Zero turn mowers, commercial

[Andy Pogue]

A friend (who needs enemies?) let my wife use his commercial John Deere mower for a week and she LOVED it. I guess I'm lucky that she wants to mow and I don't have to, but now I am looking for one. She must be able to step on deck to get to the seat so residential mowers are out of the question. Do you have one? what kind? Anything to look for? Thanks in advance!

[Joe Bradshaw]

Andy, I have a TORO ztr that I got from the BORG. I have had it for almost a year and I have been really pleased with it. It is almost twice as fast as the JOHN DEERE rider it replaced. Only one small thing, the gas tank could be bigger. Other than that, I really like it.

[Jeff Monson]

I know quite a few commercial lawn guys, I'd guess 15% use John Deere, 10% use Toro, 5% use Gravely and the remaining all swear by X-mark. X-mark is an upper end Toro, built heavier and the bearing systems are superior also.

[John Pratt]

Although somewhat expensive, have a look at the commercial line of Dixon.

[David Warkentin]

Walker mowers are really nice.

[Roger Newby]

http://www.everride.com/html/products/content.asp?cmd=162

The Everride Warrior with a 60" deck and 27 HP Kawasaki will finish mow 8" tall grass at about 10 MPH if you got the stones to try it. I retired from the company that makes them and as a Tool & Die maker there I can verify the quality of the product, but.....it ain't cheap. Probably the last mower you'll ever buy.

[Steven DeMars]

I have a SCAG 48" Tiger Cat . . . It is a fantastic mower . . . Used to have a SCAG 52" Turf Tiger, it was too big . . .

[Myk Rian]

A kid down the street went into the business of lawn care, and cut our beach property, and other customers'. He bought a Toro. 1 day before the warranty expired it quit cutting. It didn't do all that great of a job anyway.
He took it back and got an X-Mark. Never thought twice about spending the money for it, and it did a great job.

[Greg Portland]

My Dad bought a Husqvarna last year and has been very pleased so far.

[Ken Garlock]

Back in the spring of 2003 I bought a SCAG ZTR (http://scag.com/zeroturns.html) mower. The only maintenance I have performed on it is normal wear items, lubrication, air filter, drive belt, oil change and filter. And of course the annual blade sharpening.

The SCAG mower is the orange color mower you see around large factory lawns where they are mowing acres and acres.

My model, the Tiger Cub, 19HP V2 Kawasaki engine, 48" cut, has been superseded by Freedom Z series.

It is built like the proverbial brick out-house. :eek:

[michael a nelson]

i have the scag 52 inch turf tiger and love it

[Scott T Smith]

Andy, I went down this same path about 9 years ago, and ended up with a Scag Turf Tiger. It is a true, commercial duty mower that I expect to last me for the remainder of my life. I searched for several months, and tried out several units, with many demo units being delivered for my use for a week.

In general, there are probably three different grades of mowers. Consumer, high end Consumer, and commercial. Then there are the golf course/landscape commercial models with multiple mower decks.

We live on a farm, and thus on a regular basis are mowing quite a bit of land, not all of it smooth. The Scag offered the best balance between durability, function, ease of use, and results. Scag dominates a significant portion of the commercial mower market across the US. In nine years we have had ZERO unscheduled maintenance on the mower (except for one belt that broke when a tree branch got caught behind it - not the mowers fault). We change the lubricants and filters, grease it, and operate it.

My second favorite was the John Deere commercial mower, as I recall the 757. These are not "homeowner" mowers, they are a true commercial unit.

I also looked at Toro (more of a high-end consumer mower; my neighbor borrowed my Scag and then bought the Toro, and has regretted his purchase ever since). The Exmark was good, but more complex to maintain. The Cub Cadet's weren't bad, but not as durable or operator friendly as the Scag. The Dixie Choppers were ok, but larger and more bulky. The Kubota commercial unit at that time was not well designed; I've been told that later models were much better. The Hustler is another commercial unit worth looking into. The Lastec is a golf course unit that was pretty nice, but it starts around 15K.

You're going to drop some coin on a Scag, if you go that route. I recall that I spent close to 8K for mine with the Kawasaki fuel injected motor. However, if you look at the fact that this unit will provide excellent service for 30 - 40 years or more, the price per year is not too bad compared with wearing out 4 - 5 consumer mowers during that same period.

[Jerome Stanek]

I've run Dixon Xmark Toro and Bad dog they all do a decent job but the Bad Dog is more mower for the money. I do the Xmark trade show display and part or the Toro on some of their models they use the same bearings. The Dixon is what I have now and it is the worst one for grass discharge.

