Zero Turn Lawn Mowers

I have a Gravely zero turn, never had a problem with it. It's 4 years old. My son has a Hustler zero turn about 3 years old. If my Gravely ever gives out I'll be getting a Hustler. Hustler are very well built mowers. I have a little slope in my front yard and the zero turn mower slides on it. First time I used it on the slope it flip on it's side. I've used my sons and it did the same. I still have my push mower and use it on the slope part of my yard. Than I finish the rest with the zero turn. Zero turn don't do well on slopes.
 
I've been a member of Lawnsite Forum since 2000 and have had about 2 doz ztrs, this said to establish my street cred. The reason I've had so many is it's ez to make walking around money buying and selling them on craigslist. I've never had a bad mower. Some better than others but none unserviceable. I'm a good buyer but most all commercial mowers are built stout and go 1000+ hours. Most startup lawn companys fold before 200 hours and you buy mowers in the late summer/fall.

Buy a Hustler 48" is my advice but a ztr is no better on slopes than a regular rider, maybe worse. If a 42" is enough I'd get a Hustler Trimstar and put a velke behind it. that will hold hills.

A few pictures that I have handy:

model year 2000 Dixie Chopper bought new


2008 Grasshopper bought new


2013 Bobcat 61" bought new 1000cc Kaw 37hp DFI


2013 Big Dog bought new - same as a Hustler just red. My all time favorite lawn mower. still use it. 48" cut 21 hp Kawasaki fr651, same steering and throttle as a trimstar. One of the most successful businessmen in my area died because he was mowing with a Scag Turf Tiger paralell to his lake, the mower slid sideways into the lake and the lapbars held him in. He drowned. Won't happen on this mower.


Hustler Trimstar trade bait


Hustler One trade bait


Hustler Raptor trade bait


Great Dane trade bait


Hustler ZeeOne trade bait
 
I had the loan of a zero turn mower for about 18 months. I learned a few things.

1. Going in a straight line without always playing with the directional levers requires playing with tire pressures on the drive wheels. BTW, this was per the manual that came with it. Once you get it running straight, write the tire pressures down or paint them on the frame/fender.

2. The hydraulic systems are generally dealer maintenance only. I looked at doing the suggested oil change (curiousity, not need) and the thing needed to be on a lift to drain the motors at the drive wheels. Might not be an issue for you depending upon how much you use it/how long you keep it.

3. If you have to pull the deck on a big one to change blades etc, you'd best have some good friends. Large, good friends.

4. At least in my rather limited experience, fuel consumption sucked.

5. Agree with the wheel spin comments. Yes, going up hills can get scary.

Followed the zero turn with a 42 in Cub Cadet lawn tractor. I'm happy-except for having to pull the deck to change blades, but I'm working on that.

Very late added edit: If you're not doing a lot of fussy trimming, the big difference between zero turn mowers and higher end lawn tractors over the AMF/Murray big box store varieties are engine power and hydrostatic transmissions. The hydrostatic tranny allows instant change in mowing speed to meet grass conditions. The higher power engine allows faster mowing/bigger decks (sometimes both). So you don't necessarily have to go zero turn to mow faster.

I went from a 12 hp/multi speed manual tranny no name lawn tractor with a 40 inch deck to a ~20 hp hydrostatic tranny Cub Cadet with a 42 inch deck and more than cut my mowing time in half. Yeah, the fuel consumption is a bit more, but with the higher HP engine I don't need to run it wide open all the time.
 
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We bought a Cub Cadet with a steering wheel. I had trouble getting on a zero turn with the handles, due to my physical infirmities, and the one with the steering wheel is much easier for me to get on and off of it.
We have the dealer winterize it and do the maintenance on it, like sharpening the blades, changing oil, etc. The Kawasaki 21.5 hp engine is a work horse too.

L4RK01El.jpg
 
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I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Walker mowers. They are pricey but tough as nails. I've spent a lot of hours on one on flat and on slopes, take the slopes straight on rather than parallel. I've been looking at possibly buying used. They have a lot of features that make them easy to maintain.
 
