Does anyone have "zero turn regret"?

[Creamer]

Whoa! You are selling a kidney to buy a lawnmower?

 

[BukitCase]

Sorry, the kidney part was a joke - didn't notice I hadn't added the "I'm just kidding" emoji...

I just meant that I REALLY wanna find a way to pay for one of those, getting tired of re-designing the RZT50 every few mowings (keeping about 2-1/2 acres of (very much NOT) smooth ground mowed)

If you haven't already checked out their videos, it's really cool whether you need one or not :thumbsup: ...Steve

 

[Creamer]

Thank you! I couldn't quite figure out what you were up to. For somebody like you buy a used Deines and you will be ecstatic. You can obviously work on them yourself and all the parts are off the shelf. There is a dealership in Iowa that has them for as low as $2500 on a regular basis. They are good guys and you will be happy you did.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, having been in maintenance of one sort or another pretty much my entire life (either doing or teaching) I can usually figure out most things (except maybe German craftsmanship, they seem to be able to hide almost ANYTHING :laughing: )

Thanks for mentioning the Deines machines (again) - I was gonna look them up and got distracted (probably by lunch, happens a LOT ) Sounds like my kind of machine, hopefully there's a closer one or reasonable shipping... Steve

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

Sorry, the kidney part was a joke - didn't notice I hadn't added the "I'm just kidding" emoji...

I just meant that I REALLY wanna find a way to pay for one of those, getting tired of re-designing the RZT50 every few mowings (keeping about 2-1/2 acres of (very much NOT) smooth ground mowed)



If you haven't already checked out their videos, it's really cool whether you need one or not :thumbsup: ...Steve

Some of the reviews said they experienced loose bolts and a belt throwing problem. Home Depot sells the Flip-up but perhaps there are better grades at dealers?

Bob B.

 

[BukitCase]

Good question Bob - didn't know HD had ANYTHING that far up the "food chain", but I DO know they used to sell the "Sabre" line of JD mowers, everything about them reminded me of Sears' old "even at this low price" line of crap...

Kind of a moot point for me, I was mainly dazzled by the idea of NOT having to either "find a convenient tree" and add a chain hoist, fire up the 580B and pick the whole thing up, or remove the deck every time I wanted to clean out the crud - the reality is more like "keep fixing the Cub til it (or me) dies" :laughing: ...Steve

 

[GBHRPS]

BukitCase,

Have you considered buying a used Zero Turn? I found a used Z Force 48 (deck width) that had a new 26 HP B&S on it, with about 300 hours. That was 5 years ago and cost me $2200 CDN. Two new drive tires (one original developed a bulge), a new deck belt, and just normal maintenance since then, but it runs like a top and cuts well. My old JD 175 Hydro just does tow duties now.

Yeah, I'd love a new one, but I can't justify it, even though I have the resources to do so. In fact, should something major go wrong with the Z Force, I'll find another used JD, CC or similarly heavy built make that has a parts dealership within reasonable distance.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, I have considered a used ztr - but for now, I'm getting invaluable experience figuring out ways to make more of a "silk purse" out of the RZT50 - when it finally gets to the point that the bandaids need bandaids, I'll probably give up and see what's available in that market - meantime, it's doing fairly well lately - the cheesy seat frame finally split, so I just replaced the entire thing with a hydraulic tractor seat with arm rests - little bit of "re-arrangeing" and I kept the COG as low as original, new seat is TONS more comfy and less spine-crunching on my "destruction derby" grass area.

I also forgot to mention the deck actually FALLING OFF a couple months ago - I cleaned up and re-welded every one of the marginal plug welds between the stamped deck and all the hanger brackets, it should stay together for a while now... Steve

 

[RoyJackson]

My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner. They are just awesome machines.

Same here!

Bought my Deere Z920 used. One neighbor has the Z930, another has one of the smaller Deere zero-turn mowers. All three machines do the job...the guy with the Z930 uses it as a field mower too. I'd say that more then the mower was designed for, but it works for him.
My only "regret", is I wish I could afford the 997 (Deere's diesel ZTR)

 

[GBHRPS]

Roy,

I agree! I'd love a diesel Kubota ZT but I can't justify the need or expense, even used, when having only about an acre of grass to cut.
I cut a neighbour's 4 acres with his Kubota 60 inch diesel ZT when he vacations. Its a Cadillac compared to my CC Z Force.