Zero Turn Mods

[boggen]

Can you guess my next mod?

i would be one of those folks, smirking and shaking his head in embarrassment of knowing ya!, if you had to press the button! feel sorry for your wife, lol

will say this, simple, elegant, and impressive! quality of life improvements to the machine and to the operator! you make it look easy!

 

[dragoneggs]

Hey Thomas... late to the party but yes as 4shorts said, well done!!! I have a new little Kubota Zturn and am contemplating mods. First will probably be LED lights on the ROPS. There is an option for LED lights in the front 'bumper' but I want them higher and brighter not to mention cheaper. Also thinking about a spring loaded horizontal bumper wheel for mowing against walls, etc. so I don't scrape. Does this make sense to you? I have a couple retaining walls that I would like to mow against as close as possible.

 

[Kubota Tee]

I'm guessing a horn???

Farm Boy, you are absolutely correct! My plans are to mount the momentary switch down by my foot so that I can activate the horn without taking my hands off the control arms. The horn will mount up under the front of the machine where there is a nice area that allows me plenty of mounting options that are out of the way and out of site. Of course, I'll post some pictures once it is complete.

 

[Kubota Tee]

I like the light, but I would bust them. I need to make a draw bar that is a little nicer than the current 2x4 board.

I gave my light placement a lot of thought, taking into account available mounting points (as little drilling as possible), function, ascetics, and my particular mowing areas. I don't really have any hazards, so was comfortable keeping them low which also keeps the bugs down low as well and not swarming around my head. It works for me, but totally understand that others may have different conditions, desires and needs. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

 

[Kubota Tee]

I have a hitch similar to what you got from Amazon, and I use it all the time. It works great for my trailer, sprayer, and spreaders. I've even pulled light harrows when seeding areas.

That's great to hear! Yea, it sure is beefy - 1/4" thick steel! Took awhile to drill out the extra space to fit my existing bolt patterns. My use will be very similar to yours. Thanks for commenting!

 

[Kubota Tee]

i would be one of those folks, smirking and shaking his head in embarrassment of knowing ya!, if you had to press the button! feel sorry for your wife, lol will say this, simple, elegant, and impressive! quality of life improvements to the machine and to the operator! you make it look easy!

Boggen - your comments are very kind about my work. I have gained a lot of great ideas and know how from this forum as well as others - couldn't have done it without all the help. My goal is to always make the mods look as "factory" as possible. My Dad was over last week and asked me how much I had to pay for those factory add ons. When I told him they were custom, he just smiled and said "like father, like son"! My Dad has built airplanes from the ground up, so I think I have a ways to go before I quite get to his level!!

All the best and thanks for commenting.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Hey Thomas... late to the party but yes as 4shorts said, well done!!! I have a new little Kubota Zturn and am contemplating mods. First will probably be LED lights on the ROPS. There is an option for LED lights in the front 'bumper' but I want them higher and brighter not to mention cheaper. Also thinking about a spring loaded horizontal bumper wheel for mowing against walls, etc. so I don't scrape. Does this make sense to you? I have a couple retaining walls that I would like to mow against as close as possible.

Gragoneggs - thanks for your kind comments. Can totally understand the lights up high on the ROPS - that's where I have mine on my Kubota Grand L3540 and they work great for snow plowing and other outside tractor work at night. For the zero turn, I wanted to try them lower and more directed since my focus would be on the path ahead as well as the mower deck sides. After testing them out, I'm really pleased with the performance - they are more than adequate in brightness and coverage for my task.

I totally understand your idea about a spring loaded horizontal bumper. I don't have the same situation at the moment, but can see how that could be very helpful to keep from scraping. If you end up doing something, please post a picture!

All the best!

