machines clean. This was a brand new mower after all, haha. Anyhow, that's really about my only beef and when cutting normal 6"-12" growth, perhaps I won't notice this issue again. And to be fair, it was really really windy that day and if you weren't mowing with the chute downstream, you would be completely covered from head to toe by a storm of debris every time the chute exhausts into the wind.

Bottom line, if you were thinking of getting a ZTR, in my case, that's a thumbs up choice. 2.5 acres in just a crack over 1-hour says it all. With my riding mower, it might've taken 4 hours with several stops to refit the belt, clear the chute, rock the mower out of ruts, many hairy pucker moments, etc etc. Oh and I suggest save up a bit more to get yourself a commercial model instead of a residential model. I guarantee you won't regret going that path.

 

[Coyote machine]

I've got a Scag with a 61" high velocity deck with 3 blades and it too will get covered in cutting debris. I use an air hose or my backpak blower to clean it off as needed. It's not a problem but it can reduce ventilation of the belts and pulleys. I do clean off any chaff from the air cooled Kawasaki 26HP motor's radiator screen for the same reason.
Do be careful on slopes, especially if wet and keep an eye on the wife's use on that terrain too- it can be dangerous, especially for inexperienced users or wild-azzed rodeo clowns.:laughing: Not that you guys fall into either category.:confused2:
Do keep the rollbar up, I always have it there to protect me, just in case.
Show pics of machine, wife and yard. Any pics of airborne jumps too!
Enjoy your new machine, and do exercise caution, they will slide/skid if given the chance and conditions.

 

[RG1]

The Snapper Pro Z's are way underrated mowers. They are basically Ferris 3100's without the suspension. Both Ferris and Snapper Pro are owned by Briggs & Stratton. IMO, you got a much better machine than if you had bought a BB. If you want to learn a lot about the various machines, and their limitations or where they excel, visit Lawn Site and read in the commercial mowing forums. Your new mower will lay down some really nice stripes if you or she uses it correctly and pay attention to each pass. It will also save a lot in fuel and hours put on the machine when done correctly. The BB Vanguards are about the best commercial engines out now, and I am a long time Kawa fan.

Not to sound negative or scolding, but it sounds like either your wife needs to learn how to operate the machine correctly, or stay off of it. That kind of operating is both very hard on any machine, and dangerous in the extreme. I mow for a living, so I do have some experience with these things. While your mower may feel stable on side hill mowing compared to your little tractor, as mentioned above, they are notorious for their lack of hillside stability, so please be careful regarding where you or she goes on it. All it will take is to go too fast one time across a hill while it is wet or damp to find that out in a hurry. Turning on hills can be unsafe if not done correctly too. I am the opposite of you where the tractor is concerned. I can take my old JD garden tractor places than no Z will safely go (hillsides), and still use it as needed for my business.

Good luck with your new mower, and (to steal a line from Hill Street Blues)- "Let's be careful out there!"

 

[Superduper]

I made sure my wife understood she should not be mowing like that. For 30 years, I did all the mowing -- she never even watched. I think the unique "look" of the zero turns intrigued her, and the relatively high price piqued her interest. I found out later that she told her coworkers how much fun she had mowing but now that she's got that out of her system, I think she will be mowing more "sanely" in the future. Or perhaps she might not want to mow any more having been there, done that. I also took some time yesterday to work the field a bit with my FEL and box blade trying to cut down and smooth out some of the berms and dirt windrows. However, while the surface was dry, cutting more than an inch revealed still clumpy clay beneath, so final smoothing might have to wait until the field gets much much dryer. Right now, working the dirt just makes for lots of clods & clumps.

I'm mindful that the zero turn relies entirely on those 2 rear wheels to navigate, so have no intention to mow if the field is at all wet. I surmise that the slope issue is related to sliding rather than flipping? Actually, it makes sense since if the only 2 wheels that motorvates and steers slides, then there is little control. However, when there is available traction, to me it feels quite stable.

 

[RG1]

Yes, that is the real deal with the Z mowers on hillsides. They are powered, braked, and steered from the same axle. The front, being on casters, tends to want to always drift downhill with gravity, so they can get very dicey on wet hillsides. Just being aware of the potential hazards is 90% of the battle for staying safe. Going faster than you should across an even moderately damp hillside can cause the Z to start bouncing enough to make it lose traction and start crabbing downhill. Once traction is broken or lost, it's usually a butt puckering ride to the bottom. if there's water at the bottom such as a lake or stream, not good. every year on the lawn forums we get posts and serious discussions about someone who slid into a lake or river and died that was in the latest news somewhere. it happens way more than most folks realize, so we who do this for a living tend to try to warn others about the pitfalls that go along with a ZTR.

For normal mowing though, they are a lot of fun. I never get tired of it.