Zero Turn Radius Mower - Advice
 

I want to purchase a small, 48" deck, commercial grade ztr mower and am
considering the following mowers: Scag Tiger Cub, Hustler Mini Z, Gravely
148Z, Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle, and Kubota ZD20 or ZG23. I would
appreciate any advice regarding the pro's and con's of these mowers or
suggestions about other mowers.
Thank you for your help.

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 10:42:51 -0500, "Joe" wrote:

I want to purchase a small, 48" deck, commercial grade ztr mower

I have a 52" Grasshopper with a 20 HP B&S engine and enjoy mowing with
it. There is some technique involved in learning how not to scalp /
scuff the grass with the drive tires when making 90 degree turns.
I'm not sure if one brand of ZTR mower or type of tire is better or
worse in this regard.

I test drove a Gravely and the Grasshopper when I was shopping for
this a few years ago. After I'd made my purchase I tried driving a
Badger (I think that was the name - it was dark green) and I can't
say that I was able to tell a difference in how any of the three of
them were to drive. Now that I've had a few years of mowing
experience I might. The Grasshopper is easy to maintain. the oil
drain is easy to reach, and of course the air cleaner is right on top.
I recall that there was a discussion on one of the lawn care groups
about avoiding mowers with Kawasaki engines because they had a
lubrication problem and the engines failed at an unusually young age.
I don't know which brands of mowers they were on or whether the
problem has been rectified.

I have yet to read any long term ZTR owners with experience with
multiple machines give any reasons to purchase on brand over another
other than the problem with the Kawasaki engines.

RWL
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I observed a ZTR on a neighbor's lot. The operator would turn quickly
and by the end of the season deep ruts were cut into the edges of the
lawn causing some erosion. I guess these machines would do a good job
if the turns were slow, but that's not done. Slow mowing is good for
the lawn.

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 12:45:31 +0000, Phisherman wrote:

I observed a ZTR on a neighbor's lot. The operator would turn quickly
and by the end of the season deep ruts were cut into the edges of the
lawn causing some erosion. I guess these machines would do a good job
if the turns were slow, but that's not done. Slow mowing is good for
the lawn.

Even with slow moving this still may be an issue in soft soil. You got to
figure that the ztr weighs 350 pounds plus what ever you weigh and all
that weight is placed over the rear drive wheels. With that said though,
you should get good traction with the weight, but I would be wary of any
steep grades. It looks like it would flip right over on a good grade. Of
course I've never used one, it mearly strikes me that way.

I do a good deal of commerical mowing with a toro 37 proline with a T-bar
handle. This is what you call a mid level walk behind. With the sulky
attachment, I can mow 4+ acers per hour. Of course you walk behind it or
ride a sulky (standing only), but I can mow steep grades with it very
safely. If you get into trouble, you just step off and your safe, no
rolling onto you.

What ever you do, see what you can do about renting a mower your intrested
in. You should be able to find places that will rent to you for the day
and in my opinion, it's money well spent. This way you will be able to see
if this mower is right for you and suits your liking.

--
Yard Works Gardening Co.
http://www.ywgc.com

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 10:26:21 -0800, Timothy
wrote:

I do a good deal of commerical mowing with a toro 37 proline with a T-bar
handle. This is what you call a mid level walk behind. With the sulky
attachment, I can mow 4+ acers per hour. Of course you walk behind it or
ride a sulky (standing only), but I can mow steep grades with it very
safely.

Wow! 4 acres / hour. What's the width of the mower deck on that and
what's the ground speed? That's got to be without too many turns or
obstructions. I'm doing about 2 A / hour with the Grasshopper. The
deck has a 52" cut and mowing speed is supposed to be 6 mph although I
believe it can travel at 9 mph. I mow as fast as the engine will
power it.

RWL


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