Zero turn mowers

[Harry]

I’ve been considering a zero turn mower since I am now mowing twice as much lawn as before. Turning the steering wheel so much is starting to get my wrists sore. Does anyone who has one could give me some suggestions I would appreciate it. TIA. Harry

[Toolslinger]

If you have a dealer nearby, demo a Walker. The controls are somewhat unique to them. (I think ExMark has a smaller machine with the same controls, but that's it)

You control travel with your right hand, and steer with your left. It takes almost no effort to steer, and your arms are in a very comfortable position.

Walkers are really built to live forever. Lots of grease points. Mine gets a complete service once a year, and then cuts about 6 acres at a shot all mowing season. First 18 horse engine wore out after around 20 years, but everything else other than a couple belts is original. We started with a 42", and collected every blade of grass for those 20 years. Since the new 19 horse engine, I picked up a 56" side discharge, and added a vacuum disconnect.

[Toolslinger]

I should add that we had a second for many years that I bought well used. (it was 30 when I bought it with the original motor)

Cleaned it up, and it ran my father's 1/3 acre for many years until his passing. I then sold it to a friend, who promptly ran it in to a lake. I dried it out, swapped fluids, and it's still going a few years later with a couple electric gremlins due to it's bath, but otherwise solid.

[Harry]

Toolslinger, brand new I know Walkers are pricey. But you get a great machine that will last for years. I see some locally on Marketplace, but they al. Have 2000 to 3000 hours on them, price from $2500 to $10000. I don’t know much about them and don’t want to buy someones problem. Harry

[Toolslinger]

That's fair.
They ain't cheap.

You have to find the one owned by the little old lady that just drove it to church every sunday... That's basically what the 30 year old machine was for me. Some rich Dr had it to cut his 1/2 acre and always had it serviced by the dealer....

[DavidBarkey]

I have a client who has walkers for a landscaping company . They are a well built machine , but are just as pricey to fix as to buy new or used . Like all zero turns they are not the easiest to drive for some of us . I myself can't drive the things with out causeing every man woman and child for 2 mile to take cover . I know poeple who love them and have no issue with them . Again I say go drive the thing , before you buy .

[JSinMO]

I’m in the love them camp. I don’t want to go back to any thing else for lawn mowing. With the zero turn I can mow at least twice as fast as I could with a lawn tractor, garden tractor, or tractor tractor.

Mine is an old Dixie Chopper with a 60” deck. It has a hydraulic motor on each wheel and a steering stick for each motor. Wasn’t specifically looking for that brand, just happened to be a great deal, and of course just like almost everything else around here it was not in running condition.

I like the fact that I can run very close around trees and such, cuts down on the trimming I would normally do.

The only thing I wish it had was a suspension seat and if your looking for one in my opinion that has to be a must have. With out it you get bumped around pretty good on ruff ground.

I would also suggest looking at one with bigger rear tires. I think they cover ruff and or wet ground better.

The one negative I can think of is zero turns have a real tendency to slid on hills. If you mowing flat ground then no worries. Some of my ground is pretty steep. The answer is to just mow it on an angle relative to the hill then it’s fine.

[myerslawnandgarden]

If you have a dealer nearby, demo a Walker. The controls are somewhat unique to them. (I think ExMark has a smaller machine with the same controls, but that's it)

You control travel with your right hand, and steer with your left. It takes almost no effort to steer, and your arms are in a very comfortable position.

Walkers are really built to live forever. Lots of grease points. Mine gets a complete service once a year, and then cuts about 6 acres at a shot all mowing season. First 18 horse engine wore out after around 20 years, but everything else other than a couple belts is original. We started with a 42", and collected every blade of grass for those 20 years. Since the new 19 horse engine, I picked up a 56" side discharge, and added a vacuum disconnect.

I was a Walker dealer and think that they are a great machine. As toolslinger mentions, you have a speed control lever for your right hand which stays set where ever you want (think of it as a cruise control). It positions both of the wheel motor levers at the same forward speed so that you can mow straight ahead hands free. To steer, you simply put pressure with one finger on the side that you want to slow down. Many ztr mowers require you to hold the wheel levers at all times. Very tiring and how do you hold your beer??

That said, no matter what ztr you find and are considering purchasing, I would not do so without them letting you have one to demo on your own yard as one size does not fit all.

Bob

[Toolslinger]

The suspension seat is a good point. My Walker rides pretty hard with the standard seat. There's a cushion seat option that is apparently decent, and a suspension seat if you happened to hit the lottery.

I've never run a non-Walker, so I can't speak to it that much. I have always thought it looked like it would be uncomfortable having your arms up, and pushing all the time, but obviously that's what most units use, so perhaps that opinion is ill-formed.

The Walker also has the deck sitting out front. It really gives you good visibility, and lets you stick it under shrubs and the like. You pay for that in the machine being longer than the mid-deck style. Length doesn't seem to matter much until you park it in a tight garage.

I really never found the Walker to have any issues on the hill, either up/down, or sidehill. They sit pretty low, and I would slide out of the seat sideways until I put armrests on it without the machine seeming to care.

I believe it's Cub Cadet that has a ZTR the runs with a wheel rather than levers. Interesting idea, and I've seen positive reviews, but beyond that, I got nothin'.

[myerslawnandgarden]

Thinking of other controls for ztr mowers, Snapper comes to mind which I think was made by Country Clipper. They drove/steered with a single joystick control operated by your right hand like a video game would have. I never operated one, but it always seemed like a pretty neat design.

Bob