[Brian Elfert]

I cut grass on a 330 acre fairgrounds from 1989 through 1994. The ZTRs were basically just coming out then and they didn't buy one during my time. They had at one point a Toro Groundsmaster 52, 72, 220, 327, and a 325D. Those things just ran and ran. The only major issue was the 220 ended up being replaced by Toro about 8 weeks after delivery as it broke down once a week with the same issue. The replacement 220 was just fine. The 52 eventually blew the motor the same year they bought the 220. The 220 was a replacement for the 52 anyhow.

The biggest repair I remember was the 327 or the 325D had issues with the gearbox on the mowing deck. I like Toro, but I haven't used any rider in years.

[Dave Lehnert]

I know quite a few commercial lawn guys, I'd guess 15% use John Deere, 10% use Toro, 5% use Gravely and the remaining all swear by X-mark. X-mark is an upper end Toro, built heavier and the bearing systems are superior also.

I have a 2005 model Toro ZTR and at the time the Toro was built with heavier steel decks and better all round features. may be different today.

By the time you read this thread my guess you will have listed every model made. I would go with what dealer stocks close to home. You will find that most models use the same brand wheel pumps and motors. When I was looking I looked for a brand with a Kawasaki motor. I have used them for years with no problem.
I went with Toro because they have a good parts availability. I get any part I need next day if not in stock at my dealer.

[Larry Frank]

I have a Simplicity ZTR which I really love. It also has springs and shocks on the corners which is much kinder on my back. It does mow very quickly but there is a learning curve.

[Mike Cruz]

Andy, I have the John Deere 757 with 60" deck. I really do like it, but there are some "issues" with it. First of all, mine is 7 years old. So, take what I am saying as what it is...information based on experience with a mower that I've owned for 7 years.

Overall, I love the mower. It has been a workhorse for me. I not only mow my lawn with it, but for years, I mowed our 9 acres of horse pasture with it...yup, 9 acres. Stopped doing so only because I needed to mow at 8" (to keep weeds from germinating). And the mower only goes up to 5".

Downside to the mower: There are two air intakes. When you lift the seat, there is one directly under the seat that leads to a fan. The other is directly in front of the engine. Both have access from under the seat. The problem is that BOTH are located towards the right side of the mower. The grass discharge is coincidentally located on the same side. If the wind is blowing from your right to left, all the clippings get blown righ back at you and, you guessed it, those intakes get clogged. The solution, before EACH mowing, you lift the seat and clear the clippings. OR you do what I did (before I knew to do this) and start it up one day to find the mower has no "power". Why? Because one of the cylinders overheated and no longer works. Then, 6 months later, you find out the other one needs to be replace too...from the same symptom. Yeah, I've had both replaced. Not cheap. But I know better now. Have they changed this and solved the problem? I have no idea. But I've tried the EXmark and "others" and like the fit and feel of the JD best. Good luck!

BTW, JD's at the BORG are not true JD's. Just like a Stihl at the BORG is not a true Stihl. If you want a JD, go to a JD dealership.

[Jerome Stanek]

If you can afford it the Dixie cutter is one of the best

[Jim Laumann]

Add me to the Skag club. We have a Tiger Cub that we bought last spring - 23hp Briggs w/ a 60" deck. The thing is a tank - very heavily built. We purchased it from a local dealer. Paid $7800 +/- w/ the sales tax, etc.

While heavily built - I do have reservations w/ the mower....

1) Not the mowers fault - we "over bought" - the area we mow - has dips and valleys - not to mention trees and shrubs - and there are spots we can't get the Skag in to due to deck size, and we find its width causes the deck to bridge - resulting in some scalping in spots. We might have been better off had we bought a unit w/ a smaller (narrower) deck. We went w/ the large deck to "reduce mowing time", but we haven't seen the time reduction we anticipated......

But - if we crank up our older Dixon (chain drive ZTR), and run it & the Skag - I run the Dixon - and focus on the areas w/ trees, and the confined spots, while wifelet hits the level - wide open areas, we get things done quick.

2) I don't like how the mower is laid out - maintinence wise - some of the grease fittings are nearly impossible to reach, it's hard to change oil w/o spilling oil on to the mowers frame due to the location of the drain plug, etc. Nothing that can't be worked around, more pain it the butt stuff.

