Took my sears ztr out today.

tcreeley · Apr 6, 2012

I bought a Sears 42 " Briggs & Stratton 24hp ztr back in early March on sale. I finally had a chance to take it out today. I've always used a Sears GT 26 hp garden tractor for mowing, cleaning the horse barn, rocks, dirt etc.. I even used it with a blade for plowing. It's muddy in my area so I leave chains on it year round. Mowing the grass was the last thing I did with it! Last summer my arthritis in my left hip got so bad I could only sit on it side saddle and that made for a very tippy ride and a bit of pain.
So I bought myself a ztr to mow the grass. It is comfortable to sit on, stable, and no arthritis pain! I won't be limping back to the house half bent over this summer!
I took it out to the back field where we let the horses out. It is quick. There was nothing to mow (of course) -still finding ice in the shade- but there were scattered horse droppings around the field. I mowed them! breaking them up in to fine powder which will become invisible with the first rain.
Handled beautifully - little hard riding on the bumps!
My wife likes to ride flatwork back here and I find it hard to readily walk out to watch her- I think the ztr will become my new mobility device! I had been using my blue tractor- but not while the ground is soft- as it is today.
I like Briggs & Stratton- Years ago I had a Bolens with a 12 hp Briggs and I beat on it- wore out 2 differentials- but the motor was great. I gave it to a friend when I bought the GT.
I am curious to see how the hydro static holds up- my first- always had manual gears.

Gary Fowler · Apr 8, 2012

I have a ZTS 6000 with 26 HP motor and it will mow as fast as you can sit on it. I did recently had to have Sears repairman come replace the mounting bracket that raises the deck(electric deck motor) All the welds broke on both the attachment point for the gear motor and the attachment to the deck. I guess I need to slow down a bunch on my rough yard but while looking at the replacement, the flat bars are only welded on one side which I think is reason for them breaking. Battery went dead a couple of times also and Sears replaced that for free also. I got tired of getting stuck in the mud and discovered that the tractor lug tires from my golf cart fit perfectly. I replaced to slicks with the lug tires and I can go just about anywhere now that I dont get high centered on. Mowing around my ponds, I used to get stuck at least a couple of times per mow with the slicks, now they just power thru and dont slide down the hill. They will dig a hole in the yard if you power it around sharply so you have to be careful but on my rough yard that isnt an issue for me. I would rather have a hole than a mower in the pond and it also will now hold when mowing on the steep slopes. With the slicks it would drift down hill with me holding full reverse on the high side and full forward on the low side steering bars. If you are interested they are available from Buggiesunlimited.com
I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

toppop52 · Apr 10, 2012

I've got a Craftsman 44" ztr with a 20 h.p. ohv Kohler, it will mow anything you put it in at wide open speed if you can handle the bumps. I wish mine had electric or hydraulic lift deck, it's a hand crank affair that usually stays in one setting but would sometimes be nice to easily lift. Overall I love it!