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Zero Turn mowers without rear fenders

#1

R

rdrapeau

Hello,

I have a 25 year old John Deere LX 176 that I am giving to my son who just purchased his first home. Yes, the good old girl with that Kawasaki engine is still running...simply unbelievable.

I live in Florida, everything is mostly flat, and have roughly 2 acres to mow. In the summer, it is not uncommon to mow when the grass is quite wet, like 1/2" to an inch or so of ground water. And it is not uncommon to get stuck in the swale by the street, spin the tires and get a lot of mud flying off the rear tires.

So, it is time for dad to upgrade. I came very close to purchasing a JD Z375R last week for around $3700. Last second, I noticed there were no fenders over the rear wheels. So, I told the sales rep I would pass on it and consider the Z540M, however the price with options I need is over $5100. Simply too much and the dealer wouldn't budge on the price so I walked. So I decided to look at other brands. Today I went to a dealer and they had Cub Cadet. They had a Cub Cadet ZT1 50" with a 23HP Kawasaki engine for $3,099. After looking at it for a few minutes I literally said, "What a beautiful machine." I almost bought it on the spot because of the features, design, and sheer build quality. However, bamm...NO REAR FENDERS!!!

What is up with that? Why aren't the manufacturers putting rear fenders on these things?

I could purchase a Z-Force LX 54" that has rear fenders but the cost is $5,499.

Am I making a big deal out of this when I shouldn't be? Are rear fenders a factor when mowing so you don't get wet and get dirt and mud all over yourself and the engine?

Thank you very much for your help.

Reg


#2

D

DK35vince

I mow wet grass all the time.
Grass and mud do get thrown up the side of my machine and up onto the mower deck all the time, but I rarely get any on me. So it really doesn't bother me any.
This is what Super Z looks like much of the mowing season.
It gets hosed off about once midseason and a good pressure washing/servicing end of season

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#3

BlazNT

BlazNT

Gas tanks are enough fender for me as well. I like not having as much of a mud catcher. Makes for easier cleanup.

On the first JD, you were looking at it was a good decision not to buy that POS. The build quality on the lowers line in JD is very bad.


#4

J

John Fitzgerald

DK35vince said:
I mow wet grass all the time.
Grass and mud do get thrown up the side of my machine and up onto the mower deck all the time, but I rarely get any on me. So it really doesn't bother me any.
This is what Super Z looks like much of the mowing season.
It gets hosed off about once midseason and a good pressure washing/servicing end of season
Click to expand...

A good friend of mine let debris build up on top of his deck, and it caught fire from the belt friction, burned off most of his wiring, causing battery to quickly discharge, had to rewire, replace battery and starter, still looked bad with damaged paint. That stuff should be blown off after every mowing.


#5

B

bertsmobile1

rdrapeau said:
Hello,

I have a 25 year old John Deere LX 176 that I am giving to my son who just purchased his first home. Yes, the good old girl with that Kawasaki engine is still running...simply unbelievable.

I live in Florida, everything is mostly flat, and have roughly 2 acres to mow. In the summer, it is not uncommon to mow when the grass is quite wet, like 1/2" to an inch or so of ground water. And it is not uncommon to get stuck in the swale by the street, spin the tires and get a lot of mud flying off the rear tires.

So, it is time for dad to upgrade. I came very close to purchasing a JD Z375R last week for around $3700. Last second, I noticed there were no fenders over the rear wheels. So, I told the sales rep I would pass on it and consider the Z540M, however the price with options I need is over $5100. Simply too much and the dealer wouldn't budge on the price so I walked. So I decided to look at other brands. Today I went to a dealer and they had Cub Cadet. They had a Cub Cadet ZT1 50" with a 23HP Kawasaki engine for $3,099. After looking at it for a few minutes I literally said, "What a beautiful machine." I almost bought it on the spot because of the features, design, and sheer build quality. However, bamm...NO REAR FENDERS!!!

What is up with that? Why aren't the manufacturers putting rear fenders on these things?

I could purchase a Z-Force LX 54" that has rear fenders but the cost is $5,499.

Am I making a big deal out of this when I shouldn't be? Are rear fenders a factor when mowing so you don't get wet and get dirt and mud all over yourself and the engine?

Thank you very much for your help.

Reg
Click to expand...

Well unless you are mowing at 60 mph I fail to see how you could get anything thrown up from the wheels.
Thrown up from the deck, yes sir but at mowing speeds thrown up from the wheels you are in lar lar land.


#6

D

DK35vince

John Fitzgerald said:
A good friend of mine let debris build up on top of his deck, and it caught fire from the belt friction, burned off most of his wiring, causing battery to quickly discharge, had to rewire, replace battery and starter, still looked bad with damaged paint. That stuff should be blown off after every mowing.
Click to expand...
OK
Thanks


#7

A

(Account Closed)

DK35vince said:
I mow wet grass all the time.
Grass and mud do get thrown up the side of my machine and up onto the mower deck all the time, but I rarely get any on me. So it really doesn't bother me any.
This is what Super Z looks like much of the mowing season.
It gets hosed off about once midseason and a good pressure washing/servicing end of season
Click to expand...

The last Super Z 60" mower I worked on had sat for awhile and wasn't bad at all. And it wasn't well maintained, Carb varnished up, etc:



(And that thing was FAST!!)


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