Honest Abe
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I'd stay away from Gravely, I must have at least as much into it in repairs as the piece of junk cost initially. As Agent J would say, it's a POS . . . . . .
Looking for a problem free 42" Zero Turn Mower
- Thread starter DonnyB
- Start date
IMO, your first stop when looking for a new ZTR is YouTube and review each of your current preferences. I did while looking for a new ZTR and I am very happy with the one I chose. I think you may find that current Cub Cadet ZTR’s are not their predecessors by a long shot as with all of the other brands in recent years. Bad Boy and Airens are very good mowers. My choice of the Hustler Raptor over the Bad Boy came down to the ride while mowing which was easier on my body.
Any and or all of this brand bashing is basically just personal biases.
All mowers are basically just a combination of parts and the engine and transmission or hydros are the key ones.
You only have a few options of engines available and some people pay more for Kawasaki but even those, especially fr-series, have their issues..
Personally I would go with a Kohler 7000 series but they still can have issues.
For the transmissions and hydro she basically have two choices commonly available. Tugg torq and hydro gear.
The problem is every manufacturer specs just the bare minimum needed for the machine so I have 42 in ZTR is typically going to have your EZTs or your 2100 or 2200 or whatever they want to call it on there..
They work well for most people as long as you don't pull heavy carts around, I don't believe in pulling anything with a zero turn, or trying to pull shrubs out of the flower bed or you have lots of hills etc.
Remember, most lawn mowers are made to do one thing, mow grass and it's better when it's a flat ground.
You also need to treat them appropriately and not pop willies. Driving like a Cadillac like you're not trying to spill your beer.
And once you start them and get them up to temperature if it's mowing or moving you keep the throttle at the full running speed.
NEVER get done cutting, turn off the blades, slow the engine down to barely an idle and then ride it back to the barn. This is terrible as it spikes the temperature on the hydro due to low air flow.
It's not stellar for the engine either.
I don't like 42-in mowers because I feel bigger is better at least to a point.
I still think 60 inch is the best overall size mower as long as you have somewhere it will fit in the door you're fine.
One problem is a lot of these 48-in mowers have the same hydros as a 42 or they will still have what they used to call the 2800 and then they called it the 2800/3100.
They used to call the 3100 entry level commercial and now they're calling the 28. It can't be both a 28 and a 31 so it's mostly just marketing.
Sure, they put a bigger charge pump or something like that on it and technically it's different but at the end of the day it still has the same diameter output shaft and the load capacity isn't much different from the 2800s from 15 years ago.
If I were to be buying a zero turn today I would pay extra to get the larger hydros. I would want at least a 3400 which gets you the larger shaft size and a much stronger more capable, higher load capacity and weight limit unit.
Occasionally you can find a 48 that has these but sometimes even the 50s and 53s 54s still have the smaller ones so I would be looking at the hydro specifically taking pictures and checking model numbers to make sure I had at least a 3400.
If I buy a zero turn, I expect it to outlive me. If it doesn't make it a full 20 years without any major repairs I'm going to feel slighted..
I couldn't care less about the spindles and stuff like that.
Pretty much every bearing you find now is going to be made in China and most are much lower quality than they were 15 or 20 years ago and even spindles that have greaseable zerk fittings, don't last like the old ones used to.
Luckily, these things are pretty simple to replace and fix..
When you get too large the price does tend to go up but many of the brands you can still get on eBay or Amazon and order the complete spend assembly for what I call dirt cheap..
They are literally shipped to your door for well under 20 bucks each. Sometimes as little as 10 and 11 dollars each and they sell them in ones twos and three packs.
Some of the less prominent brands do make a little bit more expensive and nobody is copying and selling full replacement ones as cheaply so in those case I would just pop out the bearings and replace the bearings.
It's not uncommon for just the shaft at a dealer to be 80 to $100 and the outer housing to also be expensive etc when you can't buy the whole complete aftermarket unit but you can almost always get by for a long time by just replacing the two bearings unless you really blast something and bend the shaft or crack the housing.
Then, it's really on you and not any kind of design flaw or low quality parts or bearings wearing out so I can't fault the machine or the builders for that.
All mowers are basically just a combination of parts and the engine and transmission or hydros are the key ones.
You only have a few options of engines available and some people pay more for Kawasaki but even those, especially fr-series, have their issues..
Personally I would go with a Kohler 7000 series but they still can have issues.
For the transmissions and hydro she basically have two choices commonly available. Tugg torq and hydro gear.
The problem is every manufacturer specs just the bare minimum needed for the machine so I have 42 in ZTR is typically going to have your EZTs or your 2100 or 2200 or whatever they want to call it on there..
They work well for most people as long as you don't pull heavy carts around, I don't believe in pulling anything with a zero turn, or trying to pull shrubs out of the flower bed or you have lots of hills etc.
Remember, most lawn mowers are made to do one thing, mow grass and it's better when it's a flat ground.
You also need to treat them appropriately and not pop willies. Driving like a Cadillac like you're not trying to spill your beer.
And once you start them and get them up to temperature if it's mowing or moving you keep the throttle at the full running speed.