 

[Kubota Tee]

While I am waiting for my new horn and foot switch to arrive, I decided to do another custom mod to the Z Master 6000. So far, everything has had a practical application - this one is just to add a "cool" factor. These LED strip lights are VERY inexpensive and super easy to install as they come with very good 3M automotive grade adhesive backing already applied. Just peel and stick! Attach a few wires and presto - your ride now has that glow effect. Sometimes you just have to break out of the practical and go for the "cool" factor.

 

[dragoneggs]

While I am waiting for my new horn and foot switch to arrive, I decided to do another custom mod to the Z Master 6000. So far, everything has had a practical application - this one is just to add a "cool" factor. These LED strip lights are VERY inexpensive and super easy to install as they come with very good 3M automotive grade adhesive backing already applied. Just peel and stick! Attach a few wires and presto - your ride now has that glow effect. Sometimes you just have to break out of the practical and go for the "cool" factor.

Okay that is cool. More details please. Love the color. Where did you get the LED lighting?

 

[kydick]

a couple more ideas: if you dont have a hour meter already on your mower they are very useful to keep records by. also a mirror to watch behind for traffic if you mow any roadsides out.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Okay that is cool. More details please. Love the color. Where did you get the LED lighting?

The LED lights that I used to create the glow effect are actually part of a 5 meter reel that I bought off of Amazon. Just do a search for "12v Waterproof LED Strip lights" and you will get hundreds of options with all kinds of different colors. I choose Amber because I like how they look under a vehicle. I also installed some under my boat trailer - makes a really cool effect under the boat while trailering. The strip is encased in a clear protective coating that makes it waterproof. The strip is easy to work with and most come with a 3M adhesive backing for ease of installation. Alternatively, you can buy 2 sided adhesive tape.

 

[Kubota Tee]

a couple more ideas: if you dont have a hour meter already on your mower they are very useful to keep records by. also a mirror to watch behind for traffic if you mow any roadsides out.

The machine came with an hour meter and I've already used it to make sure my first oil change was at the manufacturers recommended 8 hours. I have looked at potential locations to mount a couple of mirrors, but nothing is really jumping out at the moment. I put them on my Kubota tractor and it makes a big difference when operating around roads and other areas where traffic may be present. At this point, I am going to hold off on the mirrors until I get a canopy mounted. Once the canopy goes on, I believe there will be many more options that open up for mounting a couple of nice mirrors.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Kubota Tee]

Okay that is cool. More details please. Love the color. Where did you get the LED lighting?

Here are a couple of pics so you can see what the LED strips look like ....

Well .... I thought I was posting some pics, but they're not showing up for some reason. I'll keep trying .....

 

[Kubota Tee]

Here's another attempt to post some pics - this time with a new post versus using another post as a quote. Let's see if it works .....

 

[Kubota Tee]

trying again . . . okay - I'm really sorry folks. The ipad app says that it is uploading the pics and indicating that it is done, but then nothing shows up. Frustrating.

 

[4570Man]

trying again . . . okay - I'm really sorry folks. The ipad app says that it is uploading the pics and indicating that it is done, but then nothing shows up. Frustrating.

My iPad has done the same thing the last few days. I have heard other members complaining, so not just us.

 

[aczlan]

Yep, its not you, its the forum.
Edit: See http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/news-feedback/338548-cant-upload-new-photos.html to see what the status of this problem is.

Aaron Z

 

[Kubota Tee]

Ok - looks like photo uploading is working again. First off, here are pics of the LED light strips I used on the underside of the mower.

 

[Kubota Tee]

I also complete the horn mod - pretty happy with how the install went and the positioning of the momentary button for activation with my foot. It's a pretty heavy duty button, so I'm hoping it holds up to the foot activation - not that I plan on using it all the much!

I am a bit disappointed with the loudness of the horn compared to the engine noise. I'm not sure it will be heard if I'm running at full throttle while mowing. I may have to look for a louder horn like I have on my tractor.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Here are some additional night time shots of the lights in action. I'm very happy with how these turned out and I'm absolutely loving this new lawn mower!