zero turn mower question

Shady · Jan 19, 2019

I will start with I use my brothers John Deere 42" zero turn and its great for my yard.

I found this one at Lowe's I did purchase it online as its the only one in stock within driving distance.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hustler-Ra...ing-Capability-Kit-Sold-Separately/1000370425

With a 10%off coupon it came out to $2439 out the door. It was on clearance for 2500.

Good deal or don't go and pick it up lol

Mowingmaniac 24/7 · Jan 19, 2019

I have a different brand with a 50" deck. I have a really big yard.

After mowing with tractor style mowers and then finally switching to zero turn you couldn't give a tractor style mower now........

ZX9RCAM · Jan 19, 2019

I guess the price is good
I input info from my store and it shows $2999.00.

Shotgun Jeremy · Jan 19, 2019

Hustler makes a great mower. You'll be happy with it. Here's my fleet that's used to maintain a pretty large college campus. Do you live near Temple?

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

Inspector43 · Jan 19, 2019

I don't like zero turns. The tires tear up the yard as you turn. It's like turning a tank with one tread stopping and being drug across the grass.

Dad_Roman · Jan 19, 2019

Shady said:
Good deal or don't go and pick it up lol

Thats an excellent deal. Your talkin around 2200 +tax and you cant hardly buy a garden tractor for that with a 23HP motor and 50"class deck.

And as Jeremy pointed out, they have made their living building first class commercial equipment, been doin it a long time.

Good deal....Dont walk.....Run!

.

Dad_Roman · Jan 19, 2019

Inspector43 said:
I don't like zero turns. The tires tear up the yard as you turn. It's like turning a tank with one tread stopping and being drug across the grass.

It just takes practice but your right, you CAN do a lot of damage to nicely groomed turf.

& @Shady...when you go from a 42" deck to a 50" (or more) it will not mow uneven ground evenly, such as ditches etc. The width starts to lend itself to digging in, so to speak. Also avoidable with some practice and knowledge of what the machine can do.

If your close to Jeremy, he could shed a lot of light on the subject in an hours time. :green:

Shady · Jan 19, 2019

Dad_Roman said:
It just takes practice but your right, you CAN do a lot of damage to nicely groomed turf.

So mowing my weeds I should not have to worry too much about trenches from not turning incorrectly

I am in Burnet.

I figured it was a good deal just never dealt with Hustler

Thanks for the info.

Still waiting on my come and pick it up email

Dad_Roman · Jan 19, 2019

Yaa, no worries then. Hustler is an oooold name in the mowing industry. Course everybody is jumping into the residential quality zeroturn game but at least Husler knows what they are doing.

...and its a fantastic deal.

Mowingmaniac 24/7 · Jan 19, 2019

I've never damaged my grass with my 50" deck 3 blade zero turn, but maybe some do due to inferior design...maybe? I go quite fast too. Or, maybe, I'm just a great zero turn pilot?

I have a Toro with a 23 hp Kawasaki engine. I'm kinda OCD about keeping the air and all other filters clean and spot with oil changes. Mobil 1. oil changes too. Doing so pays off.
I bought mine 6 years ago and it's never given me a lick of trouble.

I have read of some having problems with certain engines, (Kohler, but not all models, but yes, some.....) so look into reviews of the model/engine you're interested in. Kawasaki engines are great, but be aware they too come in 4 tiers of good, better, even better, and best.

Getting the hang of zero turn is fun and easy, so my wife wanted to run it. She did fine with simple straight ahead mowing, but she's rather uncoordinated... While running it sometimes simply takes her hands off the control arms and let's the mower to it's own devices. When I saw her do that, I had to gently tell her no more mowing. What was she thinking? Of course, many years ago tried to teach her to drive a stick shift. Many attempts and no yelling later, she still couldn't manage it. Oh well.....she does other things so superior to me, I'm agog with admiration. She can out think me in so many ways that I look like a dunce. Hell, she even does our income tax, something I couldn't do if my life depended on it.....

One other consideration is big box stores sell lower shelf(read lower quality) mowers of the same brand, but dealers sell a higher quality mower.

Is that true?

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know for certain.

However, I bought mine from a dealer and have gotten sterling attention when needed. Big box stores will sell it and forget you.

Something more to consider.....

Look into Gator blades too. Why? Because they cut 'and' mulch. Stock blades throw the grass into wind rows.

Inspector43 · Jan 19, 2019

Dad_Roman said:
It just takes practice but your right, you CAN do a lot of damage to nicely groomed turf.

& @Shady...when you go from a 42" deck to a 50" (or more) it will not mow uneven ground evenly, such as ditches etc. The width starts to lend itself to digging in, so to speak. Also avoidable with some practice and knowledge of what the machine can do.

If your close to Jeremy, he could shed a lot of light on the subject in an hours time.

Thanks. You are right about the deck width. We have an undulating yard and a yard service mowed one time. The deck dug in on some of the lawn.

Dad_Roman · Jan 19, 2019

Mowingmaniac 24/7 said:
One other consideration is big box stores sell lower shelf(read lower quality) mowers of the same brand, but dealers sell a higher quality mower.

Is that true?

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know for certain.

