I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

[djdicetn]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

Howdy Tso, I Bought a new ztr last year so I understand what your going through. I have a 1994 Dixon with the 20hp Kohler that is a tank,my wife loves to mow with it,my local dixon dealer has been in business for over 30yrs and even they told me not to buy the "new dixon" they said once husky took over their quailty went downhill, they have been very disapponted. my son bought a gravely 3 yrs ago and mowes about 10 rough acres and loves it. I bought a Hustler last year to mow my 20 acre pasture with and I couldn't be happier, It used to take me 12 hrs to brushhog it and now I can do it in 6 hrs. The choice is up to you but when a dealer tells me not to buy their mower that carries alot of weight with me. let us know what you decide. Cactusjack

cactusjack24,
I hear ya about the Dixons.....I almost bought the Dixon DX152 Commercial last fall, but couldn't get past it being a "blue Husqvarna" that just couldn't match up feature-to-feature(and Warranties) to the Gravely Pro-Turn XDZ 152 Commercial. Although it would have cost me only $400 less out-the-door than my Gravely. What Hustler series did you get for mowing that 20 acres(I'm thinking most likely the X-1 or Super Z). I also almost pulled the trigger on a Hustler Fastrak Super Duty, but a 54" would have cost me almost $1k more than the Gravely(just couldn't justify that to the Financial Advisor....aka, the wife:0) I too, like your son, am VERY pleased with my Gravely!!

 

[djdicetn]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

Lot of good advise in these posts. I did my shopping 3 years ago upgrading from a John Deere GX345 with 54 inch deck to a Gravely ZT HD60 with 26HP Kawasaki engine. Great mower but a couple of things I wish had known before I purchased that no one has mention (or I over looked).:frown: First, and this applies to most all ZT I have seen, is a poor design of the engine carburetor intake. They are too low, thus the filters clog up very fast. Have to clean my filter after each mowing and replace after about half a dozen mows. Have seen some recent Gravely models that have a carb intake stack that is about 10 inches above the engine. Looking at it for possible modification to my Gravely. It may be a combination of blade speed, deck design, etc, but my ZT kicks up a lot of clippings and dust which clogs my filter in nothing flat. I think just a bit of height on the intake would either stop or at least cut down on the problem. The Kawasaki air filter is not cheap. It is propitiatory and runs about $15. And they do not make a prefilter for it. Ideas, anyone? Second is tires. Have some slopes to mow and ZT drifts. Changed out tires to a better grip. Help some but not a lot. Friend who owns a Lawn Service company told me after I made the change, that he has his ZT tires filled with the no flat foam. Not the over the counter foam, but the one that is done by tire dealers. It is expensive but he said worth it if you are mowing on slopes. I did do it on my front tires at cost of $35 per tire. The foam adds weigh and thus more traction and more stability.
Other than those two criticisms about the mower, ZT is the way to go if you have a large area to mow (have about 3 acres), and Gravely is a great mower.

Regards, and be good to yourself, and others,
Gil

Gil,
I looked at the ZT HD, which by all accounts is a very good residential mower, but a couple of things(which appear to be your annoying issues) steered me to the Commercial Pro-Turn XDZ series. That was the Kawa FR(Residential) series engine on the ZT HD versus the FX(Commercial) series on the Pro-Turns and the weight of the machines at 853lbs for the ZT HD 60" and 1050lbs on my Pro-Turn 52"(1073lbs for the 60"). The air filter design you mentioned(intake stack that is about 10 inches above the engine) is inherent to the Kawasaki FX series although I don't really understand why your ZT HD "kicks up so much grass clippings". Are you using the discharge chute when you mow or leaving it mounted facing upwards on the deck????? I would highly recommend that you use the discharge chute if you are not and that may significantly reduce the dust & grass clippings that are clogging your air filter!!! Again, the 853lb weight of your ZT HD is more than a lot of 60" residential units and I would recommend you discuss this with your dealer. I believe the psi air pressure in your rear tires may be contributing to this more than anything. My manual has a "wide range" in the owner manual(front says "20-25psi" and the rear "12-20psi"). What do you have yours inflated to???? I would think the lowest psi in your manual would yield the best "grip"(I have my front @ 20psi and my rear at 12psi) and those are strictly Mfr. "recommendations". Your dealer may know better what psi you should use to alleviate your "drifting" problem. I would NOT recommend tire additives/etc. until talking to your dealer!!!!

