Suggestion for Zero Turns?

[ataboyj]

I am looking for a new riding zero turn mower, any suggestion?

[Sprinkler Buddy]

Lawn care business tips

Look at what most of the professionals are running in your area. I'm running Hustlers, one feature that I really like on them are the Flex Forks on the front caster wheels. What ever you may decide on, make sure it has the Donaldson Air filter system. Not sure if I spelled that correctly and I don't feel like looking it up. :-) Too early and I need to go mow. LoL

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[wat5150]

Walker makes a sweet mower that does one of the best jobs cutting in my opinion. They are very expensive though. Probably not the best one to start out on.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by wat5150

Walker makes a sweet mower that does one of the best jobs cutting in my opinion. They are very expensive though. Probably not the best one to start out on.

i have 3 walkers as well as 4 exmarks and i agree the walker is a good mower but it is not the ideal mower for cutting every type of property and you need to buy a mower that can do it all.

if you look at any walker video's they themselves will tell you that it is for a highly manicured property.

i service a cemetery for my kids catholic school and the walker deck does not allow you to go over a rock or object slightly protrudeing from the ground and the exmarks i have all i have to do is raise the deck with the foot pedal and drive over it and drop it back down without skipping a beat.

there are pro's and cons to every machine and it is very important to learn and reconize what they are and how they translate to the type of properties you service.
of course cost is a major factor but i found you get what you pay for and the money you save buying a cheap crappy mower you lose in making repairs and having to replace it sooner then expected.

mowers are not all created equal.

[wat5150]

Originally Posted by dpld

i have 3 walkers as well as 4 exmarks and i agree the walker is a good mower but it is not the ideal mower for cutting every type of property and you need to buy a mower that can do it all.

if you look at any walker video's they themselves will tell you that it is for a highly manicured property.

i service a cemetery for my kids catholic school and the walker deck does not allow you to go over a rock or object slightly protrudeing from the ground and the exmarks i have all i have to do is raise the deck with the foot pedal and drive over it and drop it back down without skipping a beat.

there are pro's and cons to every machine and it is very important to learn and reconize what they are and how they translate to the type of properties you service.
of course cost is a major factor but i found you get what you pay for and the money you save buying a cheap crappy mower you lose in making repairs and having to replace it sooner then expected.

mowers are not all created equal.

I agree that walkers arent for every property. I guess Im just enamored with how they cut. They are the best at making a lawn look awesome right off the production line. No need for lawn rollers etc. Anyway they can be a little maintenance heavy also. I would suggest shopping around. Go to a dealer, go to another one. Read up. The most important thing is your budget. You want to buy the best mower you can and fit within your price point.

[pfreeman]

I have a Ferris 61. It has worked quite well. Most of our competition is using Scag. I purchased a Scag Pro V 36" this year. It's deck is great. Our next Z will be a Scag.

[wandfsmall]

the hard fact is most of the posts you have on here have only used 1 or 2 mower brands. That would hardly be considered an expert opinion as to what the best mower is. Another problem you have is dealer support, if the mower was not set up properly a customer could have a bad opinion of a mower in one area where a good dealer could have great reviews of the same mower in another area. My suggestion is go to some of your local dealers and look at the mowers. Ask questions about the mowers and see what they tell you.

here are a few of the facts.

1) ALMOST ANY BRAND OF MOWER CAN PRODUCE A BEAUTIFUL CUT if set up properly. In fact I bet if you had the same tech setup both mowers you would not likely tell a difference in the cut.

2) A Briggs that does not say VANGUARD is not a commercial engine Neither is a Kohler Courage engine I do not care what the salesman tells you.

3) Separate Pumps and Wheel motors are proven to last longer then integrated systems, the reason they use integrated systems is due to price not quality.

4) A belt will almost always break on the deck so a drive shaft mower will not break fewer belts then a vertical shaft belt drive mower, however it will last longer then a mule drive unit on a horizontal mower.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Originally Posted by wandfsmall

3) Separate Pumps and Wheel motors are proven to last longer then integrated systems, the reason they use integrated systems is due to price not quality.

