Tractor Turning Radius.

[Lawngevity]

Good morning guys!

I was looking for additional information about a few tractors which might help my buying decision. I'd like to compare the turning radius, uncut circle and verify the cutting height. Any help would be appreciated!

Note: The GR2120 spec sheet says the minimum uncut diameter is 48/43" for the 48" inch deck and 54/35" for the 54" inch deck but that must be wrong. For example the John Deere X584 with all-wheel-steer specs out at 48/15" and 54/12" respectively.

Kubota T2290-48
Turning Radius: ?
Uncut Circle: ?
Mowing Height Range: 1" to 4".
Kubota GR2120
Turning Radius: ?
Uncut Circle: ?
Mowing Height Range: 1" to 4".
Kubota BX-1880
Turning Radius: 7.5' feet.
Uncut Circle: ?
Mowing Height Range: ?

 

[jimh406]

You might want to watch the YouTube from Neil Messicks from yesterday. He talked about turning radius and on the tractor he was using that the axle stops can make a difference. Also, left vs right makes a difference due to the blade offset. I expect the Zero turns will have similar characteristics.

 

[85Hokie]

I know what you are asking but when comparing these apples to those apples there are a few different apples in the mix.

SO the uncut radius IS what is left when you make a hard circle in either direction - thus the wider the deck the closer the cut will be on the inside. Since the deck sticks in from the tires - it will cut MORE than a smaller deck.

Rear wheel steering (JD) changes the game entirely - as the rear allow the machine to cut much quicker around.

The BX will not be in this mix when comparing turning radius - HOWEVER - a BX can have an FEL and a 3 point hitch where as the others will never have those abilities.

IF YOU need to cut around many trees and ONLY want to cut grass - get the one that suits your needs.

 

[chim]

The size of the tractor had little to do with the turning radius on three of my tractors. Quote from a post of mine some time ago. The radius (actually diameter) was measured from the inside of the rear when turning in a circle. Shoved a stick in the ground at the rear tire, then drove from 3:00 to 9:00 and measured from stick to tire:

I SUSPECTED the tightest turning tractor of mine would be the Ford 1210. Then the L3200 and L4240 would follow in that order. Measuring from the face of the rear tire at 3:00 and 9:00 with the steering to full lock surprised me. The L4240 was 71", the 1210 was 80" and the L3200 was 98".

I've only used RFM's for 30 years. To mow around trees and things it's easy to swerve and leave very little uncut.

 

[Lawngevity]

Things are slow at work right now, so I took advantage of the downtime and played around with Excel. I do have a Kubota dealer just two miles from my house and the John Deere dealer is about twenty minutes from my house.

 

[PaulL]

Do you have the transmissions right on that? I thought the BX would have a Kubota transmission, the GR perhaps not.

May make sense to include the BX2380 if you're including JD tractors in that price range. The JD X series are quite different than the JD 1-series, surprised they're that expensive. They should be more in the GR price range I'd have thought.

 

[mikester]

Things are slow at work right now, so I took advantage of the downtime and played around with Excel. I do have a Kubota dealer just two miles from my house and the John Deere dealer is about twenty minutes from my house.

View attachment 89850

Next week will you post asking if zero turn mowers really turn on the spot or will you get a protractor and ruler to test out the theory?

 

[RalphVa]

Do any ZTs have turning brakes? They made a BIG different on the JD 2 series 4010 that I had. Could do one row in the garden, hit the raise 3ph lever and right brake pedal, and it would twirl right next to where it was to the next one.

However, saw a Youtube video on a B2601 where the guy (think that Canadian) showed that the turning brake on it did virtually nothing.

 

[lynnmor]

Do any ZTs have turning brakes? They made a BIG different on the JD 2 series 4010 that I had. Could do one row in the garden, hit the raise 3ph lever and right brake pedal, and it would twirl right next to where it was to the next one.

However, saw a Youtube video on a B2601 where the guy (think that Canadian) showed that the turning brake on it did virtually nothing.

My zero turn has no brakes, I believe that most do not.

