Joy Stick Or Twin Stick Steering

[marley]

I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY FEED BACK ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS WITH TWIN STICK OR JOYSTICK CONTROLS ON A ZTR. NOT MANY COMPANYS OFFER JOYSTICK CONTROLS. I HEAR THAT THEY ARE LESS FATIGUEING THAN TWIN LEVERS. IS THIS TRUE? THANKS IN ADVANCE.

[bruces]

I had a Snapper yard cruiser with a single joy stick. It was ok on flat ground but close to worthless on any kind of slope.

The twin sticks are much better.

[Matt'slawncare]

I know alot of people who wouldn't go back to the joystick, so i would go with the twin sticks. Thats all i use.

[GreenQuest Lawn]

What do you do with your other hand if you have a joystick control? Hold a drink?

I have never understood the "fatigue" when using a ZTR. I have never been tired from running the levers.

[BigJim]

You steer a Walkers twin sticks with 2 fingers on your left hand.Have to say I've certainally never had fatigued fingers at the end of the day.Sitting down all day helps to :D

[Mowingman]

Big Jim,
Actually, my fingers have given me trouble after a long day on the Walker. but thats probably due to the fact that I have some arthritis troubles.:D

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by GreenQuestLawn
What do you do with your other hand if you have a joystick control? Hold a drink?

I have never understood the "fatigue" when using a ZTR. I have never been tired from running the levers.

I tried a joystick mower once, "toy" comes to mind first.

I have use similar type in a skid steer. Takes some getting used to from the twin lever steering but doable. Not the same catagory, but do agree that they suck for hills like T-Bar steering.

Fatigue, everything will fatigue you in time.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Nice legs, BigJim! :D
Bet your female customers love having you around huh?;)


Hehe....:p


:dizzy:






















Just kidding!:D ;)

[BigJim]

:blush: Phew had me worried for a minute there BushHogBoy,Yeah some of those old girls get so exited they can hardly hang on to their walking frames.:D

[SLS]

Big Jim:

What size deck is that on your Walker?

If it is a 60" deck it is no wonder that they call you "Big" Jim! :D

[Phishook]

...two sticks are are easier to get yourself out of a wet hole also. You can put more speed on one wheel than the other.

Short sticks between your legs are even better. They're easier to get under low hanging trees and less lever movement. That's the only reason I went with Great Dane over exmark.

Any other brands use that type of lever??

[awm]

the first time i set a front mt zero turn was 87 . i was sure this thing was not in my plans. u could have knocked me over w a feather 15 min later . and i knew it was the future. to say the least it did not go back with the fella who brought it for me to try out. it was not a midmount ,which was another great step in my opinion.. joy stick i dont think so ,but i never tried one.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Yea Jim, you're welcome for the compliment! ;) :D
That Walker does seem alittle on the small side underneath you.... :eek:
The twin levers between the legs don't seem ergonomically correct to me, nor do they seem like you could have as good of control with them. I SAID LOOKS LIKE, never tried one. Just observing....I can see where they'd have plus's over big levers but don't look that good for normal usage???

[ADMowing]

We had a Snapper Yard Cruiser with the joystick and our son in law is using it now. We have all twin sticks now. The joystick is VERY jerky for me. Actually, I find myself struggling more with the joystick than with twin sticks when steering. But...... if you want to change a blade or clean under your deck on the Yard Cruiser, just turn off the gas and run it out. Lift the deck up in the air and go to work. You can do this on any flat surface and you can store it that way in your garage.

It was nice while we had it, but we didn't have many lawns. It took a pretty good beating. Deck height is a problem with that mower also. The ZTRs we have with twin sticks seem to have higher deck settings -- if you are worried about that.

[marley]

THANKS FOR THE RESPONSES. AND OH YEAH, NICE LEGS JIM.

[leprechaun_50]

I have a Snapper Pro Cruser 61" with a joy stick control and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have never had any problem mowing on a grade unless it is really steep. Then I use the AC instead.
As for being a "toy" I think that it is more what you get use to. I have used backhoes with joy stick controlls and find them to be superior to the multi-stick type.

[FrankenScagMachines]

As leprachaun said, joysticks are better for somethings. Never tried them on a ZTR, but played with some JD utility tractors. Some had joystick controlled bucket loaders. None had multi levers. The joystick was very easy to get used to and was very convenient. Then you didn't have to hunt to find the right one and seemed like multi sticks would be hard to learn and slower to use even when you did learn. I can't imagine it being that way with a ZTR since you use both hands but on a tractor with loader you can only use one hand for that and two levers and one hand don't mix, know what i mean? The joystick was very nice to use I thought... I guess it could greatly depend on the touchiness for it (what's the word I'm looking for???) as to whether I'd like it or not...
Eric