Mower recommendations?

[Vikes79]

I’d start looking for a good used commercial zero turn mower. I’d look for a Scag, Kubota or a grass hopper. 60” or so and gas or diesel depending on your preference and price. I wouldn’t bother with the entry level zero turns, they’re not built to last. And you’re going to need a good mower, mowing that much every week.

I have been considering this route as well. Most of what I’ve seen has been rode hard and put away wet.

 

[Admin]

 

[JTW]

I have been considering this route as well. Most of what I’ve seen has been rode hard and put away wet.

Options are slim because it’s middle of summer.. there will be a lot more options this fall.

 

[Vikes79]

Check out the Spartan line of mowers.

Thanks for the information.

 

[Tramguage1]

Is your property flat? I have heard that zero turns dont like off chamber cutting.

 

[jwfirebird]

exactly, hate zero turns, get stuck all the time in the wetter areas and if you have any grade to it they suck too. I got a craftsman 54/kohler 26, its cuts over 5mph and the kohler lasts forever. I mow just as much and years like this its 3-6 inches a week, I also have pull behind 60 inch swisher, that is the quickest and nicest looking, like 2hrs but little over 5g of gas. I have a new Holland 6ft finish mower uses a lot less fuel but takes like 3,hrs when its wet ill use that to keep it knocked down. you aren't pulling anything with a zero turn either so you got what you got sometimes they suck trying to go fast

 

[TimG]

Do yourself a favor buy a NEW Hustler, My former neighbor just bought a 60" Hustler Raptor for $3500.00 We bought a new Hustler Fastrak 60" this spring and all I can say is I wish I would have started buying Hustlers years ago.Get a suspension seat if you can.

 

[Vikes79]

Is your property flat? I have heard that zero turns dont like off chamber cutting.

Little of everything, 80% flat.

 

[Mopower58]

Zero turn is way faster than most any tractor/mower combo. We use a John Deere zero turn. 54" cut, 25hp Briggs, belts,blades and maintenance is all we do. We also have a John Deere bagger. 48" cut with a 25 hp Koehler. It is a lot slower than the zero turn but leaves a clean and well manicured looking lawn. We use it close to the house. Both are over 10 years old.

 

[Mopower58]

As far as I know John Deere makes its own zero turn. Everything is powder coated and the deck is 10guage stamped steel. Nothing against Kubota but my son bought a zero turn Kubota a year before we bought the zero turn John Deere. He replaced the welded deck on his 4 or 5 years ago. There is one thing I like about his Kubota,it has a driveshaft that turns the center blade and the blades on either side run off of a belt whereas the JD has a belt from engine to all 3 blades. If you have time look at the reviews on a JD Z-425. I think you will like it. We have a family member that owns a Kubota/Stihl/Honda shop in East Texas if you need help or advice.

 

[GPR1500SC]

Hustler with a Kawasaki motor gets my vote.
Or a Kubota
Both are out of your $3000. Budget
If you have ditches or twists to mow threw stay away from the Hustler Raptors as they are frame less and my Raptor HD flexed that much the hydro's kept coming lose traded up after one year of it and it was worth every dime of it you get what you pay for.

 

[Vikes79]

Hustler with a Kawasaki motor gets my vote.
Or a Kubota
Both are out of your $3000. Budget
If you have ditches or twists to mow threw stay away from the Hustler Raptors as they are frame less and my Raptor HD flexed that much the hydro's kept coming lose traded up after one year of it and it was worth every dime of it you get what you pay for.

Yes there will be some road ditch and off angle mowing.

The previous owner offered up their 10 year old cub cadet 48” mower for $500. That in combination with another tired 48” Husqvarna rider that I got for free from my family farm should enough to get me through this year. The wife / kids and I will double team it for the time being that I can become more familiar with what we really need.

We won’t close till the end of this month. Probably will only have two months to mow, maybe a bit more.

This way I can keep my eye out for some end of season deals.

 

[jwfirebird]

thats all i had for the first ten years, but when it took like 5hrs total, sucks. the swisher t60 cuts the time in half and you can get one used 500 to a thousand and when it wet you can use the utv to knock it down the first few times, i bought mine new for 1500, has lasted about 12 years, people dont know about the valve issues they had, after the first couple years they are terrible to start seem like they eat batteries, but i found its just needing valve adjustment, every couple years, people sell them cheap. when i wore out the 48 mtd, same as the cubs and craftsman all made the same now, i got the one with a kohler and 54 that mows 5+ mph, fast as any of the zero turns but they really suck for alot of things unless you get the ones that are twice as much as the 3500 i spent on the gt from sears. the 14.5 t60 keeps up with the bad grass and im mowing almost ten feet at a time, let me see a zero turn do that. once you get use to it the trees are better too, you can go in a tight circle around the tree from two paths away

 

[ohanacreek]

Is your property flat? I have heard that zero turns dont like off chamber cutting.

As long as it’s a ZTR that has controlled front wheels you’re ok, if they freely move you’re steering and driving with the rear wheels. That’s when off camber becomes a problem. Mine does fine if it’s wet just not soggy.

I have to mow about 3-3.5 acres, but it’s not all open there are some drainage channels hills, side hills. I used a JD Riding mower and it took me 6-8hrs every 7days or it was so deep the mower would no longer cut it. Then I had a Kubota with a 72” midmount deck and a 3–pt finish. Cut my time to 3-4 hours every 7-9 days. Finally got a 50” ZTR and it cuts it to 2hrs every 7-9 days or if I want better looking grass 75-90mins every 4-5 days.

All the turning adds up to a lot of time with the tractor, but the Home Depot JD mower was too residential grade and no turning radius to be able to handle the job.

