Steering wheel zero turn mowers

[Jeffbecky1]

Any opinions on zero turn mowers with steering wheel?

 

[Guido Salvage]

Toro made one up until about 4 years ago and I think Cub Cadet still does.,As I recall the Toro used rods to control the pumps which could make it hard to steer at times.

I viewed them as more of a gimmick to sell to residential buyers who were scared of a stick operated zero turn.

 

[Al Smith]

Yazoo made them .I'm not sure if they still do or not .They steered by a single rear wheel . Some were large and if I'm not mistaken had a large model with a Wisconsin two cylinder engine .

 

[Larry B]

The yazoo is not like the steering wheel Z's. I had a 76" one with a 22hp Kohler. Steering was manual with a chain from the steering wheel to the wheel you sit on. Not for the weak of arms plus sitting on the wheel beats the heck out of you. The cub cadet has a complicated set of rods to the pumps and gears to the front wheels. The front wheels don't caster. As one of my customers says. A zero turn for my wife.

 

[Al Smith]

I had a buddy who had an old Yazoo he had defeated the seat switch .He hit a big bump which caused him hit the shuttle lever that literally un horsed him right over the front then that big mover circled round and chased him running full throttle .He was real lucky not to get mowed into pieces . The same guy years before got launched from a 1950 Matchless 500 cc motorcycle by hitting a clothes line . He seemed to lose his concentration at times .

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Any opinions on zero turn mowers with steering wheel?

Many of the "pro" mowers around here in the hills of west central PA have switched over to the PRO series KW S Cub Cadets. I see many on trailers and out working. I know a few of these fellows and asked them what they thought of the steering wheel / front wheel turning. Their replies were unanimous - better control on hilly terrain. Now these were all the PRO series - not the standard steer homeowner models. One group had the top of line 35 HP Kawasaki, dual rear wheels and 72" deck. He said it was the best mower he never had and had been mowing professionally over 20 years. He said that they contract mowed a flood control area and with this unit they could mow straight across instead of how they used to mow up and down the 30+ degree banks. Several years ago - our cemetery association bought 2 of them - one a 560 PRO with 27 HP Kawasaki 60" deck and a smaller 48" deck steering wheel model with the Kohler engine offering. We traded 2 John Deere 4 wheel steer units in on them - or should say we gave them away lol. The 2 fellows that mow almost full time with them love them. I looked them over pretty good and spoke to mechanics at 2 different Cub Cadet dealers in our area. Pretty good reviews with the Parker pumps and both the higher end Kawasaki and Kohler engine offerings. Zero problems with either the power or manual steer models. One of the pro mowers that I spoke to had 1700 hard hrs on his 560 KW S with just routine maintenance. That was good enough for me - I bought the boss her own 560 PRO KW S so she could take over the grass mowing duties now that she is retired (and loving everyday of it). We have a 25 degree slope on the back of our septic sand mound and she mows it straight across without a hint of a wheel slip or spin. She is extremely comfortable with it and it mows perfectly and to watch her zip our our 2 acres of grass down is worth a fortune. I'm not dissing traditional zero turn mowers and there are tons of them around - especially the pro series. But they are just limited in their ability to mow banks and slopes without sliding. My opinion is that the front steer zero is superior although pricey for the average user. Cut quality is the same - comparing apples to apples with engine size, blade type and deck size all factored in. I do all my own maintenance - on all our equipment - nothing on this new Cub that I can't handle so we are looking for the long haul on the 560. I'm not retiring my 2 John Deere 140 tractors or my New Holland compact with Landpride 3 PT finish mower and brush hog, but they will be working a lot less now.

 

[stretch5881]

My first riding mower was a 1948 Devere. It had a sulky with steering wheel and seat. Steering was effortless. It had an 18hp Wisconsin that nothing could stall and a 60" cut. I could cut grass and level the high spots at the same time. I bought this one, a 1950 the same size and a trailer load of parts for them for 600.00. The 1950 a buddy bought from me to keep down brush in his woods. This was in the early 1990's. A fellow with a horse farm bought them from us and is still using them today.
Todays zero turn steering are over complicated in comparison.

 

[Jeffbecky1]

Many of the "pro" mowers around here in the hills of west central PA have switched over to the PRO series KW S Cub Cadets. I see many on trailers and out working. I know a few of these fellows and asked them what they thought of the steering wheel / front wheel turning. Their replies were unanimous - better control on hilly terrain. Now these were all the PRO series - not the standard steer homeowner models. One group had the top of line 35 HP Kawasaki, dual rear wheels and 72" deck. He said it was the best mower he never had and had been mowing professionally over 20 years. He said that they contract mowed a flood control area and with this unit they could mow straight across instead of how they used to mow up and down the 30+ degree banks. Several years ago - our cemetery association bought 2 of them - one a 560 PRO with 27 HP Kawasaki 60" deck and a smaller 48" deck steering wheel model with the Kohler engine offering. We traded 2 John Deere 4 wheel steer units in on them - or should say we gave them away lol. The 2 fellows that mow almost full time with them love them. I looked them over pretty good and spoke to mechanics at 2 different Cub Cadet dealers in our area. Pretty good reviews with the Parker pumps and both the higher end Kawasaki and Kohler engine offerings. Zero problems with either the power or manual steer models. One of the pro mowers that I spoke to had 1700 hard hrs on his 560 KW S with just routine maintenance. That was good enough for me - I bought the boss her own 560 PRO KW S so she could take over the grass mowing duties now that she is retired (and loving everyday of it). We have a 25 degree slope on the back of our septic sand mound and she mows it straight across without a hint of a wheel slip or spin. She is extremely comfortable with it and it mows perfectly and to watch her zip our our 2 acres of grass down is worth a fortune. I'm not dissing traditional zero turn mowers and there are tons of them around - especially the pro series. But they are just limited in their ability to mow banks and slopes without sliding. My opinion is that the front steer zero is superior although pricey for the average user. Cut quality is the same - comparing apples to apples with engine size, blade type and deck size all factored in. I do all my own maintenance - on all our equipment - nothing on this new Cub that I can't handle so we are looking for the long haul on the 560. I'm not retiring my 2 John Deere 140 tractors or my New Holland compact with Landpride 3 PT finish mower and brush hog, but they will be working a lot less now.

I found a good used (2016) Toro with steering wheel zero turn. I have some hills in my yard. So far I like it.