Mower Question?

Sorry, not an Allis Chalmers question but I'm sure I will get lots of info here.  Starting to think about buying a zero turn mower, not in any hurry.  I'm partial to a Grasshopper because of the front mount mower and flip up deck design but the dealer support is terrible around me.  Next choice would probably be an Exmark.

Anyways, who make the best zero turn on the market today?

I have a cub cadet with the fabricated deck. No problems with it at all. I've had it for 3 years and the starter went out last year, but under warranty and repaired in one day. Everything else on it is fine. I like the fact that you can grease the unit. Mine is a 48" cut so I can get thru the gate to the barn and between some buildings. I got this from a cub cadet dealer, it's not one you will find at TSC or such places. 

I do have a large ditch and some hills but I will be keeping my compact tractor and mid mount mower so that will not be an issue.

I've got a Bad Boy that I got last year and it's built tougher than any of the others that I looked at, the deck is made of 3/16 welded steel not the pressed tin like most of them and I mow 8-9 acres with it with a 72" deck and works just fine.  Lyle

BadBoy is good, Exmark is good, Deere is good, Scag is good, I own a Hustler and have no complaints. The Hustler is built solid like BadBoy. The company I work for builds the PTO clutch so I see many of these in the test lab. I liked the way the Hustler was built so I bought one. Mine is only 60" 23hp and I do 7 acres in 2:15 including 1/4 mile of ditch. Had it about 7 years, works perfect.

I've got one of the two Scags that my sons used to pay for their college educations (they cut a lot of lawns).  They are very well made and easy to work on.  If you've got a dealer (don't really need one for much, if you buy one used), take a look at them.

The ones my boys used were the STHM 3 wheel front deck mower.  They aren't the true zero turn, but will trim around a tree without backing up.  They are also more stable on a hillside (why I had the boys buy them) and the front deck lets you cut under pine trees better than the zero turns.

http://www.scag.com/sthm.html 

On a typical lawn/garden tractor, and compact tractors that do not have independant brakes (common driveshaft brake), the loss of traction on the upside wheel is a dangerous thing.

On a true hydrostatic zero-turn, the upside wheel has no effect whatsoever on the ability of the downside wheel's function.  It has it's own dedicated hydrostatic pump and hydraulic motor.  I respect your concern Bob- EVERYONE should be careful running ANY machine on ANY surface, but a true commercial hydrostatic zero-turn mower presents no higher risk than any other machine, and because of it's independant operation, is actually much more capable of staying safe, and getting OUT of bad situations, than other types.

My 'herd' of mowing-able machines include several IH Cub Cadet garden tractors with 42, 48, and 50" mowing decks (which I never use), and two Dixon 429's (cone-clutch driven).  my previous 'big' mower was a Howard Price 72" 27hp diesel-powered front-deck rear-steer commercial mower.

My current mower (and the best of all by far) is a Bobcat-Textron 60" unit.  I've fitted it with 23-10.50-12 Carlisle-Titan ag-tread tires, filled with propylene glycol and fitted with one 75lb garden-tractor weight on each wheel.  Front tires are filled with heavy foam, and I've built a roll-cage with steel canopy, more for protection against sun and getting swatted in the face by tree branches, but plenty strong enough to prevent the machine from rolling over.  I've also mounted shoulder-level and foot-level floodlighting to facilitate easy operation at night... yes, it's not unusual for me to mow at night.... I also pull a 1/2t garden-trailer full of firewood to the bonfire for marshmellow roasting.

Regarding the comment about front-deck mowers-  My experience has been that having the deck out in front presented me with no advantage of mowing under trees, over one under my feet... branches are still in my face (hence the cage).  The Howard Price's added length did wind up getting me stuck trying to maneuver on many occasions, where the Bobcat simply pivoted around and drove out... it's just a shorter machine.

This Bobcat is by far the most stable and safe mower I've ever operated.  I can lift it up, and stand it on the side of the deck and one back tire, and it will ALWAYS fall to a normal upright position... excellent design, to wind up with a center of gravity that low.  It negotiates the side incline of a 45-degree ditch... it will slide down sideways, but never tip over.  I have no reason to think that any other good commercial unit (Dixie Chopper, Scag, or heavier ExMark) would be any less stable.

