ZTR Driving question

[Brucebotti]

Sorry about my ZTR ignorance. I just purchased a Toro MX5060. This is my first ZTR, and to make a U-turn I push one handle forward and the opposite one I pull all the way back. This in effect has one of the hydros going from full sped forward, to full speed reverse. Is this safe for the hydro unit? It just seems that you would never do this on an automobile. Any garden tractor that I have ever had, have had manual gearboxes.
Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Ric]

Sorry about my ZTR ignorance. I just purchased a Toro MX5060. This is my first ZTR, and to make a U-turn I push one handle forward and the opposite one I pull all the way back. This in effect has one of the hydros going from full sped forward, to full speed reverse. Is this safe for the hydro unit? It just seems that you would never do this on an automobile. Any garden tractor that I have ever had, have had manual gearboxes.
Thanks,
Bruce

You don't do that with a ZTR unless you want to mess up your turf, You use what is called a 3-point / Y-turn and you never go opposite directions full out.

http://www.scag.com/faq2.html#opturn

 

[jekjr]

Sorry about my ZTR ignorance. I just purchased a Toro MX5060. This is my first ZTR, and to make a U-turn I push one handle forward and the opposite one I pull all the way back. This in effect has one of the hydros going from full sped forward, to full speed reverse. Is this safe for the hydro unit? It just seems that you would never do this on an automobile. Any garden tractor that I have ever had, have had manual gearboxes.
Thanks,
Bruce

Since the drives are independent of each other it will not hurt the mower. HOWEVER you don't want to turn that way because you will tear the grass up. You can drive it a little and with a little practice you can turn by making slight changes in the speed of on side or the other. You want to keep the inside wheel turning in a forward direction when turning to minimize turf damage. If you find yourself in a position where you are going down hill you want to travel slow and turn by moving the left lever slightly ahead of the right to turn right and the right slightly ahead of the left to turn left...... Practice makes perfect.

 

[KennyV]

If you want to turn 180 degrees, and you are Stopped, you can cause one drive wheel to go forward and the Other one backwards... that will make the turn, do it at a Slow enough speed to keep control of what your doing.
It is never a good idea to change directions rapidly, the only way you will damage the grass is if you Pivot on one of the drive wheels... both drive wheels should remain moving.
as as jekjr said... "Practice makes perfect." :smile:KennyV

 

[Brucebotti]

You don't do that with a ZTR unless you want to mess up your turf, You use what is called a 3-point / Y-turn and you never go opposite directions full out.

Scag Power Equipment - Frequently Asked Questions

Ric,
Thanks for the info and the link. Aside from the turf, I'm concerned more about damage to the mower.

Thanks to all responders....I will have to practice a lot more. I'm up to 2.5 hrs of experience right now.....:laughing:
Bruce

 

[Ric]

Ric,
Thanks for the info and the link. Aside from the turf, I'm concerned more about damage to the mower.

Thanks to all responders....I will have to practice a lot more. I'm up to 2.5 hrs of experience right now.....:laughing:
Bruce

My guess is that it isn't good for the Hydros and your probably not doing them any good. If you concentrate on the 3 point Y turn You will find in time and with practice like others have said you'll be making those turns just as quick with a lot less pressure on the Hydros and with a lot less turf damage. You have the 2800s right?

 

[Brucebotti]

My guess is that it isn't good for the Hydros and your probably not doing them any good. If you concentrate on the 3 point Y turn You will find in time and with practice like others have said you'll be making those turns just as quick with a lot less pressure on the Hydros and with a lot less turf damage. You have the 2800s right?

Ric,
Thanks, I expected that it isn't good for the hydro's. i do have the 2800's. i'll keep practicing and I'll check out YouTube. Thanks again for your patience!
Bruce

 

[djdicetn]

Sorry about my ZTR ignorance. I just purchased a Toro MX5060. This is my first ZTR, and to make a U-turn I push one handle forward and the opposite one I pull all the way back. This in effect has one of the hydros going from full sped forward, to full speed reverse. Is this safe for the hydro unit? It just seems that you would never do this on an automobile. Any garden tractor that I have ever had, have had manual gearboxes.
Thanks,
Bruce

