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I recently built a house and have 2 acres to mow. It's a new lawn and is pretty bumpy in spots, which is something I will remedy. I'm looking for a zero turn mower that will give me great cut quality and comfort. I'm willing to spend up to 10k for a nice mower and I'd like the deck to be 60 inches. I spoke to a guy who cuts lawns for a living and he recommended the Scag Cheetah. I took a look ant them online and they are very nice. There are dealers for most major brands in my area, soI should be able to find pretty much anything. A couple neighbors have Hustlers and they seem to like them.

If you guys were in my situation, what would you buy and why?

Ferris pro-cut 60

I looked at the Tiger Cut II and it seems like a nice machine. Right now I’m thinking the Cheetah might be overkill for me. I’m also looking at some of the Hustler machines. I also have the following dealers near me:

John Deere
Kubota
Spartan
Exmark
Ferris

My I suggest you look at few things before you make the spend, Please remember you will enjoy the cutting and want to spend more time on it. Plus look at what attachments will work with what you have.

Now I know the budget is 10K, but you do not need to spend it all! Lets look at what will last you a long time with the least amount of issues. Understand Warranties, power train, and Drive train.

Longer warranties mean the product will out last the average consumers lifetime. Longer warranty means the company wants you to be "not thinking about it" 400 Hr. over 4 years is good~ now 1000hr over 3yr. not as good for you, but 500hr over 5 years is all ways better since your cutting will be around 100 hr a year?

Remembering that all the companies use the same product in they're driving systems, look for the best but do not over pay for something that you will never use. The hydro's you get help you a lot when it comes to life of the unit, the minimum I went with is the zt3100 which is the low end commercial ~ so my thought is 6hr a day for 8-10 years of regular use in commercial setting will give me 25-35 yr. of personal use plus still giving me a good resale after 10-15 years if I want. I paid $5800 so after 10 years of use I can still get between 2500-3500 on resale costing me 2800 or about $280 a year about $10-15 a week not bad if you look at this.

Now zero-turn are not snow blowers or lawn aerator, so what I did was due to the bumpy lawn I rented a motorized lawn roller and after a good rain that lasted a few days You would be amazed at how awesome my lawn is now.

I run a 48" which I believe give a better cut then a 60", more passes but more handling around objects plus allows you different cut pattern since my next door guy, has groves in the lawn due to the same pattern he cuts.

I have a Hustler Fastrack SD, with Honda 20.5hp and a 48" cut and ZT3100, I hope I helped and good luck.

IMHO, if you don't mow for a living then a zero turn high speed mower is a waste of money, you can get pretty damn good ride on mower for less than half that, plus added features like a plow, snow blower, cab, lawn sweeper, rake and more. I have three acres to cut, and I do own a Toro Groundsmaster (That I bought back when we had the 20 acres in upstate NY).....I enjoy cutting the lawn with my Cub ride on(also has cup holder for the beer...LOL).

I’m not looking to spend 10k but that’s my max. I want something that will give me years of service. I’m also unsure of what deck size to get. There is an open area but there’s also landscaping and trees. So 52 or 61?

The nice thing about the Ferris pro 60 is you can mow under them trees. It also turns almost as sharp as a 0 turn. The newer pro 60's also have the spring suspension. It will also use up that 10K for you. Mine is 17 years old and still going strong and has been very trouble free other then some small Kohler engine work. At the time I bough it I paid 8000 dollars which was a big price back in 2000 but it will last me my life time.

I also think a massive deck is something you will live to regret, particularly if you have a lot of bumps which will cause the deck to scalp.
Have always liked the articulated out front mowers the decks on the Stiga Park & the Husky Rider pro series give a cut as good if not better then a reel mower and they are by far the quietist mowers I have ever serviced.
48" is the biggest deck in this format AFAIK and the Bio-Clip deck is great, one of the few mulching decks that really work properly

I would only add that this time of year, test as many as you can. You may be able to haggle a better deal on a 2017. Since the 2018's are arriving already.

Friend bought a mower w/ 60" deck, now he has to push mow more & the Big deck scalps more as Bert mentioned. Just food for thought.

I suggest you check out the Exmark Radius. With 3 different series to choose from, E, S and X you can scale the features up or down to your liking.

I don't think I’m going to get the 61” deck for the reasons mentioned. One of the dealers near me sells Exmark, Scag, and Hustler so I will be able to look at a good variety of models.

