Best zero turn mower?

I've got ag tires on mine and i don't mow when its wet and more times than not it will not hang on to the hills'dry or wet.

G R A S S H O P P E R, I'd have one for not the $$$, used them 20 + years ago for a landscaper. They made zero turns back when no one knew what they were.

I use a Kubota ZD-18 in my business.I bought it from my dad in '06.It's a 2002 model and I use it hard all week long from april until the grass quits growing in the fall.My dad had a 60" deck installed on it.I've had zero problems with it other than some flat tires.They aren't cheap though.I think they run around 10 grand for the equivelant model of mine these days.



Mike

Skag or grasshopper.....exmark ...

I like this one, The Great Dane Brutus

IMO the best one is the one that you can afford for the work you need it to do. If your doing commercial work then you better spend big bucks & do a lot of research. If you only have an acre or two then it doesn`t matter all that much, try them out, they are all similar but at the same time handle & preform a little differently. If you have a lot of slopes don`t get one. My old scag finally blew the motor last year, I bought a new & much cheaper toro, I actually overall like the toro more but its still early, the scag got in closer for trimming but the toro cuts much better. Then again the scag was 48" & the Toro is 60", I think that the 3 blade toro rather than the 2 blade scag is the difference. Both seem to be well made with the scag being much heavier(could never really push it by hand much even on a concrete floor) the toro except for getting to the battery is much easier to maintain, I guess this full summer will be the test.

Why does it keep needing spindles replaced?[/quote]

I was thinking about that after I posted. I can actually recall only replacing 1 deck spindle in that entire time. They have zerks and I'm always careful to not over grease, but I could have at some time on that spindle. I thought only a couple out of three in nine years would have been great? I know it sounds odd, but I seriously think I'm still using the original deck belt. It has needed a couple hydro drive belts though.

Everyone has made some good suggestions. I have had personal experience with Toro and Skag commercial mowers. I have owned both and never had any problems with them. The one major brand mentioned that I would stay away from is Dixie Chopper. My brother worked in a shop that serviced all the big name brands and he said the Dixie Choppers were constantly in for repairs.

If you have rough terrain and hit rocks and ground frequently you will go through spindles.

Been landscaping for 30 years and use only scag mowers! Never had any problems and the turf tigers are awsome machines.

I think it is OK to place a review link, if not it can be removed.
This pretty much says all the mentioned rigs and many more are just fine performers....enjoy!
Sometimes we temper our opinions because of dealer relationships, also. I'm guilty of that as well. This equipment is expensive, and I don't like getting jerked around with service or parts, either.


http://www.the-lawn-advisor.com/Great-D ... Mower.html

Stephen in Soky wrote:Why does it keep needing spindles replaced?

I can't see replacing the spindles, new bearings and they should be good to go. My ingersol only had 1 grease zerk in the middle, that one is a common drive for all 3, and 1 noisy bearing, so get new bearings, pull out the inner seals, 2 on each quill, and drill a hole in the center of the spindle for a grease zerk. Good to go, as long as I feel like crawling under the deck

I cant make a recomendation on wich is best because I dont have a zero turn to base my experiance on. I did however take a close look at some a ways back and did consider very hard buying one.
Based on that experiance I would be hard pressed to make a decision between the Scag, toro and exmark but with the price differance between them compared to the Bad boys I would have to seriously consider them and then make a decision based on how confident I felt in the machine from an engeneering/mechanical standpoint. I would also opt for the machine with the least amount of electronics as they have proven themselves to be a major pain in the butt as the machines age!

For the cost of them I also would Demand the use of a demo on my own property for at least 2 high grass cuttings!