[Jester_2320]

I'd look in to a boot designed for the deck. White this is for a 1025R/60D I bought a SuperiorTek TKV boot. Fit I'd great and it has only plugged on me once. A quick phone call to them might save you the drilling and get a boot designed for the deck.

Thanks @MattL
I am not too concerned with a perfect fit as it is just for leaves. The boot actual is for a JD lawn tractor I modified for my 62D deck (2nd hand from my BIL), luckily the mounting holes were the same.
my concern was more on any potential strain on the hydros pulling the bin around.

 

[Jester_2320]

Indeed it can get heavy. Anything beats raking or the back pack blower come October.
I’ll try it out and if need be, empty it every few passes. If all else fails, I can make piles and suck them up as well pulling with the 46R. Not a good as mulching but it’s something.

 

[Jester_2320]

I have a Z540M and just replace the right transaxle at 90 hours. It's working great now. The transaxle on this one is not serviceable and only has a small reservoir which must be kept to the full level line.
Proceed with caution.
When it comes to mowing lawn clippings and leaves: I raise the deck up and just start cutting it all up.
I cut the leaves up by blowing them to the middle and just mow around in a circle until they are gone.
Grass clippings pretty much the same way, but I spread them out until they are gone. No raking any more.
I have a yard full of Maple trees so plenty of leaves. I can have them all cut up in a couple hours.
Way faster than raking and hauling.

I do applaud the effort is mulching everything but I also make compost and leaves are a big component yearly.
I usually had to collect the first month of mowing due to thick grass and windrows but with the ZTR this year I haven’t had as much of an issue.
always with caution

 

[Jester_2320]

I’ll call it a work in progress. Yes it works but I have to improve the hitch, too many moving pieces

 

[Jester_2320]

I have the cyclone rake XL on my z950m. I love it. I do have one slope and always hit that first (empty). The biggest issue is remembering that you have an 8 foot tail - my neighbor borrowed it, didn’t listen and whacked his new car (yikes).

if it gets full ((especially if just grass), it gets heavy and will definitely wag the dog. I’ve found it best to be intentional and slow with all movements on the controls.
It’s wonderful though, great pairing. I have the 60d deck, (same as the 1025r deck) and I use the boot from my tkv20 that I sold when moving to the ztr.

how is it attached to the rear of the mower?

 

[Jester_2320]

Cyclone Rake Classic on my John Deere Z530R.

I am adding a Cyclone Rake Classic to my John Deere Z530R zero turn mower. OK, got a great deal on the classic in pristine condition ($500), runs great, had always been kept inside. I did have to add a longer discharge hose and new MDA, so I now have about $800 in it.
WELL…. I called cyclone for advice and they told me to use the standard hitch directly to the back of the mower. Bad advice!!! I love my mower, but the green guard on the back of the Z500 series mower is great for keeping your hands safe from the muffler, but not for mounting the rake hitch. (I’ve seen destroyed guards on other posts.)
So, I added the JD rear bumper, which is available for many of the JD Zero turns for less than $200. I then had a friend add a welded plate and nuts to this bumper and now can easily mount the standard hitch plate.
Let me know if you have any questions.

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well done. I just have the standard plate with a hole to pull a trailer still. New property with only 1 small hill so we will see how the fall goes with leaves.

 

[Jester_2320]

We had one of those (similar anyway) on our Sears underbelly mowers back in the 1970s in NJ. Had about 5 acres with lots of mature oak trees. Told them I'd take over the mowing again if they let me buy a ZT. Bought a Scag.

Just mowed with discharge directed inward until it started to choke down. Then turned around for one round. Then went back to mowing inward. Ground up the leaves nicely. Not good to completely remove leaves from under trees. They need nourishment from the dead leaves. Grind up, and they don't harm the grass. I've only ever used a mulching mower on our own leaves.

I agree with the nutrients added back into the soil. Each spring my yard was so thick my 2320 would leave terrible rows even with gator blades. When I got the ztrac the cut was much better but that didn’t stop the leaves. I also compost so collecting leaves was the bulk of my material.