# Zero Turn Mowers



## garback (Feb 20, 2011)

Let's here it people. What do you have? What do you want?

I have never had any type of riding mower but last year my push Toro died on me and it is time to step it up. I am leaning toward a John Deere 48" mower. I have a shed with a 5' wide door opening so I cannot get a larger cutting deck. I am trying to decide if I should by the mower from the local JD dealer or Lowes. Lows has a better price but I have heard the JD dealers have better service. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Maybe another brand I should take a look at?


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

YOU asked for my 2¢ worth, so her it is: I have 1.3 acres of cut-table grass/yard at my house. When I moved here I had a John Deere, rear engine rider which was two years old and lasted about two more years. I went out and looked at almost everything I could think of, every brand I could find, to make up my mind what to buy next. I bought a ZTR (zero-turn radius) and have never looked back. Mine has a 42" deck, 16 hp motor and so far, knock on wood, not had to do any repairs to it. I changed the oil, oil filter, air filter, and spark plug each spring, keep it clean and lubed, and away I go. NOW--IF one buys a John Deere, a Toro, a Cub Cadet, or whatever _here_ at either the Lowe's or Home Depot store--they are in for trouble. We do have a large John Deere dealership here which _will not_ work on these mowers bought at the apron stores. Now will the Toro dealership work on the Toro's nor the Cub Cadet dealership work on the Cub Cadet's. Both of the apron stores tell the customers to bring them back in, they will ship them out somewhere for repair, and they will be back in 2-3 weeks. NO joke here.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

garback said:


> Let's here it people. What do you have? What do you want?
> 
> I have never had any type of riding mower but last year my push Toro died on me and it is time to step it up. I am leaning toward a John Deere 48" mower. I have a shed with a 5' wide door opening so I cannot get a larger cutting deck. I am trying to decide if I should by the mower from the local JD dealer or Lowes. Lows has a better price but I have heard the JD dealers have better service. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Maybe another brand I should take a look at?


Consider a JD (from dealer), Ariens, or Dixie Chopper (for large lots).


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## mpellerin (Feb 15, 2011)

*54" John Deere Zero Turn*

Last summer my husband switched from a regular riding mower (a Husqvarna, but he'd had other, different brand riders before) to a John Deere 54" Zero Turn mower. He'd always liked the regular riders just fine, but he ABSOLUTELY LOVES the zero turn. He bought his at the local dealer, not the big box store because he had heard the same things about service. I think the price was maybe $50-$100 more than at the big box store. 

We live in south Louisiana where the grass needs mowing even in the winter, though not quite as frequent as in the summer. He has approx. 1 acre to mow and the zero turn has cut his time almost in half. He also says that it's so much easier to handle that he's not tired at all when he's done. I hear, probably once a week, how much he loves that zero turn.

I don't know much about the specs, but I do know the deck is larger than the next door neighbors (also a John Deere zero turn) and the comment was made that ours cuts closer around objects because the 54" mowing deck extends beyone the tires where the neighbors does not.

I'm sure there's much more to say about it but please understand I've never even sat on the mower. And even if I wanted to, I don't think I could get to it faster than my husband.

Hope this helps.
mpellerin


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## garback (Feb 20, 2011)

Is it true that the JD dealer will not work on a tractor sold from Lowe's?


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

garback said:


> Is it true that the JD dealer will not work on a tractor sold from Lowe's?


I think their entry level models are made by MTD with the JD badge.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

garback said:


> Let's here it people. What do you have? What do you want?
> 
> I have never had any type of riding mower but last year my push Toro died on me and it is time to step it up. I am leaning toward a John Deere 48" mower. I have a shed with a 5' wide door opening so I cannot get a larger cutting deck. I am trying to decide if I should by the mower from the local JD dealer or Lowes. Lows has a better price but I have heard the JD dealers have better service. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Maybe another brand I should take a look at?


I used to do a side-line lawn mowing service with my sons. We ran all John Deeres. 

If you're going to get a John Deere, get it from the local dealer. Get the right salesman & he'll match the price of Lowes or Home Depot. *The local dealers *will* work on the mowers bought at the box stores, but said mowers will be serviced *after* all the others. Also, if you buy from a local dealer, they'll probably give you a "loaner" while they're doing warranty work on your mower. That was my experience.


Regarding John Deere quality... Well, you'll get what you pay for. They have entry-level residential mowers, as well as better commercial-grade mowers.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

handy man88 said:


> I think their entry level models are made by MTD with the JD badge.


Can't say for sure, but I don't think that's true. Unless it has changed very recently, JD makes their own mowers - even the cheaper ones. They do use "off the shelf" engines.

MTD makes the lower-end Cub Cadet mowers, as well as a whole host of other brands.


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## tyhatts (Dec 13, 2010)

DrHicks said:


> Can't say for sure, but I don't think that's true. Unless it has changed very recently, JD makes their own mowers - even the cheaper ones. They do use "off the shelf" engines.
> 
> MTD makes the lower-end Cub Cadet mowers, as well as a whole host of other brands.


I am a salesperson for JD at a dealership. Here at out dealership, we will work on the lowes and HD John Deere mowers. But our customers come first. If ya know what I mean. 

John deere uses generic engines (briggs and stratton) but as far as the machine goes. its 100% JD . 

