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I will be in the zero turn market this spring. I am looking for a 52-61" commercial grade machine with a Kawasaki engine to mow a 1.5 acre property for the next 10-20 years with routine maintenance. I have already done some extensive internet research thus far, and like everybody else in this situation, my head is spinning [insert clip from "beetlejuice" here]

Ideally I would love to spend $5K-6500 cash-in-hand for a new machine with a warranty. Is this possible for a solid machine? While I consider myself a gear-head and a former landscaper (primarily in hardscapes then maintenance) I hate to admit I still don't know much about this market

mitchkramah said:

I will be in the zero turn market this spring. I am looking for a 52-61" commercial grade machine with a Kawasaki engine to mow a 1.5 acre property for the next 10-20 years with routine maintenance. I have already done some extensive internet research thus far, and like everybody else in this situation, my head is spinning [insert clip from "beetlejuice" here]

Ideally I would love to spend $5K-6500 cash-in-hand for a new machine with a warranty. Is this possible for a solid machine? While I consider myself a gear-head and a former landscaper (primarily in hardscapes then maintenance) I hate to admit I still don't know much about this market

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mitchkramah,

Yes that is possible!!! I purchased a 2012 52" Gravely Pro-Turn XDZ 100 series(152) in the fall just before the 2013's came out for $6800 out-the-door. Very pleased with that purchase as it is Commercial quality with FX series Kawasaki & Hydro-Gear ZT3400 trannies. The 2013 Pro-Turn 152 had a $300 increase for the 2013(MSRP for the 2012 was $7199). Bough mine as a "retirement investment', like you wanting a "lifetime" machine needing only routine maintenance. I feel like I got that. There are a LOT of good ZTR's out there(been there, done that on the "spinning head" when I was shopping:0)
I would suggest checking any local dealers(and suggest you check out the Gravely's if you have a dealer nearby) and see if they still have any 2012 models in stock. Just like a new car just before/or right after the new models come out, you may find a deal that will make you pull the trigger now instead of waiting until Spring and the dealer is "in the driver seat" regarding pricing!!!

P.S.
I started out wanting to spend $4500-$5000, but found out quickly that that low will be a bit light for a "true commercial" ZTR(especially to get the Commercial grade engine, spindles, deck and trannies). $6K-$7K will get you in one if you can wheel & deal with a dealer like I did, otherwise you may end up in the low $7K range to get what you described.

Gravely seemed to be a very common name that popped up during my search. I liked the build and price very much, and I am dying to check out the air-ride seat (having a class II CDL, I know how awesome those can be). While I would love nothing more then to buy now, there are two reasons why I can't do that:

1) I need to move my 24hp Mahindra CUT first in order to purchase this machine outright, which I would rather do then finance one machine and sit on another.

2) I can't get to my trailer and implements until the snow melts anyways. I also would like to test drive as many as I can before I commit to a purchase, which apparently you can't do in the showroom, if you can find one in a showroom this time of year out here; most power equipment dealers are still carrying more snow blowers then mowers. So I'll have to wait for things to get warmer no matter what

One brand that has me very intrigued is Bad Boy. There are a few things good things I like about them:

-solid frames, beefy 7-gauge decks, and available with 3400 and 5400 trannys
-"swing-away" fuel tanks and console for optimum access to the guts of the beast
-low MSRP price points compared to comparable machines

And a few things I didn't like as much:

-only carry FS series engines in that range
-had a rep for being gas-hogs
-the two nearest dealerships are both 75 miles away in opposite directions (although one is in tax-free NH). Which would make both testing and servicing difficult.

I guess I'm on the fence whether to count them as a consideration

mitchkramah said:

One brand that has me very intrigued is Bad Boy. There are a few things good things I like about them:

-solid frames, beefy 7-gauge decks, and available with 3400 and 5400 trannys
-"swing-away" fuel tanks and console for optimum access to the guts of the beast
-low MSRP price points compared to comparable machines

And a few things I didn't like as much:

-only carry FS series engines in that range
-had a rep for being gas-hogs
-the two nearest dealerships are both 75 miles away in opposite directions (although one is in tax-free NH). Which would make both testing and servicing difficult.

