Zero Turn mower for moderate slopes?

[Jaybr]

Mowing season is here and we're in the new place with 15~ acres of grass. I'm using my Yanmar with a woods RD990 for most of it, but there are areas that are too tight, and the the sides of the long driveway that has somewhat of a ditch. There are also some sloped areas and a lot of pond bank that I'm just not comfortable running the big tractor on. We have a homeowner model Hustler, but purchased it to mow about an acre, and it's undersized for what we need here. Doing a lot of online research, I decided on a Cub Cadet Pro Z 972S, or 960S as they seem to be really good a holding slopes. Here's where the challenge comes in: My wife does most of the mowing around the house, which gets mowed more often than the pastures. Since she does a lot of the mowing, she gets a little say in the mower choice. Went over to the dealer Friday and looked over the Cub Cadet and she took it for a spin in the parking lot and she doesn't like the seat, feels too big to her. I suggested that I could get a cushion or something but she doesn't like that idea either. I know a seat may sound trivial, but in this case it's not. So now I'm shopping again for a mower (ZTR) and would like suggestions.

There are 3 dealers relatively close to me that I have good experiences with and between them they carry:
Cub Cadet
Toro
Grasshopper
Dixie Chopper
Hustler
Kubota
Wright

That's not to say that I won't consider another brand, but I'm comfortable with those dealers

 

[Notforhire]

Because of several health issues I stopped using non suspension ZT mowers. All I use now is Ferris. If you have no issues with ridged frames you will have more to choose from.
What I have discovered is that the 60+- width mowers work better on slopes than the 54in models.
I believe this is due to the rear wheels being spaced further apart, wider tires and slightly more weight.

IMO a suspension allows all four wheels to stay in constant contact with the ground. I think that helps with traction on side slopes too.
With a ZT when you loose rear wheel traction, you loose steering.

BTW my property is pretty rough.

 

[Runner]

I have a CC ZTXS5 54 and have been astounded at the stability, traction and maneuverability on fairly steep hills (25 degrees). What does she mean by "the seat is too big"? Can she not reach the pedals or??

On my CC the directional pedals are adjustable to some extent and of course the seat is also adjustable fore/aft. Steering wheel also adjustable - no way to make it fit?

I'm not trying to sell the CC, but for mowing a steep pond bank, I'd want all the directional control I could get and the front wheel (power) steering on the ProZ offers that in abundance.

 

[RayIN]

I have R1 drive tires on my 2002 Hustler FasTrack ZTR to improve traction on soft sod. I echo notforhire's comments, especially loosing traction also looses steering.
That is especially important around ponds, creeks, and large ditches.
I turned mine over sideways into a ditch about 10 years ago. I caught myself and the weight of the mower with my arms, had rotator-cuff surgery on one 2X, neither shoulder has been the same since.
When mowing across a steep slope you must make the mower "crab" by constantly steering uphill. This causes the lower wheel to provide all the traction, while the upper wheel is turning slower. This causes both wheels to leave marks and remove grass.
The only way to prevent this is to mow straight up and down slopes.
For fairly level smooth ground I love my mowers performance.

 

[Tractorable]

Sounds like you need a ZT for around the house and an offset flail mower for the ditches and pond banks.

A Ferris ZT with suspension is the way to go IMO. Lots of options for offset flails.