Zero Turn Mowers

[elkhunter11]

I picked up our new zero turn for the range yesterday, and mowed today. Our 54" Cub Cadet residential mower used to take 4 hours to mow the ranges, but the 60" John Deere 960M did the same job in just over 2-1/2 hours. Wherever it was smooth enough I mowed at full speed, which is advertised at 10mph. The Club Cadet would only go about 7mph, and it would bog the engine, and plug up, if I tried to mow that fast. No bogging even in the wet sections, where I would have had to unplug the Club Cadet and then crawl through. Once you compare commercial and residential mowers, the difference is obvious.

[traderal]

The only thing I don't like about JD zeros is they have no suspension like the Toros. Two little springs under the seat doesn't help my old bones. Ferris mowers had an even more elaborate suspension system but they don't have much market share left. The newer Cadets look strong with their square tube frames but are awkward to get in and out of. The JD mower decks still give the best cuts.

[lmtada]

You need some sheep. Paying to much $$$ to cut grass. Sheep will cut grass all summer. While you sit back drink a cool one. Then sheer them in the fall or take them to market.

[curtz]

Yeah I bought a zero turn last fall. Definitely a lot faster than my old craftsman tractor. Still learning to make my turns smoother so I don't rip up my grass. Very comfortable, just still figuring how I can steer with one hand and have a couple sips of beer.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by curtz

Yeah I bought a zero turn last fall. Definitely a lot faster than my old craftsman tractor. Still learning to make my turns smoother so I don't rip up my grass. Very comfortable, just still figuring how I can steer with one hand and have a couple sips of beer.

There are huge differences in the hydrostatic drives, some are much smoother, and easier to control.

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by curtz

Very comfortable, just still figuring how I can steer with one hand and have a couple sips of beer.

Country Clipper

[lannie]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

Country Clipper

Country clippers are beauties to steer for sure. Best quality is the top John Deeres.

[traderal]

Originally Posted by curtz

Very comfortable, just still figuring how I can steer with one hand and have a couple sips of beer.

Bigger problem is steering while fending off mosquitoes, black flies, and horseflies.

[Dmay]

Originally Posted by curtz

, just still figuring how I can steer with one hand and have a couple sips of beer.

My zero turn Cub Cadet is a model with steering wheel instead of levers....works great. Has a spot for beverage can....

[schleprock]

I had our gun club buy the husqvarna 60 inch zero turn commercial model when I was looking after things and it was an awesome unit. The club now trades it in every three years and some lucky soul gets a great deal on a great used machine. The town of bonnyville has been buying half a dozen of them for the summer students to use, and the machines hold up to the abuse. Their machines also get traded in every two or three years. The commercial mowers would definitely last more than a few years, but the dealer say that it is the optimum time for trading them in.

[waldedw]

We have an agreement with a dealer here and get a demo mower every summer for the gun club in exchange for advertising signage, for the past 2 years we had a cub cadet 60" residential mover, it worked great, I put about 50 hrs on it so they kept it to sell as a demo so this year they gave a Ultima 60" commercial mower to use, no comparison between the 2, I like the model with the steering wheel, keeps 1 hand free to sip on my coffee while I cut grass

I just ran it about 10 minutes to test and get the deck height set, it will get a work out next week, the grass really doesn't need cutting yet.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by waldedw

We have an agreement with a dealer here and get a demo mower every summer for the gun club in exchange for advertising signage, for the past 2 years we had a cub cadet 60" residential mover, it worked great, I put about 50 hrs on it so they kept it to sell as a demo so this year they gave a Ultima 60" commercial mower to use, no comparison between the 2, I like the model with the steering wheel, keeps 1 hand free to sip on my coffee while I cut grass

I just ran it about 10 minutes to test and get the deck height set, it will get a work out next week, the grass really doesn't need cutting yet.

I liked the Club Cadet Pro Z series, commercial machine, but we got a great deal on the 960, as it was a new old stock 2022 model.

