I am new to buying a Zero Turn. I have seen so many brands, but I wanted the 34 in Zero Turn and I narrowed it down to the Toro Timecutter 34 in and the Gravely 34 in (ZT34). Well I was just at a Toro dealership today and I was told the only difference between the Toro Timecutter 34in and 42in is the deck and the bodies are the same. So now I decide to buy the 42 inch deck the opens up more options for me like John Deere. I have a relatively large yard for my lot, and it is 12,631 square feet. I would think the 34 in would be the better choice, but now I am wondering. I know all brands have issues, but this is really a large broad topic, and I have been doing a lot of reading and more confused than ever. I know Kawasaki is one of the better engines and last longer with proper maintenance and the Gravely has that, but the Gravely is just a rebranded Ariens. What size mower would you recommend for my size lot and what brand?
New Zero Turn Purchase - Toro Vs. Gravely
- Thread starter mbc230
- Start date
Tiger Small Engine
Lawn Addict
You have a 1/4 acre lot, which is tiny. A good self-propelled mower is what you need. Otherwise, either the Toro or Gravely would be fine. At that price point of big box store mowers, it doesn’t matter. The low end John Deere is no better or worse than a Cub Cadet.
Yes I understand my lot is not huge, but it is the biggest in the subdivision and we have a Honda push mower that is almost 10 years old and we love it, but we found out they no longer make the gas engine anymore so we want something bigger now since I am getting older and my knees are getting worse so I want to save them. So no big box for me and I am going to buy it from an authorized independent dealer who can service it and pickup and drop it off, but my issue is I want something with longevity, reliability, and comfort and there are so many choices. What makes a john deere better than a Toro or a Gravely for a 42” mower? It blows my mind at the options out there. Thank you.
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kuldeepbaswal
Member
Agree with the suggestion above — for 12,600 sq ft a zero turn is honestly overkill. You'd spend more time turning around than actually mowing. A solid self-propelled walk-behind with a 21-22" deck would knock that out in under 30 minutes and you'd save a ton of money.
That said, if you've got your heart set on a ZTR for the cool factor (no judgment, we've all been there), between Toro and Gravely at that price point there's not a huge difference. Both are solid. The Kawasaki engine on the Gravely is a plus for longevity, but the Toro Timecutter has a really comfortable ride and the MyRIDE suspension system on some models is hard to beat.
A few things to consider:
That said, if you've got your heart set on a ZTR for the cool factor (no judgment, we've all been there), between Toro and Gravely at that price point there's not a huge difference. Both are solid. The Kawasaki engine on the Gravely is a plus for longevity, but the Toro Timecutter has a really comfortable ride and the MyRIDE suspension system on some models is hard to beat.
A few things to consider:
- At 12K sq ft, you'll barely break a sweat with a 34" deck. Going to 42" won't save you much time on a lot that size.
- Zero turns can tear up turf if you're not careful with the turns, especially on a smaller yard where you're turning a lot. A walk-behind won't have that issue.
- Maintenance costs on a ZTR are higher — belts, hydro fluid, bigger blades, etc.
If you want cut quality and the best "looking" yard on the block, push mower all the way. A 30 inch time master or turf master is what I would recommend for speed.
Agree, a 0 turn on a 1/4 acre lot will make you dizzy turning around so much.
If the body is getting tired, like mine, hire a lawn crew. Sit on the couch watching the game. You will be money ahead doing this compared to buying a 0 turn. Get a price quote from a lawn crew. Add up the yearly cost. Then put that towards a 0 turn price. Remember you have to store a 0 turn, they suck a ton of gas now at $4 plus a gallon, keep blades sharp, fix it when it dies on you and so on. Air filters, oil, air up the tires, clean the carb yearly. Most people run E-10 and leave it in over the winter. Bang, the hydros just went out. $$$$ and several months time sitting at the dealer. Valve adjustments and cooling fins........
Is your lot a total 1/4 acre including the house? If so your mowing area is less than a 1/4 acre. Just stating the obvious.
Agree, a 0 turn on a 1/4 acre lot will make you dizzy turning around so much.
If the body is getting tired, like mine, hire a lawn crew. Sit on the couch watching the game. You will be money ahead doing this compared to buying a 0 turn. Get a price quote from a lawn crew. Add up the yearly cost. Then put that towards a 0 turn price. Remember you have to store a 0 turn, they suck a ton of gas now at $4 plus a gallon, keep blades sharp, fix it when it dies on you and so on. Air filters, oil, air up the tires, clean the carb yearly. Most people run E-10 and leave it in over the winter. Bang, the hydros just went out. $$$$ and several months time sitting at the dealer. Valve adjustments and cooling fins........
Is your lot a total 1/4 acre including the house? If so your mowing area is less than a 1/4 acre. Just stating the obvious.
Hello Sir. I appreciate your wonderful explanation.
A little history I have owned a zero turn before (54 inch deck) before I purchased the Honda walk behind mower (20" deck). Now it takes me 1 hour and 45 minutes to push mow it and it does not include trimming and blowing the sidewalks and driveway and been doing it that way for 8 years now for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes and I am not kidding. So I am noticing my knees are killing me and well just the general length of time is killing me and it is even worse with the heat and humidity as I have to take more breaks in the summer months to not get heat exhaustion.