 

[Lawngevity]

Next week will you post asking if zero turn mowers really turn on the spot or will you get a protractor and ruler to test out the theory?

Those with a farm and an M59 might measure in meters but those with less than an acre need to think in inches. Everything listed in my spreadsheet is legitimate to those interested in lawn and garden tractors. Unfortunately, Kubota doesn't have much to offer in the way of small tractors. The BX1880 is my preferred choice, but I'm not looking to do three-point turns for the rest of my life while mowing.

 

[Lawngevity]

Do you have the transmissions right on that? I thought the BX would have a Kubota transmission, the GR perhaps not.

May make sense to include the BX2380 if you're including JD tractors in that price range. The JD X series are quite different than the JD 1-series, surprised they're that expensive. They should be more in the GR price range I'd have thought.

Good catch, I corrected that. Only the T2290-48 uses the Hydro Gear G-730.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: However, saw a Youtube video on a B2601 where the guy (think that Canadian) showed that the turning brake on it did virtually nothing.
I suspect the brake wasn't properly adjusted or working 'cause if I press the left brake on my big tractor,it 'pivots' on the left tire, does a 180 turn real nice !

Assuming the ZTs have HST, no brakes are needed for 'tight' turns

 

[Daferris]

It depends on what you plans are. If all your doing is mowing grass then nothing beats a Zero Turn. With my Scag Tiger Cat 2 61" deck. I can turn without leaving anything uncut. Plus it's in my case 2+ acres mowed with lots of trees. It takes less than 1/2 the time it did with the old B7510 & 60" deck.

Now if you want to mow but also have a loader and or 3pt attachments then a tractor is better. But as always there are compromises...

I my case I have both a Zero Turn and a tractor to maintain. But the usefulness of each out weighed the extra cost of the equipment and cost/time to maintain. The savings in time for mowing as well as not having to remove the mower deck when using the tractor in the woods was my primary deciding factor.

Just my $0.02
Dave

 

[mikester]

Do any ZTs have turning brakes? They made a BIG different on the JD 2 series 4010 that I had. Could do one row in the garden, hit the raise 3ph lever and right brake pedal, and it would twirl right next to where it was to the next one.

However, saw a Youtube video on a B2601 where the guy (think that Canadian) showed that the turning brake on it did virtually nothing.

Mine does. I can even run one wheel forwards and the other in reverse. Amazing...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

curious, how do you apply left or right brake ?
I only see one brake pedal,which I assume is the parking brake.

 

[RalphVa]

curious, how do you apply left or right brake ?
I only see one brake pedal,which I assume is the parking brake.

The B has two pedals with a lever between them. Just raise the lever and hit the brake on the side you want to turn to. My first tractor, a JD 4010 (like a 2019E if made today), would turn right around the stopped rear wheel such that you could end up right next to where you'd been. Great for end of row gardening stuff. The Canadian guy on Youtube tried hitting the turning brake on his B2601 and could not get it to swivel around the stopped wheel. Haven't really tried on mine other than to use a tad for enhanced steering.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I was asking about Mikesters zeroturn ZD326 (?).
I'm TOO familiar with real tractor brakes.....just curious WHY an HST zero turn would have independant brakes.

 

[Daferris]

Zero Turns have separate drive levers that control each wheel motor separately. They also have a parking brake but that locks both rear wheels at the same time. Because you have separate drive levers you can control the speed as well as the direction of movement of each rear wheel individually.

 

[torch]

The Canadian guy on Youtube tried hitting the turning brake on his B2601 and could not get it to swivel around the stopped wheel.

Maybe he had 4wd engaged? I found braking the inside rear is far less effective in 4wd than in 2wd.

I also found trying to pivot on one rear tears up the grass regardless of powering the front wheels. But it might be OK if there's no extra weight like FEL, ballast or tires filled.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

The 'tearing up' of the grass is usually due to 'operator error', driving through the turn, one tire powered to go backwards.
If you're careful, you CAN do 180s without hurting the blades of grass (hint you go slow and no power to inside wheel.
problem is it seems everyone who has a zeroturn 'has' to go 90 miles an hour....