In the mowers defense - give it a wide open area, and it will chew some grass in a hurry. It has a excellant deck height system (adjustable by the 1/4"), the controls are well laid out, and full hydrostatic is really nice.

Jim

[Dave Lehnert]

BTW, JD's at the BORG are not true JD's. Just like a Stihl at the BORG is not a true Stihl. If you want a JD, go to a JD dealership.

Big box never have stocked Stihl. Are you thinking Echo?
http://www.poptent.net/assignment/185

[Mike Cruz]

I bought a Stihl weed eater some 10+ years ago at HD. I thought I was getting a "for life" weed eater. When the pull rope broke, I took it to my local dealer. He said he could fix it, but it would cost $100. WHAT? WHY?!?!?!?!!?! Because it was not a true Stihl. It was made by Ryobi (IIRC) FOR Stihl to be sold at BORGs. The reason it would cost so much was that the string cost $5 and since they would have to take the entire motor out to get to the string (on the downhill side of motor assembly, not on the very end...if that makes sense) the other $95 was in labor...basically time. Sure, if I had the time and energy, I could have repaired it myself. But a few other things had gone on it too...like the on/off switch didn't work anymore. I had to turn it off by choking it. :) And something else that I can't remember. So, it wasn't worth it to me. BTW, it was the FS36 IIRC.

[Eddie Watkins]

I have a Grasshopper 722D and really like it. Conceptually it built a little different than the other ZTRs in that the deck is self supprting and can mow under trees and shrubs. The Walker mowers are supposed to give the best cuts for manicured lawns. I'm not sure how they would work on a converted pasture lawn(:>)

[Keith Outten]

72" Dixie Chopper with a 25 hp Kohler engine. Made in America...mine is 15 years old.
They have a very heavy steel deck that you can step on or jump on for that matter.
.

[Bob Riefer]

I have a 48" walker with 15 hp kawasaki motor, belt drive not hydro (but honestly, for a home owner the belt drive is fine and saved me a grand). I only have a 1/2 acre, but speed was important to me given the number of things I try to squeeze into the average day. I can mow the entire thing in 30 minutes flat, using 2nd gear. I string trim the fence line, but otherwise the machine is sized such that it can very nicely maneuver around all obstacles. A traditional rider wouldn't work for me due to obstacles and turning radius, and a zero turn rider would be major overkill for my acreage. This has been perfect, plus I enjoy the exercise of briskly walking my property for 30 minutes.

Yesterday, my neighbor (who sold me my mower, and sells high end equipment wholesale for a living) brought a 60" cub cadet rider over to test drive. He did my yard in 10 minutes. The wide deck prevented him from reaching some areas, and he did "bridge / scalp" a few spots, but overall the cut was great - the mower sounds like a helicopter when it passes. If I had a large lot without many tight spots and without lots of sudden elevation changes, it looked like a great machine, I know he sells quite a lot of them.

[Ole Anderson]

I am happy with my 425 Deere, I went with the 48" so I could fit it in my garage along with everything else. Had it 3 years. Bought it from my local Deere dealer, not the BORG. Downside is it is tough on your lawn until you figure out how to do the turns without causing damage, especially if you have a lot of trees you do a circle around every week in the same wheel path. Any tips out there?

[Brian Elfert]

Has anyone tried one of the new ZTR mowers that have a steering wheel instead of the hand controls? I spent five years driving Toro Groundsmasters with a steering wheel and hand controls seem so foreign. A Groundsmaster can do a turn in place by braking one wheel, but it pretty much destroys the grass. I only did it a few times to prove it works.

I am hoping to be able to move to some acreage down the road and I will need a riding mower. I only have a 100x40 patch of grass in front of my house and about 40x40 in the back right now. I can do the whole thing with my push mower in 45 minutes or so.

[Jim Becker]

I have a Scag Freedom-Z (http://www.scag.com/freedomz/freedomz.html) and absolutely love it. My second choice was the Hustler, but there was just a lot about the Scag that I really liked when I was shopping. Not inexpensive, but it cuts like a dream and is easy to maintain. It replaced the mower deck I had for my Kubota sub-compact tractor and I don't miss the mounting/dismounting dance in any way, shape or form. The Kubota deck cut wonderfully, but it was 300 lbs of steel that got in the way of many other things I use the tractor for on the property. IMHO, if you have a reasonably size lawn, a ZTR is the way to mow.

Brian, it took me very little time to get used to the lever steering on my ZTR and it's the key to the amazing maneuverability. My 80 year old dad, who loves to cut the grass when he visits, picked it up pretty quickly, too.