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Justin Ludwig
04-13-2015, 8:10 AM
I got to mow my place with a friend's 60" BadBoy last night to see just how economical one would be. Now I feel like a kid in a candy store.

I'll need an extra write-off this year as 3 cabinet jobs paid after Dec 31. So the wife is allowing me to buy one, FINALLY!

A 60" deck would be nice, but we're setting the budget cap close to $4k. Do any of you have a ZT around that mark? Give me a review of your mower if you do, please. I'm not brand loyal yet - I'm quality/durability loyal.

I take very good care of my equipment, but I don't want something I'll have to replace pumps or spindles on in a few years. My current 42" Lawn Chief was free (hand me down from a friend) and I've made it last 10 years - and it's still going. I mow about 2 acres of my place and it's moderately hilly and fairly rough in spots, but I keep the rocks cleared.

Ole Anderson
04-13-2015, 9:18 AM
Just curious, how is buying a ZT a write off?

By the way I have a JD Z425 and am happy with it. Went with the 48" version due to storage space in my garage, and my lawn really isn't all that large. My son has a Cadet and has driven both and says mine is twice as fast. I am thinking something is wrong with his.

Brad Adams
04-13-2015, 11:04 AM
You have to have equipment to mow around the shop. Easy tax write off. As for the zero turn, I would stay away from it if your terrain is hilly. I struggled with a Dixon for two years on my hills, before trading it in on a lawn tractor. The zero turns are miserable if your hills have any slope to them. I would try one out first before you commit to buying one.

Jerome Stanek
04-13-2015, 12:05 PM
You have to have equipment to mow around the shop. Easy tax write off. As for the zero turn, I would stay away from it if your terrain is hilly. I struggled with a Dixon for two years on my hills, before trading it in on a lawn tractor. The zero turns are miserable if your hills have any slope to them. I would try one out first before you commit to buying one.

I have a Dixon that handles hills very well the first one was to small for hills but the newer bigger ones are nice. I like the Exmark units but they are a little pricey. I did trade show display for Exmark and saw most of the brands out there and I would look at the Badboy mowers.

Mike Lassiter
04-13-2015, 12:26 PM
I have a Kubota ZD331 with 60" deck. Excellent machine! I think we've had it going on 7 years now. Paid around $12K for it new with zero percent financing. The "D" means diesel engine, 31 hp - it's a beast. I was working 12-16 hours a day and mowing constantly was getting away from me. I have a tractor with a 6' bushhog also but trees, lots of trees make it slower than something with a smaller deck that is faster and more maneuverable. I mow about 5.5 acres at my house and more on rental property and farm (bushhog there mostly). The mower cut mowing the field above our yard from 2-1/2 hours or so to 1-1/2 hours. Seat made of material that your butt seems to stick to. What I mean is I have some fairly steep slopes going by roadside on field and so forth that machine is tilted enough that when I mowed with riding mower you would slide to the down hill side of the seat and kind of have to brace yourself to stay seated. The seat has arm rest that raise up (keep mine that way) and the material really holds you in place so you aren't sliding from side to side while mowing. A Cadet mower I used at previous work and a very slick seat cover that I disliked a lot after running my mower. Maybe too much for what you need, but smaller engines hp's are available. The only thing I have that to do so far is replace the blades and change fuel filters. The ZD331 comes with run flat front tires and wide rear tires - machine weight a bit over 1700 lbs. It DOESN'T like muddy ground. I got stuck in it twice the day I got it trying to mow my yard a couple of days after a good rain. Too heavy to push, had to pull it with the tractor....

Lee Schierer
04-13-2015, 12:31 PM
Where I used to work, they had a zero turn mower. You could see the divots left by the non-turning wheel at each place it turned.

Matt Meiser
04-13-2015, 1:20 PM
$4K won't get you a new commercial grade machine. You need to spend about triple, including the pretty-much-not-optional MowJack for accessing blades (unless you get a Kubota which has one built in) and a couple sets of good quality blades so you can rotate fresh ones on regularly. I bought a Husqvarna because I like and trust the dealer but first I price shopped in my area a little and I wasn't going to save much buy buying something from a small-time dealer. The other decent size dealers carried Dixon which is Husky painted blue, and Scag.

I sold mine to the guy who bought my house since I wouldn't have even been able to fit it through the gate at my new house. I took it in for the scheduled valve adjustment and they replaced the spindle bearings under warranty just because one of their commercial accounts had a bearing go bad. He said he thought he heard a noise in one of mine but couldn't pinpoint it ;) One of their accounts also hit a manhole cover that was sticking up which made a mess of the blade but that was it. I don't plan to own enough yard to need one again, but if I did I'd buy another in a hearbeat.

Regarding blades, I found the Oregon Gator G6 blades to be outstanding. Our sandy, rough yard was hard on blades and these took a beating with lots of meat for lots of resharpenings.

