Zero Turn Mowers

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Chief Journeyman
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
640
Location
Flint, MI
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Stuck in the 70's
#1
Sooooo....my 17 year old Troy-Bilt (Read MTD here) lawn tractor has decided it's time to retire. I've got a half acre to mow and this thing has been ok but as we know there's always room for improvement.
Enter Zero Turn Fever. I've been watching the gal across the street mow with her ZT mower for years and they're just so...COOL. I went to the local high end lawn shop and dropped about $4K on an entry level ExMark ZT mower. It was delivered this morning.

Let me say that there's a bit of a learning curve here. I got it out in the middle of the yard and I was jerking back and forth, spinnin' around like a drunk sailor. Those damn control levers are sensitive. But after 10 minutes or so I got the hang of it, and fired up the cutting deck and mowed the yard. This thing is freaking FUN to run. I got over confident down by a culvert on the driveway and scalped the yard. At least I didn't break it.

So there ya go fellas, if you've got an old lawn tractor and need a new machine, go for a ZT mower. It makes mowing the lawns fun.
 

bill7621

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Jan 31, 2016
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585
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Berlin Center, Ohio
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WTF, y'all
#3
I bought a Scag Turf Tiger II two years ago
A step up from a Craftsman garden tractor
I have 5 acres to cut and went from roughly 5 1/2 hours cutting to around 2 hours or so. I bought some noise cancelling headphones and listen to music while I cut. Usually 3 to 4 albums. Really enjoyable doing the lawn now.
 

8991XJ

Chief Journeyman
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Messages
1,122
#6
Neighbor got one a few years ago. These things hate hills. I have to mow carefully to avoid the thing driving off into the road.
 

rtp_burnsville

Chief Journeyman
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
899
Location
Savage, MN
#7
I looked at them several years back but bought a Kubota BX as I could also get a loader which has been really useful. If you have soft ground the zero-turn can easily tear up your yard unless one is really careful.

Robert
 

Gibsonian

Chief Journeyman
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Messages
777
#8
Another happy Scag owner here.

Pluses annd minuses vs tractor styles but fot max fun, esp if you in race mode, is the zero turn.

I use headphones and crank the jams while riding or listen to the Cards. Gotta have those.
 

Billboard

Journeyman
Joined
Nov 29, 2015
Messages
365
Location
North Shore Massachusetts
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#9
I bought a Cub Cadet Z50, love it, need to be careful when starting off, or the back tires will spin and destroy grass. Lovely Yamaha V motor, very smooth. Also use noise canceling headphones and listen to music.
 

premiumplus

Chief Journeyman
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
640
Location
Flint, MI
Tagline
Stuck in the 70's
#10
I looked at them several years back but bought a Kubota BX as I could also get a loader which has been really useful. If you have soft ground the zero-turn can easily tear up your yard unless one is really careful.

Robert
Right on, I've got some nice skid marks from the first mow. Plus I found you've gotta be careful or it's easy to lose control when you're on a slope and a wheel loses traction. I'm getting used to it though and a good pair of noise cancelling headphones sounds like a great idea.
 

mr_rye89

Veteran and General Yakker
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
2,234
Location
Land of Entrapment
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Lost in the Ozone Again
#13
I'm too lazy to grow a big lawn and too cheap for a zero turn. So I mow weeds with an '01 42" Murray with a 17.5HP Briggs Twin IC and turf destroyers on the rear. It has one zillion really hard hours on it and the motor is prolly due for a refresh.....though it still runs good. I wish Briggs would bring back the twin, Inteks are head gasket eating piles of crap......

I've thought about goats, but I have miniature cattle that eat kosha weeds like they're candy.
 

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