Zero turn mowers????

Been cutting grass at the farm for many years on the standard style of riding mower, but I've been looking into getting a little wider cut mower in a zero turn style. I am leaning towards a Cub Cadet ZT2 54" cut and was just wondering if anyone has had any input on this mower?

Thanks for any input!

N.B

I have one. It takes me 2.5 hours to cut 3.2 acres. If your yard is not real smooth it will beat you to death. I put a suspension seat on mine. Mine also has a stamped deck, not welded deck, which I will never own again. I would rate it as a fair mower, but honestly considering the cost, you can add a little more money and get a better mower. Mine came with the house and its replacement will be a much better mower. The deck belt is easy to replace, but the drive belt requires darn near a complete teardown of the mower.

Is yours the Ultima ZT2? It looks like this is a new model for 2019, and it does have the welded heavier deck on it. I'm in a pickle on what to do?? Some reviews are positive, and some no so much. I was also considering the Husqvarna mz 54, but the one I'm looking at would be almost $1000.00 more than the cub cadet.

Look into a Hustler, in my opinion the best mower out there for the price. I'm on my 7th year with mine and love it.

What model is the Hustler you have? What kind of price tag?

If you have a dealer in your area check out bob-cat mowers...

X2

Lots of options out there, but whatever you go with you will wish you had bought a zero turn years ago.

I had a thread on here a month or so ago similar. I was looking at the cub zero turn with steering wheel. I have a good amount of hills up to 20%. They say the steering wheel model is rated better on heels compared to the sticks, I still haven't done anything yet. I have been meaning to haul my friends ferries here and try it. My parents have a cub with steering wheel zero turn and it does great. Probably the route I'll go.

https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/6535740/zero-turn-vs-garden-tractors#Post6535740

I sure like my Husqvarna Z52. That mower leaves me a lot of time to do other things.

Bought a Hustler Raptor last year. 54 in deck for around 3 grand. Cut my mowin time in half.

Had several Snapper, Hustler, Troy Built. All good mowers and huge difference over regular steered mowers. Cuts cut time i
by a third or better. Went ahead and bought an X Mark with 60" welded deck. Never looking back. Will cut at high speed and tough as nails.

Any one here run run a Bad Boy? Some one I know runs a repair shop that does all the repair work for the Tractor supplies in our area and they said that the bad boys are the best value out there. Claim that they have not done any warranty work on one in 12 years. We are currently considering one but are undecided. We would be switching from a el-cheapo 42 inch huskee.

I have a Hustler Raptor with a 52" deck and a Husquvarna RZ5424with a 54" deck. I like the hustler a lot better! The Husquvarna is no where near as smooth of a ride, nor does it handle as well as the Hustler. I mow 2-3 acres, and keep the Husquvarna around just as a back up. I used a cub cadet riding mower for 18 months to mow 3 acres, it wasn't bad for a riding mower. I don't know about their zero-turn mowers.

Mine is the RZT54, with a stamped deck. I looked at the ZT2 yesterday at HD. It looks like the same mower I have with a welded deck. I dont know how much you want to spend, but if you have a Scag dealer go look. If you are a vet you get 15% off. They are built by a company that builds military vehicles, and built like a tank. The one I sat in was as comfortable as my recliner, has a suspension seat with armrests. It is more money than the cadet but the way it is built it will last a lifetime. The way I look at is would I rather spend $4000 on a mower that may last 10 years or spend $6000 on a lifetime mower, that doesnt beat me to death?

My cadet is 5 years old, I have used it 2 of those years. With what I know about it is if I had to replace it today it would not be another cadet.

I have a Ferris, great mower and locally made in my neck of the woods. Will cut you mowing time by at least 1/3 to 1/2 of a conventional lawn tractor. No hills, slopes or mud/wet ground you will curse it...…….

Our family run's a 54" Hustler with a welded deck and suspension front wheels. If you wait until the grass is dry, you can mow steep land. It definitely takes some skill to cut on a side slope but it can be done. We also have a J.D. belly mower with 4 WD. I hate that thing for mowing because you can't see in front of you. The big nose on our J.D. 955 is annoying. It's a great tractor once you take the mower off. 72"cut. We run them on 2 different farms.

Takes time to learn how to steer and drink beer

LOL.

Ferris is the best mower out there. 4 wheel suspension and it works

Thanks for all the info guys! I'm still a little on the fence on which route to go. I wouldn't mind like many suggested doing and drop a little extra money for quality, over saving some money up front and having problems in the near future. I wish some of the above mentioned mowers had dealers closer to me, we do have a couple close Cub Cadet dealers and Husqvarna dealers close by. I see that Kioti also has a zero turn mower available now, I wonder what the quality of these are?

Thanks again for all the feed back!

N.B.

Look into Wright mowers. I bought the “light commercial” Stander B with a 52”deck. Standers are more compact and way easier on my back. $5300

I have a dixie. Built solid. Fast! Can steer with one hand while holding a beer with the other.

I run a scag turf tiger , liquid cool , 61 inch high velocity deck ...
I keep around 7 acres finish mowed ..mow about once a week now ..
I service it once a year , keep sharp blades on it , and get out of my way ...

X2 for the Scag. I manage a lawn care service and have experience with Scag, Ferris, and John Deere. That is the order of my preference. Scag is built to last. IMO, Ferris has cheaped up their mowers too much for long term, everyday commercial use. And John Deere charges too much for green paint.

I’m currently running a 61” Cheetah with the 23HP Kawi and the three bag system. It mows just shy of 4 acres per hour on smooth ground. It loves gas though! I figure about a half gallon per acre when running with the bagger. The big dual tanks helps on fill up frequency.

X3 Love mine, would buy another but nothing has gone wrong with it in ten years.

just bought a Grasshopper a month or so ago, I like it better than the worn out ex mark I had been using, for sure once u go zero turn u wont be back on a steering wheel, good luck in your search

I own a lawn care business. I run a Ferris. I mow 400 to 600 lawns a year with it, last year replaced the belts for the first time. Have 2000 hours on it. Have done nothing else to it other than a strict maintenance schedule. Probably the best ride on the market with the coil over shocks on all four corners. I think this mower will be the last one I'll have to buy. The Kawasaki motor has plenty of power, but maybe not the most efficient. Burns around a gallon an hour. Holds 10 gallons of gas, so can run a long time on a fill.