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View Full Version : 1st time on a zero turn



danz
22-05-2009, 11:09 PM
Gday all, Im just wondering has anyone got any funny stories or just memories of the first time you ever used a zeroturn,, i bought a cub cadet zero turn today which has only done about 200hours well so it says lol,, anyway for my bigger lawns im usaully stock battling away on my steel bonnet cox stockman which i do love ol red box(thats what i named my cox lol) anyway blah blah i get home with the zero turn as the guy showed me how to use it etc before i came home with it, but being me and being in a rush i said yeah cool ill work it out properly when i get home, so here i am in the front yard (not noticing neighbours watching) so im testing it out well really just trying to keep it straight to be honest as i were moving it around like a bloody robot anway i got cocky and started doing a few little donuts and then on a slight hill i rolled the bloody tyre of the rim, so yeah sticky beak neighbours got a good laugh at me, so how long does it take to get used of these things guys? without getting confused which ways which lol

danz
22-05-2009, 11:10 PM
sorry about the long essay, ive had a few while watching the footy

cylo
23-05-2009, 09:08 AM
Gday danz,

Congratz on the new mower, you will save a huge amount of time! what inch cut is the deck?

My first experience on a zero turn was reversing it off a trailer with 2 ramps which were the same width as the rear wheel, it was freaky. It didn't take long to get used to driving it around, once you master an efficient way of turning it around 90degrees without digging trenches in the lawn you will be mowing the lawns much quicker than the old cox! Driving them in a straight line is not hard at all, but my dixon has an issue with one of the pumps, with both in full foward position 1 wheel is a tad faster than the other so im forever pulling the faster lever back slightly to straighten it up, iv tried adjusting the levers and managed to make it drive straight but only way to do it was to slow the faster wheel down which has slowed the mower down a few k and that is not what I was after!

danz
23-05-2009, 11:14 PM
Thanks mate, yeah startin to get used of it its only a 42", come to think of it thats the same thing mines doing, one wheel does go faster and today i seemed to be pullin the left hand ever back a touch to stay straight,

mowjoman
24-05-2009, 06:13 AM
G'Day Danz. You'll find you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. The only thing I'll say is be wary on slopes. The ZTR's become a bit tricky then.....A mind of their own.

danz
24-05-2009, 04:58 PM
thanks mate, yeah im used of it now lol, but have had a with the machine today ill put that in the mower repairs bit etc

gcsmow
16-08-2010, 06:12 PM
Another thing you need to get used to is that when you go from forward to reverse the front of the machine will buck to the left or right when the casters swing around. It is just one of those things you need to get used to. Going down a steep hill can be a bit scary so try and mow up instead of down or even go diagonally. Have a look at Ted's brakes on you tube, looks like a good idea. Does your machine have a foot pedal? You can use the pedal to avoid scalping, just give it a light touch when you get to the crest of small hills etc. it works a treat. The main thing is to remember that the drive, steering and brakes are all done by the back wheels and the front wheels are basically there to keep the front of the machine off the ground.

Give it a few more hours and you will be good at it. My wife is an absolute wizz on a ZTR. You must admit it is faster than the old cox hey?

gcsmow
16-08-2010, 06:13 PM
Another thing you need to get used to is that when you go from forward to reverse the front of the machine will buck to the left or right when the casters swing around. It is just one of those things you need to get used to. Going down a steep hill can be a bit scary so try and mow up instead of down or even go diagonally. Have a look at Ted's brakes on you tube, looks like a good idea. Does your machine have a foot pedal? You can use the pedal to avoid scalping, just give it a light touch when you get to the crest of small hills etc. it works a treat. The main thing is to remember that the drive, steering and brakes are all done by the back wheels and the front wheels are basically there to keep the front of the machine off the ground.

Give it a few more hours and you will be good at it. My wife is an absolute wizz on a ZTR. You must admit it is faster than the old cox hey?

Mick
17-08-2010, 09:19 AM
This is an older thread but...
Im pretty sure it was my first day on my new Super Z (a few yrs ago now) and was mowing the neighbours nature strip that has a swail almost running the length of it.
Anyway, I didnt realize how low the rear end was so when I went to cross the swail I got hung up with the drive wheels off the ground. This was very embarrassing as there were heaps of cars driving past slowing down to look and a few neighbours checking it out.
Getting the miss's to drag me out with the John Deere X595 made it even worse!

Was better to learn that issue before I was on a customers property away from help. Haven't been hung up since! (touch wood)

holdenhead
18-08-2010, 12:19 AM
Hi all,

I had my first go on a zero today. (test drive)Took about 10 mins to get used to it. My legs dont know what to do! First few lines were a bit wiggly then I got them straight. Dug up a bit of turf at the ends when turning around but by the end it wasn't so bad. It's a Bush Hog I have decided on, should have it by the end of the week. It's a 20 hp 44 inch, wanted a bigger one but have done lots of measurements on the jobs it will be used on and this size best suits. Cant believe how much quicker than the Cox it is. The soccer pitch I cut with it would take me 1.5 hrs on the Cox, today it took just on an hour but alot of this time was talking to the guy who brought it out and mucking around in different patchs of long and short grass. I reacon I could get around it in 45-50 mins with a bit more practice. Not only is it 5 kph quicker and 12 inches wider but it is much quicker though corners. I've looked at just about all the zero's available and I have found they are all pretty much the same. In the end it came down to the dealer and how good they are and the importer bloke who brought the mower out to me to try. He drove from Vermont to out Laverton way to demo the machine. Then left it with me to play on while he went and got lunch.

