ruff riding zero turn

[Ric27]

I have a Dixie Chopper and it beats the heck out of me on my ruff 3 acer yard. Anyone added front suspension on there mower. Did it help much.

Ric with a backache

 

[beenthere]

:welcome:
Small tires are what makes for rough riding.
Get a machine that has larger diam rear wheels and your ride will be so much improved. Larger front wheels will help too, but the rears are jolting your back.

And/or smooth out the rough lawn. Maybe a heavy roller (but the Dixie likely won't pull it) used in the early spring will help the rough lawn.

 

[Jim Thompson]

Check your tire pressure. Many people over inflate them. I only run 10 lbs in the rear tires on my Grasshopper and 12 in the front per the owner's manual. 13 lbs on my Exmark. Don't know what the Dixie takes.

 

[ztnme]

My ZT came with 35 lbs of air in all 4 tires ! Taking it down to the recommended pressure in the user manual helped. Next step for me, as the others noted, is smoothing out the yard !

 

[dbear]

...(but the Dixie likely won't pull it)...

Why do you feel the need to go there? You were doing so well sounding knowledgeable until you made this unsubstantiated comment. Per a Dixie rep, the Coatesville will easily pull 2000#; Silver Eagle will do 1000#. Most 60", water-filled, home owner rollers top out at 1100# to 1200#.
Ohio Steel Lawn Roller — Steel, 60in.L x 24in.Dia., Model# 60T | Lawn Rollers | Northern Tool + Equipment

As the others have mentioned, tire pressure would be the first thing I checked. I run 12 in the fronts and 8 in the rears on my DC. Only a couple places in my yard where it's really rough can I not run wide open.

The sprung forks are becoming more popular with a number of manufacturers and with lawn care pros, but I have no first hand experience with them.

 

[picker77]

My Scag 61" Turf Tiger beat me around pretty good at first when I ran it at a good clip, and I found out the front tires came with 20+ lb in them, and the rears had nearly that much. I put slime in all four tires and deflated the fronts entirely (they have a stiff enough sidewall to run "empty"), and took the rears down to 10-12 lb. Then, because that changed the overall cut angle, I put it on the concrete shop floor and spent most of a morning going carefully through the deck height adjustments. It's perfect now, cuts smooth as a golf course machine, and the ride is MUCH improved. FWIW, I can also feel a definite increase in ride harshness when I run it with a full gas tank, which is about 90 lb of fuel. It's more comfortable at 1/2 tank or less. Of course, I could also slow down some. Luckily, the 6 acres or so of open pasture I mow with it is mostly pretty smooth, and of course around the house it's no problem anyway, I just drop the deck on the ground and go.

 

[lizardman]

Lower tire pressure helps, but it also can aid in tearing the turf when turning. When running my JD810a at 10psi, it tears mcuh worse than when I have it at 15-20. As mentioned above, keeping the fuel level low is a good idea too.
Overall though, I agree that ZTRs ride much rougher than I am comfortable with. If I had known that it would be so rough, I would have bought an x5xx series instead.

Good luck with your back. I feel your pain!

Rod

 

[DanD78]

I put a spring suspension found on ebay. I think it works great.

Dan



Seat Suspension John Deere Z Trak 737 757 777 797 997 - eBay (item 150354716588 end time Aug-19-10 14:13:57 PDT)

 

[picker77]

Are zero turn mowers typically a rougher ride than lawn or garden tractors? I presently have a Kubota G1800 AWS and have been thinking about a zero turn. How will the ride compare?

I don't think they are inherently rougher riding. My JD rider isn't any easier riding than my Scag ZT, but since it would take me three times as long to mow the same acreage with it, I'd suffer just as much in the long run. I suspect after new 60" or larger ZT owners realize how easy they are to mow with and how fast you can get done with your mowing when it's 100 degrees out, they tend to crank up the ground speed and get beat up some, and then complain. Plus they realize they can easily mow stuff like several-acre pastures that used to be out of the question for the rider, and any mower will beat you up some on rougher ground if you push it too fast. There are a few with front suspension, but I always felt that was mostly for show and extra profit, since the rear axles are what busts your kidneys. Remember the weight difference, too. My 350# JD rider rides different than my 1300# Scag over rough ground. More weight on solid axles adds up to a bit rougher ride.

A good suspension seat will make all the difference in the world. I need to get one for my Scag. The new ones come with that, but I'd have to cough up $500 and do some metal work to adapt one of them to my 2003 Turf Tiger. Since I have to do some minor fabricating to adapt whatever I buy anyway, I'm investigating third party suspension seats. I know there are some good ones out there.

 

[jcmseven]

I believe ZTR's do ride worse than other common machines mowing. First, they have, in general, very short wheelbases. While this enhances handling, it kills the ride. Second, they move fast. We are all told to mow at WOT as fast as we can, which may not be the desired 10 MPH speed claimed by some manufacturers. Third, the operator sits directly in front of the largest location of mass on the machine, making for a harsher ride. Finally, even in commercial ZTR's the largest common tire size for the rear is 24x12x12, which is still so low profile that it does little to reduce shock. As most know, Ferris makes a front suspended ZTR. I personally have never tried one, and some local mowers I know have had poor service from the ones they have had, but in theory the front strut system should really smooth the ride. The other issues noted above would still be present though.

John M