Which lawn tractor, and why?

977 Views 25 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Dirty Harry, 9 d ago

Duramaxjoe

Discussion Starter · 14 d ago

Allot of discussions and great logic here. My thoughts based on my personal experience. My first new lawn tractor was a 420, with 60” deck and a 54” blade. Mowing quality was great. Snow removal (2wd) was also great. We still have the 420. I have owned a 72” deere diesel ztr, a Ferris 61” 37hp gas, a scag cheeta, gas. Also owned a kubota bx with fel, deck, and woods tiller. upgraded to a b series. These were all great machines, but not as capable as the cut quality of the 420. Fel work was never enough, too lightweight. I went back to Deere and bought a 3 series diesel. The loader was much better, safer, and easier to use. Added a big rear tiller, box blade, pallet forks, post hole digger, qc, cultivator, hiller. All work much better on the larger frame tractor. They work great, like the old 420, the 3 series will never leave. We have 2 gardens total about 1/2 acre. When I bought the 3 we also bought a 350 just for mowing. This is not what I expected, and just ordered a x750 with 60” deck just for mowing. Funny, I came full circle from new 420 over 30 year, back to the x750 (very similar in size) and I hope mowing quality. My experience is the 1 and 2 series are just too limited for “much” work, but really fun toys! 1 last thought on big zero turns, very fast, but the speed tears up on turns. Using a 3 point turn takes added time and imo makes it not much fasted than a quality tractor.

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CJadamec

· #2 · 14 d ago

The 420 is the great grandfather of the x750. It is everything you are going to want if replacing your 420 is the goal.

If you really want the ultimate get the x758 for the hydraulic all wheel drive which is just an awesome upgrade over plain old boring 2wd.

If you want a gas powered option which is a great option the x738 or x739 are just as good. The Kawasaki EFI liquid cooled engine is everything you want out of a gas engine option. The x739 adds 4 wheel steer in top of the awesome AWD.

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Rob01

· #3 · 14 d ago

I'm satisfied with my X750. Flat country here.
However, if I add a CTC loader, I will regret not buying the X758.

Toehead

· #4 · 14 d ago

I love my 332

Sergeant

· #5 · 14 d ago (Edited)

Rob01 said:
I'm satisfied with my X750. Flat country here.
However, if I add a CTC loader, I will regret not buying the X758.

I had a 2WD X485 for 11 years with a 45 Loader. Have no regrets! I would do the same thing over, except maybe buy the X495 Instead. The only reason I went with the used X748 was just more tractor weight, and it was a steal of a deal for the X748. Hydraulic front-wheel drive is nice, with the same turn radius as 2WD. But not really necessary!! Prior to the X485, I had a JD 425 with a 40 Loader. I looked at an X575,X585 & X595 at the time, disliked their turn radius in 2WD and in 4WD forget it 33-inch.

I almost bought an X465 till I learned Deere did not recommend the 45 Loader for it do to the loader frame supposedly inferring with cooling of the air cooled engine. Deere told me at the time, I could mount the 40 Loader. But I liked the simplicity of the sub-frame on the 45 loader. So figured I liked Gas, might as well get one with EFI as well. I dug a trench about 100 feet long, loader width about 36-inch deep for some drainage pipes at our 18 acre vacation property. I did more with those 2WD Garden tractors with a Loader. Then I have done with the X748 with 45 Loader, which mostly I just use for moving material at my current house. I have a Small frame 2025R compact which Mostly does Backhoe, Fork work, snow removal and some 3 point work. While I do have the X748 now don't sell the 2WD short. If Ballasted well they do a Lot of work the Hydraulic Front wheel drive will and do it well