[NCC]

Originally Posted by curtz

Yeah I bought a zero turn last fall. Definitely a lot faster than my old craftsman tractor. Still learning to make my turns smoother so I don't rip up my grass. Very comfortable, just still figuring how I can steer with one hand and have a couple sips of beer.

You need to get a beer helmet with a straw.

Sheep are great except they eat all of the deciduous trees, flowers and garden.

[Arrowhead]

Toro Titan 60" unit for me. 60 hours so far. Starts, runs, and cuts excellent.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by schleprock

I had our gun club buy the husqvarna 60 inch zero turn commercial model when I was looking after things and it was an awesome unit. The club now trades it in every three years and some lucky soul gets a great deal on a great used machine. The town of bonnyville has been buying half a dozen of them for the summer students to use, and the machines hold up to the abuse. Their machines also get traded in every two or three years. The commercial mowers would definitely last more than a few years, but the dealer say that it is the optimum time for trading them in.

Someone gets a great deal, at the club's expense. With proper maintenance, and proper operation, a good commercial unit should last a club 15-20 years. The problem is that many club owned machines are abused or not maintained properly, and maintenance and repairs are usually contracted out, and paid for. Our old residential unit was 14 years old, but it took a lot more maintenance and repairs than a commercial unit would,
and it was slower and more troublesome to use in our
conditions. I did the maintenance and repairs, which made it feasible to run it so long, if we had to send it to the dealer, it would have cost us a lot more than it was worth.

[jcrayford]

Originally Posted by NCC

You need to get a beer helmet with a straw.

Sheep are great except they eat all of the deciduous trees, flowers and garden.

Amazon Beer Helmet

J.

[Stryker2]

Sounds like the John Deere really stepped up your mowing game. Commercial mowers definitely have that extra oomph that makes a big difference, especially when you've got a lot of ground to cover.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Stryker2

Sounds like the John Deere really stepped up your mowing game. Commercial mowers definitely have that extra oomph that makes a big difference, especially when you've got a lot of ground to cover.

The fact that it has more power, and a deeper deck, with higher blade speed, makes a huge difference in speed. The heavier duty parts, and better air filter system etc, will greatly extend the service life. A few dealers showed me higher end residential units, that claimed to be "commercial Grade" , but when I looked into each brand, there was an actual commercial line, that was built much heavier, and that cost considerably more as a result. I liked the Club Cadet Pro Z line, and the Deere 900 line, and the Toro Pro 4000 series, but Deere gave us the best prices, and the old stock 2022 at $6500 below the 2024 price, clinched the deal. And of course Deere has an excellent network of dealers, and a great parts supply service.

[curtz]

I got a heak of a deal on a gravely, seems to be well built with a kawasaki engine. I can hold both levers with one hand on the straight aways, should be able to hydrate.

[tool]

We are selling a new product this year called Yakta Mowers.

They are built in Woodlands Manitoba, excellent heavy duty construction and an industry leading 5 year or 2,000 hour warranty.

Looking forward to seeing the new mowers arrive in the next week or so.


Yakta is built by the people from Arrowquip cattle handling systems, easily the best company I have ever dealt with in terms of customer support, warranty and making sure things are right in the 18 years I've been selling equipment and that includes 6 years with John Deere.


Check them out here

https://www.yakta.com/


So awesome to see a quality product made in Western Canada brought to market.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by tool

We are selling a new product this year called Yakta Mowers.

They are built in Woodlands Manitoba, excellent heavy duty construction and an industry leading 5 year or 2,000 hour warranty.

Looking forward to seeing the new mowers arrive in the next week or so.


Yakta is built by the people from Arrowquip cattle handling systems, easily the best company I have ever dealt with in terms of customer support, warranty and making sure things are right in the 18 years I've been selling equipment and that includes 6 years with John Deere.


Check them out here

https://www.yakta.com/


So awesome to see a quality product made in Western Canada brought to market.