Not only that but integrated cost more to replace. Your looking at $850-$1000 per side. A wheel motor might run $300-$450 and the pump $300-$500. Of course you only have to replace one.

Then due to the fact that integrated cant be flushed and filled its like having a transmission that never had its fluid replaced.

Besides the gauge of the metal on decks this is the number 1 difference between a commercial and homeowner model.

If you talk to a dealer the first thing theyll point out is the pumps.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by wandfsmall

the hard fact is most of the posts you have on here have only used 1 or 2 mower brands. That would hardly be considered an expert opinion as to what the best mower is. Another problem you have is dealer support, if the mower was not set up properly a customer could have a bad opinion of a mower in one area where a good dealer could have great reviews of the same mower in another area. My suggestion is go to some of your local dealers and look at the mowers. Ask questions about the mowers and see what they tell you.

here are a few of the facts.

1) ALMOST ANY BRAND OF MOWER CAN PRODUCE A BEAUTIFUL CUT if set up properly. In fact I bet if you had the same tech setup both mowers you would not likely tell a difference in the cut.

2) A Briggs that does not say VANGUARD is not a commercial engine Neither is a Kohler Courage engine I do not care what the salesman tells you.

3) Separate Pumps and Wheel motors are proven to last longer then integrated systems, the reason they use integrated systems is due to price not quality.

4) A belt will almost always break on the deck so a drive shaft mower will not break fewer belts then a vertical shaft belt drive mower, however it will last longer then a mule drive unit on a horizontal mower.

no offense to you but just because i said i currently use exmark and walker it does not mean my knowledge is limited to just them.
i have owned every brand commercial mower out there the 23 years i have been in business and my reference to the walkers and exmark was to explain some of the differences between the two as well as some of their limitations.

the walkers have in my opinion a older outdated hydro system and can cost a fortune to fix as well as require far more maintenance and are a slower mower but with that said i have them because on some of my properties i have any of the other riders can not shine their shoes and the reason why i use two different machines is because neither one can do all of what i need them for.

i understand that you fix them for a living and i can appreciate that and certainly respect your opinion but just because you fix them for a living does not make your opinion a expert opinion either.
your expertise pertains to repairing them and not useing them and i will not dispute that the knowledge in repairing them is priceless but unless you cut on a large scale in every kind of situation as well as have multiple operators it would be hard to really know all the advantages of each machine fully outside of the mechanics.

i agree with you that you can pretty much take any mower out there and if set up properly can do as good as a job as the next, but the OP was asking advice on mowers and being he mentioned a walker and he is starting out i was merely suggesting that he look at other brands because being a start up business he is gonna need a mower that is not only durable and affordable he is also gonna need a mower that can take care of anything that comes his way.

as a start up business he is facing a lot of unforseens because he has yet to build it up and what he is doing today may be drastically different tomorrow and he will need a machine that can bring him to the next level.

as i said i have been in business 23 years and my bed is already made and based on that we are cutting close to a 180 acres a week i have by trial and error found what best works for me.
i certainly am not suggesting or saying that the machines i use is the end all and the only ones to buy but in my area exmark, scag and walker are the machines 99% of the dealers here sell so i need to go with the machines that give me the best dealer support.
there are plenty of other good machines to buy but if i have a issue with a machine i need to be able to have access to the parts i need and the dealers in my region usually only stock the parts to the brands they sell and although they can get you anything you need i can not be without a machine for a week or two waiting on parts.

[wandfsmall]

Originally Posted by dpld

no offense to you but just because i said i currently use exmark and walker it does not mean my knowledge is limited to just them.
i have owned every brand commercial mower out there the 23 years i have been in business and my reference to the walkers and exmark was to explain some of the differences between the two as well as some of their limitations..

First off no offence taken by me for your post second I had no problem with your post and thought you gave good advice to the guy as did this one. I did not say all posts have never tried another mower just know most people on this forum and any other forum have not. I was not trying to belittle you nor insult you I was just pointing out facts that I have a feeling you yourself would agree with in principle if you did not think I was insulting you.

As to ataboyj his last post is prob the best advice your going to get for buying a mower. I agree with him on the hydro issues of the walker, and the fact that he picked his mower for quality and parts supply is a smart move.