When we put the offer in on the house we eventually bought, the sellers didn't want to haul their John Deere riding mower and their big snowblower down to Arkansas with them. Probably because there wasn't much grass for them to mow, not to mention, I would assume, the lack of snow in Arkansas. So they included them in the purchase price for a reasonable amount. I was stoked to hop on the JD and mow the lawn for the first time...
That was until I actually did it, a few times. I learned a few things, as you do by gaining experience. What I learned was that, while this was a pretty nice and newer JD, it wasn't the greatest mower for this specific yard. The old owners planted a LOT of trees, bushes, shrubs, and flowers, but most of them were not bedded...in that I mean they are just standing alone surrounded by grass.
The JD would be great for cutting the grass on a wide open field, but with so many obstacles in my way, I found myself making a hundred little circles trying to hit little slivers of uncut grass. Maybe it's just a small problem, some would say 1st world problems, lol...but I knew I had another option that would be way better for my situation.
I grew up on 7 acres about 35 minutes outside Minneapolis. As young as I can remember, mowing our property, for whatever reason, mostly fell on my shoulders. We had a Toro Zero Turn, and I loved it and probably put a few hundred hours on it myself.
So when my mom told me that her now husband had replaced the Toro with a brand spankin' new Spartan...this thing: I keep waiting for my moms husband to hit a button and witness missiles pop out the sides. This thing looks less like a mower and more like a military vehicle...:
I figured I could sweet talk my way into taking the good ole Toro off her hands. After a little negotiating, I was the proud owner of the Toro I spent the better half of my younger years on, except this time, it was for MY yard.
I can't begin to explain the difference in these two machines. The Toro is probably twice as fast, if not more. The maneuverability isn't even comparable. Those little slivers of uncut grass don't even happen anymore because the Toro can squeeze in and turn on a dime to get where I need to be. I mowed my whole lawn (.4 acres) in about 20 minutes with the Toro, and I cut a lot more because I was able to get places the JD couldn't. The JD would take me about 30 minutes, and obviously cut less because of its size and turning radius.
Overall, not that their is anything wrong with John Deere, the Toro is a much better machine for what I use it for, even considering its age at 19 years old. JD makes zero turns as well and I can't speak for them because I haven't used one, but I would gander there is one out there that is on par, or even better that the Toro.
So this isn't so much Toro vs. JD, but 'traditional rider' vs. 'zero turn', and in my book, the zero turn wins by a land slide.
Now that the lawn is mowed, time for a joy ride with my daughter!
Thanks for reading and Hive on!
Let me see YOUR mowers!!! Post some pics in the comments.