Need Your Help Designing A BETTER Zero Turn Mower

[ted corriher]

Most of you here at Lawnsite are familiar with our Tedbrakes Front Braking System, and we are seriously considering building our own line of Zero Turn Mowers and you might be surprised at the name I've picked - Redneck Mowers Inc. Our slogan is, "Built Like a Brick Sh!t House" but don't let the name get in your way. If you Google this phrase, it is actually a compliment.

We want your ultimate mower wishlist of features . . . ALL OF THEM!

Here are some of the main issues that we are planning to address when designing the Best Mower ever built, and you can be a part of it. We have the Manufacturing Capabilities already in place at Construction Attachments , our family company here in North Carolina. The only thing we lack is a Trump Laser which is on the way.

Those of you who know me personally know that when I do something, I only know how to do it one way. My goal is to built the best ztr mower that has ever been built to date: I play hard, and I play to win.

The first three models that we are designing are going to be Full Commercial Mowers, but meant for the serious homeowner too. Some of the features that we are looking to build into our mowers are four wheel independant torsion bar suspension, shaft driven mower decks for reliability with the dual belt design. All pump drive belts will be dual belts as well. If a belt doesn't slip, then it doesn't wear.



Also, all mowers will be equipped with the patent pending TedBrakes front braking system and fold down ROPS for safety.

With new mowers holding upwards of twenty gallons of fuel, Bad Boy has the patent on swing away fuel tanks, which work great for maintainance but you still need four five gallon cans and a funnel to fill them up, or you can load it on the trailer to take it to the gas station. We like the idea of four removable tanks, two on each side with a gas feed at the top and removable with a quick disconnet like an outboard boat and a vent system that will never leave gas on your mower.

Next up on our idea list - All cast iron pulleys with large American Made Bearings. Not sure about you guys, but I am tired of getting a cheap idler pulley that says "Made In USA" riveted together with a cheap chinese bearing that has a short life.

These are just a couple of design staples associated with the new Redneck Mowers, and we want your input on what you think will make this mower better.

Our goal is to keep the price of these mower where they should be while providing the best mower built with the best price.

Please put as many of your ideas that you want to see in a mower in this thread, and together we can create the best mower to date!

[DUSTYCEDAR]

Right on brother
go 4 it

[Hoy landscaping]

gear driven mower deck. make it able to cut at full stick.

[MAD87]

"Our goal is to keep the price of these mower where they should be while providing the best mower built with the best price."


Good luck with that

[WREBELMACHINE]

I could probably get you in touch with the guy who designed and built the bladerunner mower. Best ztr I have ever been on to this day.

[gtmorgan89]

1. Don't name it "Redneck mowers." If you do you will only be competing with dixie chopper, and most will think you're a joke. I see it all the time here in TN, and those businesses don't seem to stay around very long.

2. Copy the Toro Turboforce or Scag velocity deck.
3. Big hydro pumps. IMO Hydrogear brand pumps are twice the pumps as Eaton.
4. Don't put the skateboard grip tape on the foot deck, It gets dirty and is impossible to clean.
5. I like the idea of a OCDC from the factory like John Deere does now.
6. Also a Z-stand which Toro makes is a nice addition to a mower.
7. Make some sort of hose to drain the oil, I hate when manufacturers make it impossible to drain the oil out of a mower and oil goes everywhere.
8. I think the fuel tank under the seat is a good idea, and seems to be the standard now.

I like the idea, and will try to think of more things to add.

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by WREBELMACHINE

I could probably get you in touch with the guy who designed and built the bladerunner mower. Best ztr I have ever been on to this day.

The mower with the left hand discharge? What ever happened to those mowers?



DON"T GO THERE TED.

[ALC-GregH]

Why is he mowing dormant grass with snow on the ground?

[dwlah]

Heres a couple of thoughts
Grease fittings should be at a minimum number and the ones you do have to deal with should be easy to get to
Mid mount mower should be able to open up foot plate with deck up or down
to access top of deck as needed
decent size discharge chute
Deck pulley system simular to everride with pull bar to tighten idler pulley after you route the belt around everywhere
Make routine maint easy changing the fluids and plugs shouldnt be a major production
Stuff that wears out needs to be normal sized stuff no odd ball tire sizes belts or one off spark plugs
If Im across town I should be able to go into NAPA and get what I need

Removable gas tanks may be what a homeowner may want but Im just going to stop at the gas station and fill it up anyway
If I did the removable tanks Id have 2 five gal tanks at most and make them so they could work from either side
I do like the idea of a large fuel tank on the big mowers It would be nice to be able to run about 20-25 hours of run time on one tank of fuel
OK Ill think on this some more when I go outside tomrrow and try to do something constuctive

[mowerbrad]

First off, I would never buy a mower named "Redneck Mower", so rethink the name for starters.

Then a few more general ideas....

1) Easy maintenance/service
2) Fast ground speed
3) Cutting deck able to cut well in a variety of conditions
4) Variety of engine options