I sold the previous zero turn due to tearing up my yard and well just way too big for the yard. Now being 8 years later, I am aware of the items you mentioned like tearing up the yard when turning along with the maintenance. I know you can air the tires down a bit now to avoid tearing up the yard and not use the zero turn when it is wet out and just use the Honda to push mow it. During the summer we generally do not get much rain, and I will still keep my push mower for that reason, but I am missing getting my yard mowed in under 50 minutes which includes the trimming and blowing the sidewalks and driveway.
So either way even if I bought the Toro walk behind which is the time master at a 30 inch cut I would have to have it serviced like I would the zero turn due to the weight as I can not life into my car. I guess it is a double-edged sword as I know the push mower would be cheaper in maintenance and would not tear up my yard, but it boils down to my knees and well just time in general now as I am getting older and my knees are not what they used to be so that is why I leaning heavily back to a zero turn. The previous zero turn I owned was way overkill for what I needed, and it was a used zero turn so now I am going to go to smaller zero turn the more I think about it. What brand makes one better then the other? I am referring to the residential space in the 34 in to 42 in zero turns.
Thank you for the comparison chart and all the information you provided. It is very helpful.
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I know when to use a zero turn and when not to use it. That is the key point I have learned from reading over the past couple weeks. I do not use the zero turn when it is constantly raining so that is when I need to push mow it. I do not want the time master. I explained all that in my post above as I need to have it picked up anyway for service since I cannot put it in my car like I can my Honda. I am keeping my current Honda Mower when it rains too much so I can then push mow it to avoid destroying the yard. So I have the best of both worlds at that point. The Honda push mower will be used a lot less so I am saving wear and tear on that push mower.
Now for lawn services I stay away from them and would not touch them with a 10-foot poll. They use zero turns to do bulk cutting, and they destroy the yard with their commercial grade zero turns, and they mow no what the conditions are. Let me just say a lot of the yards in my subdivision look like crap, because of how torn up they are. I also read somewhere where to not use different mowers on my yard due to transferring fungus and disease from one lawn to another due to using different lawn mowers on multiple yards. My yard looks good and do not want to see it look like my neighbors who never treat it and do not do anything to it. Just mow it and let it look like someone through seed on the yard in the 100-degree weather to let it look like it was set on fire.
I have a 1/4 acre with a small house on it. I am aware of the obvious, but my original question is about zero turn lawn mowers and what brand is better than the other in the 42in residential space. When looking at a 34 in vs a 42 in, the body of the lawn mowers are the same, but it comes down the width of the deck and the brand and reliability. What makes the Kawasaki motor better than the Kohler or Briggs? So I am just seeking information about zero turn lawn mowers within the 34 in to 42 in space for residential. Thank you though for your input and it is greatly appreciated.
I prefer a Kawi myself. Briggs USED to make some tough as nails L-head engines. Older they were the better. Kroller is like their faucets. Trying to be space aged, some using hydraulic lifters in a mower engine. Their Command series is good.
It's not really the brand anymore. It is the maintenance or lack there of. We all read about it here daily. Most engines will and do, outlast the mower. SCAG is a solid brand these days. JD you can keep IMO. Not many new mowers I can say I'm drooling over. Like the old days when I was a kid. Snapper push mowers were and still are in my book, king of the yard. We had a Crapsman pusher. Lawn crews used Snappers. Man they were built like tanks. Top engines like Wisconsin Robin and Kawasaki. And those anvil like Briggs back then.
Check out the SCAG SLS-42H-20PX.
It's not really the brand anymore. It is the maintenance or lack there of. We all read about it here daily. Most engines will and do, outlast the mower. SCAG is a solid brand these days. JD you can keep IMO. Not many new mowers I can say I'm drooling over. Like the old days when I was a kid. Snapper push mowers were and still are in my book, king of the yard. We had a Crapsman pusher. Lawn crews used Snappers. Man they were built like tanks. Top engines like Wisconsin Robin and Kawasaki. And those anvil like Briggs back then.
Check out the SCAG SLS-42H-20PX.
I have read a lot about the engines and the Kawasaki on the residential side being the engine of choice for the 34 in and 42 in category. Now they each have their top tier once you get to the commercial grade of engines from what I read. I will only buy from a dealer and not big box for that such reason of I want to be able to get service and have it picked up and serviced from the dealer of purchase. I service my Honda lawn mower every two years as the manual recommends service every 60 hours and I only mow about 30 hours or so. Mowing only takes me maybe 1 hour without all the water breaks that I take, but I figured that will work for my future zero turn I will purchase as well. Do you have an opinion on Bobcat mowers? What is your honest opinion about Toro as they only have the Briggs motor available as an option as that is what is keeping me from pulling the trigger on buying the toro? I am only looking at mowers with the Kawasaki engine unless I can find some good data on the Briggs motors for the Toro Brand for 2026 as they use Kohler as well, but I want made in the USA.
I also have read about the Hydros not being serviceable in most brands. Is this true for all brands? Why wouldn't you want to service it?
Thank you and I will check out the Scag brand.
I also have read about the Hydros not being serviceable in most brands. Is this true for all brands? Why wouldn't you want to service it?
Thank you and I will check out the Scag brand.