I guess I'm on the fence whether to count them as a consideration

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mitchkramah,
Yeah, I made an offer on a Bad Boy(the 54" Outlaw with a 30HP Briggs Commercial). I was disappointed the Outlaw only came with Briggs or Kohler and I really wanted a Kawasaki FX series. Best price the dealer offered was $7,033 out-the-door and then I found out it didn't come with a ROPS like it showed in the brochure($300 extra). And look closer at the Outlaw...it actually has a 5gauge deck(yeah, a solid quarter inch). No other Commercial ZTR's I looked at had a massive deck like that. Unfortunately, I'm a polio survivor(that affected the muscle in my right leg). Try as I could, I couldn't adjust that HEAVY deck. The Gravely I got has the 7gauge deck with a quarter inch reinforcement bar around it and an additional 7 gauge reinforcement where the spindles mount. Since it had a Lifetime Deck Warranty that was good enough for me....and the Gravely lift design for the deck posed no problem whatsoever for me to adjust it. Thing about the Bad Boys if you read enough forum threads about them.....either the owners love them or they hate them(a lot of bad reviews on the cut they provide). Dollar-for-dollar though, I would have bought the Bad Boy(set the deck height and just left it) if the dealer would have come down to $6,800(OTD). He wouldn't budge and the Gravely dealer did...and the Gravely had a ROPS. At $6,800 out-the-door and the $300 price increase for the same model in 2013 I feel like saving $1,300 and getting the quality I got was a very good decision. Hope you can find a similar good deal.

Hey thanks for the advice. Gravely seems like a very good buy, haven't heard a negative word about them. Another model I found in that range was the big dog r754 diablo. Apparently it's a hustler, which I haven't heard much negative talk of either. It seems to carry the FX engine and 3400 tranny, plus it looks sleek with the black wheels

Another thing that sold me on the Big Dog R754 was the size of the rear tires. A full 12" wide on the tread.

mitchkramah said:

Hey thanks for the advice. Gravely seems like a very good buy, haven't heard a negative word about them. Another model I found in that range was the big dog r754 diablo. Apparently it's a hustler, which I haven't heard much negative talk of either. It seems to carry the FX engine and 3400 tranny, plus it looks sleek with the black wheels

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Yep, you don't hear a lot about the Big Dog ZTR's, but user Old Goat is very happy with his R754 and got it at a VERY good price. The Diablo looks to be very similar to the Hustler Fastrak Super Duty(and they are both manufactured by Excel Industries) and is probably worth seeing if you can get a good deal from a dealer on one. I made an offer on a 54" Hustler Fastrak Super Duty, but the dealer wouldn't budge on his price. Wish I had found a Big Dog dealer locally because they really seem to be a good bang-for-the-buck!! There are sooooooo many good ZTR's you'll probably have your head spinning like I did before you can make a decision. Some others to look at would be Exmark(if you can afford them...they're pricey), Toro(the Z-Master 2000), Dixie Chopper(Magnum or Silver Eagle), Cub Cadet Z-Force........I could list more, but don't want your head to get spinning too fast too early:0)

I have done some research on cub cadet. I was really interested in the commercial grade zero force S with the steering wheel, strictly so I could enjoy a cold one while striping up the yard (is there anything more American!?) I haven't heard too many good things about cub cadet residential grade equipment and mixed reviews on the commercial grade equipment. The biggest complaint that concerned me was MTDs lack of customer service. So while I found one for $5k, I've kinda crossed them off the list.

I honestly think that it's going to come down to the gravely pt100 and big dog r754 diablo in terms of what is most immediate in my area. But then again as I speak we're getting hammered with our second 2' snowstorm in a month... Winter is really killing my ability to get this process underway

mitchkramah said:

I have done some research on cub cadet. I was really interested in the commercial grade zero force S with the steering wheel, strictly so I could enjoy a cold one while striping up the yard (is there anything more American!?) I haven't heard too many good things about cub cadet residential grade equipment and mixed reviews on the commercial grade equipment. The biggest complaint that concerned me was MTDs lack of customer service. So while I found one for $5k, I've kinda crossed them off the list.

