Gravely ZT50 vs. Hustler Raptor

[tfcyclingdad]

Greetings fellow LawnWorld Forum users! I'm new to LawnWorld but not to ZTR mowers. I have a little over an acre to mow and it includes cutting around some trees along with several short slopes around a detention basin in part of my back yard. Up until last fall, for the last 24 years I've bought several used used Dixon 42 inch ZTR's. The most recent one was built in the early 90's. It was a fairly reliable mower until about 7 years ago when things started to finally breakdown. A couple of years ago the cone drive finally gave out and I bought and installed a replacement. It only lasted a couple of seasons and found out that the Dixon replacement cone drives from the last few years were built with crappy steel from China, quoting my Dixon dealer. The engine was starting to go as well, so I finally retired it last fall and decided it was time to move on. I am now shopping for a NEW Residential ZTR. I've done a ton of online research, talked to several friends, both in the mowing business and residential mowers like me and have talked to 3 different dealerships. I'm down to deciding between the Gravely ZT50 and the Hustler Raptor 52 inch ZTR. I'm on a tight budget and have quotes for both of these for $3,000 including delivery. I haven't been able to find many independent reviews online or direct comparison reviews for these two mowers, so I'm hoping this thread will generate some solid comments. Thanks in advance for your sound advice!
:newhere:

 

[Ganall]

I would buy a hustler raptor, it may be expensive but its well worth the money, its fast and easy to operate with tons of power

 

[bruce4]

Greetings fellow LawnWorld Forum users! I'm new to LawnWorld but not to ZTR mowers. I have a little over an acre to mow and it includes cutting around some trees along with several short slopes around a detention basin in part of my back yard. Up until last fall, for the last 24 years I've bought several used used Dixon 42 inch ZTR's. The most recent one was built in the early 90's. It was a fairly reliable mower until about 7 years ago when things started to finally breakdown. A couple of years ago the cone drive finally gave out and I bought and installed a replacement. It only lasted a couple of seasons and found out that the Dixon replacement cone drives from the last few years were built with crappy steel from China, quoting my Dixon dealer. The engine was starting to go as well, so I finally retired it last fall and decided it was time to move on. I am now shopping for a NEW Residential ZTR. I've done a ton of online research, talked to several friends, both in the mowing business and residential mowers like me and have talked to 3 different dealerships. I'm down to deciding between the Gravely ZT50 and the Hustler Raptor 52 inch ZTR. I'm on a tight budget and have quotes for both of these for $3,000 including delivery. I haven't been able to find many independent reviews online or direct comparison reviews for these two mowers, so I'm hoping this thread will generate some solid comments. Thanks in advance for your sound advice!
:newhere:

Test drive them and checkout the decks. I bought a ZT 42.