Zero Turn Mower For Fairly Small Yard With Steep Hills

13 years ago

Ok, first I hope that too many of you won't laugh but here goes. I have a fairly small yard, half an acre would be a stretch, but its on a slope and the back yard has an even larger slope to it. My question is which Zero Turn should I get. I have looked at everything from the:

Toro TimeCutter Z 5060

eXmark Quest SP

Scag Freedom Z

Ariens 54 Zoom XL

Bad Boy MZ (No Bagging systems which I need)

I am not saying that I want to spend $5K either, the yard is small yes, but its got the hills, so when talking to my mechanic he made me nervous saying the the yard wont hurt the mower but the hills will wear on the engine. He also mentioned that the deck on the Toro's,& Ariens are stamped which I don't know if this will even play a part since my yard is so small. The other reason I want to get a Zero Turn is to be able to collect all the leaves in the fall, so I will definetly want a bagger to go on the Zero Turn. So after doing all the research I don't know if my hills will not pose a problem on the engine or if they will. Any advice I can get will be very appreciated.

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Comments (5)

rustyj14
13 years ago
The steep hills won't necessarily harm your engine, but you must do a check of the engine oil every time, before you use it.An engine that has pressurized oil pressure would be preferable, but an engine without it will probably work. Also, just pulling out the oil dip-stick and looking at it does not suffice, in any case. you must set the machine level, pull out the stick, wipe it clean, then insert it and pull it out again, to get the true reading. This is because the oil will tend to stay high on the stick, even after setting for a while, and that gives you a false reading, without the double sticking procedure.
Most mower decks i have seen, are stamped/formed steel(Tin) Some are heavier than others. Ya get what ya pay for.
One of my friends has a lawn with some steep hills in itt, not long hills, but the way it was laid out wwhen the house was built. His older model John Deere is used to mow it, and it hasn't seemed to hurt the engine. The transmission/hydro is another matter. The original lasted 9 years, but had to be replaced last summer.
JMHO: Rusty Jones
larso1
13 years ago
If it's a scary steep hill, I would just go to a manual transmission "garden tractor" like a Craftsman, with good chevron or paddle type tread rear tires. No sense in risking a roll-over. I've read about a lot of those commercial guys going on the slide of their life with ZTRs on a hill. You can now get retrofit front brakes for the ZTR casters but that wouldn't be enough in many cases....plus your cost goes up. A lot of the commercial lawn care guys just use a walk behind commercial mower for the questionable hills, and then the rest with the ZTR.
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I don't own a country clipper yet. But have test operated one with a joystick control - very sweet machine. I was looking at the JaZee II, and JaZee Pro 20hp-48" deck which are the light commercial/heavy residential models. Had prices of approx $4800 this was last spring probably close to $5K now. I have also tested Kubota Z's and Scag Tiger Cub. The Scag is top of the line as far as I can tell with the Kubota equal, I would guess the Country Clipper Boss(heavy commercial) is right up there with them. I really liked the joystick control on the clipper. I really liked the deck on the scag. I really liked the overall appearance of the 'bota. What to do? You can get a excellant collection system on the 326-60" bota, close to $11K, I know a person with one (commercial cutter) he bought it as a back up for a ZD28-72 and close small high appearance areas. The ZD28-72 (with 1000 hrs) he is trading in on a 'bota 331-72, $6200 to boot. The dealer already has a residential buyer for the ZD28 ($4600) it will never get to the dealers store. Ain't life grand. BTW the bota dealer also is the scag dealer - they handle both lines. The Country Clipper is a different dealer. Speed with quality of cut is what ZTR's are designed for.
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The shrubs growing on the slope look that they have been there quite a while and seem to be growing straight up. (Sometimes, if there is a bend like an old-fashioned walking stick handle in the stem near to the ground, that bend can indicate that the land is slumping.) About the tree roots showing: there's not a great deal of topsoil from what I could see so the roots have probably spread out to forage for food and water. A number of tree species have suface roots - some quite gnarled and obvious. Think swamp cypress for a start. Unless the trees are very tall and your local prevailing winds are fierce or unpredictable you aren't likely to get windthrow. On a slope such as yours I'd be looking for grooves cut by runoff from the top as the precursor to shallow gullying - and that didn't seem to be happening. Personally, I wouldn't spend on 'posh plants' for such a slope. I'd ask for 'pioneer-type' shrubs - preferably native to your area. If you have a native plants nursery near you - pick their brains. Grasses, creepers, low-nutrient environment shrubs and sub-shrubs. That soil is obviously not rich - it hasn't been colonised by much at all. If you need clues and there are cuttings at the sides of your roads check there for what will establish and thrive and stay seemly. (No one needs a slope covered in fire risk weeds!) When you visit with the plant place/s ask for SPECIFIC guidance on how to plant up a steep slope. If it has a high clay content - let them know because it will change what they will advise. If there is any better soil available on your lot, and you can spare some - mix it in with the slope soil when planting but don't bother putting in fine compost. All that happens is the plants grow out to the limits of the top grade environment and then either sulk or die. Think about buying your reveg plants in 'root trainer' tubes rather than big cans or baggies. They'll be younger and better equipped to strike out, rootwise. Hear you when you say you're budget-constrained. See if you can legally collect native seedlings of suitable plants, grow them on, then plant out. Sometimes a neighbour can be a good source. Under the bird feeder, in a garden, can be another - but expect a lot of berry-producing plants ;-) And, as the slope is a bit of a challenge - could you devise a ladder to get you upslope for planting? Or a scaffoldiong arrangement. Something with wide enough treads so you don't end up with anguished feet!
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gdj204
13 years ago
If your yard is small enough, maybe you can get by with one of those robotic mowers (like the roomba vacuum cleaners). Use a mulching blade to take care of the leaves, and a push sweeper to clean them up if that isn't good enough.

If you're deadset on a rider, those hills may require you to step up to a $2500+ tractor or $3500+ ZTR to get a tranny tough enough to hold up in the long run. I think you'd want a K57 minimum, and more likely a K64/66. Don't know enough about the manual trannies to say how they'd hold up (aren't enough out there to make any inferences).

Also remember that for $3500, you could pay the neighbor kid to push-mow your yard for a LONG time and have no maintenance/storage issues while helping the kid with his college fund. Just sayin'...
mojo300
Original Author
13 years ago
You guys are all right, the hills are not that steep. the front may be a 7 degree slope and the back in the 22-25 degree range.
wheelhorse_of_course
13 years ago
The main reason for a Zero turn is to save time. This will be a negligible factor with a small yard.

A ZT IMHO would be considerably more dangerous on a slope because it would be easy to lose control from a minor mistake.

A regular tractor can pick up leaves.

You want an engine with forced lubrication not splash.

Zero Turn Mower For Fairly Small Yard With Steep Hills

Comments (5)

rustyj14

larso1

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Zero Turn Mower For Fairly Small Yard With Steep Hills

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