 

[Dtchweed]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

I have 2 Ferris Mowers I have a new 1500 52 inch deck then Have a older 2000 with 61 inch deck I field tested ex mark and a snapper and Lands pride ZTI Accu-Z 72 inch deck Liked the ex-mark and Snapper but still liked the ride of my Ferris better

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

.....but still liked the ride of my Ferris better

That's probably because of the suspension technology other brands don't have. :thumbsup:

 

[Gil]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

Gil,
I looked at the ZT HD, which by all accounts is a very good residential mower, but a couple of things(which appear to be your annoying issues) steered me to the Commercial Pro-Turn XDZ series. That was the Kawa FR(Residential) series engine on the ZT HD versus the FX(Commercial) series on the Pro-Turns and the weight of the machines at 853lbs for the ZT HD 60" and 1050lbs on my Pro-Turn 52"(1073lbs for the 60"). The air filter design you mentioned(intake stack that is about 10 inches above the engine) is inherent to the Kawasaki FX series although I don't really understand why your ZT HD "kicks up so much grass clippings". Are you using the discharge chute when you mow or leaving it mounted facing upwards on the deck????? I would highly recommend that you use the discharge chute if you are not and that may significantly reduce the dust & grass clippings that are clogging your air filter!!! Again, the 853lb weight of your ZT HD is more than a lot of 60" residential units and I would recommend you discuss this with your dealer. I believe the psi air pressure in your rear tires may be contributing to this more than anything. My manual has a "wide range" in the owner manual(front says "20-25psi" and the rear "12-20psi"). What do you have yours inflated to???? I would think the lowest psi in your manual would yield the best "grip"(I have my front @ 20psi and my rear at 12psi) and those are strictly Mfr. "recommendations". Your dealer may know better what psi you should use to alleviate your "drifting" problem. I would NOT recommend tire additives/etc. until talking to your dealer!!!!

Will check but believe have my rear tires inflated to 18. Will reduce to 12 and see how that does for me. The carb filter clogs mostly with dust only very little clippings. Have tried both with and without the discharge chute in place and no different that I can note. I use the "Gator" type blades which do a better job for me in cutting and the clippings seem to be smaller. No, I don't use a mulching attachment. Now that's another subject. Going to look into modifying the intake to a stack if possible. Any suggestions on that?

Regards,
Gil

 

[KYDan]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

I am new to this forum and just read this entire thread and discovered a lot of good information. We, my wife and I, mow about 12 acres of lawn where we live on a regular basis and an additional 5 acres occasionally. Some of it is nice smooth lawn and relatively flat and other parts are rough and hilly with some slopes around 20 degrees or possibly marginally steeper. Currently, we are mowing with a JD 757 60" deck and have been using it since 2005. We also had an older Ferris 36" walk behind that we sold last fall, as well as several push mowers (Hondas and Toros). We are in the market for another zero turn and have started shopping. We want mowers with 60" decks as they suit our needs the best for fast mowing with minimal scalping, 72" decks scalp too much for us to consider them. We are open to any brands that are available reasonably close to us, but we have been shopping Exmarks, Ferris, Scag, and Hustler. We briefly tried the Hustler Super Z yesterday and it is very fast, but seemed "squirrely" handling to me. I sort of liked the Turf Tiger Scag as it handled more like the JD that we have. The Scag has the 27 hp Kohler with EFI and the Hustler had the 35 hp commercial carburetored Kawasaki. We have the Kawasaki 25 hp on the JD and it has been a great engine. The Exmark is pricey, but everyone that has them seems to love them. The dealer that we last visited has both the Hustler and the Scag and the salesperson was really high on the Hustler, and it did have an impressive deck, but I know very little about the brand. I liked the Scag Turf Tiger as it felt familiar and it has a really wide wheelbase which is good for mowing slopes, but I am not sold on any particular brand yet. Any input and experiences that you are will to share would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mad Mackie]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

Hi KYDan,
What model Hustler do you demo? I have a Hustler X-ONE/Kawasaki FX730V, 23.5 HP/60" rear discharge deck. It is used in a cemetery primarily, great machine, handles well and does a fine job mowing in a 200 year old cemetery.
I also have a Scag Tiger Cub/48" deck/collection system that I haul around in my trailer.
There are lots of Scag Turf Tigers in my area and they are a very substantial machine, some pro guys have two or three. The deck sizes vary from 52" to 61", 72" deck puts an operator into a wider trailer size that most don't want to get into.
I have been reading some not good news about the Kawasaki big block engines scoring the cylinders and other problems, so I would stay away from machines powered with them until Kawasaki has solved the problems with them.
The Scag Turf Tiger has a horizontal crankshaft engine which appears to have somewhat longer life. A horizontal engine adds to the machines complexity in getting power to the deck, but these machines have been very durable providing that maintenance gets done in a timely manner.
When it comes to hilly areas, one needs to be aware of the possibility of oil starvation in the engine at excessive angles in addition to the loss of control of the machine. I mow a place with a 20 degree plus hill and I back the machine down the hill and mow up the hill. I turn the machine around up on the more level area. This adds time to this mowing job, but this is the only safe way to mow this area. The garden tractors that I retired from mowing, I had installed oil pressure lights on the engines having repowered them over the years. I would like to do this to my Tiger Cub, but this engine is not an easy one to adapt an oil pressure sender onto.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

