I'm looking at a Hustler zero mower or a Cub Cadet tractor, both have the same size deck. What would I miss if I purchased one vs the other?:confused:

I think your decision should be based on how much lawn you have to cut...Which hustler model?

I had a hustler fastrack 52"/20HP Honda at my previous house..had about 1.5 acres to cut, all grass except for house. i could have it all cut in about 50 minutes. It was a great little machine, also used it to tow a spreader and lawn cart. my father in law bought it when we sold the house. i know it can be done a lot faster as the fastrak is one of the slowest hustlers out there, but it would cut at about 6-7mph, plus the blade speed was very high, resulting in a very manicured look when finished..

any zero turn will cut much faster than a tractor, although i have used a cub tractor and they are really nice. all depends on how much you want to spend.

I really like my zero turn. I bought a Gravely mainly because it had a "fabricated" deck opposed to a stamped deck. Mine is only a 34" but I love it. Look at the deck real close to see how well it's built.

LK

I love my Toro Z Master! After cutting 5 acres with an International A for years, the 72" cut Z Master has cut my cutting time down to less than 1/2.

Top speed of cutting is 12 MPH, but averages probably 7-9 MPH, big gas savings also!

Very important,,, Buy the suspension seat!!! Your back will thank you!

I have a Bunton zero-turn, 60" deck, will never own a tractor again

the only thing I would recommend with a "Z" turn is make sure you get a hydraulic drive one

I have a Toro 42" zero turn. What everybody else said about cutting speed. You really can fly across the lawn and still get a good cut. Only problem with the Toro I have is it's not designed to pull anything like a trailer, spreader, roller.

i have heard zero turn mowers have trouble on hills and such?

As long as you go up and down the the hills rather than across them is not a issue. When going across a hill it is a bit tricky to get the hang of. Add a little moring dew or moisture to the grass and it gets down right frustrating. The Zero turns are without a doubt the quicker mower. That said there are some things tractors are better at. Thats why I have my Deere 425. Can push snow, till the garden,etc.

At work we have a zero turn Kubota and a zero turn John Deere ..they replaced a John Deere Tractor and really there is no comparison at the speed at which zero turns can cut and trim a lawn.

i have heard zero turn mowers have trouble on hills and such?

As Chris said you need to go up and down the hill not across the slope. You also need to learn how to use it. You can easily tear up the turf if you get too aggressive on your turns.

We have both a Kubota 27 hp diesel tractor with a 60" deck and a Hustler Fastrak w/ 52" deck and the Honda 20 hp gas engine, and in the yards the Hustler easily takes half the time as the Kubota and you don't need to go back and trim with a different mower. We now use the Kubota strictly for field mowing and loader work. I'm thinking of buying a smaller Z turn for my mother in laws place where we have inherited the lawn duties. As someone mentioned stick with the hydro drives, a friend of mine who works on lawn equipment told me the same thing.

Hey Les,
If you want a tractor with zero turning radius, check these out!
http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductCompareView?storeId=10051&catalogId=14101&categoryId=43276&langId=-1&productId=495007&productId=162754&productId=162755
Not sure if this is what your looking for, but its one more thing to think about. :D

maybe this will help-i bought a club cadet last year, i think it was 25 or 27 hp, and the large deck-i tried 3 times to cut my grass, and if the grass was not short, dry and thin it would jam up under the deck and shut down-then i would have to break out my 15 year old sears tractor and blow right thru the grass
i returned the $2700 tractor, and bought a new $1900 sears, which i love, but i have to be a little careful if the grass gets high, or it can begin to struggle-i think its some of the new design of the decks
i thought about a 0 turn, but i needed the attachments, so i got the tractor
i think the deck on the cub was just to big and design was poor to work right

Hey Les,
If you want a tractor with zero turning radius, check these out!
http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductCompareView?storeId=10051&catalogId=14101&categoryId=43276&langId=-1&productId=495007&productId=162754&productId=162755
Not sure if this is what your looking for, but its one more thing to think about. :D

Brian, You really helped me out on this one, I didn't think to look for both features I wanted in a single unit. I'll go see it tomorrow and probably buy me a Cub Cadet zero tractor. Thanks :hurray:

http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_14101_162702_33817_-1

My grandfather bought one of these last year for me to use to mow all of his properties and it cut over and hour and a half of my mowing time from the cubcadet tractor he had before. Both had same size decks and enginse but zero turn is THE way to go. Its amazing the speed you can do it at.

If you have any questions let me know,

Andy

If you have a lot of trees, you'd never go back to a tractor after a ZTR :noway:

I grew up on the old cone-drive Dixon ZTR mowers, but after going to a hydro, I'd never even consider a cone-drive again. Dad traded the Dixon in on a Toro, which has a better deck, but I don't think it seems as agile.. the Dixon was lighter and could whip around a tree much faster. The Toro is a much better mower, but it's heavier and a little clumsy feeling IMHO (both 52" deck IIRC). My parents like the Toro a lot better, but I was 17 at the time and drove it like it was a race. :D

I used a Toro Z118 with a 42" deck for my old grounds maintenance business for a few years. Great mower, save a lot of time, but you really have to watch out for tree roots and such, the deck support system on them can only take so many hits before it needs adjustment, or worse, replacement. My employees were hard on it, and I found myself doing a lot of maintenance in return. :rolleyes: It'd last forever if they'd had to buy one. It was a commercial model, cost me around $8k. As mentioned, hills can be tricky, and make sure your root system is good, or you'll be tearin' up some sod before you know it. ;)

I own a Dixon Ram ZTR and I'll NEVER go back to using a tractor. As a matter of fact one of my tractors that the deck rotted out on is going to be use to tow a wagon and a utility trailer around.

ZTR advantages
1. Less time and gas to mow.
2. More time to drink beer.

ZTR Disadvantages
1. More time to drink beer results in getting drunk earlier in the day = mad wife.
2. Can not tow heavy tongue weight utility trailers.
3. Expensive...

Most of the commercial lawn maint companies around here use Dixie Choppers. Pricey but very heavy duty, fast, and nice cut. My neighbor has one and it really does a nice job.

maybe this will help-i bought a club cadet last year, i think it was 25 or 27 hp, and the large deck-i tried 3 times to cut my grass, and if the grass was not short, dry and thin it would jam up under the deck and shut down-then i would have to break out my 15 year old sears tractor and blow right thru the grass



If the tractor had mulching blades on it, wet or very long grass won't work.