NEVER get done cutting, turn off the blades, slow the engine down to barely an idle and then ride it back to the barn. This is terrible as it spikes the temperature on the hydro due to low air flow.
It's not stellar for the engine either.
I don't like 42-in mowers because I feel bigger is better at least to a point.
I still think 60 inch is the best overall size mower as long as you have somewhere it will fit in the door you're fine.
One problem is a lot of these 48-in mowers have the same hydros as a 42 or they will still have what they used to call the 2800 and then they called it the 2800/3100.
They used to call the 3100 entry level commercial and now they're calling the 28. It can't be both a 28 and a 31 so it's mostly just marketing.
Sure, they put a bigger charge pump or something like that on it and technically it's different but at the end of the day it still has the same diameter output shaft and the load capacity isn't much different from the 2800s from 15 years ago.
If I were to be buying a zero turn today I would pay extra to get the larger hydros. I would want at least a 3400 which gets you the larger shaft size and a much stronger more capable, higher load capacity and weight limit unit.
Occasionally you can find a 48 that has these but sometimes even the 50s and 53s 54s still have the smaller ones so I would be looking at the hydro specifically taking pictures and checking model numbers to make sure I had at least a 3400.
If I buy a zero turn, I expect it to outlive me. If it doesn't make it a full 20 years without any major repairs I'm going to feel slighted..
I couldn't care less about the spindles and stuff like that.
Pretty much every bearing you find now is going to be made in China and most are much lower quality than they were 15 or 20 years ago and even spindles that have greaseable zerk fittings, don't last like the old ones used to.
Luckily, these things are pretty simple to replace and fix..
When you get too large the price does tend to go up but many of the brands you can still get on eBay or Amazon and order the complete spend assembly for what I call dirt cheap..
They are literally shipped to your door for well under 20 bucks each. Sometimes as little as 10 and 11 dollars each and they sell them in ones twos and three packs.
Some of the less prominent brands do make a little bit more expensive and nobody is copying and selling full replacement ones as cheaply so in those case I would just pop out the bearings and replace the bearings.
It's not uncommon for just the shaft at a dealer to be 80 to $100 and the outer housing to also be expensive etc when you can't buy the whole complete aftermarket unit but you can almost always get by for a long time by just replacing the two bearings unless you really blast something and bend the shaft or crack the housing.
Then, it's really on you and not any kind of design flaw or low quality parts or bearings wearing out so I can't fault the machine or the builders for that.
grumpyunk
Active Member
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- Jul 13, 2015
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I used a 33" Snapper from 1992 until about ten years ago to mow on a 3.5 acre weed patch. I do not fertilize nor water, but it still is green 7 months of the year(at least) and needs mowing ~once a week.
I have had minimal problems, and figure the Snapper handles more like a go-cart than a riding mower.
If mowing all of a .75acre patch, if roughly level and without a lot of trees or 'go arounds', If you don't want to look at a Snapper, I would consider a standard style 42" mower and would tend towards the AYP produced brands.
I would not purchase anything made by MTD unless incentivized a WHOLE LOT. Look at their engineering, their steering linkages, brake linkages, and the shift levers that I was afraid to push on for fear of breaking them. The battery hold down(under seat wrap of metal) was corroded after a few months, and the corrosion came back within another month, after cleaning, priming, and painting. The steering link got bent and the wheels toed out so much it was visible from ten feet. Yes, it was a budget level, but was too cheap to pass up on c-list. I fixed and sold it quickly, and learned from that. Made a little cash on the deals.
The Snapper is still working well, and I have a 1997-ish Craftsman by AYP that has needed little repair since I got it. It does not like bumpy ground so much, but it does cut a wider swath than the Snapper, and I wanted to cut down 'seat time' as I age out of this.
So, a zero turn is fancy and they mow at a good clip(pun intended). They do move along, but you will be likely $3k into a machine that may be overkill. I would try a used machine to see if it delivered the expected performance before investing in a new machine. I get my front and back done in about 1.5 hours, and think I mow over an acre, closer to 1.5. But I have been doing the same cut for decades and have it down... Take a look at a used Snapper, or a regular style AYP.
tom
I have had minimal problems, and figure the Snapper handles more like a go-cart than a riding mower.
If mowing all of a .75acre patch, if roughly level and without a lot of trees or 'go arounds', If you don't want to look at a Snapper, I would consider a standard style 42" mower and would tend towards the AYP produced brands.
I would not purchase anything made by MTD unless incentivized a WHOLE LOT. Look at their engineering, their steering linkages, brake linkages, and the shift levers that I was afraid to push on for fear of breaking them. The battery hold down(under seat wrap of metal) was corroded after a few months, and the corrosion came back within another month, after cleaning, priming, and painting. The steering link got bent and the wheels toed out so much it was visible from ten feet. Yes, it was a budget level, but was too cheap to pass up on c-list. I fixed and sold it quickly, and learned from that. Made a little cash on the deals.
The Snapper is still working well, and I have a 1997-ish Craftsman by AYP that has needed little repair since I got it. It does not like bumpy ground so much, but it does cut a wider swath than the Snapper, and I wanted to cut down 'seat time' as I age out of this.
