First Zero Turn...Looking at Toro/Exmark

[Point37]

the only thing that is making me have second thoughts is the size of the front tires on a zero turn + the slope of my yard with the runoff from a portion of my driveway pitching down into the backyard making it wet soggy lawn towards the rear portion of my backyard (lowest area) at times...and just past the end of my backyard are wetlands so a good portion of the back yard stays wet for a while during heavy rain events in the spring and fall, basically from the left most tree to the fence in the photo with the shed...so i'm still keeping the lawn tractor in the back of my head just due to possible rutting/scalping issues from the zero turn front...i just like the speed of a zero turn, the maneuverability and being able to cut in reverse

i spent a lot of time making my back yard nice so i want to make the right decision...i still need to grow some more grass on parts of the backyard...the dogs tear it up pretty good...but at the same time i want to remove the rocks bordering the fence cause they are a pain to cut/weed wack around, which will probably also tear up the yard...trying to determine if i want to rent a small skid steer cause some of the rocks are large...or just use a roto hammer drill and drill the rocks and use dexpan to break them into smaller pieces and move them by hand

before clearing


after clearing before shed


after shed (aka the mower house) installed

 

[Darryl G]

It's always hard to tell the true slope of a lawn from a photo but based on what I see it doesn't look bad and I don't think it would be an issue. As far as the front tires go, there really isn't much weight on the front wheels on a zero-turn mower unless you're going down a slope. I can pick up the front of my 52 inch Exmark to slide a jack stand under it. I haven't tried it with my Bob-Cat. You do have to be careful not to rip things up on turns on soft turf and you certainly can get stuck. I walk soft areas over before mowing and in general terms if the soil doesn't "squish" away from my feet I can run on it. It's impossible for me to predict if you'll have problems with rutting or getting stuck on your soggy areas, but the issue of mowing soft turf isn't unique to zero-turn mowers. You can either go around them until things dry out or grab the 21 incher, but I find the 21 incher with its skinny tires is more of a problem on soft turf.

 

[Point37]

It's always hard to tell the true slope of a lawn from a photo but based on what I see it doesn't look bad and I don't think it would be an issue. As far as the front tires go, there really isn't much weight on the front wheels on a zero-turn mower unless you're going down a slope. I can pick up the front of my 52 inch Exmark to slide a jack stand under it. I haven't tried it with my Bob-Cat. You do have to be careful not to rip things up on turns on soft turf and you certainly can get stuck. I walk soft areas over before mowing and in general terms if the soil doesn't "squish" away from my feet I can run on it. It's impossible for me to predict if you'll have problems with rutting or getting stuck on your soggy areas, but the issue of mowing soft turf isn't unique to zero-turn mowers. You can either go around them until things dry out or grab the 21 incher, but I find the 21 incher with its skinny tires is more of a problem on soft turf.

yea it's not easy to tell but you can kind of tell how much the yard slopes based on how much of the sonotubes are showing under the shed on the front face and how high the side of the shed is riding...about 6' in elev drop over 100' distance so about 6%...the slope doesn't really concern me as far as the mower being unstable cause i can always cut cross slope...the slope just channels water to that back area making it wet and soft...i realize that most of the weight of a zero turn is in the rear but if i'm adding a bagger to the rear i will probably be adding a weight kit to the front so that would make it heavier in front where the thin tires are...i just want to be sure i buy the right tool for the job...once the summer hits it will be dry back there most of the time but it could pose a problem for the spring and fall...i could just mow those areas with my push mower but that defeats the purpose of buying a rider...one of my neighbors across the street from me has a zero turn and i may ask him if he can give it a run in my yard to see how well it works so at least i have an idea if a zero turn makes sense for my yard

 

[Darryl G]

It might go over better with your neighbor to ask them to mow your lawn while you watch. No way I'd let a novice operator run my machine on their lawn and that way you're not in an awkward position if something goes wrong. That and they will likely have learned the limitations of their machine by now.

 

[Point37]

It might go over better with your neighbor to ask them to mow your lawn while you watch. No way I'd let a novice operator run my machine on their lawn and that way you're not in an awkward position if something goes wrong. That and they will likely have learned the limitations of their machine by now.

that's exactly what i plan to do...i don't want to run his machine...and i would really only want him to make a few passes in the wet part of the back yard to see how it does and if it scalps/ruts the lawn...i will have to fix that area anyway once i get rid of the rocks

 

[Darryl G]

Oh, I see now that's actually what you said. My bad. :smile:

 

[Point37]

Oh, I see now that's actually what you said. My bad. :smile:

thanks again for all the help...i think this one is going to come down to a neighbor test, test driving my 3 choices, weighing the pros and cons of each model and money

 

[Point37]

after thinking about it some more and walking around my soggy rear yard i think i'm going to research garden tractors as well...the reasons for this are...

-my self propelled push mower ruts areas when the yard is wet as it is...the added weight of a zero turn and small front tires even though they are more rear weighted, plus a bagger/weight kit, plus trying to do a zero turn back there i think i will be making a mess of the lawn no matter how well i learn how to operate it...i don't always have time to wait to cut at the opportune time so maybe the larger tires and weight being more evenly dispersed between them would be better

-i plan to move some large rocks out of my yard with a small garden dump trailer i acquired (instead of using a wheel barrow)...so i figure the transmission of a garden tractor would be better for something like this vs a zero turn

-it will be more user friendly in case my dad comes by and wants to use it or my wife decides to help me cut while i trim

i probably should make a new thread for my choices and to get advice...i'll post it here for anyone interested...thanks again everyone!

new thread...
http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showt...ctor-Looking-at-Husqvarna?p=294924#post294924

 

[puspunta]

I am partial to Deere myself I have a z920 its an aircooled Kawasaki got 800 hrs on it now have hammered it hard I use to be in the lawn care business and always ran deere diesel and liquid cooled kawasaki motors got out of the business the 920 is around 8300 -8500 60" cut got a cousin on the border of Kentucky and Ohio that sells them may have some leftover stock to make you a deal on he had a couple end of last year I still kick myself for not getting one of place was called Carmichaels I believe it got bought out if you look at a deere and like em may be worth a trip for you his name is Dave17403392499 good luck with it ive ran deere commercial mowers since 91

 

[Point37]

I am partial to Deere myself I have a z920 its an aircooled Kawasaki got 800 hrs on it now have hammered it hard I use to be in the lawn care business and always ran deere diesel and liquid cooled kawasaki motors got out of the business the 920 is around 8300 -8500 60" cut got a cousin on the border of Kentucky and Ohio that sells them may have some leftover stock to make you a deal on he had a couple end of last year I still kick myself for not getting one of place was called Carmichaels I believe it got bought out if you look at a deere and like em may be worth a trip for you his name is Dave17403392499 good luck with it ive ran deere commercial mowers since 91

thanks but i live in MA so i'm nowhere near that area