I have a Bobcat ZT and what I mow has a hill. The first time I used it and went down the hill the wheels slid and it ran away. I talked to a professional mower and he laughed and told me when going down a hill to knock it out of gear and coast. It worked! I mow the sides of my driveway by driving sideways and if the sides were any steeper I would turn over. The ZT is a bunch faster than a regular mower and also more fun too drive. Larry
 
Wdbutcher97 said:
John Deere make some real tanks when it comes to mowers, but they also make some that aren't. I hear it's not wise to buy the ones in the Big Box stores. They're not the same as the ones you buy at a John Deere dealership, but they carry some super light weight Zero turns too. I was surprised to see that they made anything like some of the smaller ones I saw.
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The Deere machines you see at the big box stores are just as good (maybe better) as the others you'd buy at a big box store. Those machines are built to comparative price points in order to compete with the other brands. Deere dealers also sell them now, but they also have the higher-end stuff the box stores don't get. The box store models are built in Greenville, Tennessee; all the other models are built in Horicon, Wisconsin.

Targets Guy said:
I've been buying John Deere's for almost 20 years now.
I've finally settled on the X738. It is a fine mower and I now have snowblower for it during the winter. Handles my four acres, with over 70 trees and my over 200 feet of driveways just fine.



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I had the diesel version, the X748, for 11 years. Those X7 machines are beasts, they punch well above their weight. I had the rear lift and pto, plus the loader.
 

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+1 for Ariens

I bought a 52" Ariens Apex a month ago after seeing my nephew's and using it some. So far it does the job just fine. I cut about 5 acres mostly flat. It has the Kawasaki engine. My shoulders hurt too much steering the old one.

My old mower and my new mower. (The old one is for sale BTW).
 

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You've already received some good feedback but I'll reiterate that a zero turn handles no better than a conventional mower on damp grass and slopes, and actually handles poorly on slopes with damp grass.

As for brands, I'm a Kubota fan. I currently have three orange machines and one John Deere lawn tractor, which is my smallest mower, that I use for trim work.

My Kubota zero turn is a commercial 27 HP with Kubota gas engine with 54 inch deck. Probably bigger than you need but it gets the mowing done at my place, although I never use it when the grass is damp or the ground is soggy because it just doesn't work well.

I have a 48 inch finish mower for my small tractor and a 60 inch finish mower for my larger tractor that do very good mowing work when I don't use the zero turn, but if the ground is dry the zero turn will do the job at my place (about 6 acres of yard) in almost half the time of a conventional mower or my tractor/finish mower combo.

I recommend Kubota zero turns if you've not looked at them, they have smaller units than mine.


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I taught Horticulture until retirement. I was talked into helping take care of the 22 acre campus until the grounds work was contracted out. 5 years later am still cutting grass. We had Scags and now Exmarks, both good zero turns to me. We have a few slopes , some on the steep side and the mowers will cut them. Usually cut across the slope, you must drive slowly. Normally not a problem, sometimes a slide but even with dew on grass I usually stay on track.
 
I got a Gravely zero turn with a 42'' deck and it has the Kawasaki motor. had it for 7yrs. now without any problems. As with any lawn mower, cutting wet grass can cause issues. but the biggest plus is that it cut my mowing time in half from tractor
 
We bought a 52" Gravely ZT XL with a Kohler 27HP motor and both the wife and I love it and have had no problems with it in the first 3 years of using it. We mow approximately 3 acres of lawn every week and sometimes 3 times in 2 weeks. We were going to buy a 60" but there are too many places I can't get a 60" deck through that I can the 52". It took our mowing time down from 2½ hours to 1½ hours. Our yard is everything from flat to about 20% grade and it handles it all and we don't mow the slopes when it is wet for the reasons mentioned in many of the previous posts.

The main reason I bought over Toro or Bad Boy is Gravely drives carry a longer warranty and than other zero turns that I looked at.

We paid $3k at zero interest.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
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Mike1647;141123322 My old mower and my new mower. (The old one is for sale BTW).[/QUOTE said:
I mowed my yard for about 12 yrs. with my tractor and a 6 ft. finishing mower and decided that was an expensive way too mow. I bought the 52 in. ZT and can now mow in less time, less expense and more fun. Larry
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bgrafsr said:
We bought a Cub Cadet with a steering wheel. I had trouble getting on a zero turn with the handles, due to my physical infirmities, and the one with the steering wheel is much easier for me to get on and off of it.
We have the dealer winterize it and do the maintenance on it, like sharpening the blades, changing oil, etc. The Kawasaki 21.5 hp engine is a work horse too.

L4RK01El.jpg
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How does your mower work on a slope? My friend has one and he says it works great. The seat on your mower is a lot better than the one I have on my RZTL. What was the price on your mower?
 
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