Does anyone have a ZTR Mower or Reviews

[Wes Terry]

I am in the market for a ZTR riding mower and have it down to these 3.

Toro Z5000
Cub Cadet RZT 50
Husqvarna Z4824

Anyone have any input or reviews?

Thanks
Tom

I own a Dixon. I'm a homeowner in suburbia and I like the mower very much. I am told Dixon was the first with ZTR and with the hydraulic motors which power the drive wheels. Very well built and rock solid. Easy to maintain and the Briggs/Stratton engine hasn't given me a lick of trouble. As you no doubt know by now, none of the ZTRs are cheap, but I have been very happy with my choice and have zero regrets.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

None of the above.
I have a Scagg commercial 48" cut I picked up used for cheap.
Go used commercial and you can't go wrong.

[Ted Jay]

None of the above.
I have a Scagg commercial 48" cut I picked up used for cheap.
Go used commercial and you can't go wrong.

A freind of mine has an exmark for his ten acres, done in 4 hours, and I'm wanting one for my 3 acres. I just gotta convince the LOML that she wan... needs it.

[Kenneth Hertzog]

what I find amazing is no one ever mentions service.
the big box stores have poor to none.
pick the one from the person who will give you the
best service and warranty work.
where you won't have to wait on parts.

ken

[Keith Outten]

Kenneth,

I agree that service should be a primary reason for purchasing a particular model. Commercial mowers are sold by companies that service the machines they sell to professional lawn care companies, if they don't they go out of business fast. The cost is a bit higher but it is better to pay more than not have any service available.

My experience is that the high quality machines don't really need as many service calls so I think it offsets the costs of maintenance. I do all my own maintenance, that is why I selected the Dixie Chopper...there are almost no dealer specific parts on the machine that I can't purchase direct from the original vendors.

You can't go wrong with any of the big name commercial machines like Skag, Exmark, John Deere commercial models, etc. The idea of purchasing a used machine is a good one and for a home owner may very well be the best value.

.

[Tom Veatch]

I'll have to vote with Wes. I (or my wife) ride a hydraulic drive Dixon around the 2 1/2 acres of our property that's in grass. Before that, I wore out a mechanical drive Dixon in several years of use.

As mentioned elsewhere, if you've got much slope on the ground you mow, a ZTR mower puts some limits on the mowing direction since they can be a little difficult to control going across anything more than a fairly gentle slope. Straight up and down a slope isn't much of a problem. Just the opposite of a push/walk behind mower which shouldn't be used up/down a significant slope.

[Tom Henry]

Does anyone out there have the John Deere EZ225?

[Brian Elfert]

I like Toro as their commercial stuff lasts forever.

I worked on the grass crew for seven years at a 330 acre fairgrounds where we mowed about 100 acres of grass. We had three Toro Groundsmaster riding mowers. Each one lasted about 15 years. The first 10 years they ran pretty good and the last five years they started to show their age. Pretty considering they had over 5,000 hours at retirement and got used constantly during the 90 day mowing season.

The only problem we had was a brand new new unit that had numerous service calls for power steering issues. Toro and the distributor stepped up and gave us another brand new unit about 6 weeks into the season and the new one was fine.

My father used Toro push mowers at home and they lasted about 10 years with three hours use a week.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

A freind of mine has an exmark for his ten acres, done in 4 hours, and I'm wanting one for my 3 acres. I just gotta convince the LOML that she wan... needs it.

Make her mow it for a season. Get an overseas or out of state assignment for a few months of summer.

[Keith Outten]

Ted,

A good mower can do 3 acres in less than an hour these days. I cut and trim six acres in just about 2 hours flat. The trimming part is about 45 minutes, I have lots of trees and several buildings.

.

[Jeff Kerr]

There are some great here. I personally don't know these machines but even though I only mow 2 acres I went with a Bunton commercial grade ztr. It has been with us for about 6 years.

It should be the last mower I will ever need. I bought it from a commercial dealer that also sells and services the lower end stuff. While it was more expensive it had a 6 months 0% interest plan and I figured if a pro can use one for years every day of the season it will last me a long time using once or twice a week.

As for not being good on slopes, I have a pretty steep slope that I wouldn't ever try with a standard riding mower for I know it would roll and the ZTR takes it just fine.

I have mine serviced yearly. It costs about $300 in my area. Just like with a car, if you take care of it, it will take care of you.