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New Owner (RSD 48") with some questions

#1

J

JDubya88

Hello everyone. I just purchased my Hustler Raptor SD 48" this weekend and I love this thing! I feel like I got a great deal from my local dealer because he matched the 10% military discount that Lowe's was offering and delivered it for free. I had no intentions of buying from Lowes because I wanted to have the dealer behind me for service and such. If anyone lives in the Central FL area, message me and I'll be glad to share my local dealer's information with you. My last mower was a 21" Poulan push-mower that I have used for the past 8 years. I finally got tired of push-mowing in the 100 degree heat and humidity of FL summers. I really love my new Hustler and took my time deciding on which one to buy. This site was a great resource for me during my search and I appreciate everyones input on previous threads. I'm glad I went ahead and stepped up to the RSD over the standard Raptor because I plan on having this mower for a very long time.

Here are a few questions I've come up with and I'd appreciate any information you guys could share with me:

1) I live in a residential neighborhood right now with about 1/3 of an acre. I know this mower is overkill for my current situation, but my wife and I have plans in the work of moving to at least 3 acres in the future. I would have spent the extra $100 to get the RSD 54", but my current yard will not allow it without widening gates and moving things around in the yard. The 48" fits perfectly without modifications so it was the best compromise. However, my front yard has a bit of a slope to it. I'm not 100% sure what the grade is, but I would say it's between 10-15 degrees and maybe a little more in certain spots. I mowed my yard for the first time yesterday and I did have a very slight slip in certain areas. My question is, can I put a wider tire on the rear to alleviate the slipping? I know the 54" comes with the wider 12" tires compared to the 48" that has 8" tires. I think putting the 12" wide tires on my mower would make it too wide for my gates, but would it be possible to put on a 10" wide tire? Would the 10" wide tire be noticeably better than the 8" wide tires that are currently on there?

2) I am very confused by Hustler's deck height lettering. Can someone explain the Letter-to-Height conversion for me? What is a good setting for my residential Bahia grass that I'm currently cutting?

3) I may have to cut my grass in the late evening as the sun is going down. Is there a good option besides the $199 light kit from Hustler?

4) I plan on talking to my dealer to get the heat shield under warranty to protect my grass from burning. Is the engine shroud worth paying $70 for?

Here are some pictures of the mower. Sorry for the messy garage. That is my next project.



#2

djdicetn

djdicetn

JDubya88 said:
Hello everyone. I just purchased my Hustler Raptor SD 48" this weekend and I love this thing! I feel like I got a great deal from my local dealer because he matched the 10% military discount that Lowe's was offering and delivered it for free. I had no intentions of buying from Lowes because I wanted to have the dealer behind me for service and such. If anyone lives in the Central FL area, message me and I'll be glad to share my local dealer's information with you. My last mower was a 21" Poulan push-mower that I have used for the past 8 years. I finally got tired of push-mowing in the 100 degree heat and humidity of FL summers. I really love my new Hustler and took my time deciding on which one to buy. This site was a great resource for me during my search and I appreciate everyones input on previous threads. I'm glad I went ahead and stepped up to the RSD over the standard Raptor because I plan on having this mower for a very long time.

Here are a few questions I've come up with and I'd appreciate any information you guys could share with me:

1) I live in a residential neighborhood right now with about 1/3 of an acre. I know this mower is overkill for my current situation, but my wife and I have plans in the work of moving to at least 3 acres in the future. I would have spent the extra $100 to get the RSD 54", but my current yard will not allow it without widening gates and moving things around in the yard. The 48" fits perfectly without modifications so it was the best compromise. However, my front yard has a bit of a slope to it. I'm not 100% sure what the grade is, but I would say it's between 10-15 degrees and maybe a little more in certain spots. I mowed my yard for the first time yesterday and I did have a very slight slip in certain areas. My question is, can I put a wider tire on the rear to alleviate the slipping? I know the 54" comes with the wider 12" tires compared to the 48" that has 8" tires. I think putting the 12" wide tires on my mower would make it too wide for my gates, but would it be possible to put on a 10" wide tire? Would the 10" wide tire be noticeably better than the 8" wide tires that are currently on there?

2) I am very confused by Hustler's deck height lettering. Can someone explain the Letter-to-Height conversion for me? What is a good setting for my residential Bahia grass that I'm currently cutting?

3) I may have to cut my grass in the late evening as the sun is going down. Is there a good option besides the $199 light kit from Hustler?

4) I plan on talking to my dealer to get the heat shield under warranty to protect my grass from burning. Is the engine shroud worth paying $70 for?

Here are some pictures of the mower. Sorry for the messy garage. That is my next project.

Click to expand...
I'm not much help on your first two questions...but if you want to install a nice light kit for < $40 check out the link below to a sticky where I added a light kit to my Gravely. On the engine shroud, I think protecting your engine against anything behind your mower is worth $70 and I wouldn't have a ZTR without one. Link to light kit details:

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/build-yourself/18564-ztr-light-kit.html


#3

F

ffk_pennywise

Congrats on the purchase!

I agree with the lettering being confusing. What I did was park the mower on the driveway and I used a tape measure to measure the cutting height. I think each letter is a quarter inch worth of change? So I found the current height and made the necessary adjustment to get to 4". Confirmed with tape measure and that's where I leave it.


