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. - Yea, can't help you with load on the transmissions - I've got about 4hours total time on a ZT (they complicate cigar smoking) and know even less about their strengths/limitations. Good luck!

 

If the ZTR is commercial grade, I wouldn't be concerned. If its not, I would be.

One thing to check would be to see if the ZTR has a bagger kit available from Deere. If they will sell a bagger kit for the mower from the OEM, then the hydro's could likely handle the extra weight and strain. On the other hand, if it doesn't, I would proceed cautiously as I was at my buddy's shop yesterday who I buy my ExMark from and he showed me repairing the hydro's on one machine, the bill was nearly $5,500 and only $600 of that was labor, the hydro parts prices have gone through the roof.

Plus, the time to get them is crazy slow. He has one machine which has been down now 10 weeks waiting for hydro parts..........Even though the machine brands are different, many use the same engines and hydro's, so be careful about possibly damaging yours.........

When you add a bagger to the Zero turns, it requires adding front ballast, plus the weight of the material collection system itself. If the machine can handle the weight from the factory, then I wouldn't be as concerned about using the cyclone rake behind it. I happened to read the Operators Manual for the MCS for my ExMark on Sunday and the MCS system and counter weights and deck blower weigh a combined 460 pounds when installed. I thought that sounded crazy, until I put the MCS system on it myself..............

 

Looks like Deere offers a MC System for the z530r, for $1,728, which they describe as a two bagger system. I didn't see anything about counter weights or other ballast and they refer to it as a 48" system, even though I indicated the 60" high flow deck. So, I guess I would proceed cautiously and if the Z530r is new, I would definitely change the hydro oil at 50 hours and then every 150 hours or so, or more often if using the weight of an additional implement behind the machine.

If it is new, just be careful adding the cyclone rake doesn't invalidate your warranty coverage, as it may be much more than the machine was intended to carry or move. The rake can get very heavy when full of clippings and leaves.

 

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.

 

I have a brand new Z530r with the JD MCS system. I can confirm that there is a weight kit/bracket for ballast. The weights that are part of the JD package are two 42 lb weights. The JD 2 bag system is 6.6 bushels so not huge. My Zturn has the 54" high capacity deck and no problems with weight or unusual lag with the MCS. That said, I only have 6 hours on the machine - I bought it for leaf duty this fall. So, more info / experience to come.

 

I have the same setup bought this spring. Sold my old BushHog ZT with Agri Fab now in vac. The JD bagger does not mulch the leaves as well as the Agri Fab did. Fills the two bags up super fast. I have a 4 wheel trailer that I dump into and haul off in the woods for my compost pile.The new Z530m with bags work well, but it’s a lot of dumping. If money was no object, I would get aheavier duty mower that could handle something like the CycloneRake.
Side note that I like the concept of the hitch on the Cyclone much better than the traditional tongue on the Agri Fab for turning.

 

I previously ran my Cyclone rack behind a Dixie Chopper ZTR. The weight never seemed to cause any issues for forward motion on the DC. The "pin weight" on the Cyclone Rake is not bad as the design puts most of the weight on the wheels of the rake. The issue I had, when the load got heavy, was the "tail wagging the dog". This was especially bad when I used it a few times to collect grass! When the bag started getting full and I did a "zero turn" I had to adjust so that I did not end up turning 270 degrees! Overall, I would say it was not a super friendly set-up. I chose to just mow more often and keep the leaves managed rather than try to clean them up rake.

 

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 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

 

I think a z530 would be on the light side for any cyclone rake. The pumps/hydros on the small units are well... small and probably wont like dragging around 40 bushell of material. If you do proceed I would buy the smallest on they make.

 

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

 

I just did the cyclone rake xl in my z950m. I am also not super happy with the hitch. I’m thinking about getting the JD factory hitch and welding the CR hitch to it. Before I do that, I do have a ticket opened with CR since I few like they got the hitch wrong for my machine.

 

The CR was a bit too pricey for my cheap a$$! So I picked up a monster vac for $100 at a yard sale… and made it work! And I was surprised how well it works!!

 

I have used a Cyclone behind my JD zero turn going on 4 years with no issue. As for sloped areas I just do them shortly after emptying the trailer and get along fine. My mower is not a commercial unit and I use it for collecting leaves on approximately 5 acres with lots of trees. I have collected grass clippings occasionally. With grass clippings or wet leaves you can feel push from the trailer as it gets fairly full. I just go empty it at that point. I bought it used from a neighbor who was moving. It is the larger unit (XL??). I adapted the deck attach unit and created a very simple hitch. I am considering attaching it to my 3033R with 72 inch mid mount mower. My plan is to make it easily adaptable to both so I can continue to vacuum the more congested areas but reduce the strain/hours vacuuming with the Z turn. Maybe I have been lucky?? Ken

 

 

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?

 

I used the bracket from cyclone rake. It was actually a PITA because I have the cast iron weights in the rear bumper. I cut the bracket (from CR) with a sawsall, ground it smooth then slid it up into place. Then I used the mounting hardware from CR to secure it. It’s lower than I’d like (again due to the weights I have e) but only by a bit.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Does anyone on here use a Cyclone Rake on the ZTR? I sold my 2320 to and now have a 530R for mowing. With fall around the corner, I am asking if anyone has used a cyclone rake. I do have to drill new holes to attach the boot and figure out how to attach the mounting plate to the machine. Not a big issue. the machine has a pin plate for up to 300lb pulling.
I understand my usage on sloped front yard will be off limits but would like to at least get the back yard which is flat. open to all suggestions.

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.

 

I have a Cyclone and a JD zero turn. It works well for me. I am able to ride the ditch slopes fine. I just start on them when the Cyclone is empty and work the flatter areas as it fills. I do around 4 acres and half of that has lots of leaves the other half has some but not so many. Somewhere I have a picture my wife took last fall. If I find it I will attempt to share it (not sure I know how). It looks like a photo for a Cyclone advertisement. Ha. I do not pick up the grass clippings through the year. The leaves are piled and left to rot down and then mixed with some aged manure from my neighbors feedlot (looks like top soil)(little to no odor) and spread on the yard in the fall. Ken