For those of you that have a zero turn, what are your thoughts? When I retire in a few more years, we'll head to the wife's now back together family farm in Arkansas. It hasn't been truly farmed in 30 years or so, so there's a TON of cleanup work to do. Clearing and rebuilding fence lines will occupy most of our time early on. I've got a 95 hp bulldozer to do the clearing part, but will want something to mow the cleared fence lines and around the house; probably a total of 10A or so.
I'm currently considering either a Badboy diesel or a Hustler diesel. I'd like something that will do a little cleaner job than just a bushhog behind a tractor.
So who's got what and what do you think of it? How's maintenance been on it? Obviously I intend to use the heck out of whatever I get, so I'm looking at the durability and ease of maintenance aspects with great intent.
tia
John,
I'm afraid I'm not much help but I'm very interested in what you ultimately do. I bought the land and barn out back so I too have way more to cut than I ever anticipated. I've been thinking golf course style equipment. Maybe a towable rig of rotary cutters. Just throwing out ideas. Up to this point I've always paid for lawn care or I bush-hogged it myself. Now I'd prefer a more manicured look.
The diesel Grasshoppers appear to be the Creme de la Creme.
We are looking into them as well for our new property.
I have a Hustler gas and love it. Made in America and in my mind very well. If you have experience with steering with "sticks" like in your bulldozer then operating one is simple. The only issue that I find is that you need to slow right down when you turn while cutting or your drive wheels will slide and scalp your lawn.
I looked at the Grasshoppers early on. They didn't seem to have the robustness of other makes, but I really like the out front deck design. It would make it much easier to mow under the trees. But some of their other design features were a little off. For instance, because of that out front and elongated rear design, it's no better at mowing an inside 90 than a regular tractor style mower.
David,
You'll want to consider a Land Pride FDR 3690, or one of their larger flex wing mowers. I've got a 3690 and it does a great job on flatter terrain. Small undulations create bald spots, at least until you mow them flat! On smooth ground, it's a rear discharge, so there's no buildup of clippings in any area. It's also pretty well built, so it should last a long time and is easy to grease and clean.
I had the belt tension spring fail very early on, but my dealer replaced it and the belt. Since then, I've had no issues. If it weren't for wanting to mow under the fence line, I'd just use it.
Keep the info coming! Thanks!
(02-17-2014 18:49)JD33 Wrote: [ -> ]I have a Hustler gas and love it. Made in America and in my mind very well. If you have experience with steering with "sticks" like in your bulldozer then operating one is simple. The only issue that I find is that you need to slow right down when you turn while cutting or your drive wheels will slide and scalp your lawn.
Jim,
I noticed the need to slow down on turns. Last year I borrowed a gas Badboy and a diesel and found I had to slow, otherwise it would spin a fair bit. If you're on any kind of slope, that's even worse.
Have you had any maintenance issues with yours?
no maintenance issues John, just regular service
I'd rent something to do the initial work, a bigger 3 point mower, or a bush hog, and and then buy something once all the rough work is done.
But then I'm a farmer, and no how much crap they sell these days for acreage equipment. Trust me when I say the are no BB quality mowers.
No opinions on different brands but here's my thoughts. A zero turn is much faster than a tractor but a tractor with a bush hog can cut almost anything. And easy to change over to a grooming mower. So a tractor is much more versatile. You can get an implement to do almost anything, a zero turn can only cut grass.