Apologies for if this has been discussed at great length before but couldn't find a thread. I am on 3 acres and I have nursed my twenty year old John Deere 52 inch lawn tractor along as far as it will go. Guess it is time to spend some money. Trying to decide which avenue to go down. Lawn tractor or zero turn. Thoughts?

Zero turn will cut your mowing time considerably, more if you don't have a bunch of long cuts, it will also cut your pocketbook more as well.

zero turn.

Way easier to drink beer with a steering wheel

Zero turn for that amount of space.

Just changed from a lawn tractor to a ZTR this year. One of the best decisions I ever made.

Only advantage my lawn tractor had over my zero was that it was a little easier to service.

If you're just mowing, ZTR is the right answer. But if you use your tractor to pull any implements, trailers, etc, think twice.

This is a valid point to consider. For pure mowing though, it's no contest IMO.

I bought a Ferris zero turn last year. Has coil suspension & comfortable seat. Also as fast as a little race car.

I seldom drive it. Wife loves going fast on it.
She had never mowed in 34 years !

60" zero turn is what I'd look for.

Thank yall for the input. I DO happen to enjoy having a cold beer or two while I mow. I guess I can mow faster on a zero turn and have more time for cold beer afterwards.

Zero turn. Although, I still have my lawn tractor to pull the trailer up to the front of the property, use the aeration attachment, and use the utility trailer.

Just mowing - ZTR, 60" range
More than mowing - compact tractor with a mowing deck

Zero turns are great for relatively flat terrain. They get stuck a lot easier than a garden tractor. Sounds like you had good luck with JD. I use a 52" JD on our lake lots. Four wheel drive, power steering, hydraulic blade control, PTO driven deck. It works great but it is not as fast as a zero turn.

If drinking beer is important, look into Country Clippers. Joystick controlled zero turn. Drive with one hand, drink with the other. Best of both worlds. My parents have one and love it.

I have a Ferris and the suspension is worth it.

I have a 17 year old Z Trac 750. 60" deck, 25 horse Kawasaki motor. I mow roughly 3 acres including 1500' of bar ditch in front of my house. It has been a fantastic mower. I agree with what others have said. Other than normal wear, I have replaced one electric activated deck clutch about 3 years ago. The only negative I can add is on a damp/lightly wet lawn the inside tire will tear up your turf if you do a 180 hard turn to reverse direction quickly.
One added plus, you can always get parts for a John Deere! Oh, I can mow with a beer in each hand and the deck where you rest your feet holds a soft side Yeti with no problems!

2nd on the Ferris.

Once I got my son using the zero turn, he's almost always jumping on it while I use the weed eater. They are fun and knock down the grass fast