Lawn Boy ZTR???

[Hawk83]

anybody own, operate, or heard anything about the Lawn Boy Z's.. i know the name is good, been around for ages, hell i have 2 of their commercial push pieces myself, thats all i started out with actually, so i know they can make a mower, but i'm just a little leary about them making a quality Z for under 4k. I think they have only a 44" deck, which screams home owner, but its being sold as a commercial unit i beleive. Just wondering all your thoughts on this catagorically inexpensive machine.. any good, or just a garden tractor that turns on a dime??

Hawk

[MBDiagMan]

I looked at their site with my biggest concern being their hydro drive choice. They were very vague about this only calling it "Dual Hydro Drives."

From this I would bet a dollar to a hole in a donut, that they are using integrated drives. As far as I am concerned, no one should be allowed to rate a mower commercial if they are using integrated drives.

If you only need it for light use, however, you need to find out if they are using the IZT or EZT model integrated drive. The IZT is built tougher and although only rated for 800 hours use, if you are using it only modestly and take care not to get water in the drive vent tube when washing, it might serve you okay.

All that said, I don't know for sure that they are not using individual pumps and motors, but if they are, then they are magicians to be able to sell one for that price.

Good luck,
Doc

[MASTERMOWER]

Lawnboy is now owned by Toro. The lawnboy ztr you are talking about is essentially the same model as a homeowner toro ztr. (Actually the Toro model has more bang for your buck) If you intend to use it commerically don't expect it to last very long.

[Hawk83]

ah ha! these were all my thoughts, and fears, but for that price i was hoping it was only in my head lol.. oh well thanks for the input guys, i might look at the toro that was mentioned, just for kicks, i like how compact that machine is, tho. but seriously, i'll probably go with something much tougher and even more compact, perhaps a great dane surfer or the wright stander, for which i will have to sell a kidney to pay for in comparison to a lawn boy z, lol ... i hear they are very much worth it tho.. any hoo, thanks for the input and feel free to chime in about the stand on category if you have some experiance with that style of cutting.. Hawk

[moneyman]

Ive been eyeing a husqvarna z type mower that is $3000 at the hardware store. It looks like it is commercial type duty but says its resdiential. Would it hold up well?

[MBDiagMan]

moneyman,

Again, you are just NOT going to find a Z for under $4,500 bare minimum that has individual pumps and wheel motors. If you are going to mow commercially, don't even THINK about a Z mower with integrated drives which I can promise that a Husky Z for the $3000 level has.

Good luck,
Doc

[jgc8fan]

The Snapper FastCut ZTR runs about $4200, and has seperate pumps. That's what we bought. It is listed as a residential mower, but seems to do okay. The engine on it is the same 18HP Kohler that's used on the larger Scag WBs (and only runs $638 new to replace, and for $799 you can get a 25HP Kohler that fits as well). It is somewhat underpowered for thick grass (which is why I'm looking at upgrading the engine). It's also a 44" deck, and is also available in a 50" with 20HP Briggs V-Twin for about $5100. It's actually the first ZTR that came out after Simplicity took over and is just one of their mowers with Snapper Logos on it. Only one gas tank though... I'd spend a little more and get one of the smaller Exmark's with a Kawasaki engine if I had it to do over.

One thing in defense of the Snapper though... Even for what it is it's a tough sucker. Not like some of these plastic ZTRs that are showing up at HD and Sears. The only plastic on the Snapper are the side pods (which house the gas tank, and the hydro tank/controls). The rest of the mower is all thick steel.

The biggest tricks we learned with it is to avoid Gator blades (they are too thin, and require an extra washer to keep 'em tight), and avoid the Snapper and Simplicity branded deck belts. we went through 3 belts last year before the dealer got us a Ferris branded belt that cost twice as much, but has lasted a year and a half and still going. The other thing with the deck belt is that it has 3 tension levels, and comes from the factory on the middle setting. Alot of our belt losses were due to it slipping off when hitting objects hidden under the grass. I moved it to the tight setting, and have run over electrical boxes, landscape lighting, etc... (what idiot puts an outlet in the MIDDLE of the yard!!!), and it's ground them to bits without slipping. :lol: