Zero turn mowers-traction

[SilverBullit]

I recently tried a Yazoo-Kees and Bob Cat ZTR mid mount mower. Both units had very poor traction on wet grass and on inclines. Is this characteristic of this type of mower? I am mowing 6 acres as yard and another 18 acres with a finishing mower. Any suggestions?

 

[Dozernut]

I have a Kubota ZD21, zero turn mower. I really like this machine, but it is not a good mower for wet or soft ground. I tend to get it stuck about twice a month, I have on the Work Tunes and simply forget where the wet areas are. I mow some berms and ditches with no problems but there are limitations, as with any mower.
That is a lot of acreage to mow! Maybe you need a tractor with a gang mower or fence it in and raise sheep. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Will_C]

I can't claim to have extensive experience with ZTR mowers, but I have pulled out a friend's Toro a couple of times /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I have also noticed that my brother's Toro will spin a tire very easily.
Will

 

[art]

They can be quite aggressive. I have no problems with having perspective customers demo them maybe your dealer would let you demo one.

 

[Moon]

Art,
I'm not sure what you mean by "very agressive". Please elaberate. What kind of ZTR are you talking about? I'm in the market for a dedicated mowing machine, and would like a ZTR. Can you get R4 tires for them? I have one valley that stays soggy more often than not, and turf tires probably wouldn't cut it (pun intended) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Thanks!

 

[SilverBullit]

While attending the Ohio Power Equipment Show last weekend I ask several manufacturers representatives about this traction issue.

Brand to brand there did not seem to be much difference in there answers, ZTR mowers are prone to poor traction on wet ground and/or slopes greater than 15 degrees.

One salesmen gave me this example. If you are trying to mow areas where the slope is such that you could not "back" up the slope when the grass is wet, then it is too steep for a ZTR style mower.

The aggressive nature of this type of mower comes from the torque or power to the drive wheels. They can easily spin the wheels on dry grass and dig up the turf when turning, if the operator is not careful.

In spite of the traction issue I plan to purchase a ZTR before spring.

 

[Green_in_MI]

I have a Bob Cat ZTR. It's an awesome machine for mowing. Much better and faster than a CUT. Yes, you could experience traction loss on a wet incline, but what do you expect? I don't cut grass when its wet anyway. The ZTR will run circles around a tractor and the tractor is too busy to cut grass. It has real work to do.

 

[Bob999]

I found that installing wheel weights on the rear wheels helps some with traction. Also traction is much better going up a hill than going down. All ZTR's that I have looked at have safety instructions that they should not be used on slopes greater than 15%. I think that a ZTR with a piviting front axle system tend to have better traction than those with a solid frame because the solid frame tends to lift a rear wheel in some circumstances.

I will second the comments about operater technique being important. On wet ground, or slopes, it is very important to be gentle on the controls because it is very easy to spin or lock a drive wheel with resulting turf damage.

 

[Kiohio]

I will agree with bob999 100%. People ask us when they look at our ZTR's if they tear up the ground, how good they are on hills...etc. All of the questions are hard to answer. Because it wholly depends on operator techinique and the dampness of your property. If you are aggressive with the sticks you can tear up the ground and can have a hard time on hills. The more damp the property the easier it is to run into trouble. We have had ZTR's on hills that we couldn't stand on and have mowed areas with standing water in them. The user was very skilled at running the machine and knew just how to do it. As with anything....there are "users" and there are "skilled operators".

KO