Bruce,
I like you figured since it was a "zero turn" mower.....I should be able to perform a 180 degree turn with it(I have a Segway Human Transporter and I can do one on it:0)
Then came the learning curve of, as mentioned, keeping both wheels turning to avoid making "divets" in the grass. I mowed two "circular paths" around the yard(to give me an already mowed turnaround area on both ends) and then began a back-and-forth mowing pattern. I would go all the way to one end, stop, start going backwards(with both levers) slowly and then push one side barely forward and obtained a decent 180 degree turn with insignificant turf damage(no visible divets). That's not to say that occaisionaly I still leave a small divet and I haven't tried user Kenny V's suggestion to do the 180 when completely stopped...but may try that the next time I mow. But, all that being said, I tend to agree with user Ric(and the Scags article) that the "Y turn" may be just as efficient(if not more) than attempting a "true zero turn" and aside from the concept in my first sentence it will accomplish a quick change of direction and keep straight lines back-and-forth in the mowing pattern(which is basically the desired result). I have a whopping 16.5 hours ZTR driving experience, so like you I'm still very open to suggestions by others on these forums(especially seasoned ZTR users like Ric & Kenny V) about the best/most efficient way to drive these beasts. Just like they said, experiment and practice....practice....practice!! And we'll "have fun" mowing our yards while practicing:0)

 

[Ric]

Bruce,
I like you figured since it was a "zero turn" mower.....I should be able to perform a 180 degree turn with it(I have a Segway Human Transporter and I can do one on it:0)
Then came the learning curve of, as mentioned, keeping both wheels turning to avoid making "divets" in the grass. I mowed two "circular paths" around the yard(to give me an already mowed turnaround area on both ends) and then began a back-and-forth mowing pattern. I would go all the way to one end, stop, start going backwards(with both levers) slowly and then push one side barely forward and obtained a decent 180 degree turn with insignificant turf damage(no visible divets). That's not to say that occasionally I still leave a small divet and I haven't tried user Kenny V's suggestion to do the 180 when completely stopped...but may try that the next time I mow. But, all that being said, I tend to agree with user Ric(and the Scags article) that the "Y turn" may be just as efficient(if not more) than attempting a "true zero turn" and aside from the concept in my first sentence it will accomplish a quick change of direction and keep straight lines back-and-forth in the mowing pattern(which is basically the desired result). I have a whopping 16.5 hours ZTR driving experience, so like you I'm still very open to suggestions by others on these forums(especially seasoned ZTR users like Ric & Kenny V) about the best/most efficient way to drive these beasts. Just like they said, experiment and practice....practice....practice!! And we'll "have fun" mowing our yards while practicing:0)

You will find that in time that you will be making turns without giving it a thought and it will not take long. I can't count the number of hours I've put on ZTR's over the years but I can tell the hours really don't mean anything because or regardless of how many you have or how good you think you are you can still tear up the turf. The thing is there are so many things that determine how to maneuver or handle a Ztr like the conditions, Hills or slopes, is it dry, or wet, cutting height of grass, type of grass, are you mowing on sod, Bahia, Bermuda or some other type of grass all and more play a part in how to use your ZTR.

 

[Brucebotti]

Bruce,
I like you figured since it was a "zero turn" mower.....I should be able to perform a 180 degree turn with it(I have a Segway Human Transporter and I can do one on it:0)
Then came the learning curve of, as mentioned, keeping both wheels turning to avoid making "divets" in the grass. I mowed two "circular paths" around the yard(to give me an already mowed turnaround area on both ends) and then began a back-and-forth mowing pattern. I would go all the way to one end, stop, start going backwards(with both levers) slowly and then push one side barely forward and obtained a decent 180 degree turn with insignificant turf damage(no visible divets). That's not to say that occaisionaly I still leave a small divet and I haven't tried user Kenny V's suggestion to do the 180 when completely stopped...but may try that the next time I mow. But, all that being said, I tend to agree with user Ric(and the Scags article) that the "Y turn" may be just as efficient(if not more) than attempting a "true zero turn" and aside from the concept in my first sentence it will accomplish a quick change of direction and keep straight lines back-and-forth in the mowing pattern(which is basically the desired result). I have a whopping 16.5 hours ZTR driving experience, so like you I'm still very open to suggestions by others on these forums(especially seasoned ZTR users like Ric & Kenny V) about the best/most efficient way to drive these beasts. Just like they said, experiment and practice....practice....practice!! And we'll "have fun" mowing our yards while practicing:0)

Djdicetn,
I have gotten a little better and I am confident that I will get better with time. I have watched a few You Tube videos and can see that the Y-turn looks pretty efficient and relatively easy. You may have only 16.5 hours of ZTR experience, but compared to my 2.5 hours, you are a seasoned veteran...:laughing:
Bruce