Sounds like a winner.I use half the suggested air pressure,to get a softer ride.

You should use the air pressure specified in the manual to assure a proper cut. It's possible some air leaked out during shipping. The deck may have a clean-out port to hook a hose up to, or it may be a flip-up deck. In either case, a small electric pressure washer will do a great job of keeping it clean. That's an excellent machine and should give you years of reliable service.

When get chance on shopping trip look for some metal caps for valve stems not the ones that take core out round top ones is one you want tire hold air a lot longer with them.

No Ferris dealers "locally" that suspension system looks pretty awsome, just looking at pictures on the web, Probably give's a very good ride. Tires are usually shipped with excess air pressure, don't know why, just reset to spec by bleeding off or adding air as needed.
Have Fun, oh as the dealers of ZTR's have told me, on the turns just keep the inside tire driving a small amount (don't let it go to a stop) to prevent turf scaring.

On the issue of tire pressure, are you satisfied with how your lawn looks after cutting it? IF you think the extra 10 psi might make a difference, then put it in and try it. My GT takes 14 psi all around but that means nothing in comparison to the recommendations in your operator's manual.

It's easy for us to sit here and advise others on what to do or how to spend their hard-earned cash because we don't have to live with the results of the decision so it's refreshing to hear that you are truly pleased about going the ZTR route..

And yes, slowing down to make your 90 or 180 degree turns is a good idea and it's so easy to do with the controls being right in your hands at all times.

I have several friends who own landscape maintenance companies and the Ferris mowers are a mainstay. Grass build-up is un-avoidable. They do not use water to remove grass. They scrape the decks using wide bladed scrapers to get out the worst. If you insist on using a pressure-washer to clean the deck, then do it thoroughly so no grass remains. Then, start the machine up and run the mower blades for ten minutes or so to dry it out. Moist grass promotes deck rust out.

I've heard that is a great mower. I agree about scraping rather than washing the underside of the deck. A bit more work but well worth it in the long haul.

The Ferris manual recommend to "NOT" wash the underside of the deck after mowing. If you do, they recommend the mower be cooled down first, so water does not get in the bearings. With our riding mower, I washed under the deck every time I used it, so the grass would not become cement-like and very hard to get off. My husband built me a ramp near the outdoor faucet, so it was relatively easy.
I suppose I will just have to play with the tire pressure, luckily I have a very comfortable seat to absorb any shock. And yes, the independent suspension system is pretty neat.
Oh, if anyone is in the area of sw Va., or east Tenn and needs a great small dozer, my husband is moving his along. A D3. Please email privately for specs and price.

Nancy
kayn5@earthlink.net

A 68 year old man from Hannah City, IL. was just killed in a rollover accident on a Ferris mower. Don't know much more about it; just read it today on the Peoria Journal Star website. Are these mowers more liable to tip over because of their suspensions or because they don't have a wide track? Thanks.

I am the original poster of this thread. I am still in love with Ferris, this machine does a great and very neat job mowing(this is not a professional usage) . I am getting a bit clogged underneath the deck tho, with all the wet summer weather, and I can only access the underneath from one side. I used a long wooden stake to push out much of the clog, then managed to get the mower up on a tilt a bit and got more stuff out but only accessible from the one side. Then my husband told me to not use anything metal to scrape the underpart of the mower as that could hurt the finish. My feeling is old wet, then dried grass also harms the under-finish. I used to spray the underdeck of our old riding mower but have not done that with Ferris, as I hope this will be my last lawnmower.

Nancy

I have owned a Simplicity Broadmoor mower since 1996 and one of the main features I was sold on was how easy the deck could be removed. The mower deck is what wears out on a mower. All other parts, if kept properly lubricated will last a very long time, assuming good quality to begin with. First of all, most of what I am reading here is at best questionable. Scraping off the gunk that builds up under the deck is usually necessary, as even a good pressure washer has a hard time with some of it. Assuming that you mow over gravel once in a while, the bottom of the deck gets blasted with flying stones, so scraping with a stick is not going to hurt it. I have pressure washed the bottom of my deck for years, and the bearings on the blade spindles are still in very good condition. The key here is to grease them about twice a year. Mine have grease fittings, and I assume that any well made deck will have them. I think that what has kept my deck in good shape is the fact that every year at the end of the season, I scrape, pressure wash, and paint the bottom of my deck. I use traffic paint. The kind that sprays downward. I figured that if that stuff is made to hold up in full sun, with cars running over it, it should work pretty good for mower decks too. Ideally, mower decks would be made of stainless steel. Its not that expensive, and I think that a lighter gauge than steel could be stamped to keep the price down. All the whoop-la about welded VS stamped seems like crap to me as there isn't that much difference in thickness between 10 and 12 gauge. The bottom line is go ahead and scrape, spray, and paint and your deck will live a long time. Oh and one more thing. Don't cut your grass when it is wet. I am looking close at a Ferris ZTR now as I have a bigger yard. I really like the idea of a suspension system due to a bad back. As far as turning the mower over, survival of the fittest is not only physical, but of course lawyers do not understand that concept. If you cant feel the tipping point, you have no business getting on machinery.

This is a follow up to my last post re the part about tipping over. If the gentleman that turned over was on a Ferris Evolution, it is obvious why it tipped over. I have never seen machine that looks so negatively stable. The engineers that designed this machine must have had their heads where the sun don't shine.

The front tires need the full pressure. If these compress the blades will get closer to the ground resulting in a shorter cut when you hit bumps etcc...They are not to be used for suspension purposes.
I have a IS2000Z its a great mower. I cut 45 lawns a week with it using the 3 bagger. I scrape the deck several times a month and the paint is worn off but its far from rusting out. Better to keep it dry and paint every 5 years or so.
Put a new fuel filter in every 150 hours, watch for leaks in the hydraulic tank bottom-replacement is stronger,I'm switching to 5w30 synthetic oil and change seasonally of at 50 hrs filter at 100hrs. Godd luck and enjoy.

megrowgood, No it's not the mower design. Only idiots turn mowers over. Some people think they will go anywhere and do anything.

Not mentioned is the Ferris cost.
I'd venture to say that its not just $2 or 3 grand.
One usually receives what they pay for, but never all the time.

Ferris Evolution, I sure in the owners manual it has less grade limit. Hate to say it but most accidents are from neglecting limitations of the equipment and complaciency. Probably going too fast on too steep grade. Mowers like these should come with angle grade shut-off. If you exceed the angle where roll over may happen it should shut the mower off just like RIO or seat switch. Sad it comes to this, but in todays world with all the starving lawyers this is what it comes to.

Fools should be protected at any cost ?
And guess who pays for all of this ...
But Rcmoser makes a good point...I think that its better to know how to read and reason...
And, generally owners manuals can be greatly improved - todays its 90% for "safety" and foreign languages, 9% for advertising, and 1% for some useful info..No wonder people pitch them.