When you get down to where the rubber meets the road you are not going to find a better mower than the Tiger Cat Scag. You might find a more expensive one and you might find other people who have all sorts of ideas. We have three. If there was anything that is sold locally that would out cut one we would be running them. A 52" Tiger Cat will cut it in an hour or less. Excellent job.

Not sure how old you are but it could be the last mower you have to buy. I have one that is over 1700 hours that runs daily.

I have a friend with a Tiger Cub which is the predecessor to the Turf Tiger that is over 20 years old and runs like a top.

They are easier to change blades on than the competition and till take a pounding and come back for more daily. Just make sure you get the Kawasaki engine.

I'm not a fan of Scag mowers. Yes they are well engineered, tough and cut well. But they are VERY heavy and rut like crazy. I'm in the business of maintaining lawns, not destroying them...

And just to really muddy the water, I am currently grinding blades and replacing the shear pins on a 1998 Rider Pro ( 103cm bioclip deck ) with 1850 hours on the clock.
The owner ran over the hose and broke the shear pins on the blades.
The last time I looked at this mower was 2012 when I did a full service, including grinding the blades
Owner has an acre block on a corner with no footpath so they have a 4 yard wide mowing strip on 2 sides of the house plus 1/2 acre around the house and about another 1/2 acre of bush behind the house that they keep mowed as a fire buffer.
!4 Hp single cyl Kawaka uses very little fuel .
I have 28 of these ( or similar ) in my run & they cannot be faulted.
Dead easy to service rarely ever do a spindle bearing because the baldes are so short, pop up deck for access to the blades and mows to within 1/2" of anything so almost no hand trimming.
Overlapping blades give a perfect cut every time and never any mowhawking on the lawn.
Down side is they don't stripe but that does not matter here as most owners like to see their grass as a natural green carpet and not a foot ball field.

FERRIS

Hustler ... all the way ... they are EASY to work on, and add stuff to if you want!

As others have said, a 60" deck might be overkill. I mow 7 properties totaling 5 acres every week with a 48" Gravely ZTHD... in under two hours start to finish. The smaller deck lets me go through gates and between obstacles that would block a bigger deck. It also follows the ground counters a bit better than a bigger deck, so there's less scalping and fewer high spots.

If you only have two acres, you're looking at an hour or less to mow it with any ZT machine. Since you mentioned that the ground is bumpy, I'd recommend getting something with a suspension seat, and putting that higher up on your list of priorities than the deck width. Your back will thank you for it.

Also consider required routine maintenance. Some mowers have a bunch of zerk fittings, and some can be difficult to reach. Not saying that's bad... grease is good if used adequately... but if it's not, well, you might be happier with a mower with sealed bearings. i know that I am.

My vote would be for the 60" deck.

jekjr said:

When you get down to where the rubber meets the road you are not going to find a better mower than the Tiger Cat Scag. You might find a more expensive one and you might find other people who have all sorts of ideas. We have three. If there was anything that is sold locally that would out cut one we would be running them. A 52" Tiger Cat will cut it in an hour or less. Excellent job.

Not sure how old you are but it could be the last mower you have to buy. I have one that is over 1700 hours that runs daily.

I have a friend with a Tiger Cub which is the predecessor to the Turf Tiger that is over 20 years old and runs like a top.

They are easier to change blades on than the competition and till take a pounding and come back for more daily. Just make sure you get the Kawasaki engine.

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I agree, the Tiger Cat is a great mower.

Darryl G said:

I'm not a fan of Scag mowers. Yes they are well engineered, tough and cut well. But they are VERY heavy and rut like crazy. I'm in the business of maintaining lawns, not destroying them...

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A Tiger Cat is not going to run any worse than any other Zero Turn. In fact they are lighter than many.

Neighbor across the hollow runs a Toro Z-Master 52" & he must mow the same way each time, cause his lawn (if you can still call it that) is rutted so badly. Terrible.

I mow my lawn with a Hustler Super Z 72" deck (1600 lbs) and a Kioti DK 35 tractor with 84" finish mower (over 4000 lbs)
I don't have any problem with rutting.
Nice thick grass, no ruts.

There is more to rutting than the weight of the mower and the width of the drive wheels.
Like they density of the grass and the soil structure
I have seen some grassed areas where I leave foot holes as I walk over them and others that I have driven skid steers over and you could not see where I had been.

My delivery van is a LWB Mitsubishi which apart from 200 kg of service tools is empty and it will rut some grassed areas. particularly those that are over watered.
My service area is not sewered and everyone is being forced to fit "bio-cycles" which self pump the effluent onto the grass and if the owners do not regularly move the discharge hoses a dry clay lawn will turn into a bog.
All ZTRs tend to rut lawns because 80+ % of the weight is on the back wheels where as tractors have the weight evenly distributed.
What makes a massive difference is the type of tyre.
Round shoulder tyres are much easier on the grass but more prone to side slip.

