The biggest problem that I can see, and I am not an expert on LTs any more, is that the low end LTs have all sorts of safety switches, and you can't back up with the deck running. If you try, the engine will die.

On a ZTR, that is not the case. You can mow forward, backward and in a circle pivot in its own length.

I watch my neighbor mow his lawn 1/2 acre with a Sears LT and it takes him twice as long if not longer than it takes me to mow 2 acres, with my ZTR. My ZTR will pull most small cart attachments, roller, drag, seeder, sprayer etc. It can have a dethatcher mounted on the front if you want. It can catch leaves and grass all the time or only if you want part time.

Do your self a big favor and get everything that you are interested in brought out to your place and mow with it. Mowing at the dealer is not the same. If a dealer won't bring out a unit for you to test, shop elsewhere.

Well, you can find alot of opinions on this subject by doing a search. But the main things are that a ZTR is a dedicated lawn mower and does it extrememly well. It just doesn't do much else. A lawn tractor/garden tractor has the capability of pulling some attachments, some even using theirs to move boat trailers and small planes around, etc. Also, a tractor will generally have more stability sloped areas with a high (i.e., scary) degree of inclination. As you know, those ZTR's have caster wheels on the front with no control other than the rear drive wheels.

Notes from a LT owner...

I am not a ZTR owner ... I have two Lawn Tractors... I use these tractors for hard work frequently - probably well beyond their intended purposes ...
For example - I hauled at least a 800 lbs of stone with a 8 hp sears tractor last light [one load] ... coupled to a larger motorcycle trailer using a custom ball hitch configuration I rigged up ...
I even have those nice little Red LED lamps rigged to it - so I can haul fire wood from the back property and not need to carry a flashlight with me. (hey ... I'm living large man ! )

I only use the sears unit for the rough jobs, I keep the heaviest tasks short lived so I don't burn up the motor or gear driven tranny...

I isolate the larger tractor for lighter duty tasks like mowing the lawn - and lighter cart loads. Its a hydro tranny - i dont trust it like the gear driven sears tranny.

I feel very confident with the capabilities of my 8 and 20 hp LT's...

My Scotts 2046 does cut grass very well - BUT I do admit the scotts is NOT nimble machine (compared to a ZTR).

I would say that if you want to cut your mowing time down to a minimal amount of time - then go down the ZTR road...

If you think that your going to want more from a rather capable ZTR - you probably want to be looking at Lawn Tractors (or perhaps even a real garden tractor).

Best of luck with your decision.

My 81 year old neighbor had a John Deere Z225 I think that was the model?The 42'' deck model anyway.He used it one full season and just traded it in.On a X300 his reasoning the Z was to hard for him to get on and off and it made his arms soar constantly holding the control sticks.Why he did not go with a x320 and gain a 48''deck for easier trimming around trees is beyond me.Oh and for the old members wondering if this is the same neighbor who had the cracked frame Craftsman Yes it is.

On the subject of sore arms, I once sold a Grasshopper(ZTR) that I had to this older guy because he wanted to mow his lawn quicker. About 5 days later he calls me and begs for me to buy it back because his arms and neck are so sore he can't sleep well.

So I go over to his house and ask him to show me how he was mowing with the ZTR. He got on it and stiffened his arms with his elbows raised high and out to each side. He was basicly trying to muscle the two levers with tense arms.

I showed him how he should let his elbows drop down to his sides and just use light wrist movements. He did this for a little while and said he would try it out more on his next mowing. He finally called me back and said that he now felt comfortable and wanted to keep the ZTR.

As for the LTs being the only type mower that can accept accessories, that is changing as more ZTRs come out with more attachments. A snowblower or blade actualy works pretty well on some ZTRs. You can aerate, dethatch, spray, ,bag, etc with most ZTRs now days.

Now for the stability on hills question. Most ZTRs will handle most mowable slopes pretty well by going up-and-down VS side-to-side. If you want to mow side-to-side on a slope, there are several ZTRs that can handle this task as well. The first ZTR mower that comes to mind is the Gizmow. There are other ZTRs that can as well.

Hope I've dispelled some myths about moderen ZTRs.

ok, a 1/3 acre lot, subtracting out the drive, beds, and house should not take anywhere 1.5 hours to cut with a push mower unless you have a LOT of obstacles. but even so 1/3 acre is almost too small for any tractor or ZTR to be faster. i mean we are talking 70 feet on a side if a square lot. a ZTR is not going to save enough time over a rider to be worth the extra money.

i don't mean to make it sound like you should not use a new machine. i am speaking from my personal experience with a small lot at the house we used to rent. it actually took me longer to maneuver my L130 around than it did to cut the lot with a push mower! it was cooler to use the L130, both temperature wise and the way it looked, but it took a while longer tryign to work it in close around things.

my recommendation is to borrow one from someone or get a dealer to let you test one on your site. you may be surprised how much more work it can be!

keep in mind that if your 1.5 hours includes weedeating and blowing/raking the trimmings neither machine will help with those items.

