Zero turn mower

[ronny]

Actually, 30" or 32". Yeah, pretty small.

 

[Shadowrider]

I have this one. It's way overkill for my lawn but I bought for the time savings alone. I can literally mow front and back in 15 minutes now. I was actually looking at the smaller one, but this one was actually $100 cheaper. The other bonus is the 36" deck was about identical in width to the rear wheels. A wider deck makes it easier to mow around obstacles.

https://www.toro.com/en/homeowner/riding-mowers/timecutter-ss4200-74711

 

[ronny]

That's one I've considered (36"), but I'd have to build a wider gate.

 

[Perplexed]

Funny how some folks say a ZTR is a time saver for them. I first used a 25 hp gas 54” ZTR on several acres of land, but got rid of it after one year and bought a 32 hp diesel tractor with a 72” finish mower. Cut my mowing time by a good third, and I didn’t have to mow half strips at a crawl where the grass was thick. Of course, I didn’t have to deal with many trees or shrubs.

 

[dennishoddy]

Funny how some folks say a ZTR is a time saver for them. I first used a 25 hp gas 54” ZTR on several acres of land, but got rid of it after one year and bought a 32 hp diesel tractor with a 72” finish mower. Cut my mowing time by a good third, and I didn’t have to mow half strips at a crawl where the grass was thick. Of course, I didn’t have to deal with many trees or shrubs.

If you were on my place with over 40 trees, you would really appreciate a ZTR. 60" Bad Boy here with 28 HP Kohler.
My buddy in the same situation with two more acres bought a grasshopper 72" front deck with a diesel. That is one grass eating MoFo!

 

[emapples]

Dixie chopper makes a 40” but it won’t be $2,000 lol

 

[TwoForFlinching]

I have a little over an acre and enjoy my mow with a Toro Timemaster. It's a 30" self propelled walk behind. Gets front and back done in about an hour. It has enough heft to get good traction, really easy to maneuver. If you don't have a lot of yard, I dig it... But I've got youth on my side.

 

[dennishoddy]

I have a little over an acre and enjoy my mow with a Toro Timemaster. It's a 30" self propelled walk behind. Gets front and back done in about an hour. It has enough heft to get good traction, really easy to maneuver. If you don't have a lot of yard, I dig it... But I've got youth on my side.

According to the hour meter on the bad Boy, it takes me 1.8 hours to do 3 acres with 40 trees. With the Craftsman 42" garden tractor it took almost 8 hours. When it got worn out, went to a hydrostat 48" craftsman that cut it to 6 hours. I was in heaven buying that Bad Boy.

 

[Dumpstick]

I can't speak to the smaller ZTR mowers, but I can make general comments.

The prices have come down considerably on ZTRs.
When I bought ours, a 46" Snapper Pro, I had $5k to spend. I spent it all. That was about 10 years ago. $5k got me dual pumps, a twin cylinder gasser, and a fabricated deck. All those were on my must-have list.
What I didn't get was suspension.

We were using 2 riding mowers, and one operator on the ZTR mowed faster then 2 people using two riders.

When I replace it, I'll get at least a 60" fabricated deck, a twin cylinder/twin pump, and SUSPENSION !

And probably spend close to the same 5k real money of the day.

The prices are really coming down.

 

[badrinker]

Before a bought one, everyone was telling me how it would cut my moving time in half. I just smiled and thought to myself, I'm sure it will cut my time by 20-30%, people tend to exaggerate .

I'll be damned, it did cut my time fully in half!