Cub Cadet RZT S50 first impressions

stratton · Apr 11, 2014

Just had the dealer drop off a RZT S50.
Its a little early in the season to mow anything but I did get to drive it around a little bit.
I love the way it drives. It tracks straight driving across steep slopes. The 4 wheel steering is awesome. Turns like a top too.
I did notice that while driving up a slope the front wheels what to come up. You wouldn't want to stop for some reason on a hill and then start up to quickly. I think on a plus side, all that weight in the back does help with traction. My other mower would slip going up the same slope.

My yard is pretty bumpy. And the RZT feels everyone one. I have been mowing with a pretty heavy craftsman 54" 26hp mower and I think that absorbed the bumps a little better. There is a lot of clanking and noise from steering components underneath the front. Not a big deal at all. Very minor issue considering how great everything else is.

Looking forward to mowing with it.

I will try to attach a picture. The other mower is being sold but I thought it was a neat picture with them lined up

Stimw · Apr 12, 2014

Mower looks great! What are the peddles for?

stratton · Apr 13, 2014

Stimw said:
Mower looks great! What are the peddles for?

Brake, forward, reverse

stratton · May 4, 2014

Finally had a chance to mow with this. I am very impressed. It knocked down my mowing time by at least a 1/3 if not more. Grass looks great after. Still seems a little clanky in the front end. But its more of my yard being bumpy.

Rfisher7381 · May 4, 2014

Nice unit. I was amazed at how much time I saved when I got my zero turn in 2006. Wouldn't want to use anything else now.

GBHRPS · May 4, 2014

stratton,

I cut a 43 degree grass slope with my 03 (just a guess as I bought it used) ZForce 48. It doesn't have the front steering. The slope would be 60 foot wide and perhaps 75 feet from top to bottom, with a total elevation of about 35 feet.

I cut this slope while driving straight up, move over slightly, allowing for overlapping of cutting paths, and cut while steering in reverse. I notice no rising of the front wheels off the ground, but I do find that I'm leaning forward on both passes up and down the slope. Yes, with my weight over the rear axles there is no slipping of the drive wheels.

I can say that I take it slower than normal to prevent bouncing the rear end and starting a loss of traction, and to cut back on the power the engine requires to cut going up hill. That said, I don't look over my shoulder when backing down the slope. I've found that doing so caused a lot of steering corrections that could have ended up with loss of traction and a disaster at the bottom of the hill.

It is much easier to control backing down if I just watch the cut path ahead and the front bogey wheels. This method sometimes means that I've missed a strip of grass that I catch on the next path up the hill, but in my case this isn't a big deal.

I don't know how big your slope is, but my point is that it can be done, and safely so. I have to add that I've always cut this same slope in the same manner, even with my really old JD 175 Hydro garden tractor. But the grass must be dry in both cases. You can really lose traction quickly on damp grass. )(ask me how I know!)

Good luck with your new toy!