It's a great warranty, hopefully the company will still be around in 5-10 years. Once they have established a good track record, I will consider their products.

[traderal]

Nice to see something made in Canada. My first impression though is I don't like the name nor the flat black color nor the website gaming slideshow. They kind of remind me of little Russian army tanks or those creepy little alien robots that the hero in scifi movies is always running away from. I gues they should have asked me before they designed them, lol. There is another strange looking zero turn made by Stihl that I chose not to consider. Just something about green, orange, or red that appeals to most. Both Gravely and Toro now have black Stealth models for around $11k, but with a gloss black and chrome accent wheels they do stand out, probably to those who also purchase black dodge duellies, but for me anything black on a hot sunny day is not on my list.

[ruger300]

Country clipper, once you use a joystick to maneuver around trees and shrubs you’ll never want to run a dual lever unit. Also the flip up deck is so much easier than watching my friends with commercial JD units rig up to lift their mowers high enough to change dull blades. Same motor in my country clipper as the JD. And I don’t like the colour green.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by ruger300

Country clipper, once you use a joystick to maneuver around trees and shrubs you’ll never want to run a dual lever unit. Also the flip up deck is so much easier than watching my friends with commercial JD units rig up to lift their mowers high enough to change dull blades. Same motor in my country clipper as the JD. And I don’t like the colour green.

In our situation, we buy local, to support local businesses, so it pretty much came down to Deere, Toro, Club Cadet, Kubota, or Gravely.

[ruger300]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

In our situation, we buy local, to support local businesses, so it pretty much came down to Deere, Toro, Club Cadet, Kubota, or Gravely.

Curious what that JD cost nowadays? Bought my challenger model new in 2019. Was a $9K deal back then.

[6MT]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I picked up our new zero turn for the range yesterday, and mowed today. Our 54" Cub Cadet residential mower used to take 4 hours to mow the ranges, but the 60" John Deere 960M did the same job in just over 2-1/2 hours. Wherever it was smooth enough I mowed at full speed, which is advertised at 10mph. The Club Cadet would only go about 7mph, and it would bog the engine, and plug up, if I tried to mow that fast. No bogging even in the wet sections, where I would have had to unplug the Club Cadet and then crawl through. Once you compare commercial and residential mowers, the difference is obvious.

Congrats! Yeah, you can’t beat a skid steer.

But….you won’t get that kind of performance with a deck with grass stuck on it. And when the blades loose their edges.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by 6MT

Congrats! Yeah, you can’t beat a skid steer.

But….you won’t get that kind of performance with a deck with grass stuck on it. And when the blades loose their edges.

I sharpen blades regularly, and the deck is much deeper than a residential mower, so I don't expect to lose much efficiency

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by ruger300

Curious what that JD cost nowadays? Bought my challenger model new in 2019. Was a $9K deal back then.

Cost varies tremendously from the 300 series, to the 500 series, to the 700 series, to the 900 series. We paid $16.5k for our new 2022 model 960, and a 2024 runs $23k. All of the commercial units that I looked at were in the $20k range for a new 2024.

[lannie]

Originally Posted by ruger300

Country clipper, once you use a joystick to maneuver around trees and shrubs you’ll never want to run a dual lever unit. Also the flip up deck is so much easier than watching my friends with commercial JD units rig up to lift their mowers high enough to change dull blades. Same motor in my country clipper as the JD. And I don’t like the colour green.

I think joystick vs levers are personal preference. You can't beat JD quality and dealer service.
9,000.00 is incredibly good deal if its a commercial unit.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by lannie

I think joystick vs levers are personal preference. You can't beat JD quality and dealer service.
9,000.00 is incredibly good deal if its a commercial unit.

You aren't buying an actual commercial unit for anywhere $9k today. The 2024s that I looked at were all in the $20k range. We lucked out , because the dealer had the new 2022 model in stock.