If your interested in a JD zero turn, I would go to at least a Z445 w/ a 48" deck. If you can find a local dealer that has a 2010 model still, that would be your best bet. They have the Kawasaki engine in them. In 2011 they changed over to a higher end Briggs and Stratton engine. Im a little leary on that particular one. 

A Z225 will work if you have a small yard, but they are noisy and a little small for my liking. just sayin.... 

If you have any questions you want to ask, just shoot me a PM !


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

^^^ Cool. Actually we're long-since out of the lawn mowing business - something for which I am very thankful!

Right now I'm just tootling along on an L120. It's plenty of mower for our 1-acre place.


Actually, of all the mowers we went through, I think my favorite was the old F525. We absolutely ran the snot out of that beast and it would NOT quit. I sold it to a friend of mine, and he's still mowing with it.


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## pjordan4477 (Mar 15, 2011)

Any mower with a briggs and stratton engine is a fine choice.

Cub cadet just released a ZTR with a steering wheel (no lap bars).

I'm still riding my grandfathers 1982 John Deere with 36" deck.

Turn raduis sucks, but I put a new carb (2008) on it and it starts up every single time.

I have the original reciept and Pops paid $2100 for this sucker in 1982!!!


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## waterman1971 (Apr 19, 2009)

The kubota ZD series zero turns are absolutely bulletproof. If you are young and want one to last forever, look no further.


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## garback (Feb 20, 2011)

tyhatts said:


> I am a salesperson for JD at a dealership. Here at out dealership, we will work on the lowes and HD John Deere mowers. But our customers come first. If ya know what I mean.
> 
> John deere uses generic engines (briggs and stratton) but as far as the machine goes. its 100% JD .
> 
> ...


I have .6 acres. I have 4 large irregular shaped gardens in the back and 6 very tall trees in the front to manuever around and last year with my 20" self propelled Toro it took me 3 hours to mow and trim the entire yard. I want a 0 turn for the maneuverability. I am looking at the Z225 as they are the cheapest, and they are small enough for me to zip around the gardens. If you think I am in the need for a larger model please let me know. I can certainly pull up some pictures of the yard/gardens if that helps. I moved into this house (our first) in August 2009 so I am looking for this mower to last a LONG LONG time. That is why I am willing to spend more on the JD. Any advise you can offer me is grately appreciated.

(I can't PM you as I don't have 20 posts... how lame is that?)


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## Blondesense (Sep 23, 2008)

We have three mowers. An old no name push mower, a Murray riding mower, and a Troy Built ZTR. DH says he will be using the Murray this summer. Yeah, the ZTR is quick, and a sweet ride, but according to DH it uses two or three times as much gas to cover the same area.


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## SuziQ (Apr 11, 2011)

I absolutely adore my JD ZTR. My husband and I split up last summer and the tractor was the one thing I wouldn't let him take. But I gladly gave him the mixer.


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## screwy (Mar 12, 2011)

One question, one comment.

How does the zero turn models preform on inclines/angle? eg birms, ditchbanks?

The Briggs and Stratton engine would be my last choice, I would highly recommend a Kawasaki, we have a 9hp over 20 years old, lots of hours and I believe the engine will be the last thing to go on that mower.


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

Interesting stuff on them there ZTR's. I thought about moving up to one, but here in northern Illinois we have to plan on equipment that is functional 12 monthes of the year. I used to mow an acre and a half with a 22" self-propelled, Briggs wonder, every week from the middle of May til Thanksgiving back in the early 70's. Then the Toro 2 cycle "eggbeater" came out to do the drive (80' long x 20' wide all winter. I finally scraped together enough cash to buy a lawn tractor after looking at every concievable tractor with key start, a minimum 36" belly mower, attach points for other implements front and rear, and the availability of things like dozer blades, snow throwers, rototillers and so on. I bought an Ariens/Simplicity 12 H.P. with a 36" deck and a 48" dozer blade in 77-78. In 1980 I could afford the 36" snow thrower and picked that up for this tractor. Like the man says, "You get what you pay for." The dozer blade sits rust free in my garage loft. I still mow an acre and a half with the tractor on the same schedule, but have added an 18" x 48" stone filled roller for the springtime (I got tired of rewelding the ends of the roller every spring just because I forgot to empty the water out every fall) and an 8 H.P. Briggs fired leaf vac, that is pulled by the tractor, to pick up the 250 C.F. of leaves every fall. Then it is time for the snow thrower. If it were just for me it might be a little overkill, but with my back going bad and several of the neighbors in the same boat; a snow shovel is out and those little throwers take to long. I generally do my drive, plus a 6' wide x 75' path from the garage to our back door -right across the lawn- and drives for around 12 of the neighbors. I've had a few parts go bad over the years like blade arbors drying out and exploding under load, thrower skegs grinding down to the sheet metal, a half shaft sheared off at the differential due to a design error from Simplicity, broken teeth in the 1st manual transmission I had due to me overloading the tractor so changed over to Hydrostatic drive, had to rebuild the first engine because it only had an aluminum block and jug and wore out after only five years and had to rebuild the 2nd engine because rubber gaskets wore out valves needed redoing, the magneto gave up and the starter needed new brushes, now I'm on hopefully the third and last engine with a cast iron sleeve, electronic ignition, heavy duty alternator and a full size car battery for all the lights, but the tractor and it's equipment will probably outlast me. Just another brand to consider.


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