The divots are caused by an unskilled operator. The trick is to turn by getting one wheel going forward and the other backward. It takes some practice and skill (one I never mastered.)

Justin Ludwig
04-13-2015, 2:43 PM
You have to have equipment to mow around the shop. Easy tax write off. As for the zero turn, I would stay away from it if your terrain is hilly. I struggled with a Dixon for two years on my hills, before trading it in on a lawn tractor. The zero turns are miserable if your hills have any slope to them. I would try one out first before you commit to buying one.

The BadBoy handled the hills just fine.

I don't need a commercial grade machine as I'll only be mowing my place and around the shop and FIL's gardens. I mow about 2.5acres with LOTS of trees, old White Oaks and Hickory and ornamentals. FIL's place is another couple acres. What usually takes me 4-5hrs on the old mower took me 1.5hrs last night.

Wayne Lovell
04-13-2015, 5:57 PM
I have had a ExMark for about a year and love it. It is a 54 inch, I considered a 60 inch but gates were a problem. I did a lot of research on line and then went with my most reliable method, when I went to Dallas to see the grand kids I looked for which brand was most common on the lawn service trailers (I think there must be a law in the Dallas area against mowing your own lawn) Exmark was the most common followed by Scag. We have a local dealer who has both and I was able to try each of them. The Exmark was about 1K less but the deciding factor was that you sit real low on the Scag (like sitting on the floor), I am 72 and have back problems and don't thing it is going to get any easier to get up as I get older. My Exmark was about 5K.

Ole Anderson
04-13-2015, 6:31 PM
Ah, write off for a commercial shop, got it.

My JD Z425 was $4k with the bagging attachment about 5 years ago.

I have the turns mastered, I do a K turn, my problem is around the trees where the wheels track the same each mow, it tends to wear a track in the grass.

Scott Hearn
04-13-2015, 6:56 PM
Check these out. They have fabricated decks and good engines, they are a good step up from the normal box store models and the box stores have them sometimes.

http://www.hustlerturf.com/

Edit to add: The 42" model that I'm looking at is about $2800 while the 52" is only a couple hundred more. Lowes has them on their website.

Dave Lehnert
04-13-2015, 8:52 PM
I own and like my 19 hp, 52" Toro ZTR. I can get any part through my dealer in one or two days. 7ga fabricated deck.
Purchased it in 2007. It is called an Toro Z400 Estate Mower. Built to commercial standards but on a smaller frame for home owners with a lot to mow. In my case 2 1/2 acres. $5,699 in 2007
I am a Kawasaki engine fan. This is my second mower never a problem. First mower was 15 or 20 years old and engine ran like new. A friend has an old walk behind with a Kawasaki and I believe it is 20 or 25 years old.
Kawasaki engines put out more torque so they will be a little less HP than the same mower with different brand engine.
I noticed the other day Home Depot has new Toro ZTR on display with a fabricated deck. I believe in your price range. May want to check it out.

* Just checked out HD web site. The one I saw in store is $3,999. My mower has separate wheel motors and pumps. This model has a hydrostatic transmissions.
I would look at a Toro Dealer and see what they have.

Dave Lehnert
04-13-2015, 9:19 PM
Check these out. They have fabricated decks and good engines, they are a good step up from the normal box store models and the box stores have them sometimes.

http://www.hustlerturf.com/

Edit to add: The 42" model that I'm looking at is about $2800 while the 52" is only a couple hundred more. Lowes has them on their website.

+ 1 on the Hustler. They are well liked ZTR on Lawn forums. It was on top of my list but local dealer was no good. They had brand new ztr's with weeds growing up through them 3 ft tall. They went out of business a short time later.

Steve Rozmiarek
04-13-2015, 10:08 PM
I had a Walker which was a good machine. They best thing about it was that everything was rebuildable, and superb quality. Would recommend a used one, the new ones are quite expensive.

Justin Ludwig
04-14-2015, 7:15 AM
Thanks for the replies. I'm still reading up. My area has a Toro, Bushhog, BadBoy, Exmark, and another brand I can't remember at a Yahama ATV dealership. I'm not limited on choices.

Larry Frank
04-14-2015, 8:10 AM
I have a Simplicity Champion XT and it has been great with no problems.

They are great on flatter ground but some you need to be careful on steep hills.

Matt Meiser
04-14-2015, 8:57 AM
I've got an Exmark walk behind now because my yard is just a little too large to cut in a reasonable amount of time with a 21" self-propelled. Not sure what I was getting into so I bought a cheap used machine and have found it to be well made and parts are readily available online (part of my pre-purchase research) but the closest dealer is 25 miles away. Exmark is a pro machine and they tend to forego fancy covers to hide the workings so they aren't as sexy looking as some of the consumer-focused brands which is fine by me.

