After using a zero turn, I will never sit in a riding mower again.
Zero Turn vs Lawn Tractor
- Thread starter throwittoblythe
- Start date
I have 4 acres and mow about 3. I have a relatively steep front yard and just a few trees, so went with a all-wheel turn tractor instead of a zero turn. My parents live across the highway with pretty much the same topography (a little bigger and a few more trees, but still a sloped front yard). My dad has a zero turn. I borrowed his this year, just to see if it did cut my mow time down, and it did by about 60%, give or take, with no “slide issues” on the front slope. My next mower, if I ever need one, will be a zero turn.
Agree with this. I have just under an acre with trees and hills. Borrowed my father-in-laws brand new commercial Scags and It scalped places, wouldn’t fit under trees even with the roll bar down and was difficult to drive straight on slopes. My 98 JD Lx188 does a better job and only takes me about 30 minutes anyway. Big mostly open flat ground I would definitely try ZT.
A zero turn mower seems really excessive for a half acre yard. Buy a regular rider and throw some mulch around the trees if you need a wider circle. You have access to a lot more attachments for the rider like wagons, dethatchers, bags, etc. You’ll get a lot more utility out of a rider.
I've had both and let me tell you, you'll fall in love with a zero turn. I just got mine this past May after years of riding a tractor style lawn mower. The difference is like night and day, like driving a Maserati vs. driving ... well ... an old farm tractor.
My new one is a Hustler Raptor that has joysticks instead of a steering wheel.
The drawbacks:
1. It takes some getting used to because the steering, acceleration and deacceleration (it doesn't have any brakes) are all controlled by the same joysticks. But a couple of trips around the yard and you should get it down pretty good.
2. It's kind of awkward to mount. If you're a spry young guy, it probably won't matter, but if you're a plump old codger like me, it could cause some problems. You basically just step on the deck and then have to lower yourself to the seat with not much to hang onto to help you lower yourself. I've taken to grabbing onto the back of the seat to help me sit down.
3. This is just for my model. I don't know about others. But the seat is not adjustable. You can't slide it forward or backward. If you need more room to go in reverse (which is accomplished by pulling back on both joysticks evenly to back straight up) you have to adjust the joysticks by loosening a bolt on both and pushing the joystick forward, then retightening the bolts. If you have a big belly, you may have to do this.
4. If you have a hilly lawn, it may cause some problems going sidehill. But you could almost say that about any mower. My lawn is pretty level, so I have no problems.
The advantages:
1. Zero turn - Duh!
2. It's just fun to mow the lawn again. It's a blast to drive. You'll find yourself wishing your grass would grow faster.
3. I don't know if this is a drawback or an advantage (see No. 2 under advantages), but it takes a lot less time to mow your lawn. What used to take me 45 minutes with my traditional tractor now takes me 20 and the two mowers had the same blade width (44 inches). If you're like me, you'll find yourself wishing you had a bigger lawn so you could continue mowing.
4. Once you get used to the controls, it's really a breeze to operate. To engage the mower on mine, all you have to do is pull up a button and to stop it, push it back down. No levers to pull, no worrying about the belt falling out of the tracks when you disengage the mower, like I did with my old mower.
As far as the speed of mowing issue is concerned, I talked to the guy who delivered mine and he said he used to help mow a huge lawn on a church property. They had two guys with traditional riding lawnmowers mowing it every week and it would take them 4 hours to finish. Then the church got a zero turn lawn mower and one guy can do it in 2 hours. After using my lawn mower, I have no doubt that he told me a true story. You would be surprised at all the time you waste driving in circles on a traditional rider to try to turn and get back on track when you reach the end of the unmown section.
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If you are not committed to a rider, there are 30-inch walk behinds.