True commercial mowers come with a hefty price tag... I bought mine used from a commercial mowing outfit.  These things have extremely thick decks- the sides are heavy enough to contain rocks, broken blades, and anything else that'd be ejected through a 'consumer-grade' deck.  Mine was also fitted with chain-mail on the discharge chute.  The top surface of the deck is 3/8" thick... the spindles of lighter decks frequently get bent off-plane, leaving a 'swirly' striped pattern to the cut... heavy decks don't do that.  It doesn't wad up grass, and it's easy to clean.  I don't get picky about being able to flip the deck up- I just drive the front wheels up a wheel ramp and set the parking brake.

True commercial mowers use industry-standard driveline components.  HydroGear hydrostatic pumps are one de-facto standard... and wheel motors are pretty universal.  This solves lots of problems regarding dealer/parts/support.

Which leads to one big comment-  Bobcat mowers are EXTREMELY expensive... and most really, really good commercial mowers are.  Bobcat's factory people are very nice, but their dealer network is hit-and-miss... and in my area, it's clearly a MISS- my local so-called 'dealer' has NO interest in serving any needs other than his own, and Bobcat wasn't interested in selling direct to me to spare me the insult of dealing with their local so-called 'dealer'.  Fortunately, I found that a little research finds all the parts off-the-shelf, with exception of the Bobcat-fabricated parts, which I had no problem replicating in my own shop.  Sad that Bobcat is in that situation, as dealer network and customer support is the only real weakness in their product.


Edited by DaveKamp - 30 Apr 2012 at 11:39pm

Steve,

I looked a a lot of units and was going to buy a Dixie unit from dealer in MN (used for $5,000) then looked at the Swisher 60" , was a lot less on cost ($3,100) and might not be a fancy in some things but 3rd year now and other than oil change and replacing one main drive belt last year no problems. 

My son and I both have Husky chainsaws and will put them against any other saw!

There's LOTS of ZTRs now that are heavier than the 'big box' consumer-grade mowers, but BELOW the 'Commercial' grade machines.  There's lots of good machines out there, but what I've seen for these 'middle-road' units, is that they have many of the features of a commercial, but they're using proprietary drive systems, and don't have the heft of a commercial machine.  The former situation 'boxes' you in when it comes to maintenance and support, and the latter means you don't get the biggest advantages of the commercial line... and the cost, while being less... isn't significant when you consider the lifespan difference of the machines.

I got lucky-  I was in the right place, right time, and bought mine from a commercial mowing company that had depreciated it out, and then blown the Kawasaki.  I got the machine on-the-cheap, and brought it back to life with a reasonable investment of time and money.  I simply could NOT afford to buy one new, but I got it for much less THEN, than a 'middle-of-road' unit costs now.  Many people won't do what I did (buy it busted, and fix it up), but in comparison to the tractors we all work on, an older, true commercial mower really isn't difficult or expensive to rebuild.

I work at a hardware store that sales exmark and snapper zero turn mowers. The snappers are well built machines but personally I don't think that you could go wrong with a lazer Z exmark or a quest as long as you got one with the fabricated deck.

I have been looking at the Woods Mow'n Machine FZ28K (front mount mower, 28 HP Kawasaki), I know it a Grasshopper with orange paint but like I said earlier I like the Grasshoppers.  There are a couple Woods dealers in my area, that is why a Woods is more appealing to me than a GH, don't need to go on a hour and a half run for a belt or something, know what I mean?

Hurst how long did your Woods last before the hydro headed south?

http://www.woodsequipment.com/productDetails.aspx?id=37


Edited by Claus - 01 May 2012 at 10:36pm

Ferris is another option. The Snapper Pro is basically a Ferris Chasis without the "independent-Suspension."  Dad has a Ferris with the suspension. It rides well but you do still feel some bumps.  I would like try running it side by side with the Deere and Hustler to see if its really any better.