Zero turn mowers are not all that great

[tercel89]

My father-in-law bought a Kubota zero turn mower. It's nice and high speed and awesome. He works as a contractor and is away from home with his job a bunch. Well he said if I mowed his yard I could use this new mower at my house too. So for the past 2 years I have used it mowing his yard and mine. It's fast , it turns on a dime , and just neat but I swear it sucks when the land is wet !!!! I live in a normal area but if it is slightly wet and just a bit uphill this thing will just get stuck. So I went back to using my own regular rear wheel drive front engine mower. NO PROBLEM AT ALL !!!! Sometimes the grass isnt always greener or "cut easier" on the other side.  Have any of you noticed this with the zero turn mowers ? The engine and transmission being all over the rear wheels just seems to make the "balance" be off a bit , I always thought the engine being in the back with the drive wheels would be great for traction. But sometimes I guess all that weight in the rear  just seems to make the rear wheels dig a hole.  I just thought I'd post this to help if anyone was thinking of going from a regular riding mower to a zero turn mower. 

Edited August 26, 2020 by tercel89

[peejman]

The rear wheels are very wide to minimize the damage they do, so the grass stays pretty.  Consequently, there's also very little traction. So when it gets wet, they get stuck really easily. You might try adjusting (reducing) the air pressure to see if that helps get more bite. 

[gregintenn]

They are different. Once you learn what they will and will not do, they are simply awesome. As peejman said, proper air pressure in the tires will help a lot. Also, if you are easy with the controls, you’ll have less traction problems.

My Bad Boy will go anywhere my tractor will.

[BHunted]

.....or drive faster for a running start.

 

[JunkiCosmonaut]

you have to rethink how you attack hills and embankments for sure because of the lack of traction. Sometimes turning while approaching a hill will just slide you all the way to the bottom. before it took about 4 hours to do the whole yard, and now it takes about an hour. A nice zero turn sure does it's job but you cant ride them like you do a regular lawn tractor.

[tercel89]

We are selling our home next year so I guess I'll decide on a new mower when we get our new place. But like I said , a regular rear wheel drive works fine. But I sure like the zero turn capability. 

[Patton]

I was never as sold on Z mowers as everyone else. For most properties, as in 90% of properties, I will take a 48” hydro walk behind.  They give less trouble, cut more, do less damage, and ride hills so much better. At the end of the day they are cheaper to operate and make more money. The other 10% of properties are so large that z mower guys want to cut them too cheap to compete with anyway. I had a guy tell me he will ride his Z mower all day for $10 a hour as long as he doesn’t have to do anything else. I have found that z and walk behinds do better aired down.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Patton

[Jeb48]

Not sure I can add much. I have had a 42" Dixon ZTR since 1987, one of the first zero turn makers. I have used it to clear trails through the woods, brush hogging and lately Kudzu control. I fix what breaks and do almost no maintenance on it. Still runs like a champ after breaking off 2 front casters over the years and one blade bearing mount. Engine has never hiccuped. That all said most of it's life was on fairly flat land, the last 5 years has been in the hills of TN. I have not had a lot of drive traction problems but trying to cut across a slope I regularly loose front traction and have to steer down the slope to stay in control. I do find that it does tear up the grass if I try to turn to sharp. I do keep my tires pretty soft. 

MIne is nearing end of life, the deck has holes everywhere including close to where one of the blades mount, one more big rock on that hub will probably rip it out. I have been trying to decide if I should just hire all my mowing done, already hire out some of it, or buy something. I can hire a lot of mowing done for the price of a new mower that I only use every couple of weeks

[Dirtshooter]

I have a neighbor that put some pretty serious mud tires on his because he was slipping all the time.

[FUJIMO]

I've driven a commercial Great Dane for 20 years. My dad purchased a new Kubota "tractor" to mow his property with which is the conventional style mower. I use it to mow his property weekly and I'm happy to be off of it when finished. Both get the job done but I don't see all the additional money he spent translating into a better mowing machine. But to each his own.

[The mailman]

After you ride a zero turn you just can't go back to a tractor.

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, bluemailman53 said:

After you ride a zero turn you just can't go back to a tractor.

I had a 72” finish mower on a tractor. It took over 3 hours to mow my yard. Bought a 61” commercial zero turn and can mow it all in less than 2 hours. That’s a lot of time saved over the course of a mowing season. Also, the rear tires don’t waft the scent of fresh dog crap right by my face like the tractor did.