what really defines commercial vs residential?

[txzrider]

So parkmower buy the stander if it fits your needs and suits your style of mowing. But I totally disagree with the comments from your dealer that a zt would not be comfortable!! I have scolisis, a 78 degree curve. My 1st zt (bought for almost identical reasons as yours)was a snapper I had for 15 years and it was by far the easiest to get on and most comfortable of any riding mower I have ever used. I bought the 33" deck version to be able to get into 36 inch back yard gates. I just replaced it due mostly to bad maintenance on my part. However the other comment I disagree with is the 5 year life span of the deck. My deck on the snapper is stamped and still useable as ever. The last thing I disagree with is the concept of buying one mower for the rest of your life. While anything can be repaired, mowers can get new engines, spindles, wiring... at some point it is no longer cost effective. My snapper only had one bearing failure in 15 years... the bearing the pto mounts to. I only replaced the belts while I was there replacing the bearing ... all this was after 12 years. I paid 2700 when I bought it... but another 600 in it at the 12 year point and then this year replaced it due to water intrusion in the cylinder during a storm. It could still be fixed, I had upgraded the seat, replaced the flat prone dolley wheels with flat-free wheels and it had been running like a champ. I ended up buying it's replacement off cl for $2300, it had the one killer feature I had learned from having the snapper all those years I really wanted. I easy to repair deck. I dont expect to have to repair it, it has grease fittings on everything and is a fabb'ed deck but the occassional object I run over mowing at the Boy Scouts haunted house my son's troop runs will be much easier to remove since this deck is so easy to work on. (pull a couple of levers and it slides right out from under the front of the mower) If I get 15 years out of it I will be more than satisfied!! By the way I am just a homeowner, I can only tell you about what works for me. These guys on this forum have huge amounts of experience that you should listen to, they either have learned it the hard way or have learned it from other peoples mistakes that they were asked to fix. By the way My Country Clipper with a 38 inch deck will do everything you want.

 

[Ric]

Well I picked up the Grandstand a noon, came home and mowed about 30 minutes and the wife took it away from me and mowed the fore-closer across the street. The thing does a really nice job, has a good cut, very maneuverable and very comfortable to ride the Flex-Ride operator platform suspension is super but like any new mower will take some getting use to. I said I may get this thing today, bring it home and hate the thing but not a chance, it's great.

 

[Paulz2821]

i'm jealous. good luck man

 

[Parkmower]

So parkmower buy the stander if it fits your needs and suits your style of mowing. But I totally disagree with the comments from your dealer that a zt would not be comfortable!! I have scolisis, a 78 degree curve. My 1st zt (bought for almost identical reasons as yours)was a snapper I had for 15 years and it was by far the easiest to get on and most comfortable of any riding mower I have ever used. I bought the 33" deck version to be able to get into 36 inch back yard gates. I just replaced it due mostly to bad maintenance on my part. However the other comment I disagree with is the 5 year life span of the deck. My deck on the snapper is stamped and still useable as ever. The last thing I disagree with is the concept of buying one mower for the rest of your life. While anything can be repaired, mowers can get new engines, spindles, wiring... at some point it is no longer cost effective. My snapper only had one bearing failure in 15 years... the bearing the pto mounts to. I only replaced the belts while I was there replacing the bearing ... all this was after 12 years. I paid 2700 when I bought it... but another 600 in it at the 12 year point and then this year replaced it due to water intrusion in the cylinder during a storm. It could still be fixed, I had upgraded the seat, replaced the flat prone dolley wheels with flat-free wheels and it had been running like a champ. I ended up buying it's replacement off cl for $2300, it had the one killer feature I had learned from having the snapper all those years I really wanted. I easy to repair deck. I dont expect to have to repair it, it has grease fittings on everything and is a fabb'ed deck but the occassional object I run over mowing at the Boy Scouts haunted house my son's troop runs will be much easier to remove since this deck is so easy to work on. (pull a couple of levers and it slides right out from under the front of the mower) If I get 15 years out of it I will be more than satisfied!! By the way I am just a homeowner, I can only tell you about what works for me. These guys on this forum have huge amounts of experience that you should listen to, they either have learned it the hard way or have learned it from other peoples mistakes that they were asked to fix. By the way My Country Clipper with a 38 inch deck will do everything you want.

Better check the posts I didn't say that stuff.

 

[Ric]

Better check the posts I didn't say that stuff.

That's what I thought, I couldn't find where you or anyone else said those things. I thought I was missing something.

 

[txzrider]

Better check the posts I didn't say that stuff.

You are so right... I am sorry for misquoting you. It was Paulz I was trying to reply to.

