Anyone used both a front mount riding mower and a zero turn mower to compare them?

[Brian Elfert]

I am looking at riding mowers for the house I am buying. I used to drive Toro front mount riding mowers for five summers and I really liked them. Front mounts are typically large commercial mowers and were not cheap when new.

Has anyone driven both a front mount riding mower and a zero turn mower to compare them? One guy I talked to has three front mount mowers and he said he tried a zero turn and hated it so he keeps driving the front mounts. When I drove the Toro front mount I could get really close to stuff even though it was a 72" deck. I am a bit concerned about buying a used front mount though the Toros were really durable when I used them. The ones I drove had between 2,000 and 4,000 hours on them although I used an almost new one the last year or two. I would probably prefer the water cooled motor as a small engine with 1,800 hours could be pretty worn out. (We had one of the small Toro Groundsmasters with the Briggs engine that seized at about 4,000 hours. Luckily, my employer had already purchased a replacement and they scrapped the old one.)

[Jerome Stanek]

why not have the mower shops bring one of each out to demo. When your spending that much an a purchase you want to be sure of what you are getting. don't let them tell you to just run it around their place I made that mistake and thought the mower was good until I brought it home and tried it on my place. Cutting my grass that needed it showed me that the way the belts where tensioned was bad and I kept popping it off. I took it back and complained and they didn't believe me until they tried it at my place. I did get my money back.

[Brian Elfert]

If I buy a front mount it would probably be a used unit from Craigslist. Neither Toro nor John Deere make the small front mount mowers with the 48" or 52" decks anymore. I couldn't afford a new one anyhow. The new market in the small size is all zero turn now.

I'm also looking at the Cub Cadet zero turn with steering wheel and a standard zero turn too. I know the used front mount mowers are potentially going to be worn out due to the commercial use, but being commercial use means they are really heavy duty. I know that with the 72" Toro Groundsmasters at my former employer they could get over 4,000 hours out of one.

[Wes Mitchell]

I drove a Gravely zero turn at the orchard I worked at. They are great for flat areas, and really cut down on our mowing times, but our orchard was very hilly, and it was a bit dicey when it came to any of the hills. So I guess it would depend on the layout of your new yard.

Sounds like you're getting a bit of property, where are you moving to?

[Mike Lassiter]

I have not ran a front mounted deck mower, but I own a Kubota ZD331 with a 60" deck. Very heavy @ 1645 lbs. I have fairly rough ground to mow and some ditches etc. that I mow with it. First thing - it is NOT much on moderately wet ground. I got it stuck in my yard twice the day I got it and had to pull it out with my JD tractor. If one wheel spins you better hope the other will get you through because if you aren't carefully you will end up being directed over into the muddy area by the wheel that is pulling. I cut mowing the field above my house time by over an hour with the 60" deck verses a 27 HP garden tractor with a 54" deck and a JD tractor with a 6 ft bushhog due to trees. Zero turn much more agile. While the machine is agile it is heavy and does leave skid marks because it is so heavy. I can slide the inside wheel going around trees all the way around the trees while the outside wheel will keep right on pulling. Front deck mower could be just as agile with the deck in the front and pivoting on drive wheels behind it you would have more weight possibly on drive wheels with engine behind wheels and deck in front to balance weight out. I looked at Kubota models but many thousands more than the ZD331 model. I paid $12k or just over for my mower and really like it. I can mow my property 2 maybe 3 times on 5 gallons of diesel. Just paid it off and zero problems with it. Diesel doesn't gum up fuel system like gas with ethanol does so every year I get on it and crank it and it starts right up with whatever fuel was left from last year. Blades about $55 dollars for 3 that last about 50 hours running time before they get thin in the ends and start to split and must be replaced.
I don't think the front mounted mowers run as fast as the zero turns but maybe wrong. I think they make up their time with bigger decks rather than speed, but not saying they can't go fast. My mower CAN go faster than I can use it on my ground. I maybe run 1/2 to 2/3 full speed. I have 7-1/2 acres at my house and mow about 5-1/2 all together I guess. Mower is 5 years old this month and has just under 180 hours on it. It will last me the rest of my life I expect.

[Brian Elfert]

I drove a Gravely zero turn at the orchard I worked at. They are great for flat areas, and really cut down on our mowing times, but our orchard was very hilly, and it was a bit dicey when it came to any of the hills. So I guess it would depend on the layout of your new yard.

Sounds like you're getting a bit of property, where are you moving to?

I'm looking at a 5 acre property in Ham Lake, MN. I'm not sure there is much over 1 acre of grass that would need mowing.

When I worked cutting grass at the MN State Fair the front mount mowers could generally go forward at a faster speed than one could mow at. One summer we had to cut grass rain or shine except in a lightning storm. The gas power model would stall when trying to cut in standing water. The new diesel model could power right through. I don't recall ever leaving any tracks in the grass even with the 72" diesel. I would be looking at the smaller models with no more than a 52" deck.

The one thing I don't like about front mounts is the lack of mulching options. The Toro Groundsmasters have to have an entirely different deck to mulch and most used mowers have the regular deck.

[Judson Green]

I think that zero turn mowers tend to tear up the turf when making sharp turns. Probably not a big deal away from the home, away from obstacles, but nearer the home were you might notice it: were you tend to cut the grass the same way making the same turns in the same place.