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Jaybert

· #6 · 14 d ago

Duramaxjoe said:
Allot of discussions and great logic here. My thoughts based on my personal experience. My first new lawn tractor was a 420, with 60” deck and a 54” blade. Mowing quality was great. Snow removal (2wd) was also great. We still have the 420. I have owned a 72” deere diesel ztr, a Ferris 61” 37hp gas, a scag cheeta, gas. Also owned a kubota bx with fel, deck, and woods tiller. upgraded to a b series. These were all great machines, but not as capable as the cut quality of the 420. Fel work was never enough, too lightweight. I went back to Deere and bought a 3 series diesel. The loader was much better, safer, and easier to use. Added a big rear tiller, box blade, pallet forks, post hole digger, qc, cultivator, hiller. All work much better on the larger frame tractor. They work great, like the old 420, the 3 series will never leave. We have 2 gardens total about 1/2 acre. When I bought the 3 we also bought a 350 just for mowing. This is not what I expected, and just ordered a x750 with 60” deck just for mowing. Funny, I came full circle from new 420 over 30 year, back to the x750 (very similar in size) and I hope mowing quality. My experience is the 1 and 2 series are just too limited for “much” work, but really fun toys! 1 last thought on big zero turns, very fast, but the speed tears up on turns. Using a 3 point turn takes added time and imo makes it not much fasted than a quality tractor.

X750 is a thing of beauty. So far I’m ok with the 2wd and it’s a massive step up from my X500 series. If you like your 430 you’ll love the X750. I nearly signed for a 1 series but cut quality was very important to me. Dealer suggested an X7 was a better fit for my primary use of mowing. So far it sips fuel, has silly power, cuts beautiful, is very nimble for its size and has that icon feeling of a lifetime tractor. For your purpose/experience it sounds perfect.

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Rob01

· #7 · 14 d ago

When did Deere begin fitting the funky AWD rims to the 2wd X750?
My 2019 has the traditional rims.

Drifterbike

· #8 · 14 d ago

Had a 420 since 91. Last year made. Great unit and loved it. In 16 bought my first 1025R and saw alot of the 420 in it. I'm glade i went with the 1025 and later up graded to my 2038r. My son has my 1025R and when he starts it mowing in subdivison they all come out and mow.

BucolicBuffalo

· #9 · 14 d ago

For really getting down to mowing, I love my X750. It's not without it's faults. I got it used with low hours. The cut with a 60" deck, I am always tweaking something to improve it. If the tractor rocks left or right it can leave a little cut in the grass. Someone called it "terracing". But visibly it's mostly gone in a couple days. We are drier than normal here in central Illinois. I always carry a horsehair brush with me for cleaning screens, fender deck, and mower deck. It can be done by hand, easier by brush. Go too long and the PTO will shut off. My X750 seems just a bit more nimble around obstacles and has just a bit more excess power available than the X758. I mow faster and do a fine job with the X750. The X758 is my go to tractor for snow pushing. Diesel over gas. I can store farm diesel, where storing gasoline can be a hazard. Farm diesel costs less than other options and is delivered. No gas or fuel cans to mess around with. Use less fuel while making more power.

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Dirty Harry

· #10 · 12 d ago

Duramaxjoe said:
1 last thought on big zero turns, very fast, but the speed tears up on turns. Using a 3 point turn takes added time and imo makes it not much fasted than a quality tractor.

If you're tearing up the lawn on a zero turn then it's 1 of 4 possibilities:

1). Your lawn's root system is too new (not deep / well established enough) or the soil is too loose (sand?).
2) Your tires are under / over inflated.
3) Wrong style of tires (tread pattern too aggressive).
4) Not enough seat time behind the sticks.

Not trying to start a fight here, but the fact is that the overwhelming number of businesses & municipalities use ZTRs to maintain their lawns for 3 very simple yet important reasons:
1) The quality of cut gives lawn a nice, manicured appearance.
2) They cut very quickly, compared to traditional front steering lawn machines.
3) They are gentle on grass (when properly maintained).

If ZTRs gave a crappy cut and/or ruined lawns then no one would use them, and they never would have caught on.

