Big box store ZT's worth the money?

[exotion]

So I'm curious.....had you paid MSRP for that Country Clipper new would it not have been a $4K(or close to that) ZTR??? My opinion is you need to approach the $4K price range on Residential ZTR's to get anything that will hold up.

It will hold up as long as you maintain it...

 

[djdicetn]

It will hold up as long as you maintain it...

My point exactly...if you buy a $3K ZTR it will have the sealed EZT trannies. How can you maintain a component that is sealed and not serviceable???

 

[txzrider]

My original Snapper disproves that theory. It cost $2700 and had sealed eaton 7800 hydro's. I did annual oil changes and greasings, It was very abused the 1st 3 years. Less than 25 hours a year for the last 12. It sat outside much of the time. (which I dont recommend) Now it could be the Snapper was atypical of the current breed of low end residential, however short of abuse exceeding what I was capable of in its early years I would expect the sub 3k mowers to do as well or close anyway. I learned the 1st week to be careful with hitting the deck on things as it could be bent. The typical owner that just mows a large yard up to 1 acre once a week or less should be fine. Again that is only my experience and it could be atypical. The country clipper is closer to a 4k mower with fab'ed deck and heavy duty spindles and a much higher blade speed than the snapper had. were it not for my chance discovery of the slide out deck of the country clipper... I would not have hesitated buying another snapper ZTR.

 

[djdicetn]

My original Snapper disproves that theory. It cost $2700 and had sealed eaton 7800 hydro's. I did annual oil changes and greasings, It was very abused the 1st 3 years. Less than 25 hours a year for the last 12. It sat outside much of the time. (which I dont recommend) Now it could be the Snapper was atypical of the current breed of low end residential, however short of abuse exceeding what I was capable of in its early years I would expect the sub 3k mowers to do as well or close anyway. I learned the 1st week to be careful with hitting the deck on things as it could be bent. The typical owner that just mows a large yard up to 1 acre once a week or less should be fine. Again that is only my experience and it could be atypical. The country clipper is closer to a 4k mower with fab'ed deck and heavy duty spindles and a much higher blade speed than the snapper had. were it not for my chance discovery of the slide out deck of the country clipper... I would not have hesitated buying another snapper ZTR.

I think the older Snappers were atypical when compared to many other brands 15 years ago. I'm not certain when Briggs & Stratton purchased Snapper, but would guess that yours came before that. Not saying that today's Snappers(or Simplicity or Ferris mowers....also made by B & S) are not good machines, but I think the "original Snappers" were better machines. Similarly, the Dixon ZTR's have a heritage of quality construction and components but they just aren't quite the same machines now that they are a "blue Husqvarna".

 

[Brucebotti]

My Sears GT (Kohler Command Twin) is about 15 years old and has about 750 hours on it. I changed the oil/filter every 25 hrs; cleaned the K&N every 25 hrs; lubed everything possible every 25 hrs also. It has the 6-speed manual and I have used it for everything including pulling a car trailer around (no car on it). It still runs great and I will keep it to drag around my DR Lawn vac for the leaves. The only reason I replaced it is because I had to always mow in one direction (CCW) to not create mounds of grass. The cut was never very good, and the grass buildup underneath was terrible. I guess what I am trying to say is that you can get Big-Box store residential units to last.
Bruce

 

[txzrider]

DJ you have a point, when I looked at the Cub cadet RZT S I really liked it but the deck looked much thinner than my Snapper. I still kinda wish I had a kawasaki engine... but I am convinced my B&S will be fine. All that being said... I am convinced with proper care and maint., and buying a large enough mower for the job... i.e. dont try to make a 38 inch deck mower mow 5 acres a week... these mowers will hold up.