Cheers Rick

Mick
18-08-2010, 07:57 AM
Thats great man! LIke I said in another thread, ztrs are much faster!
If your digging up turf on turns, try doing a 3 point turn.
If wanting to zero turn, make sure BOTH wheels are moving.

warren higgins
18-08-2010, 07:56 PM
we have zeros , out fronts and 4x4s if you use your zero on hills at all they are much more agile than you think great if you go across the slopes not up and down it all takes practice and good luck you will be more confident in a short time

BLACK BEAR
18-08-2010, 10:19 PM
Which model is it Rick. would be interested to see how it goes. Which motor? what warranty? I know he is in vermont not far away from where i work in Waverley, so may eventually get down there to have a look. Can i ask how much???:big grin

holdenhead
18-08-2010, 10:55 PM
Hi, It's the ES2044, 20hp Kohler/ 44 inch deck. 2 year warranty. Was going to get a bigger one but the 44 inch will suit my needs. They use the same transaxles as the smaller Toro's and I think the smaller Hustlers. They also use the same spindles as the 30hp/73 inch, so that's gotta be a good thing. Zero's are all pretty much the same. Like I said earlier it has come down to the dealer which is in Beaconsfield, I have found them to be great. And Alan from Bush Hog is a champ. They are $9900RRP but got it a bit cheaper than that.

Cheers Rick

holdenhead
25-08-2010, 11:49 PM
Hi, I dont know how I have got by without a ztr? I christened my new Bush Hog on monday, did 4 hrs on it. Cut some pretty long grass. All went well. Changed oil Monday night. Did 3 hrs on it on Tuesday then another 2.5hrs on it today. The Monday and tuesdy jobs were the first time I had done these jobs so I couldn't rate it against the Cox. Today's job is one I have done seneral times, I cant get over the difference. It's usually 4hrs on the Cox and 4 hrs snipping. Today I did it in 2.5 hrs mowing and 3.5 hrs snipping. I think the time saved on snipping was due to the deck being alot wider than the mower making it possible to hang it over some edges. (around the oval I did there is a trench, no snipping required today because I could get the deck right over the edge of it) Also in the corners that are usually left to trim due to the turning circle on the Cox. The best guide is the oval that usally takes 1.5 hrs on the Cox took 50mins. Mainly because it goes 5kph faster and is 12inches wider. One very happy lawnie. Cheers Rick

gcsmow
26-08-2010, 09:20 AM
Great another zero turn convert! I also like how you said you could hang the deck over some edges and get further in to the corners therefore having less trimming. If you believe the hype that Walker try to tell us then that wouldn't be possible with a mid-mount ZTR and you would HAVE to have a Walker, and have to spend a lot more money.

I'll give you a tip that will save you an enormous amount of time. Get a 12V pump, a filter, a poison spray gun and some hose then convert your right side fuel tank (if you are right handed) to a poison tank. OK sure you will lose some fuel capacity but I find on my Hustler I still have plenty of fuel to keep going with, you just have to check it and top it up more often. Either way you're going to have more fuel capacity than the old Cox. Try it, it saves me heaps of time! You will also have to learn how to drive with one hand, but practice makes perfect.

SouthCoast Walker
01-09-2010, 09:49 PM
Great another zero turn convert! I also like how you said you could hang the deck over some edges and get further in to the corners therefore having less trimming. If you believe the hype that Walker try to tell us then that wouldn't be possible with a mid-mount ZTR and you would HAVE to have a Walker, and have to spend a lot more money.

I'll give you a tip that will save you an enormous amount of time. Get a 12V pump, a filter, a poison spray gun and some hose then convert your right side fuel tank (if you are right handed) to a poison tank. OK sure you will lose some fuel capacity but I find on my Hustler I still have plenty of fuel to keep going with, you just have to check it and top it up more often. Either way you're going to have more fuel capacity than the old Cox. Try it, it saves me heaps of time! You will also have to learn how to drive with one hand, but practice makes perfect.



You are so one eyed and manipulate any comments to try and justify your argument that underbelly's are better than Walkers, Rick was saying the deck is wider than the wheel track so the deck can be hung over the edge. Totally different to how the Walker deck can be used over edges and under fence rails, caravan draw bars etc etc.

Maybe you should just bite the bullet and buy a walker on the quiet as its obviously killing you not having one. Otherwise you would just let this obsession go. Grab a few Stihls while you are at the shop;frosty;;frosty;;frosty;;frosty;;frosty; Oh and get a real Walker this time not a Toro or Gianni copy.

gcsmow
02-09-2010, 09:00 AM
Well you were the one who found it necessary to reply and I wasn't even talking to you anyway so perhaps you are the one with the obsession!

My whole point was that some of the things that Walker is saying is not true or just not enough of a big deal to warrant spending all that extra money for. I'm over it! I'm too busy earning good money with my inferior mid-mounts and Jap crap.
(that's sarcasm again)