I've probably said this 100 times here...many of the good brands are pretty much equal. Assuming no major functional differences, and assuming parts are readily available, buy from the best dealer.

Justin Ludwig
04-14-2015, 9:37 AM
I'm not about sexy. I'm all about functionality and durability. I have to run to town today so I'm going to stop by the places that sell brands I'm not familiar with and get prices and models they sell. Then I'll do a side-by-side comparison.

Cost wise, I'll probably end up with a 52" deck. I just want to find the beefiest one available in my price range.

Nick Coffelt
04-14-2015, 12:37 PM
After searching for a ZT for nearly a year I finally settled on a SCAG. They are higher than your price range but you can find used ones. They are tough, easy to work on and mow like a dream. Only thing better in my mind is one with IRS.

Dave Lehnert
04-14-2015, 4:44 PM
Thanks for the replies. I'm still reading up. My area has a Toro, Bushhog, BadBoy, Exmark, and another brand I can't remember at a Yahama ATV dealership. I'm not limited on choices.

FYI- Toro owns Exmark. When I was looking, the Toro was cheaper than the like Exmark and was built a bit better.

Brad Schafer
04-14-2015, 9:47 PM
justin- have owned/used Ariens, Simplicity, and Toro over the past 20 ... current and favorite is Bob-Cat. mine is a 54" deck on a FastCat. they're built like tanks and are very fast. i mow ~3 acres; brother has a 60" and mows 5. like all ZTRs, a greasy top means you'll get stuck or leave a mark, and this one is a bit worse than others as it's very heavy. no affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

Brian Elfert
04-14-2015, 11:26 PM
I personally can't stand zero turn mowers. I use an older front mount mower with a steering wheel. I bought an older Toro Groundmaster really cheap and put a new engine in it. I probably like the front mount mowers because I put around 1,500 hours on several different Groundsmasters when I was in high school and college. The smallest Toro Groundsmaster new costs about $18,000 now, but it is a bigger and better mower than mine with a nice diesel engine. Toro mostly sells zero turns now.

Back on topic, the cheaper zero turn mowers will not have real good hydros. For new you probably need to be over $4,000 to get good hydros. $4,000 is really still homeowner grade for the most part.

Keith Outten
04-15-2015, 10:32 AM
Where I used to work, they had a zero turn mower. You could see the divots left by the non-turning wheel at each place it turned.

You can eliminate the turning divots by using a 3 point turn.
*First you turn into the corner at about 45 degrees.
*Second you reverse both wheels until your lined up with the next pass.
*Third move forward.

This prevents the inside tire from making a divot when it spins without turning.

I purchased a Dixie Chopper 25 hp with a 72" mower deck about 18 years ago. I really like this mower, the only thing I dislike is that it rides rough, its like sitting on a cinder block. The quality of cut is the same at 7 mph as it is going slower. Almost every part on the machine is not manufacturer specific so your not locked into higher priced parts when you need them. The deck lid is the only sheet metal that has to be removed for maintenance and there are only two wing nuts to remove the deck.

Most zero turn mowers have a rear engine, when the temperature is 90 degrees and above and your moving forward you are not subject to the heat or the exhaust from the engine.
I haven't shopped for a mower since I bought my Dixie Chopper and its unlikely that I will ever need another mower, mine has about 800 hours on it and it and the engine should be good for about 3000 hours.
.

Jerome Stanek
04-15-2015, 11:53 AM
I have a dixon that is 16 years old with over 900 hrs on it so this year I am thinking of getting a new mower. I really like the Bad boy and Exmark units. I'll have to see if my Exmark contacts can work me a deal on one of their trade show display models.

Justin Ludwig
04-15-2015, 6:46 PM
The BadBoy I borrowed to mow my place was great. 60" deck with a 27hp Kohler. The automatic deck feature was cool, but not a deal maker for me personally. I priced the Exmarks, and I can't justify spending $7k on a mower that's comparable to a BadBoy for $5k.

If it were solely up to me, I'd have already dropped the $5k and bought a Badboy, but the wife has me shopping and comparing. My Dad has a Grasshopper that was given to him by a friend that sold a business - it had 900 hrs on it. It has 1400hrs now and just keeps going - but like me (or me like him) he takes very good care of equipment and can rebuild anything. Whatever I finally purchase I plan to have for 20 years.

Larry Frank
04-15-2015, 7:17 PM
The Simplicity that I have had adjustable shocks and springs so it has a good ride.

Matt Meiser
04-16-2015, 7:46 AM
Mine had a really nice suspension seat and rode good on our rough yard even with my fat butt in the seat.

Justin Ludwig
04-16-2015, 6:06 PM
I'm headed to town tomorrow to check out a Big Dog Alpha MP. I think I have the Mrs. up to a $5k budget. Well, her best friend, the one who loaned us the 60" Bad Boy is the convincing party here. I'll take what I can get.