Well, I'm not sure how a 400-lb to 500-lb snowblower could work on the front end of a caster-equipped ZTR, but I think you're pushing the envelope on that one. Seems like you'd be spending your time and energy fighting that front end mass. I mean, those small air filled casters on most ztr's are designed for some of the weight of the operator, the light front end of the platform, and a few front end weights for a bagger. But I could be wrong. I say use the right tool for the job.

And as for the Gizmow, it is pretty cool with the steering wheel vs control sticks (or joy stick), and the powered steering casters and all, but I checked the price and it's somewhere close to $20K for the Formula model, which I think is the only one they offer. How many have you actually seen out there? How about dealer support, and is there a dealer? Enough said on that one.

For mowing across slopes on a ztr, there is the Walker with, I think, locking front casters. Nice mowers, but bring your well funded checkbook on that one too. (see Tom Hoffman above:o)

Hydros on ztr's should be able to handle pulling stuff as well as any lawn tractors with the same hydros, obviously. But ztr's are just not designed for that. A compromise at best.

I appreciate all the good points that have been brought up especially david's all too accurate depiction of my actual weekend ritual which has not made this decision any easier.

I have mowed this lawn a couple times with an old 30" rider and very little time was saved with all the reversing and going in (large) circles to hit the tight spots. Hence my idea of the ZTR.
There will definitely be some time saved and less effort. But is that worth the price of a cool ZTR or even a brand new tractor? I could buy used and get the lawn mowed just the same.
My wife says treat myself but still I scrutinize. Wants over needs.

what about a ride on self propelled mower? i don't know the name of them but i see the lawn services using them in places their ZTRs are not practical. they have a little platform they tow that the rider stands on.

what about a small walk behind like the contractors use ?

Since your got some tight spots one of those would possibly suit your needs best...

it might not even take as much space as a small rider or ZT (not sure about that)...

forget about moving any firewood / stone, or snow plowing.

There are a several types of ZTRs.

You have the front mount deck type like Exmark, Grasshopper, Woods, Walker, and a couple others. Think of these as tractor units with a the big wheels to the front (castors to the rear) and then a deck mounted (most are PTO driven) in front. Most of these bigger machines can easliy handle a snowblower or blade with ease.

Next you have the mid-mount deck machines. These come in a wide varity from light residential to heavy commercial grade. Several commercial manufacturers have now built models for homeowner use (Scag, Exmark, Hustler, ect.). These are way better than light residential models like Ariens or what Sears calls a ZTR. All of these can easily handle attachments like sprayers and dethatchers. The hustler Fastrack (and a few others) can also handle a front mount snow blower.

A commercial walkbehind mower can also be called a ZTR. As davidandkasie refered to, you can put a sulky on the back of them and ride on it. It is best to get a hydro version when pulling a sulky.

Now for mowing a slope side-to-side. The argument is a little mute because with any mower (LT or ZTR) there a tendency for the lower side of the deck to cut shorter than the high side of the deck while mowing this way. Your body weight on the low cutting side contributes to this poor cutting appearance.

A decent 36" to 42" Hustler MiniFastrack ZTR mower list around $4200 and can be bought new for about $3500.

I might offer a third mower choice for you. You might try a robomower for this size lot (1/3 acre). Spend your time ejoying something else.

Dave

Like Dave said, a Robomow would be an excellent choice as well. It won't take any effort on your part after initial installation.

If you are in the Southern California area then please give us a shout. We do on-site demos all the time.

Scott
Palomar Robotics

Here is a link that might be useful: Palomar Robotics

Strictly speaking, a typical ride-on ZTR (as opposed to a walk-behind that can pivot around its rear wheels) has a MID-mounted deck, not a front deck. They can do what they do really fast, but to get into all the corners and up close to the shrubs and trees you need a genuine front mower. These used to be pretty much exclusive to the commercial category, but some smaller, domestic-class machines have come out over the years. Front mowers are rarely zero turn. They usually steer with their rear wheels. However, I have seen a couple of European front mowers that had a kind of REVERSE ZTR configuration with the driving wheels at the front and the castors at the back. With these machines, the path the deck takes is completely different from what you get with a conventional ZTR.

The biggest problem with ZTRs of ANY configuration is that most of the weight and driving force goes through two wheels. With something like a Toro Z597D where the weight of the deck is suspended from the frame of the machine, this means around 300 kg of weight - combined with driving force - through each of the rear wheels. If you have to work on soft ground, or with a loose surface, that can be a real problem.

With a conventional front-mower, with rear-wheel steering, the weight distribution per wheel is a lot more even and the weight of the deck is only partially suspended from the machine frame. With something like the new mid-articulated Stiga Titan (launched in Europe in 2008), even though it's a full professional machine there's only around 150 kg per wheel and the driving force is spread over four equal-sized wheels.