 

[VaHillbilly]

I’d start looking for a good used commercial zero turn mower. I’d look for a Scag, Kubota or a grass hopper. 60” or so and gas or diesel depending on your preference and price. I wouldn’t bother with the entry level zero turns, they’re not built to last. And you’re going to need a good mower, mowing that much every week.

X2!I've told several neighbors & friends to buy used commercial. I mow and We take care of our mowers since it is our livelihood and it will be built better than anything from lowes. Look for whatever brand that has a dealer close to you so you will have support when time comes. Stay away from certain things like some kubotas have an electric deck lift which will be $$$$ to fix when it quits. I'd recommend toro a 3000 series would be perfect for that, but go shop and sit on them and see how you like the feel of the controls/seat and deck height adjustment.

 

[VaHillbilly]

thats all i had for the first ten years, but when it took like 5hrs total, sucks. the swisher t60 cuts the time in half and you can get one used 500 to a thousand and when it wet you can use the utv to knock it down the first few times, i bought mine new for 1500, has lasted about 12 years, people dont know about the valve issues they had, after the first couple years they are terrible to start seem like they eat batteries, but i found its just needing valve adjustment, every couple years, people sell them cheap. when i wore out the 48 mtd, same as the cubs and craftsman all made the same now, i got the one with a kohler and 54 that mows 5+ mph, fast as any of the zero turns but they really suck for alot of things unless you get the ones that are twice as much as the 3500 i spent on the gt from sears. the 14.5 t60 keeps up with the bad grass and im mowing almost ten feet at a time, let me see a zero turn do that. once you get use to it the trees are better too, you can go in a tight circle around the tree from two paths away

Google Image Result for https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D3Yra8vu4sI/maxresdefault.jpg

Here's your big ZT

I cut 55-60 yards per week with my toro's you wont beat the time saved and maneuvering of a zt. Over 1,100 hours and only idler pulleys replaced and gas guage. I would certainly use what you have and watch for good used commercial mowers this fall you get heavy duty pumps, wheel motors, casters and spindles and good seats come standard. My mowers have the pump and wheel motor built as one unit which saves hp and eliminates the hoses all other brands have goin from pump to motor which always leak! Plus the right and left are separate which eliminates contamination should one side go out.

 

[ohanacreek]

Google Image Result for https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D3Yra8vu4sI/maxresdefault.jpg

Here's your big ZT

I cut 55-60 yards per week with my toro's you wont beat the time saved and maneuvering of a zt. Over 1,100 hours and only idler pulleys replaced and gas guage. I would certainly use what you have and watch for good used commercial mowers this fall you get heavy duty pumps, wheel motors, casters and spindles and good seats come standard. My mowers have the pump and wheel motor built as one unit which saves hp and eliminates the hoses all other brands have goin from pump to motor which always leak! Plus the right and left are separate which eliminates contamination should one side go out.

Since ⅔ of what I cut is not perfectly flat and smooth, and has some hills and bumps I stepped up a level over the mid-grade mowers. I have 208 hours on it and I have had to replace the drive belt and pulley because the pulley surface had a manufacturing defect. I keep two extra sets of blades one I sharpen and rotate out with the one thats on it and the 2nd for when the blades get so worn I need new ones then I order two more and repeat. I go through a pair in a year, but I sharpen them about once a month.

Toro 74778 TimeCutter MyRIDE® MX5075 50-Inch 24.5HP Zero Turn Lawn Mower
Picked up a 5 year warranty when I bought it for price of a 1year, it was a Toro special. These share 99% of the parts with Ex-Mark.
Warranty covered the belt, pulley, and service.
I added a sunshade and the mulching kit when I bought it.

 

[VaHillbilly]

Since ⅔ of what I cut is not perfectly flat and smooth, and has some hills and bumps I stepped up a level over the mid-grade mowers. I have 208 hours on it and I have had to replace the drive belt and pulley because the pulley surface had a manufacturing defect. I keep two extra sets of blades one I sharpen and rotate out with the one thats on it and the 2nd for when the blades get so worn I need new ones then I order two more and repeat. I go through a pair in a year, but I sharpen them about once a month.

Toro 74778 TimeCutter MyRIDE® MX5075 50-Inch 24.5HP Zero Turn Lawn Mower
Picked up a 5 year warranty when I bought it for price of a 1year, it was a Toro special. These share 99% of the parts with Ex-Mark.
Warranty covered the belt, pulley, and service.
I added a sunshade and the mulching kit when I bought it.

Very nice! That's a killer deal to get my ride and all those features for that price! I do the same with my blades carry a sharp set with me and swap em with electric impact gun and sharpen the old set. I'm having to do that about once per week though or 10 days maybe.

 

[ohanacreek]

Very nice! That's a killer deal to get my ride and all those features for that price! I do the same with my blades carry a sharp set with me and swap em with electric impact gun and sharpen the old set. I'm having to do that about once per week though or 10 days maybe.

Impact makes it SO easy, you probably cut more grass a week than I do in a year.

I've bought several things from that site and its almost always the best price and shipping cost. Prime had a lightning deal on a Generator once but otherwise the price and shipping would have been better. Manufacturer warranty has been honored on everything we've had to claim as well with no issue.

 

[JTW]

Look for a good used one of these! I really like mine..

 

[VaHillbilly]

Impact makes it SO easy, you probably cut more grass a week than I do in a year.

I've bought several things from that site and its almost always the best price and shipping cost. Prime had a lightning deal on a Generator once but otherwise the price and shipping would have been better. Manufacturer warranty has been honored on everything we've had to claim as well with no issue.

Yea they do, before I had a breaker bar and blocks of wood. That sucked!!! Then started borrowing the brother in laws snap on and thought yea this is a breeze! I went to lowes and bought a cheap kobalt. But it gets the job done. Yea I put prob 40 hours per week on a mower so it is as much as a homeowner will in a year