So, a zero turn is fancy and they mow at a good clip(pun intended). They do move along, but you will be likely $3k into a machine that may be overkill. I would try a used machine to see if it delivered the expected performance before investing in a new machine. I get my front and back done in about 1.5 hours, and think I mow over an acre, closer to 1.5. But I have been doing the same cut for decades and have it down... Take a look at a used Snapper, or a regular style AYP.
tom
Hello....owner of several farms and have different ZT mowers on each farm. I have had bad luck with John Deere, farmers love them because of the green paint, but reliability issues, not really built to last. They are not what they were 20 years ago with the Kohler cast iron engines. Kubota zero turn mowers are great in the conventional type, not ZT. In looking at a 42" mower of Kutota, it seemed cheap. Cub cadet looks like a 15 year old mower after 1 year of use. Had no problems with mine, but hated the exterior after one year. Every mower has it's good and bad points. I have been happiest with Gravely which Ariens makes. Gravely supposedly is a little bit heavier duty than Ariens but more expensive. If I am going to keep a piece of equipment 5+ years, I am not afraid to pay extra for well built.... (Mine is an XL) My Gravely has one thing I do not like on the 42" deck. It needs a roller in the middle of the deck to prevent scalping as not all my areas are smooth. I do not know if this would be the case for you, but something to consider. Most important though is a dealer that stocks a good parts inventory, plus giving good service. I am very happy with my Gravely dealer, if you are happy with your Cub Cadet dealer, then I think you have your answer. This is my experience.
It's down to how You take care of it. And if You need parts how easy they are to get & price. In 70 worked at large simplicity dealer. Have owned simplicity's up to 2015 for mowing. Wanted a zero turn because of back surgery's. But for the size of deck I needed simplicity was out of my price range. I went ahead a bought a Cub zero turn 54 inch new. Wife got on it and didn't want to get off. So in 2017 bought Her a new same model. I always gave a hard time to anyone that bought MTD. But after resurching them they make more lawnmowers then the rest combined. So there's going to be a lot of them MTD's in shops. And they make cheap sh*t all the way to what ever You want to spend for a mower. But my 2015 cub 54 inch has 630 hour's. Only thing I have ever done is change oil and filter 2 new batterys. Changed hydro fluid in hydrostat at 600 hours. And adjusted valves twice. All original, belts arbor bearing ect. Wife's 2017 has around 360 hour's oil and filter. That's it still has original battery. I have been totally happy with these mtd's. Most today all have the same hydrostat's so get what makes You feel like You would be happy with. Quality is a total crap shoot anymore with whatever You decide on.
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
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- Nov 29, 2014
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CUb was a great brand
It was owned & run by International Harvester .
When International were taken over the new owner sold off the garden division & the truck division
The stand alone Cub Cadet was never totally viable as being a top shelf the volume turn over was small so they did the suicide option of rebranding a host of stuff to increase cash flow
It was not a success so MTD gobbled them up
MTD is the lowest cost ( thus lowest quality ) mower brand on the market and over the years have downgraded the Cub product line despite running Cub as an independent division.
After the rent seekers who owned Murray sucked it dry into bankruptcy MTD was the last man standing so they picked up a lot of what used to be made by Murray .
Thus MTD is the largest mower maker in the country
Or I could put it this way
Rolls Royce makes the best designed & best made cars on the planet to the extent that they actually have a life time warranty that gets passed down through the generations provided the children are direct relation to the original purchaser which makes them the best value car ever built
Ford make cars that will barely survive to the end of their warranty period so while they are very cheap to buy they are very poor value
Ford sells millions of cars a year, Rolls Royce sells a few thousand
People do not want good they want cheap because they are stupid & never think things through properly
The exact same mentality applies to mowers and the vast majority of people buy on price & price alone
You have a sample size of 2 mowers.
I have a sample size of over 1000 mowers
Not all of what comes off the MTD lines are total junk .
So it just happens that your wife finds her Cub comfortable to use which is good and she does not abuse it and because a "happy wife = happy life "you probably take extra care that it is maintained properly
But that is not the case for the vast majority .
Correct, but even a Rolls Royce if it's not taken care of will break down. When someone has a tendency to purchase less expensive thing's they have a tendency to run them in the ground quickly. Back in the 70's when I was a lawn mower mechanic. I set up a new simplicity sovereign with all the bells & whistles on a Saturday. Monday morning it was sitting at the front door totally destroyed. Like Lot's say the chevy 350 won't run 200 thousand. I have a 1978 out of 1 ton that had over 500 thousand on it. And it only used 1 quart of oil at its 4000 mile oil change. I drove it from when it was new. And guy that bought it wanted new engine so I kept the old long block. It's all how there treated and taken care of. Most of the equipment today use the same trans. Same with simplicity and all the other makes that used to built there own trans. If it wasn't for all the MTD's You may not have much to do, keeping You busy. I have been retired for 13 year's now. Reason I had to buy a cc mtd. But if I had a extra 30 grand to spend on a mower I would probably buy a 30 grand $ cub cadet.