 

[Ric]

So parkmower buy the stander if it fits your needs and suits your style of mowing. But I totally disagree with the comments from your dealer that a zt would not be comfortable!! I have scolisis, a 78 degree curve. My 1st zt (bought for almost identical reasons as yours)was a snapper I had for 15 years and it was by far the easiest to get on and most comfortable of any riding mower I have ever used. I bought the 33" deck version to be able to get into 36 inch back yard gates. I just replaced it due mostly to bad maintenance on my part. However the other comment I disagree with is the 5 year life span of the deck. My deck on the snapper is stamped and still useable as ever. The last thing I disagree with is the concept of buying one mower for the rest of your life. While anything can be repaired, mowers can get new engines, spindles, wiring... at some point it is no longer cost effective. My snapper only had one bearing failure in 15 years... the bearing the pto mounts to. I only replaced the belts while I was there replacing the bearing ... all this was after 12 years. I paid 2700 when I bought it... but another 600 in it at the 12 year point and then this year replaced it due to water intrusion in the cylinder during a storm. It could still be fixed, I had upgraded the seat, replaced the flat prone dolley wheels with flat-free wheels and it had been running like a champ. I ended up buying it's replacement off cl for $2300, it had the one killer feature I had learned from having the snapper all those years I really wanted. I easy to repair deck. I dont expect to have to repair it, it has grease fittings on everything and is a fabb'ed deck but the occassional object I run over mowing at the Boy Scouts haunted house my son's troop runs will be much easier to remove since this deck is so easy to work on. (pull a couple of levers and it slides right out from under the front of the mower) If I get 15 years out of it I will be more than satisfied!! By the way I am just a homeowner, I can only tell you about what works for me. These guys on this forum have huge amounts of experience that you should listen to, they either have learned it the hard way or have learned it from other peoples mistakes that they were asked to fix. By the way My Country Clipper with a 38 inch deck will do everything you want.

Whether a Zt is comfortable or not really depends on the ZT. Most of the residential units do not ride well and can beat you to death. The Commercial units ride better because they're heavier units, have wider tires, better seats and absorb the shock better. They're made for an operator to be in eight hours a day. I can tell you that after three days of using the Grandstand its one of the most comfortable mowers I've used, the Flex-Ride operator platform suspension is super, It has an excellent cut and is just as maneuverable as any ZTR.
As Far as the 5 year life span of a stamped deck goes, I don't agree or disagree it all depends on how often the mower gets used and under what conditions it's used as to how long it will last.

 

[txzrider]

So I will grant that the commercial features of ZT's inherently make them hopefully more comfortable... but we are not talking about 8 hours a day mowing in this context. I would bet most residential ZT's are comfortable enough for the normal 1-3 hours of use they get at a time, certainly as comfortable as any residential lt or gt! Even after I converted my old snapper to solid flat free dolly wheels, it was not too bad. I did feel the need to watch out for bumps and slow down. The new one with the std dolly wheels is definitely cushy in comparison. That being said, the 1st flat I get they will be back to flat free! Would I trade my ZT for a stand up version? Hell would freeze over 1st! Not to mention I have a couple of trees that I dont think you could mow close enough to with a stand up mower. Country Clipper offers an airride seat for my mower... I doubt it will make it as cushy as a ferris but it is still half the price.

 

[Ric]

So I will grant that the commercial features of ZT's inherently make them hopefully more comfortable... but we are not talking about 8 hours a day mowing in this context. I would bet most residential ZT's are comfortable enough for the normal 1-3 hours of use they get at a time, certainly as comfortable as any residential lt or gt!

I don't agree or disagree that they would be more comfortable than the lt or gt but some of the Lt and GT aren't bad riding machines and some will cut as good as the residential ztr.

Would I trade my ZT for a stand up version? Hell would freeze over 1st! Not to mention I have a couple of trees that I dont think you could mow close enough to with a stand up mower. Country Clipper offers an airride seat for my mower... I doubt it will make it as cushy as a ferris but it is still half the price.

As far as the stand up version and trading I would have agreed with you, I said the same thing you said about the ZTR, but after the last six days of use with the Grandstand my ztr mowers will be listed on Craiglist shortly and I'll be buying another Grandstand ASAP.
Again I'm like you and I thought the same about my back. I've been going to a chiropractor forever for back problems and I thought the ztr was the way to go but I was wrong.
If you stop and think about it while you're riding your ztr, LT ot GT, where is the shock from the bumps absorbed? Answer is the base of your spine and goes straight through your back. You don't get that shock on a stander, it's absorbed through the Flex-Ride operator platform so there's less operator fatigue.

 

[txzrider]

I am glad the standing zt works so well, very good to know. since my legs go numb when standing for more than about 5 min... I would still be hesitant to think it would work better for me.