Jazzguitar67
Forum Newbie
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2020
- Threads
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- 5
Hello, Forum.....
I am new to the world of commercial zero turns. I recently bought a property that is VERY hilly and has lots of obstacles - trees, chicken coops,fences, beds, decks,etc. It is about 2 acres. I have tried to mow with a small Cub Cadet ztr for the last year, but the hills and obstacles proved too much for it and the left hydro died. I'm going to use whatever mower I get about 2-3 hours a week. I want it to last 10-15 years and, while it won't get many hours, it will get bumps and bruises because of the hills and rough terrain.
Now, I am on a quest for an "entry level" commercial unit. Today, I checked out the Bad Boy Rebel, the Kubota Z421, a Scag Patriot and a Hustler SDX. I need some advice??!!
To me,the Bad Boy Rebel seems like waaaayyyy more mower for the money. Equipped with a 61" deck and a Kawasaki FX850V/27HP motor,it's priced at my nearest dealer for $7700. It has ZT-4400 hydros, the deck seems to be the strongest/heaviest of all of them, the tires are nice and wide with a tread that looks like it will handle my hills and obstacles very well, I'm impressed by the ease of service and adjustability of the machine. The only negative that I have is the convenience of the Bad Boy dealer - it's about an hour from me. If they were local, I'd probably own the mower right now.
The Scag Patriot has a lighter deck, ZT-3400 hydros and an FX730V/23.5 HP Kawasaki and it's priced at $7800.
The Hustler SDX equipped with the exact same drives and motor as the Scag and is $8300
The Kubota Z421 with a 24HP Kawasaki GH7301 motor and ZT-3600 Hydros is $6900. The dealer is both the biggest and the closest, but the mower seems the "lightest duty" of all of them. The dealer has a great reputation but is big. Really big. I know that can be both good and bad. I also don't know what's up with the Kawasaki GH series motor. No one else seems to use them??? To me, it seems that if the Bad Boy wasn't made, this would be the best value for me and the most convenient option.
As an aside, I could also get a Bad Boy Maverick w/ the same Kawasaki FX730 motor and ZT-3200 hydros for$6100. I suspect it would be strong enough for my property and it would be about $800 less than my next-cheapest option. Is this worth considering?
So....here's the thing. The Scag, Hustler and Kubota dealers were all very complimentary about each others' mowers, but they all trash talked the Bad Boy. When I asked specific questions, they told me that Bad Boy doesn't make "commercial" mowers - but to me, the specs on the Rebel make it look much tougher built than all the others. The engine and drive components are better, the deck is thicker and the spindles seem stronger. The Bad Boy salesperson was knowledgeable, but none of the other sales people wanted to spend time to educate me. They all seemed fine with me buying either the Scag, Kubota or Hustler, but they all tried to steer me away from the Bad Boy. When pressed for specific reasons, all they said was: "what brands to you see on all the landscape trailers?"
From all the reviews available online, I don't think I can make a "bad" choice if I choose the Kubota, Scag or Hustler. They all seem to be quality machines. There are few reviews of the Bad Boy - so I'm a little worried about that one, even though it's the machine I like the best and I think is the best value. I'm not a "price" shopper, but I am a "value" shopper. I want a quality product at a fair price and I'm willing to pay more for quality if someone can convince me it's worth it.
I need advice from people here regarding the Bad Boy (should I even consider it) and the other mowers. Again, what i like about the Bad Boy is that it's got a heavier deck, stronger motor, stronger hydros, more accessible engine bay, more adjustability, better tires and it's HEAVIER. It's about 1300lbs and all the others are around 900lbs. I can change the oil, filters, hydro oil and blades myself-so ease of doing that is important to me. I can remove the deck belt shrouds with no tools, adjust hydro tracking with no tools. There are adjustments for both "force" and "sensitivity" on the drive levers. It has an adjustable deck height pedal, adjustable foot rest and the disconnect levers for the hyrdro drives (so the machine can be pushed) are super-accessible and require no tools to disconnect.
I could use some feedback as to peoples' experience with all the mowers I'm considering and exactly what I should be looking at that isn't on the spec sheets of each mower.