To add to Bert's explanation. The biggest issue with rutting a yard is an EGO. You know the one... I do not need help I can do this myself. I am just a smart as the other guy. So they forge ahead and use the new mower knowing how easy it is and next thing you know you have ruts and an attitude of it must be the mowers falt because I know what I am doing.

10K Huh ...?? sounds like it's "burnin a hole in your pocket" , IF that were my situation, I think I'd go buy a decent TRACTOR type mower and maybe a few "attachments" to go with it, then sock the rest away, for a "rainy-day" and/or buy the little lady of the house a lil present, THAT will make both of ya's happy, ( happy wife = happy life ) , just food for thought ! ..:thumbsup:

I used to mow 3 1/2 acres with a USED $400.00 MTD 46in. 21 HP. NO problem, but I enjoyed riding that mower.

Have you thought of buying used? I bought a 928D Grasshopper ,front mount 60 deck 5yrs ago/paid $5000.00 for it and will last me the rest of my life. I mow approx 3 acres.You can't beat the desiel for the power/torque combo and you can cut 2 to 3 times more on a tank compared to a gasser...russ

I also mow 2 acres of relatively flat, new lawn, had a 54" Craftsman rider for the first 2 years and just got an Ariens Apex 60"(same as a Gravely ZTHD). To be honest the Ariens is overkill but it's built like a tank and fun to use, and it will only use up about half your budget!

Boobala said:

10K Huh ...?? sounds like it's "burnin a hole in your pocket" , IF that were my situation, I think I'd go buy a decent TRACTOR type mower and maybe a few "attachments" to go with it, then sock the rest away, for a "rainy-day" and/or buy the little lady of the house a lil present, THAT will make both of ya's happy, ( happy wife = happy life ) , just food for thought ! ..:thumbsup:

I used to mow 3 1/2 acres with a USED $400.00 MTD 46in. 21 HP. NO problem, but I enjoyed riding that mower.

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I agree with a portion of Boo's post, socking the rest away for rainy day is my thing.

Disagree about spoiling the house mouse, that imo is over-rated. Keep a smile on her face other ways, & call it good.

7394 said:

I agree with a portion of Boo's post, socking the rest away for rainy day is my thing.

Disagree about spoiling the house mouse, that imo is over-rated. Keep a smile on her face other ways, & call it good.

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Numbers,.. you're so full of B/S,.. your eye's are brown ! ( LOL ) I'll tell ya, ALL females LOVE a surprise, and even more-so if it's even a small trinket, ( something about the thought behind it ) and if it's something they really like, that's all the better, old saying ..you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar ! ( house-mouse ?? if she heard you say that, you'd be sleepin on the couch, you dirty rat !!) ..:laughing:..:laughing:

Boobala said:

Numbers,.. you're so full of B/S,.. your eye's are brown ! ( LOL ) I'll tell ya, ALL females LOVE a surprise, and even more-so if it's even a small trinket, ( something about the thought behind it ) and if it's something they really like, that's all the better, old saying ..you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar ! ( house-mouse ?? if she heard you say that, you'd be sleepin on the couch, you dirty rat !!) ..:laughing:..:laughing:

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Boo- you got me. Does giving her a pickle tickle count ? 'sides we have a nice comfy couch. :laughing:

7394 said:

Boo- you got me. Does giving her a pickle tickle count ? 'sides we have a nice comfy couch. :laughing:

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Numbers ! WOW !! I never heard about "pickle-tickle" (is that one from the ladie's) yeah, I found it amusing, that when women reach a certain age, it seems they begin to at least think about that kinda "fun" more often, YES by all means a "pickle-tickle" counts, BUT is a "hole" lot more effective if adjoined with an object THEY value, a gift certificate at her favorite shoe or jewelry store appears to be the most effective way of grabbing their attention which may lead to fulfilling YOUR intention ! ( did that make sense ?? ) ..:laughing:..:laughing:..:laughing:

Yes that made sense. And it is an object that she values. She loves playing with it. :laughing:

7394 said:

Yes that made sense. And it is an object that she values. She loves playing with it. :laughing:

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AHhh yes, I thought it would, BUT .. being off topic on THIS thread, we should, if you care to, move it over to the (yard-man transaxle rebuild) thread !!

Yes agreed, lets do that. :thumbsup: