Zero Turn Mower?

[Dargo]

ZTR is NOT made for steep slopes. Too much weight at the rear.
A nice garden tractor would fill the bill nicely. I would recommend something from the Simplicity line. Nothing cuts a better lawn.

It sounds like he is on a far smaller budget, but I beg to differ with your statement. I can easily mow inclines with my front mount Grasshopper ZTR mowers where you cannot mow with a 4X4 tractor! I can mow up, down and sideways no problem. A mid-mount ZTR is a funeral waiting to happen on steep slopes. Put the engine in the rear with the drive wheels in the rear....well, you better have a good roll bar, your seat belt on tight and be wearing a good fitting pair of Depends! A mid-mount ZTR is not suited for steep inclines. A front mount is designed for such. I've mowed hills you cannot walk up, stopped, backed up to get a spot I missed, and went on up the hill no problem. It is impossible, yup, impossible, to back flip a front mount ZTR mower.

Garden tractors are narrow and have weak transmissions; never made for continious hard pulling. If you don't roll one like a tumble bug down the hill, you'll ruin the tranny every few months. There is a right tool for every job. You just need to use the right tool.

 

[ae_ted]

I agree with dargo on the front mount ZT. i have a kubota ZD21 60" now and I love it. It really does a good job. I went from a front mount woods6180 and i can tell you from experience that the kubota( i love this thing) will not go on a hill the way a front mount would. I do not think you could roll a front mount either sideways or up or down.

 

[MrHiggins]

Sears is selling the GT6000 'garden' tractor for $2650+/-
It has the Hydro Gear G730 tranny.

What to do

Be aware that Hydro-gear is the brand of transmission Cub Cadet used in the 5000 series that has had so many failures, including mine......

I've mowed hills you cannot walk up, stopped, backed up to get a spot I missed, and went on up the hill no problem. It is impossible, yup, impossible, to back flip a front mount ZTR mower.
Garden tractors are narrow and have weak transmissions; never made for continious hard pulling. If you don't roll one like a tumble bug down the hill, you'll ruin the tranny every few months. There is a right tool for every job. You just need to use the right tool.

Totally agree... Unless you have flat land, you need a FRONT MOUNT mower.

 

[LMan1967]

can someone define 'midmount' and 'front mount' mowers? thanks

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Kubota Tractor Corporation - Company News | More Power and Comfort in New Kubota F-series Front-mount Mowers

 

[Gale Hawkins]

We found ourselves needing the drive motor belt and the deck driving belts for our ZTM. The local O'Reilly's Parts Store the 1/2 Powerated Gates line in 1" steps based on my under standing. I know we got a 47 and 84" belts. Powerated are the Green colored belts made for applications that has flat idlers that bends the belts backwards. The standard black fan belt types will break over time when used that way. I think the 47" was about $15 and the 84" was about $23.

V BELTS FOR BACK IDLER AND CLUTCHING APPLICATIONS - ruflex & PowerRated - V-BELTS FOR BACK IDLER AND CLUTCHING APPLICATIONS | Gates Corporation

The deck belt looks OK but the OEM belts only made it 50 hours. The initial owner just uncrated and used without checking belt tension. We would have picked up the deck belt but I forgot the look up the size because we were in a rush to get to town and back to get one area mowed today.

 

[aczlan]

Try the eXmark (preferably on a damp day). I have run their commercial machines (Lazer Z w/60 and 72" decks) on some fairly steep slopes. They are good machines and will go places I wouldn't take the Cub Cadet GT3200 that we currently have. If you can pick the nose up easily, you might want the front weight kit, but eXmark makes good equipment.
When mowing a steep hill, you want to back up and go down frontwards.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

We found ourselves needing the drive motor belt and the deck driving belts for our ZTM. The local O'Reilly's Parts Store the 1/2 Powerated Gates line in 1" steps based on my under standing. I know we got a 47 and 84" belts. Powerated are the Green colored belts made for applications that has flat idlers that bends the belts backwards. The standard black fan belt types will break over time when used that way. I think the 47" was about $15 and the 84" was about $23.

Good call. I WILL NOT purchase a "standard fan belt" for the snowblower or the mowers at work because they don't hold up. A wrapped belt will outlast them by 2-5x.

Aaron Z

 

[Redneck in training]

It sounds like he is on a far smaller budget, but I beg to differ with your statement. I can easily mow inclines with my front mount Grasshopper ZTR mowers where you cannot mow with a 4X4 tractor! I can mow up, down and sideways no problem. A mid-mount ZTR is a funeral waiting to happen on steep slopes. Put the engine in the rear with the drive wheels in the rear....well, you better have a good roll bar, your seat belt on tight and be wearing a good fitting pair of Depends! A mid-mount ZTR is not suited for steep inclines. A front mount is designed for such. I've mowed hills you cannot walk up, stopped, backed up to get a spot I missed, and went on up the hill no problem. It is impossible, yup, impossible, to back flip a front mount ZTR mower.

Garden tractors are narrow and have weak transmissions; never made for continious hard pulling. If you don't roll one like a tumble bug down the hill, you'll ruin the tranny every few months. There is a right tool for every job. You just need to use the right tool.

Second that.

 

[mikefromnh]

For those of you who recommend used??there is absolutely nothing available within 100 miles of here?.I've called/checked.

I guess I'll be walking a bit longer unless other opinions/views sway me.

Thanks.

For what its worth I just picked up a Exmark Lazer Z (200 hours) for less than the price of a new quest or cub cadet ztr. Be patient and search craigslist.

At the end of the mowing season landscapers try to unload some equipment.

I was planning on waiting and buying a high mileage walker but the Lazer seems well built and was not used commercially -- just at a Mcmansion.

I also talked to a landscaper with a deere ztr who loved it but kept a small tractor on his trailer for steep slopes -- said he couldn't control the ztr on some steep slopes. I've also got some hills but have yet to try to mow the lawn -- I'll let you know how it goes w/ the exmark