Zero Turn Mowers - Residential use

[cajunfirehawk]

Were moving into a new house Monday and the lot is over 1.5 acres and I don't want to waste my entire day cutting grass, so were looking into the zero turn mowers. After some research, the best deal I see is the Cub Cadet 50" with the 22hp Kawasaki engine ($3k). After reading some more, it seems the engine is great but the frame and deck are not as strong as a commercial unit which I understand but this mower has a 3 year warranty. However since its sold thru Home Depot, I am not sure how the warranty will be honered...any thoughts on zero turns for home use?

[Brandon1]

Your best bet is to skip the Home Depot and Lowes mowers and go to a tractor dealership. www.deere.com has all the info on buying something that will perform and last allot longer than the cheap knock off's from HD or Lowes.

That being said, You can pick up a John Deere Zero 717 new for close to the same cost of a residential model, and it will perform much better. Also try Hustler, Toro, Gravely, and Scag.

[mburnickas]

I think DEERE is overpriced. I had a few in my day.

I like zero turns but my issues is there product is a single use. Are you ever going to need a bigger deck, front end loader, backhoe etc???

That is why I bought a Kubota BX24

[themightytimmah]

Pick up a used commercial unit. It's like a rotary vs a PC. If you can get one for the model you're buying, get a stripe kit too.

At my old work, we swore by Walkers. They're slower than most, but have a front mount mower and you can get within 1" of beds and obstacles, making trimming super easy. Internal bagger, too.

Also, Exmarks were nice machines, but we tended to do smaller areas and didn't need the speed of a mid-mount machine. Dixie Choppers were popular too, they didn't cut as nice but they did like 8 acres an hour.

[cajunfirehawk]

Justed checked out a Ferris IS 500Z and man what a nice unit but its $2K more than the Cadet I viewed and but it has a Briggs engine which I'm not fond of but it features a kick *** suspension on all four corners, very well made, IMHO. Also, viewed the low end Scag and the Ferris beat it IMHO. But the warranty on those is only like 1 year chassis, 2 years engine. I think I am going with the $3k Cadet ZT but buy it from a Cadet dealer other than the big box hardware guys...? Checked snappers and they scare me too. Since most mower dealers close at noon on the weekends, not much time to shop there but checking out the $4K Exmarks Monday too. The only thing @ Deere that caught my eye was their 300 series 4 wheel steer lawn tractors which feature a 4 year warranty but are $500 more than my $3K budget, but a 4 year warranty impresses me. And yes, I just need to mow, the man that built the house and is our next door neighbor, has a barrage of heavy equipment (in the biz) so I think were covered for an occasional hole or pile of dirt Not fond of Toros and havent seen the gravelys cause they were closed.

[Chris223]

Originally Posted by Brandon1

Your best bet is to skip the Home Depot and Lowes mowers and go to a tractor dealership. www.deere.com has all the info on buying something that will perform and last allot longer than the cheap knock off's from HD or Lowes.

Well I work at Lowes and while some of the models are garbage, I can assure you they aren't "cheap knock-offs" you get what you pay for. Just don't expect to get a high quality mower when you buy the $700 Bolens. You get what you pay for. But the Deere's models we carry are different then the Deeres you buy at a Deere dealership with the same model number, and we probably have it cheaper. And I agree with the other guy, Deere is overpriced. Because they do exactly what everyone else now does in the last 10 years, find ways to cut corners and quality in search of cheap cheap cheap.

[Brandon1]

The JD's at home depot and lowes are a consumer mower with the deere name, but subbed out to a cheaper company to market/develop/produce the mowers. The consumer mowers use aluminum axles and plastic components. The "real" Deeres have cast iron axles and 7ga steel decks. They are built with quality, not cost cutting. The consumer mowers would die within a week with me running it lol

Ferris makes a supreme mower IMO

[Brandon1]

Originally Posted by themightytimmah

Pick up a used commercial unit. It's like a rotary vs a PC. If you can get one for the model you're buying, get a stripe kit too.

At my old work, we swore by Walkers. They're slower than most, but have a front mount mower and you can get within 1" of beds and obstacles, making trimming super easy. Internal bagger, too.

Also, Exmarks were nice machines, but we tended to do smaller areas and didn't need the speed of a mid-mount machine. Dixie Choppers were popular too, they didn't cut as nice but they did like 8 acres an hour.

Craigslist has used JD Zeros for $4k, and they will last forever.

Have you considered a walkbehind with a sulky? You can pick up a good 48" walkbehind with a sulky for $3k, with a warranty and it will blow any consumer mower out of the yard.

[jswift2000]

ZTR is a nice choice. Ferris makes a good machine but also look at Exmark, Scag, Hustler, Toro (Z-Master) and Deere. You wont go wrong. If you dont want a ZTR, check out simplicity tractors (Simplicity - Lawn Tractors, Snowthrowers, Zero Turn Mowers, Riding Mowers, Yard Power Products) or Deere - very well built.

[mburnickas]

simplicity is a throw away...Unless you are paying like $10,000 (a bottom of the line okay tractor), it is not a tractor. It is a lawn mower.

[Chris223]

Originally Posted by Brandon1

The JD's at home depot and lowes are a consumer mower with the deere name, but subbed out to a cheaper company to market/develop/produce the mowers. The consumer mowers use aluminum axles and plastic components. The "real" Deeres have cast iron axles and 7ga steel decks. They are built with quality, not cost cutting. The consumer mowers would die within a week with me running it lol

Ferris makes a supreme mower IMO

So these have aluminum axels eh? If you say so... And I'm pretty sure this guy is looking for a consumer mower, not a commercial. Regardless, Lowes sells some ****** mowers, I wont deny that, but the higher end models are not going to die within a week, or else they'd never sell. And I've never heard a complaint about em. My neighbor bought one of those "real" Deeres from a dealership and has had nothing but problems with it. Damn thing is always getting fixed. They're made with the consumer in mind. A person like yourself who sounds like someone who used this type of equipment daily, isn't exactly the greatest to recieve advice from. IDK about you, but being just an average person, I don't need a contractor telling me to go buy a $500 DeWalt drill when I'd only be using it once a month. See my point?

26-HP V-Twin Hydrostatic 54" Cut LA175 Lawn Tractor

22-HP V-Twin Hydrostatic 48" Cut LA145 Lawn Tractor

I would never buy a Deere simply because I still hold the opinions that they are over-hyped and overpriced. I just wish Ariens still made tractors. Our lawn tractor is an Ariens that my Dad bought before I was born, back around 1984... thing still runs awesome. And it gets put to some heavy usage, as we have to mow over 3 acres including hills. So long as we get it tuned up and the blades sharpened... she keeps runnin. Shame they don't make riding mowers anymore.

[Brandon1]

I'm just saying buy it once and it will perform better, last longer, larger service intervals and easier use. Think about it, the turtle wax/mothers OTC stuff that most people use is fine for them, but we know that there are better things out there that are worth spending money on. IMO, this is one of them. I see so many of those cheap-o mowers on craigslist for sale with the title "for sale, or trade for commercial model". The cheaper ones arent going to die, they just arent as good as a higher end mower that does not cost that much more.

And, you are definatly preaching to the wrong person about a Deere being over-hyped and overpriced lol.

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