Thanks, in advance, for your help!
I am new to the world of commercial zero turns. I recently bought a property that is VERY hilly and has lots of obstacles - trees, chicken coops,fences, beds, decks,etc. It is about 2 acres. I have tried to mow with a small Cub Cadet ztr for the last year, but the hills and obstacles proved too much for it and the left hydro died. I'm going to use whatever mower I get about 2-3 hours a week. I want it to last 10-15 years and, while it won't get many hours, it will get bumps and bruises because of the hills and rough terrain.
Now, I am on a quest for an "entry level" commercial unit. Today, I checked out the Bad Boy Rebel, the Kubota Z421, a Scag Patriot and a Hustler SDX. I need some advice??!!
To me,the Bad Boy Rebel seems like waaaayyyy more mower for the money. Equipped with a 61" deck and a Kawasaki FX850V/27HP motor,it's priced at my nearest dealer for $7700. It has ZT-4400 hydros, the deck seems to be the strongest/heaviest of all of them, the tires are nice and wide with a tread that looks like it will handle my hills and obstacles very well, I'm impressed by the ease of service and adjustability of the machine. The only negative that I have is the convenience of the Bad Boy dealer - it's about an hour from me. If they were local, I'd probably own the mower right now.
The Scag Patriot has a lighter deck, ZT-3400 hydros and an FX730V/23.5 HP Kawasaki and it's priced at $7800.
The Hustler SDX equipped with the exact same drives and motor as the Scag and is $8300
The Kubota Z421 with a 24HP Kawasaki GH7301 motor and ZT-3600 Hydros is $6900. The dealer is both the biggest and the closest, but the mower seems the "lightest duty" of all of them. The dealer has a great reputation but is big. Really big. I know that can be both good and bad. I also don't know what's up with the Kawasaki GH series motor. No one else seems to use them??? To me, it seems that if the Bad Boy wasn't made, this would be the best value for me and the most convenient option.
As an aside, I could also get a Bad Boy Maverick w/ the same Kawasaki FX730 motor and ZT-3200 hydros for$6100. I suspect it would be strong enough for my property and it would be about $800 less than my next-cheapest option. Is this worth considering?
So....here's the thing. The Scag, Hustler and Kubota dealers were all very complimentary about each others' mowers, but they all trash talked the Bad Boy. When I asked specific questions, they told me that Bad Boy doesn't make "commercial" mowers - but to me, the specs on the Rebel make it look much tougher built than all the others. The engine and drive components are better, the deck is thicker and the spindles seem stronger. The Bad Boy salesperson was knowledgeable, but none of the other sales people wanted to spend time to educate me. They all seemed fine with me buying either the Scag, Kubota or Hustler, but they all tried to steer me away from the Bad Boy. When pressed for specific reasons, all they said was: "what brands to you see on all the landscape trailers?"
From all the reviews available online, I don't think I can make a "bad" choice if I choose the Kubota, Scag or Hustler. They all seem to be quality machines. There are few reviews of the Bad Boy - so I'm a little worried about that one, even though it's the machine I like the best and I think is the best value. I'm not a "price" shopper, but I am a "value" shopper. I want a quality product at a fair price and I'm willing to pay more for quality if someone can convince me it's worth it.
I need advice from people here regarding the Bad Boy (should I even consider it) and the other mowers. Again, what i like about the Bad Boy is that it's got a heavier deck, stronger motor, stronger hydros, more accessible engine bay, more adjustability, better tires and it's HEAVIER. It's about 1300lbs and all the others are around 900lbs. I can change the oil, filters, hydro oil and blades myself-so ease of doing that is important to me. I can remove the deck belt shrouds with no tools, adjust hydro tracking with no tools. There are adjustments for both "force" and "sensitivity" on the drive levers. It has an adjustable deck height pedal, adjustable foot rest and the disconnect levers for the hyrdro drives (so the machine can be pushed) are super-accessible and require no tools to disconnect.
I could use some feedback as to peoples' experience with all the mowers I'm considering and exactly what I should be looking at that isn't on the spec sheets of each mower.
Thanks, in advance, for your help!