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BucolicBuffalo

· #11 · 12 d ago

Dirty Harry said:
Not trying to start a fight here, but the fact is that the overwhelming number of businesses & municipalities use ZTRs to maintain their lawns for 3 very simple yet important reasons:
1) The quality of cut gives lawn a nice, manicured appearance.
2) They cut very quickly, compared to traditional front steering lawn machines.
3) They are gentle on grass (when properly maintained).

If ZTRs gave a crappy cut and/or ruined lawns then no one would use them, and they never would have caught on.

Potential quality of cut is no better or worst than a tractor. Nothing magical about a zero-turn.

Zero-turns do cut very quickly and they often seem to have a higher blade speed than a tractor. The faster the ground speed the more the quality degrades. Younger operators especially seem to push the speed resulting in a rough appearance of the lawn. Because the deck is bouncing. Can't cut what it's bouncing over.

Notice something about turf equipment like that designed for golf courses and the like, compared to zero-turns? They have lots of wheels. Often big tires compared to most zero-turns. They spread out the weight. Zero-turns are often heavy with little wheels and small tires. Soil compaction is an issue. Get them in swampy areas and they sink to the frame. In researching mowing bids on municipal properties I came across a number of communities in the suburban Chicago region that ban zero-turns from being used on their parks. I am not surprised. It takes a number of years for the ruts from zero-turn use to fade away. That problem can be minimized, but it's a lot of extra work. Most of the larger garden tractors seem to have adequate flotation tire sizes to minimize soil compaction while maintaining traction.

Ditches. There seem to be some operators who claim to be pretty good at mowing many ditches on a zero-turn. I haven't actually met any yet.

Rain. If you're on summer break from college and wearing a trash bag as a parka in pouring down rain. Best to be on a zero-turn with possibly higher blade speed when mowing commercial properties I suppose.

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Rule292

· #12 · 12 d ago

BucolicBuffalo said:
Potential quality of cut is no better or worst than a tractor. Nothing magical about a zero-turn.

Zero-turns do cut very quickly and they often seem to have a higher blade speed than a tractor. The faster the ground speed the more the quality degrades. Younger operators especially seem to push the speed resulting in a rough appearance of the lawn. Because the deck is bouncing. Can't cut what it's bouncing over.

Notice something about turf equipment like that designed for golf courses and the like, compared to zero-turns? They have lots of wheels. Often big tires compared to most zero-turns. They spread out the weight. Zero-turns are often heavy with little wheels and small tires. Soil compaction is an issue. Get them in swampy areas and they sink to the frame. In researching mowing bids on municipal properties I came across a number of communities in the suburban Chicago region that ban zero-turns from being used on their parks. I am not surprised. It takes a number of years for the ruts from zero-turn use to fade away. That problem can be minimized, but it's a lot of extra work. Most of the larger garden tractors seem to have adequate flotation tire sizes to minimize soil compaction while maintaining traction.

Ditches. There seem to be some operators who claim to be pretty good at mowing many ditches on a zero-turn. I haven't actually met any yet.

Rain. If you're on summer break from college and wearing a trash bag as a parka in pouring down rain. Best to be on a zero-turn with possibly higher blade speed when mowing commercial properties I suppose.

I have an x738 and not too far from me is a business with a Lazer ZT and an x739 that they own and cut with.

The ZT cuts nicer and stripes nicer; the x739 leaves tire tracks that the ZT does not.

Don't get me wrong, I love Deere's king of garden tractors but I disagree that ZTs cut worse. From all I've seen, ZTs cut equal or better.

And I've been amazed at how they cut side slopes on retention basins.

BucolicBuffalo

· #13 · 12 d ago

Did I say that they cut worst? Read my first sentence again. Maybe they have good operators.