[Brian Elfert]

The front mount mowers, at least the Groundsmasters, can do zero turns by braking each front wheel independently. The locked wheel will tear up the grass so I only did it once to prove it could be done and never did it again. I probably would never take advantage of the zero turn capability.

[Ole Anderson]

Sorry I can't compare to a front mount, but I do have a Deere Z425 48" zero turn. Went with the 48" rather than 60" due to storage space in my garage. Zero turn is a misnomer. You will tear up your turf if you spin on one wheel and do a true zero turn. You learn to do what I call a K turn, still fast but doesn't tear up the turf. Zero turns have a faster ground speed than most yard tractors. With one acre, a 60" ZT will be the ticket. Going around lots of trees can still create tire marks if done repeatedly. Probably applies to any mower. Lots of hills are problematic for a ZT. Going up is no problem , down or sidehilling an steep hill is a problem. A Z425 is going to be 4-5K depending on accessories. If you want diesel, you are in a whole different ballpark moneywise. Not sure how well the Cub Cadet with the steering wheel works, but it doesn't take long to get used to the normal lever style of a ZT. What do the pros use on one acre lots these days? A 60-72" ZT. Takes up less space for storage too.

[David Weaver]

I don't know if you have a barn (to store something big), but I mowed grass for a guy for years using a jacobsen F10. The only drawback to it was that it didn't mow grass that got beyond a certain height, but it could mow an acre in about 8 minutes. I swear if you held an oily rag in front of it, that's all it would've taken to run it.

That was 20 years ago, so maybe a different version of the same thing would be appropriate.

For weeds and stuff that grew tall that it wouldn't cut, we ran a regular mower every once in a great while.

AS i recall, the owner bought that particular F10 for $350. The local country club did something to break the motor mount and just set it aside. He located a new one (it just had a ford diesel) for cheap and had his son install it and must've run it for 10 more years.

It burned less than a gallon of diesel an hour when I was using it, mowed 14 feet wide, had a control for every reel (if you went over something small or narrow and didn't want to mow) and went about 5 miles an hour at regular mowing speed, so you were at a nice slow comfortable (no kidney jarring) speed.

[Brian Elfert]

The F10 is way too big for any area I am looking to mow. I don't know how you could use a 72" deck mower on an acre lawn unless it was nice and flat with no trees and other obstacles. The property I am looking to buy is not nice and flat. I am looking at used mowers such as the John Deere F710/F725, Toro Proline Groundmaster 118/120, or the Toro Groundsmaster 220/225. I am not considering the John Deere F525 because everyone says to stay away due to the unique engine configuration.

[David Weaver]

My neighbor had a 725, and used it on ground you wouldn't think of riding a zero turn on. I don't live there anymore, but he probably still has it. He was using it on less than an acre for reasons I can't comprehend - maybe someone gave it to him.

Best man in my wedding has a 710, and he likes it a lot. He mows (well, he just sold his house, so he doesn't now) 2 acres and is pleased with it. It cut his mowing time in half vs. a rider tractor (geared) that he had with the same sized deck, and he got it used and hasn't had any trouble with it.

I haven't seen a front mount out here where I live (lots of hills), but I live in the burbs and I don't have yards large enough to see them, anyway.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have a Walker, and have used the front mount Swisher (IIRK). Been around a Toro a bit too. I like Toro equipment, if you are buying used, I'd recommend just getting the best one you can find and not worry about which it is. The Walker bags really well, the front mounts bagging system is clunky compared. I think the Walker rides better, but not by much. In the range of mower your talking about, you probably won't regret any of them.

[Brian Elfert]

Toro and John Deere seem to be the main front mounts around here. I'm reluctant to go with other brands besides Toro or John Deere for parts reasons. Toro is headquartered here so you see a lot of them. I think my best choice would be a Toro Groundsmaster 220/225 with a recycler deck as they have water cooled engine. A snowblower might be nice too. I've also got my eye on a Toro Proline 118 with recycler deck, but it has a Kohler small engine that is air cooled. I have no idea how long those engines last. If I found a deal on a John Deere I wouldn't have an issue with the Deere. I don't like that the smaller John Deere units have small engine that are air cooled. The water cooled are bigger than I want.

I had good luck with the Toro when I used them 40 hours a week. They seemed to not need a lot of repairs, but we had a dedicated small engines mechanic. I would always bring my unit in if it started making any funny noises. The mechanic was usually happy because everybody else ran them until they quit and then brought them in for repair. The mechanic liked me because I brought the units in while the problems were still minor and easier/cheaper to fix. I hated when I had a day off and somebody else drove my unit. They almost always bent the discharge chute after I had managed to not bend it for weeks on end. These units all got taken care of well during the off season so maybe that is why they ran so well.

[Brian Elfert]

Resurrecting my really old thread. I have had it with running worn out front mount mowers. I am going to bite the bullet and spend the big bucks for a brand new mower. I have the money to buy new even if it costs close to $20,000.

I will buy a front mount mower. The options are a steering wheel front mount like the Kubota F2960e, or a Grasshopper front mount. I was all set to buy a Kubota 2960e until I was mowing my lawn yesterday and thinking maybe the Grasshopper front mount would turn better as each wheel is independent. Anyone used both and have an opinion? My mower is tearing up my lawn going around trees and making some turns. If I make a T or K style turn when turning around it is fine.