Buying Advice Kubota Kommander

[venables]

I am looking at the Kommander 54". My property slopes up from road. I have 4.5 acres in grass/hay/weed mix, with 2 long fields in front of house and sloped field behind. Gradual slopes, even surfaces. No hazards (ie no ponds, drop off etc). Cut now with Craftsman 21HP lawn tractor but takes so long. Just concered about ZTR stability on slopes as forums offer mixed messages. Thoughts?

 

[Ragnar4841]

I am looking at the Kommander 54". My property slopes up from road. I have 4.5 acres in grass/hay/weed mix, with 2 long fields in front of house and sloped field behind. Gradual slopes, even surfaces. No hazards (ie no ponds, drop off etc). Cut now with Craftsman 21HP lawn tractor but takes so long. Just concered about ZTR stability on slopes as forums offer mixed messages. Thoughts?

I believe any ZT will have its struggles with slopes. If they are gradual & without obstacles you should be fine as long as its dry. With the Kubota you get a standard ROPS and if you don't have any small, decorative trees in those fields then it should serve you well (I took the ROPS off mine as it presented a hazard around dogwood trees).

I can't imagine how long it takes you to do 4.5 acres with little Craftsman tractor. My guess is the 54" Kommander will cut that time down to 1/4 or 1/3 of what it takes you now.

 

[venables]

I believe any ZT will have its struggles with slopes. If they are gradual & without obstacles you should be fine as long as its dry. With the Kubota you get a standard ROPS and if you don't have any small, decorative trees in those fields then it should serve you well (I took the ROPS off mine as it presented a hazard around dogwood trees).

I can't imagine how long it takes you to do 4.5 acres with little Craftsman tractor. My guess is the 54" Kommander will cut that time down to 1/4 or 1/3 of what it takes you now.

Thanks for your reply. I actually had the dealer demo the 48" at my house few weeks back. Had rained earlier that morning so had few issues near top of slope but nothing to nasty. I drove it but need more time on it. Cut through 6" grass was impressive. Bottom line: bought the 54" and expect delivery next week. Will keep the Craftsman until comfortable on ZT.

 

[Chickasha385]

Where do I start? Bottom line - up front. If you haven't bought it -Don't! Have had mine two months and it has spent most of that time in the shop. Springs, idler arm, transverse axle, belt problems. Keep away from the Kubota ZG124E. I may have gotten the only lemon in the box, but I am about to hand the ting back to Kubota and tell them adios.

 

[jekjr]

Where do I start? Bottom line - up front. If you haven't bought it -Don't! Have had mine two months and it has spent most of that time in the shop. Springs, idler arm, transverse axle, belt problems. Keep away from the Kubota ZG124E. I may have gotten the only lemon in the box, but I am about to hand the ting back to Kubota and tell them adios.

I have never heard of anybody having that many problems with a Kubota. That is incredible in a bad way.

We run a ZG222 and. ZD326. They have been run brutally and keep ticking. We just changed a deck belt on the 326 last week and it made 340 hard hours.

 

[Ragnar4841]

Where do I start? Bottom line - up front. If you haven't bought it -Don't! Have had mine two months and it has spent most of that time in the shop. Springs, idler arm, transverse axle, belt problems. Keep away from the Kubota ZG124E. I may have gotten the only lemon in the box, but I am about to hand the ting back to Kubota and tell them adios.

Wow, sorry to hear that! I have the same exact model and I've not had any of the issues you've described. Sounds like you've got yourself a lemon there--don't blame you in wanting to hand it back to them given your experience.

 

[Chickasha385]

The reason I bought the 124 was because I have had a Kubota L2800 for the last 5 years and have had zero problems with it. Use it for dragging pasture, moving round bales, brush hogging, spraying , etc. The better half wanted a new mower. What better than another Kubota? Wrong!. Hopefully it will be out of the shop (again) tomorrow. We will see what happens.

 

[vg92]

In the FWIW category

I have purchased a 124S-54.

I have posted this kind of before on another part of this forum..

A couple things, before you buy it...make sure you get BOTH recalls done AND DO NOT BUY the "lift assist" option.

The "lift assist" can not be adjusted properly and seems to be an after thought. No mater how it is adjusted, either it does not give you any assist OR once the deck is lifted you cant release it.

That being said...I love the mower, no special order

• The dampened control handles
• The simple deck height adjustment-as easy as my old LX188
• The SEAT on the "S" model is super nice
• The thing just looks great
• I like the simplicity of the deck lift moving parts AND the deck seems to be bullit proof
• It seems to have easy maintenance
• I like the configuration of the belt drive...much better than my LX188
• The warranty
• It seems to have a nice low center of gravity

Stay safe,

Mike

Just bought a 123S yesterday and will be delivered later this week as it hasn't been assembled. Duckman said there are two recalls but only one is listed on Kubota's webpage related to pressure relief valve. I know mine is not affected with that issue since the serial number is 15xxx. So what's the other recall for? Would definitely like dealer to take care of it before delivery.

 

[vg92]

I bought my ZG124 back in May or June and I've had great luck with it. I stayed with a 48" deck due to the opening of my shed and gate for the backyard, plus I'm under an acre in size, so a ZT with a 48" deck is overkill to begin with.

I love the quality of cut that it offers. Even after being away for 10 days on vacation, and mowing over 3" of growth, I didn't have any clumping, even with slightly damp grass. That impressed me.

At the time I purchased it, I didn't think the lights were necessary, but as fall is approaching, I can see the benefit in them, so I'll probably order up the kit. On my old John Deere, I had switched my blades to a set of Gatorblades. Unfortunately, I contacted Gatorblades and they don't make a set of the Kubota's with a 48" deck yet. I'm not sure I want to go full mulching, but I'd like to get a set of mulching blades.

As for a couple comments I've read about not having an access panel for the belt/spindles, it's only 4 bolts to remove the panel, that's less than a minute worth of work, and I'm happy they did that as it's more secure.

Dealer asked for $300 to have the mulching kit installed. Has anyone bought it from somewhere else? I looked on Messick's but didn't see the part number for the entire kit. From Kubota's parts diagram it shows 7 sets of bolts & nuts to install to the deck along with 3 mulching blades.

 

[MiKubota]

Just bought a 123S yesterday and will be delivered later this week as it hasn't been assembled. Duckman said there are two recalls but only one is listed on Kubota's webpage related to pressure relief valve. I know mine is not affected with that issue since the serial number is 15xxx. So what's the other recall for? Would definitely like dealer to take care of it before delivery.

@vg92 - My dealer said the last recall was related to the parking brake. That was the only safety campaign work that had to be done to my 123S, that I picked up yesterday. There was another related to a spring, according to my dealer.