Zero Turn Mowers

[D2Cat]

Someone made comments in a thread about mass produced ztr's and made in USA....

I didn't want to hijack the thread so started a new one.

Here's an interesting bit of information.

"American home owners have mowed lawns and tilled garden with these since the 50’s. The love affair for the tractor style mower has always been a mystery to the manufactures because there are so many more efficient ways to mow your lawn and maintain your garden. But the desire still lives on. Todays lawn tractors mow faster, are more fuel efficient and in general cost much less than the ones built in the 60’s and 70’s. If the price of a lawn tractor kept up with inflation a typical one today would cost over $25,000! They are one of the best consumer bargains on the planet.

The 1975 36 inch, 10 hp Craftsman lawn tractor sold for $1099 in the catalog. The 16 hp Sears Garden Tractor was $1969 plus $484 for the 48 inch deck. You could buy a 1975 Ford F-150 truck for about the same price, $2778.90 or $2200 out the door. House: $42,600. Gas: $0.57. Bread: $0.28. Gallon of Milk: $1.40. Stamp: 13 cents. Every other area of the economy except lawn tractors and computers now cost 10 times as much. (1976 Apple computer sold for $666.) "

Here are some ZTR's made in USA, and not considered low end models.

BadBoy, Batesville, Ark.
Grasshoper, Moundridge, Ks.
Ex Mark, Corydon, Iowa
Hustler, Hesston, Ks (where the shooting took place)
Dixie Chopper, Greencastle, Indiana

 

[Daren Todd]

Bad Boy mowers are pretty popular here. Course there plant is about a 1/2 hour north from where you picked up your loader in Beebe. You can get one of there mid to large sized models in the off season for a little over 3 grand. They also are painted a really close match to the Kubota Orange

 

[rtgt]

According to Kubota's website, the Z723 i am taking delivery of on Saturday is "designed and manufactured in the USA".

 

[Tooljunkie]

I used to maintain 3 grasshopper mowers. Those things are awesome. Kubota diesel and run all day on very little fuel. I converted a 48" deck to use as a tow behind for my lawn tractor. It mows very well.

Zero tun mowers are so much faster and maneuverable it almost makes cutting fun.

 

[D2Cat]

rtgt, here's my disclaimer. "Here are some ZTR's made in USA"

 

[Greenhead]

All we see around here is SCAG for professional use, some Gravely too. It's no wonder though SCAG is made a few miles down the road.
I've had a hard time making up my mind of either buying a less expensive "box store" 60" zero and replacing it every 8 to 10 years or buying a pro model for life. I could get by with 3 of the cheaper ones to match the 10k of a pro model price tag. A lot of improvements and warranty coverage come with getting a new one every decade or so. I'm not a disposable person but in this case I think I am.

 

[ironpony]

Check out the Bad Boy if there are available near you. I have the 60 inch ZT from TSC for 6-7 years now, only replaced belt and normal Maint. 5000 dollars, still and they have upgraded a lot of the features on it. they have the commercial hydros, which is the heart of the driveline. Frame is solid, nice deck adjustment. good machine.

funny how I got mine, I came home one day and it was sitting in the courtyard. Wife said Hailey, the dog, bought it for you for Fathers Day.

 

[D2Cat]

Around here Grasshoppers are popular. But then they are made just down the road! I have a dealer 25 miles away and he has my mower data in his computer. I picked up a belt a month ago, and asked him when was the last time I bought one..... He said, "never". So he knows more about my mower then me!

We have the out front mount deck. It makes mowing around trees much easier.

Power-fold deck is a spoiler. Kinda like having AC in your house. Once you have it you don't go without it!

29HP Kubota, how do you beat that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVUX5nuFTTw

 

[aeronutt]

My Z725 is made in the US and equiped with a US made Kohler engine. Many of the ZTRs already mentioned come with Kawasaki engines that are made in Missouri. Our tools might all be made in Taiwan, but US manufacturing isn't dead yet!