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Rob01

· #14 · 12 d ago (Edited)

Gentlemen, my personal experience with commercial zero-turns, and Toro in particular, is that they do not cut as well as Deere X7 and X5 tractors. Granted, many small commercial guys do not sharpen* their blades frequently enough.......you can observe the grass is pushed over rather than cut, and with the Toros cutting height is inconsistent (scalping) resulting in poor appearance.

I'm not against ZT's, though stand-ons are more useful as they can tolerate slopes that leave many ZT's with traction woes. I think Wright, Deere and Ferris make fine ZT's and stand-ons.

* I use the angle-adjustable model 5005 from American Sharpener. No other sharpening method comes close, in my humble opinion.

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Dirty Harry

· #15 · 12 d ago

The thing with ZTRs, as opposed to traditional riding mowers, is that there is a skill set involved, and it does take time to master. But impatience & ignorance lead to crappy mow jobs - regardless of what you're riding around on.

The other factors I mentioned are an equal bane to all types of mowers: speed, proper maintenance (especially deck setup & maintaining blade condition/sharpness), and less than ideal lawn/soil conditions.

I think I speak for the majority of ZTR owners when I say that I would NEVER have invested in one of they didn't do as good of a job as traditional riding mowers - with other advantages unique to them, that made them worth the extra cash expenditure & barn space.

I already have a 54" decked Deere (GT235), long since paid off, along with a JD 4100 w/60" mmm, also paid for ...both of which cut very nicely, thank you. I wouldn't have thrown down $20k+ on a 930D 30hp Grasshopper with a bigass 72" deck, just to to own a white elephant ...or an out & out junk mowing machine. (I'm just too damn cheap. LOL)

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grnspot110

· #16 · 12 d ago

I bought my X580 in 2020:

140 hours on it now, I've been very happy with it, it replaced a 20 year old F725. I had a Bush Hog zero turn for nine years before that, good mower, but not the best for my yard with some steep slopes! The X580 does much better on the slopes & takes very little longer to mow the same area, also a lot smoother ride.

Not saying ZTR's don't have their place, just not for me!

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Dirty Harry

· #17 · 12 d ago

What I would like to see (or at least hear first-hand from), is someone who owns a Ventrac with that giant, 84" articulated, 3-section deck! I'm really curious as to how well those monsters cut (quality, speed).

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Dr Maphesto

· #18 · 10 d ago

I would much prefer a tractor style if we didn't have over a hundred trees to navigate around. That said, my Snapper zero turn has served me well for over 20 years!

trav

· #19 · 10 d ago

If I loved spending time mowing I could be very satisfied with the cut quality of a good garden tractor but I don't have all day to mow my yard and since the kids can't be outside when I'm mowing I need to get it done in a reasonable amount of time.

A funny story, we bought this place from a friend who mowed the place with old lawn or garden tractors for the first few years. He hated mowing, it took hours and hours and his mowers were always breaking down. Sometimes his friends would bring their mowers over and we would have a mowing party which would end up with us lining our mowers up in the road to settle who's lawn or garden tractor was faster, wheelie contests, ECT. I had a Bolens st40 or something like that and it was pretty fast 😂. He ended up getting a brand new 60" Dixie Chopper commercial zero turn (because they were marketed as the world's fastest mower lol) and he has loved mowing ever since 🤣

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Rob01

· #20 · 10 d ago

Most guys run gasoline, however my favorite zero-turn mowers are the diesel Z994R and Z997R due to the enhanced fuel economy.

ZTrak™ Z994R Diesel 24.7 HP (18.4-kW) | Zero-Turn Mowers | John Deere US

The Z994R is a diesel zero-turn mower with classic Z900 features, like the 7-Iron™ PRO deck, cross-porting transmission, and compatibility with Michelin® X® Tweel® Turf airless radial tires.

www.deere.com

ZTrak™ Z997R Diesel | Zero-Turn Commercial Lawn Mowers | John Deere US

The ZTrak Z900 R Series was created for contractors who demand the best and want the ultimate in features. Build your own today.

www.deere.com

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