However, I bought mine from a dealer and have gotten sterling attention when needed. Big box stores will sell it and forget you.

Something more to consider.....

Look into Gator blades too. Why? Because they cut 'and' mulch. Stock blades throw the grass into wind rows.

Box stores are selling the "residential duty" mower. I dont even know if dealers carry this level since they have come on strong. Dealers used to only have "commercial grade" stuff that I knew of.

(Disclaimer: Havent mowed commercially for about 10 years)

Gator blades....BIG thumbs up on that one. Course Im comparing to what would have come on my Craftsman Garden Tractor. Craftsman blades are crap. Gator Blades rule.

Shady · Jan 19, 2019

So you are saying your wife is smarter than you and she tricked you into telling her to never mow lol.

The add says its a Kawasaki motor, Its the same part number as listed at hustler so cant imagine its different in any way but who knows.

I have been using my Bro's John Deere easy track for 7 years now and I still make ruts some times when I make it do a zero turn the front wheels like to dig in but I also have very soft ground.

As far as dealers go Mustang sales a JD dealer has not giving 1 extra crap for my brother after his purchase at the dealership and he paid well over 500 more getting it there over a box store and when I showed him how much extra they were charging for parts over online he was a bit peeved.

But I am sure there are dealers that are good to customers but when you are getting the bottom of the line mowers and not the top end I am sure it makes a difference.

Mowingmaniac 24/7 said:
I've never damaged my grass with my 50" deck 3 blade zero turn, but maybe some do due to inferior design...maybe? I go quite fast too. Or, maybe, I'm just a great zero turn pilot?

I have a Toro with a 23 hp Kawasaki engine. I'm kinda OCD about keeping the air and all other filters clean and spot with oil changes. Mobil 1. oil changes too. Doing so pays off.
I bought mine 6 years ago and it's never given me a lick of trouble.

I have read of some having problems with certain engines, (Kohler, but not all models, but yes, some.....) so look into reviews of the model/engine you're interested in. Kawasaki engines are great, but be aware they too come in 4 tiers of good, better, even better, and best.

Getting the hang of zero turn is fun and easy, so my wife wanted to run it. She did fine with simple straight ahead mowing, but she's rather uncoordinated... While running it sometimes simply takes her hands off the control arms and let's the mower to it's own devices. When I saw her do that, I had to gently tell her no more mowing. What was she thinking? Of course, many years ago tried to teach her to drive a stick shift. Many attempts and no yelling later, she still couldn't manage it. Oh well.....she does other things so superior to me, I'm agog with admiration. She can out think me in so many ways that I look like a dunce. Hell, she even does our income tax, something I couldn't do if my life depended on it.....

One other consideration is big box stores sell lower shelf(read lower quality) mowers of the same brand, but dealers sell a higher quality mower.

Is that true?

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know for certain.

However, I bought mine from a dealer and have gotten sterling attention when needed. Big box stores will sell it and forget you.

Something more to consider.....

Look into Gator blades too. Why? Because they cut 'and' mulch. Stock blades throw the grass into wind rows.

Shady · Jan 19, 2019

Hummmm new world problem. Wheel well to wheel well of my trailer is 55 inches.

Online stats shows with the chute up the deck is 54.4 wide wonder if its going to fit lol.

ZX9RCAM · Jan 19, 2019

Shady said:
Hummmm new world problem. Wheel well to wheel well of my trailer is 55 inches.

Online stats shows with the chute up the deck is 54.4 wide wonder if its going to fit lol.

Hold my beer.....

Dad_Roman · Jan 19, 2019

Load it backerds....at least the motor and weight will be at/in front of the wheels.

Ive never encountered any problem that couldnt be solved with more velocity :green:

Mowingmaniac 24/7 · Jan 19, 2019

Perhaps, I don't damage my grass because I don't scalp.

Run your deck a bit higher too. Doing so will benefit in a number of ways. You can operate faster, your blades don't need sharpening as often and ok, you get the gist... Your yard is not a putting green. It doesn't have to be mowed withing an inch of it's life.

Oh yeah, don't water your grass. Why not? Because the roots will grow deeper, you'll save money by not pissing it away on your grass and you won't have to mow as often.

But, but, it won't be emerald green......

Be patient. Rain will work wonders overnight.

Mowingmaniac 24/7 · Jan 19, 2019

As to trailers too small: Get a bigger one.

Physics, it's not just for children......

pronstar · Jan 19, 2019

I’ve got the same Hustler mentioned by OP.
Works well on my 1.5 acres.

It’s my first ZTM but I’ve got no complaints.

Bought mine used at a Hustler dealer, 1 year old and 50 hours, for $1600.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Mowingmaniac 24/7 · Jan 19, 2019

Keep at least 2 blade sets and be willing to change out with a new sharpened set every 6 months or so.

While you have the mower elevated in order to change out the blades, (I use an old A-frame from a swing set and a chain hoist) take the time to scrape off the grass build up with a plastic scrape and then take an oily range to throughly wipe down the undercarriage of your deck. (ya lazy bastid) Now, my deck is a welded type, not stamped steel, but it ain't corrosion proof into perpetuity, so oil the gd thing....it'll last much longer.

zero turn mower question

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