Zero Turn Mower roll call

Doc

Doc

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Zero turn mowers are very popular these days. Like many others I started out with a Simplicity mower then upgraded to a Kubota tractor with pull behind mower and then finally was able to spring for a zero turn mower.

I like the idea of a diesel like Kubota offered but I could not swing the price so I bought a Scag Wildcat and later moved to the Scag Cheetah. Love the way they mow. I'll never go back to mowing the ole fashioned way.

How bout you? Do you own a zero turn mower?
 
I have a ZTR.

I have a very hilly terrain to mow. Tried Scag, Dixie Chopper and a couple others but as soon as I tried to go sideways on even a modest hill, they kept on sliding sideways down the hill.

The neighbor just bought a tractor (Kioti DK-35) and said he really liked the dealer. He told me the dealer also sold ZTR's. When the tractor was going to be delivered, I asked the dealer to bring a commercial ZTR with them so I could try their offerings.

On the flatbed was a Country Clipper Charger. It was unloaded and given to me to try it. OMG, that thing could hold and climb any hill. The center-of-gravity is so low that the pucker factor is minimal. It also has a single, joystick control instead of the 2 arms. That freed up one hand to hold my adult beverage. ;)

I bought it on the spot. Well, here we are, 16 years later and with the exception of safety switches giving me some problems, the thing has worked flawlessly. I can mow hills that you can barely climb without putting your hands out in front of you and crabbing it up the hill.
 
For the last 17 years I've been mowing with the New Holland TC24D with the 60" MMM. Worked great, but now we found ourselves needing to switch between the tractor duties and mowing duties and sometimes needing both at the same time. Combined with the advancing age of the New Holland we decided it was time to upgrade.

So two weeks ago I purchased a Spartan. Made in Batesville, Arkansas. They even have a special Mark Martin edition, LOL. I got the top of the line except for the MM version, LOL. This has the 37 HP Briggs Vanguard Big Block and fuel injection. It has a 72" deck. Pictures don't do this thing justice, it is a beast, it is huge. We then said goodbye to the New Holland about a week and a half ago. The replacement Kubota should be ready later this week.
 

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Sweet! That Spartan looks awesome. Being a HUGE Mark Martin fan, personally, I may have sprung for his edition. ;)

Don't have many but the Vanguard engines I do have run perfectly. Mine are in generators and (I think) my log splitters. My ZTR runs a Kohler Command Pro. I know the Subaru's and Kawasaki's are now the "go-to" higher end engines but I don't rack up a million hours so the Briggs and Kohler's work fine for me.

BTW - We have similar taste in trucks. I had an '05 GMC Sierra like your black truck pictured and currently drive a 2016 Crew Cab Silverado like the one doing the trailering.
 
Wow, that Spartan must be huge. 72" deck and 37HP motor. Wow. Biggest engine I've heard of of a ZTR. Congrats. I'm guessing you'll grow to love it. :D
 
bczoom said:
Sweet! That Spartan looks awesome. Being a HUGE Mark Martin fan, personally, I may have sprung for his edition. ;)

Don't have many but the Vanguard engines I do have run perfectly. Mine are in generators and (I think) my log splitters. My ZTR runs a Kohler Command Pro. I know the Subaru's and Kawasaki's are now the "go-to" higher end engines but I don't rack up a million hours so the Briggs and Kohler's work fine for me.

BTW - We have similar taste in trucks. I had an '05 GMC Sierra like your black truck pictured and currently drive a 2016 Crew Cab Silverado like the one doing the trailering.
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Bought the black one new in '99. It has been a great truck. Was going to sell it when I bought the white one, but my son kind of took it over. He is now in the process of "Youthing" it. Both in terms of items in it (subs) and appearance. He found one of the Plastic Pro-Tec beds he his having redone for it. Now looking for a tailgate for the Pro-Tec bed as a steel one won't fit it.

Bought the white one two years ago. It was a year old and 13k miles and a great price. I had been wanting a Duramax for a long time but couldn't afford one. So when I found that one, I made sure to park it in my garage.
 
Doc said:
Wow, that Spartan must be huge. 72" deck and 37HP motor. Wow. Biggest engine I've heard of of a ZTR. Congrats. I'm guessing you'll grow to love it. :D
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It is big. I love the 4 wheel suspension. Still getting used to the super fast response of the controls. I was really surprised by the weight of it. It weighs almost 1800 pounds. That is more than the old New Holland, LOL. As my kids would say, it is Dummy Thick.
 
Being as it weighs so much, you'll want to be careful turning. If doing a U-turn, you'll want one tire going backwards while the other is going forward. If you turn using only one of the controls, the other tire pivots in place and will tear up your lawn.
 
bczoom said:
Being as it weighs so much, you'll want to be careful turning. If doing a U-turn, you'll want one tire going backwards while the other is going forward. If you turn using only one of the controls, the other tire pivots in place and will tear up your lawn.
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Yep, have already seen that. Not that I'm overly concerned with it, but I'm still trying to perfect my technique.
 
Was thinking of your Spartan mower yesterday.

Weighing in at 1800# + driver and fuel, your at a ton. Are you going to be OK mowing in the Spring when the ground is soft? I won't let my tractor or RTV on the lawn in the Spring as they leave ruts due to their weight.
 
I think so, I always mowed with the New Holland and it had the R4s and it never did anything too bad and it still had a few hundred pounds on the Spartan. It had to be really wet before it did anything.
 
We have owned a Hustler Super Z (35HP Kawasaki w/72" deck) for 7 years. Nice mower.
My wife generally ran the zero turn while I mowed with the tractor.
This year I sold my street bike and snowmobile and bought another Z turn for myself.
A Snapper Pro s200xt (37 HP Vanguard EFI w/72" deck)
 

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Perfect. You can get those 8 acres done in less than 2 hours with both you and your wife going at it. I do 4 acres with my 61" Scag ZTR. Much of my 'yard' used to be a tomato field. Bumpy, so I can't go top speed still I'm done in 1:45 on a good day. 1:50 most days.
 
Doc said:
Perfect. You can get those 8 acres done in less than 2 hours with both you and your wife going at it. I do 4 acres with my 61" Scag ZTR. Much of my 'yard' used to be a tomato field. Bumpy, so I can't go top speed still I'm done in 1:45 on a good day. 1:50 most days.
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With both Z turns mowing we can mow the 8 acres in around 1 hour 20 minutes.
About half our yard we can mow at or near top speed the other half is a little to rough and with all the trees, Etc. we need to slow down.
Went with commercial mowers hoping they with be the last mowers we ever need to buy.
 
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