I've been told that a zero turn with steering wheel is the best mower for sloping land. A neighbors lawn service owner has commercial grade cub cadets, but says that if Toro made a commercial zero turn with wheel, he would buy it in a heart beat. His cubs are in the shop quite often. I have a 15 year old cub lawn tractor, 42" that has served me well, but is not enough for my 6 acres of mowing, much of it on a gentle slope. S o the question is: would the Toro homeowner grade work well for me or would I be better off with a commercial cub. I can't see beating my machine up like a business owner would.
zero turn for sloping land
- Thread starter tuckler
- Start date
Ric
Lawn Pro
For 6 acres I think I'd go to the low end commercial mower. Do you know what the degree the slopes are ?
Shughes717
Lawn Addict
How gentle a slope are you talking about? Commercial ztr mowers can handle 15% slopes according to manufacturers.
Ric
Lawn Pro
You can use any ZTR on a slope it doesn't necessarily need to be one with a steering wheel. Most manufacturers recommend no more than 15 degrees and they can handle that plus a little. If you decide to buy he ztr I'd use it a while on the flats before attempting grades or slope and I also recommend reading the manual front to back as they say to get familiar with the machine.
Carscw
Lawn Pro
The steering wheel does a little better on hills/ slopes.
The reason is the front wheels turn when you turn the wheel.
With lap bars the front wheels are coasters.
If you are trying to spend a lot of money I would get the toro ss5000
It is a good residential mower. But really not made for 6 acres. You really need to be looking at a low to mid level commercial mower.
The reason is the front wheels turn when you turn the wheel.
With lap bars the front wheels are coasters.
If you are trying to spend a lot of money I would get the toro ss5000
It is a good residential mower. But really not made for 6 acres. You really need to be looking at a low to mid level commercial mower.
Most of the slope I would be mowing is about 10%, close to 2 acres worth. I've got a 34H Kabota with a 72" deck that I'm using on some pasture areas and the yard, but on the yard it is slow and beats up the ground too much and that needs to stop. Would the homeowner Toro 60" hold up on those six acres like the commercial cub? I really think the wheel would do best on slopes and since Toro does not have the commercial grade, I'm just concerned that it wouldn't hold up. I actually did those acres with the 42" cub garden tractor for two years before I got the Kabota and it held up well, but was quite a physical workout. I'm assuming the zero turns would have a lot more speed for cutting over the Kabota.
Then since the Toro does not have the wheel in a commercial I would have to go with the cub?
Carscw
Lawn Pro
With the slope you have I would not get the steering wheel. But a do like cub cadet.
I feel the toro would hold up better for you.
The steering wheel has its good and bad.
The big bad is the front wheels. When you are going fast and hit a hole the linkage bends.
I would see if a dealer would let you demo a zero turn with lap bars. I have taken mine on some pretty good slopes without any problems. Look for one with a low center of gravity and a wider wheelbase. My father in law has a cub with a steering wheel. He likes it, but I think if he was to do it again he would get the lap bars.