 

[man00]

You can add Spartan Mowers made in the USA. I think the guy who started this company also was one of the two guys started Bad Boy. They look good and different for most others.
http://spartanmowers.com/mower/srt-series/

 

[Digger Dager]

I stumbled up on this thread by accident today, as I am hiding from the rain, snow and mixed stuff falling from the sky. I work for a 30+ acre traditional cemetery in northeast Indiana (that means thousands of monuments and markers that sit on cement foundations above ground). We now have 2 Kubota ZD326RP-60R mowers for our mowing needs. The last R in the model number stands for rear discharge.

What a difference it makes, not blowing clippings at the monuments and markers. The debris stays mostly down on the ground, even on windy days, so the operators don't eat extra fiber between meals. And yes, when the grass growth gets ahead of us, the mower leaves rows of clippings, similar to side discharge decks.

We started with an 18hp 60" Grazer ZTR in the early 1990's, upgraded to a 23hp 60" liquid cooled Country Clipper ZTR in the mid 2000's, bought our first ZD326RP-60R in 2011, and bought a 2nd ZD326RP-60R in the fall of 2015. Good, hard working machines, stable on the sloping ground we have in places around the grounds.

We test drove the Bad Boy, Grasshopper and Dixie Chopper before settling on the Kubota. The front axle on the Bad Boy and Dixie Chopper doesn't move or pivot, causing a rear drive wheel to loose traction, or come completely off the ground. The Grasshopper was 4" to long to make the turns at the end of the dead-end rows (no pun intended) of stones.

Given the chance to buy any ZTR on the market, I would buy another ZD326RP-60R in a flash. Unfortunately, Kubota has re-engineered their ZD series of mowers to meet the new emissions standards. We will keep watch on the new designs to see how they compare.

As we replace our old equipment, we are moving to Kubota diesel power. We started with a new M59 TLB in 2010, bought the first ZD326RP-60R in 2011, bought a used B3200 with 5" front snow blower and Curtis Cab in 2012, bought some implements and attachments for the B3200 over the next couple years, and then our recently acquired our 2nd ZD326RP-60R. The bonus, these don't have the Tier 4 engines.

We have also been dealing with a great Kubota dealer, family owned Affolder's Implements in Berne, Indiana. Great bunch of knowledgeable and friendly people. The few issues we have had, they stepped up and did an exceptional job to fix the issues.

 

[Daren Todd]

I might have to make up one of these Got all the parts in the garage. Wonder if my wife will miss her bike

 

[LDowney]

I bought the Hustler Raptor 54" zero turn about a month ago and absolutely love it. It has cut my mowing time in 1/2. I mow nearly 2 acres. It's smooth and cuts great. My yard has never looked better. Hustler was the first company to build the zero turn so I thought by now, they'd surely have the bugs worked out. The do. This is the best mower I've ever owned.

 

[Daren Todd]

I bought the Hustler Raptor 54" zero turn about a month ago and absolutely love it. It has cut my mowing time in 1/2. I mow nearly 2 acres. It's smooth and cuts great. My yard has never looked better. Hustler was the first company to build the zero turn so I thought by now, they'd surely have the bugs worked out. The do. This is the best mower I've ever owned.

View attachment 22017

View attachment 22018

How long to do your two acres? Wife and I have been thinking about getting a zero turn. In a similar deck size. We've been trying to get an idea on time saved/ versus the money spent to decide whether it's a worth while investment

 

[LDowney]

How long to do your two acres? Wife and I have been thinking about getting a zero turn. In a similar deck size. We've been trying to get an idea on time saved/ versus the money spent to decide whether it's a worth while investment

I previously owned a Husqvarna 54" mower so the time comparison is on equal decks. It would take me nearly 2 hours to mow my nearly 2 acres. Now it's done in about an hour. It's not an open field 2 acre cut so time will be hard to compare without have the same trees/deck/borders to mow around. All I know is my time has been cut in 1/2 since buying the zero turn mower. Plus, I actually look forward to mowing again. Best mowing decision I've made.

 

[ironpony]

Also the more you need to cut around the more time saved. I saved a little more than half, I have a lot of trees and tight spots where with the lawn tractor you would need to back up and go forward to get around. Most of the time saved is in the turning.