I honestly think that it's going to come down to the gravely pt100 and big dog r754 diablo in terms of what is most immediate in my area. But then again as I speak we're getting hammered with our second 2' snowstorm in a month... Winter is really killing my ability to get this process underway

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mitchkramah,
I think that CC Zero Force S has the "non-commercial" EZT tranny, so beware. There is a user on the forums(user name RIC) that has a lawn service and he has a Z-Force 48" and a Toro Grandstand for his business. He swears by the reliability and cut quality of the Z-Force Zero Turns for the money you spend on one. I had a niece that had a big box store Cub Cadet tractor that was "junk" and I steered away from the CC's for that reason. According to RIC I might should have at least looked at and compared the Z-Force machines. IMHO, you definitely can't go wrong with either the Gravely or Big Dog models you are including in the mix. I know that I haven't had any second thoughts about buying my Pro-Turn!!
P.S.
Yeah, that's about the ONLY thing I miss about using a lawn tractor is being able to sip on a cold Michelob Ultra while driving with the other hand.....although I think before the next season is over I will have perfected a method of driving the ZTR one handed long enough to "enjoy" my mowing. Another "problem" with mowing with a ZTR versus a LT.....the ZTR's are so dadgum fast that mowing my yard is only a "1 beer" job now, when it used to be a "3 beer" job. The upside is that the final area cut has a little straighter lines:0)

Djdicetn,
After taking another look at the cub cadet, I would at least consider the TANK LZ60 KW due to its FX engine and non-integrated drive system (separate pumps and wheel motors) if I could find a steal closer to $7K, otherwise the overall feedback I've gotten on cub cadet seems a little inconsistent compared to other "value brands", but that's strictly from what I've gathered thus far. I would only consider buying from a cub cadet dealership (closest one to me is also a kubota dealer, which while is likely out of my price range might be fun to just check out)

Another brand has sparked my interest, wright mowers. Two models in particular, the ZTO and the Centaur Sport. The ZTO is a sit-down ZTR that seems comparable to the gravely and big dog in terms of build and price point while the centaur sport is a hybrid rider/stander with the FX engines and non-integrated drive system while selling in the $7-8K range. They are also the closest shop around, which is always a plus. Don't know if you know much about them, friend, but they definitely also seem worth checking out

mitchkramah said:

Djdicetn,
After taking another look at the cub cadet, I would at least consider the TANK LZ60 KW due to its FX engine and non-integrated drive system (separate pumps and wheel motors) if I could find a steal closer to $7K, otherwise the overall feedback I've gotten on cub cadet seems a little inconsistent compared to other "value brands", but that's strictly from what I've gathered thus far. I would only consider buying from a cub cadet dealership (closest one to me is also a kubota dealer, which while is likely out of my price range might be fun to just check out)

Another brand has sparked my interest, wright mowers. Two models in particular, the ZTO and the Centaur Sport. The ZTO is a sit-down ZTR that seems comparable to the gravely and big dog in terms of build and price point while the centaur sport is a hybrid rider/stander with the FX engines and non-integrated drive system while selling in the $7-8K range. They are also the closest shop around, which is always a plus. Don't know if you know much about them, friend, but they definitely also seem worth checking out

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I looked at some Wrights early on(the dealer that carried Toros had them) but ruled them out pretty quickly since I was trying to stay under $7K. Same thing happened at my Gravely dealer when I looked at the Skags that he also carried. I would have to be planning on going into the lawn care business when I retire to spend the money that a good Wright or Scag costs. I don't believe I've run across any negative comments about the Wright's on the forum but maybe someone else with experience with them will chime in. Most of the dealers that carried ZTR's with the Hydro-Gear integrated trannies said that they were less likely to develop leaks and other similar problems because the separate units have lots of hyraulic lines and connections. I don't know first-hand how true that is but the Hydro-Gear units do seem to "dominate" the ZTR market.

Have you looked at the Encore extreme?

wjjones said:

Have you looked at the Encore extreme?

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I don't know much about Encore mowers, but here is a link: X-Treme | Encore Power EquipmentEncore Power Equipment.

Thanks for the tip, but unfortunately I don't have an encore dealer within 50 miles of me. I think having a local shop nearby for parts and service is a real factor in this decision, especially since I don't have a truck anymore. That's why gravely, big dog, and wright have me most interested thus far.

My back is killing me from this latest blizzard dumping 20"+ of the wet gravel that is New England snow... spring simply cannot come soon enough!