 

[Nwatson99]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

I am new to this forum and just read this entire thread and discovered a lot of good information. We, my wife and I, mow about 12 acres of lawn where we live on a regular basis and an additional 5 acres occasionally. Some of it is nice smooth lawn and relatively flat and other parts are rough and hilly with some slopes around 20 degrees or possibly marginally steeper. Currently, we are mowing with a JD 757 60" deck and have been using it since 2005. We also had an older Ferris 36" walk behind that we sold last fall, as well as several push mowers (Hondas and Toros). We are in the market for another zero turn and have started shopping. We want mowers with 60" decks as they suit our needs the best for fast mowing with minimal scalping, 72" decks scalp too much for us to consider them. We are open to any brands that are available reasonably close to us, but we have been shopping Exmarks, Ferris, Scag, and Hustler. We briefly tried the Hustler Super Z yesterday and it is very fast, but seemed "squirrely" handling to me. I sort of liked the Turf Tiger Scag as it handled more like the JD that we have. The Scag has the 27 hp Kohler with EFI and the Hustler had the 35 hp commercial carburetored Kawasaki. We have the Kawasaki 25 hp on the JD and it has been a great engine. The Exmark is pricey, but everyone that has them seems to love them. The dealer that we last visited has both the Hustler and the Scag and the salesperson was really high on the Hustler, and it did have an impressive deck, but I know very little about the brand. I liked the Scag Turf Tiger as it felt familiar and it has a really wide wheelbase which is good for mowing slopes, but I am not sold on any particular brand yet. Any input and experiences that you are will to share would be greatly appreciated.

You live in Ky, you own a JD and not talking about buying another JD why???

 

[Ric]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

I am new to this forum and just read this entire thread and discovered a lot of good information. We, my wife and I, mow about 12 acres of lawn where we live on a regular basis and an additional 5 acres occasionally. Some of it is nice smooth lawn and relatively flat and other parts are rough and hilly with some slopes around 20 degrees or possibly marginally steeper. Currently, we are mowing with a JD 757 60" deck and have been using it since 2005. We also had an older Ferris 36" walk behind that we sold last fall, as well as several push mowers (Honda's and Toros). We are in the market for another zero turn and have started shopping. We want mowers with 60" decks as they suit our needs the best for fast mowing with minimal scalping, 72" decks scalp too much for us to consider them. We are open to any brands that are available reasonably close to us, but we have been shopping Exmarks, Ferris, Scag, and Hustler. We briefly tried the Hustler Super Z yesterday and it is very fast, but seemed "squirrely" handling to me. I sort of liked the Turf Tiger Scag as it handled more like the JD that we have. The Scag has the 27 hp Kohler with EFI and the Hustler had the 35 hp commercial carburetored Kawasaki. We have the Kawasaki 25 hp on the JD and it has been a great engine. The Exmark is pricey, but everyone that has them seems to love them. The dealer that we last visited has both the Hustler and the Scag and the salesperson was really high on the Hustler, and it did have an impressive deck, but I know very little about the brand. I liked the Scag Turf Tiger as it felt familiar and it has a really wide wheelbase which is good for mowing slopes, but I am not sold on any particular brand yet. Any input and experiences that you are will to share would be greatly appreciated.

Have you looked at the Toros. How about the Grandstand mowers? there capable of mowing up to 20 degree slopes and are more maneuverable and productive than the ZTR and you can get them up to a 60" cut. With the Grandstand you have a zero turn with the option of a walk-behind also, best of both worlds.

 

[Mad Mackie]

Re: I'm shopping for a ZTR 60" --- Here's what I'm finding, your thoughts please

I for sure would not want to mow 12-17 acres on a stander!!:thumbdown:
If the smooth part is nice, then I would consider a Scag Cheetah which has selectable ground speeds up to 16 MPH. JMO
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing: