Please point in correct direction for ZTR or stand-behind mower

[katit]

Hello everyone!

Currently I'm using John Deere 318 with 46 inch deck to mow my 3/4 acre lot. It' pretty flat with a considerable hill on one side(I have to tilt my body sideways and tractor almost slips down..). No issues with scalping but I don't like how it cuts.

When I bought this tractor (4 years ago) I was thinking that I will use it for other stuff, I had snow blade which I sold and I had pull behind card which I also sold. I also tried pull-behind sweeper and didn't like it too much (for leafs). I'm using back pack blower for leafs and tractor for mowing. Now I'm just cutting grass with a tractor and don't really care about how it works. My neighbors use professional service and their grass looks much better. I see those guys doing it faster and seems like those professional stand-behind mowers mulch very good (mine leaves clippings even with good mulching blades). I also see those guys using same mowers during leaf season where they multch them and bag them into almost non-existent pile (my leaf pile is huge and takes 4 hours of non-stop blowing into piles)

Anyway. I can fix up older mower, not really looking into brand new expensive stuff. I can probably spend up to 2k, but less is better. I'd like to know what would be better. ZTR is more comfort, but wouldn't it be too big for my yard? Most guys who does it for living in our area use stand-behinds. Ideally it will help me with leafs. My main goal is to get best possible cutting ability in shortest time.

Any suggestions? I don't know what brands to look for, models? How many hours is too much?

 

[Ric]

Hello everyone!

Currently I'm using John Deere 318 with 46 inch deck to mow my 3/4 acre lot. It' pretty flat with a considerable hill on one side(I have to tilt my body sideways and tractor almost slips down..). No issues with scalping but I don't like how it cuts.

When I bought this tractor (4 years ago) I was thinking that I will use it for other stuff, I had snow blade which I sold and I had pull behind card which I also sold. I also tried pull-behind sweeper and didn't like it too much (for leafs). I'm using back pack blower for leafs and tractor for mowing. Now I'm just cutting grass with a tractor and don't really care about how it works. My neighbors use professional service and their grass looks much better. I see those guys doing it faster and seems like those professional stand-behind mowers mulch very good (mine leaves clippings even with good mulching blades). I also see those guys using same mowers during leaf season where they multch them and bag them into almost non-existent pile (my leaf pile is huge and takes 4 hours of non-stop blowing into piles)

Anyway. I can fix up older mower, not really looking into brand new expensive stuff. I can probably spend up to 2k, but less is better. I'd like to know what would be better. ZTR is more comfort, but wouldn't it be too big for my yard? Most guys who does it for living in our area use stand-behinds. Ideally it will help me with leafs. My main goal is to get best possible cutting ability in shortest time.

Any suggestions? I don't know what brands to look for, models? How many hours is too much?

It depends on what you're calling a stand up mower. Are you talking about a walk-behind with a sulky or a regular stand behind mower like a Toro Grandstand? The big problem as I see it is your budget. You may pick up a used residential ZTR for 2K but how good it will be and how many hours it will have would be anyone's guess and you cut may or may not be as good as what you're using now, it just depends on the quality of the ZTR.

 

[katit]

It depends on what you're calling a stand up mower. Are you talking about a walk-behind with a sulky or a regular stand behind mower like a Toro Grandstand? The big problem as I see it is your budget. You may pick up a used residential ZTR for 2K but how good it will be and how many hours it will have would be anyone's guess and you cut may or may not be as good as what you're using now, it just depends on the quality of the ZTR.

<2k budget is just common sense. I can get someone cut my grass for $35 and purchase of $5k+ won't make much sense as I could probably pay for 10 years of service instead of buying good $5k machine..

I just checked full stand-ups and they look very good. But looks like out of my budget for sure
So I guess I'm talking about "walk-behind with a sulky" vs "ZTR".

On my JD 318 I rebuilt deck completely with new bearings, wheels, etc so I guess it cuts as good as it can. I see no problem doing the same for used ZTR/walk behind. I just don't know what machines I need to look at.

 

[DSepe]

<2k budget is just common sense. I can get someone cut my grass for $35 and purchase of $5k+ won't make much sense as I could probably pay for 10 years of service instead of buying good $5k machine.. I just checked full stand-ups and they look very good. But looks like out of my budget for sure So I guess I'm talking about "walk-behind with a sulky" vs "ZTR". On my JD 318 I rebuilt deck completely with new bearings, wheels, etc so I guess it cuts as good as it can. I see no problem doing the same for used ZTR/walk behind. I just don't know what machines I need to look at.

Your budget is what will kill you. Your most likely looking at a very high hour ZTR because they don't depreciate much. I see 800-1000 hour, high quality ZTR's going for 3k+. Not sure how much walk behinds are but I'm assuming it's at least 2k out of your range. This is because walk-behinds and stand on mowers are considered commercial. Maybe pick up a used residential for that price range but the cut might not be much better.

 

[Ric]

<2k budget is just common sense. I can get someone cut my grass for $35 and purchase of $5k+ won't make much sense as I could probably pay for 10 years of service instead of buying good $5k machine..

I just checked full stand-ups and they look very good. But looks like out of my budget for sure
So I guess I'm talking about "walk-behind with a sulky" vs "ZTR".

On my JD 318 I rebuilt deck completely with new bearings, wheels, etc so I guess it cuts as good as it can. I see no problem doing the same for used ZTR/walk behind. I just don't know what machines I need to look at.

The standers like the Toro grandstands are 8k and up, the walk-behinds with sulky's that you'll find used will be the Exmarks and Scags and the problem with them like has already been said they are commercial mowers and any of them unless your real real lucky are not worth the money because there worn out or the businesses aren't selling them. The residential ZTR would be the only direction to go but I really don't see much of an improvement in cut over your JD.

 

[katit]

So, commercial walk behinds cost as much as ZTR? I though they should be cheaper in general, no?

Which (in general) will be better at mulching and bagging? ZTR or walk behind?

 

[Ric]

So, commercial walk behinds cost as much as ZTR? I though they should be cheaper in general, no?

Which (in general) will be better at mulching and bagging? ZTR or walk behind?

The walk-behind mower that will be cheaper to buy would be the belt drive type, there generally a 5 speed peerless manual transmission which are a pain to use with a sulky. The hydro models are as much as a ZTR and operate much the same as the ZTR. As far as bagging goes I've never seen either used that way and mulching IMO would have to go to the ZTR. Generally speaking if you have a good quality ztr with a high BTS and a good set of Gator blades you don't have much grass left to worry about bagging.

 

[katit]

Ok, then it looks like ZTR is what I need.. What is their footprint (parking)? My JD in 50 inch wide and 68 inch long. ZTRs look bigger, but I wonder if that is true.

What about hills? Can ZTR mower handle hills OK? Right now we have Z225 JD ZTR for sale at $2400 almost new. I assume this is residential model? How do I know the difference?

Would you say that 10yo commercial ZTR will be better (in proper work order) than new residential ZTR?

I know that deck on my JD is low speed and has bad suction, so many new things will do better. But I want to try and get best. I don't mind doind some restoration but need to know..

 

[jekjr]

I can't say about where you are, but in my part of the world you can pay those commercial guys that your neighbors are using to make yours look like theirs do and be many dollars ahead 10 years down the road. Just your $2000 you are talking about investing plus selling the equipment you have that you won't need any longer will get it cut for quite a while.

 

[sjessen]

Everybody has an opinion including me and we all love to share ours. If you are thinking a z, consider going up to about $3 for a new one. At that price point there are a lot of options such as Toro and Hustler. They will not be full commercial machines but are much more efficient than what you are currently using. Snapper Pro has some very good prices on commercial equipment. Tractor Supply sells Badboy mowers which are worth a look as well.

Good used machines can be had by looking on Ebay. One has to know what they want, what a fair price for a used unit would be, and be diligent to keep looking. My best suggestion would be to go to the various dealers in your area and check out what they have to offer. Then, start watching on Craig's List, Ebay, Lawnsite, and other web sites for the mower you would like to buy. My best luck purchasing used mowers was at the end of the season (December-February) and during droughts. Every so often one can find a less than one year old mower for 50% of original selling price.