#4

RetiredGuns

RetiredGuns

Welcome to the Hustler family. My local dealer got me the 10% military discount as well after I called Hustler and told them a retired Marine of 20 years deserves the discount! I had a couple close calls on smacking the engine on a couple things in my yard so when I got the chance for an engine guard I snatched it up. Gives me a warm & fuzzy about potential damage and it also makes the mower look finished.

You guys are too technical for me on the deck height. I put it where I think I want it and cut. If I don't like it, I move it!

Without & with engine guard..

b.JPG


h.JPG


#5

J

JDubya88

Thanks for all of the replies so far guys and keep them coming.

djdicetn, thanks for the recommendation on the lighting kit. I really like the price and think I might go with a similar route you did with the driving lights, but I may try to figure out a way to install them forward of the foot rest to eliminate as much of the shadow as I can.

ffk_pennywise, I was looking through one of the manuals and I ran across something saying that the H position is 3.25". I think I have my cut set on 2.75" right now on the F setting and the cut looks pretty good. I wish Hustler would be a little more clear as to what letter equals what height.

RetiredGuns, I agree that the engine shroud is a great precautionary idea and I personally think it looks better with it on there. I will try to get one and install it before my next mow. I was also reading that some of the guys here were getting their heat shield for free from Hustler because if you sit in one place for too long with the mower running, it creates a brown/burnt spot in the grass. I'll talk to my dealer about getting that one covered too. By the way, Semper Fi!


#6

RetiredGuns

RetiredGuns

Semper fi!

My dealer is trying to get me a refund on the shield, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't think there is an actual program to give out free shields, but it never hurts to ask. I don't think my muffler was burning my lawn. In my case the culprit(s) seem to be 2 dogs peeing in the same area over and over.


#7

J

JDubya88

I went to the dealer today and picked up the engine shroud. I think it makes the mower look a lot better from the rear not to mention the extra protection of the motor it provides. I got it for $83 out the door. I know it's a little more than what others have paid for it, but the dealer had it in stock and I was happy with the price because I got such a good deal on the mower.



While I was there, I also asked the dealer about getting me a heat shield for the exhaust from Hustler for free because there are a couple brown marks on my lawn from sitting in one spot too long. I showed him some pictures of the spots. He said he hadn't heard of it before but he is going to call Hustler to see about getting me one.

Is it bad that I wanna go out and cut the lawn again even though its only been 3 days since the last cut? :thumbsup:


#8



DSepe

JDubya88 said:
I went to the dealer today and picked up the engine shroud. I think it makes the mower look a lot better from the rear not to mention the extra protection of the motor it provides. I got it for $83 out the door. I know it's a little more than what others have paid for it, but the dealer had it in stock and I was happy with the price because I got such a good deal on the mower. http://s713.photobucket.com/user/Pi...4dd92216-b0fc-4963-a893-60102c39f5ad.jpg.html http://s713.photobucket.com/user/Pi...b360b80f-badc-44a7-b676-47317493d521.jpg.html While I was there, I also asked the dealer about getting me a heat shield for the exhaust from Hustler for free because there are a couple brown marks on my lawn from sitting in one spot too long. I showed him some pictures of the spots. He said he hadn't heard of it before but he is going to call Hustler to see about getting me one. Is it bad that I wanna go out and cut the lawn again even though its only been 3 days since the last cut? :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Look at you throwing that trimmer on your nice new mower...:) looking real good


#9

K

Kremeneon

Deck Heights:
Blades are .25" above deck lip
A - 1.5
B - 1.75
C - 2.0
D - 2.25
E - 2.5
F - 2.75
G - 3.0
H - 3.25 <- calibrate here with 3" blocks
I - 3.5 <- I mow here
J - 3.75
K - 4.0
L - 4.25
M - 4.5


#10

J

JDubya88

Kremeneon said:
Deck Heights:
Blades are .25" above deck lip
A - 1.5
B - 1.75
C - 2.0
D - 2.25
E - 2.5
F - 2.75
G - 3.0
H - 3.25 <- calibrate here with 3" blocks
I - 3.5 <- I mow here
J - 3.75
K - 4.0
L - 4.25
M - 4.5
Click to expand...

Awesome! This is exactly what I wanted. I can't find this type of chart anywhere in my Hustler manual! Thank you!:thumbsup:


#11

K

Kremeneon

JDubya88 said:
Awesome! This is exactly what I wanted. I can't find this type of chart anywhere in my Hustler manual! Thank you!:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I know :(

I had to build it myself.


#12

G

gasjr4wd

old thread I know but...
anyone actually get to set it on the highest setting? (M)
I checked my height and adjusted the nuts to match what they should be... the long arm gets in the way of the pin so you can't put it in.


#13

mhavanti

mhavanti

I've cut in both the highest setting as well as in the parked deck transport height as well. There isn't enough difference between full cut height and leaving the deck in transport height.

No problems in sliding the pin in at any location thus far in three years.

Wonder what the difference is between yours and mine?

Max


#14

rbsmith6

rbsmith6

Lights,hustler lights.jpg

$15 on Ebay.


#15

mhavanti

mhavanti

Smith,

Those lights look great!

Good job,

Max


#16

C

clubairth

You can also get a decal with the cutting heights printed on it.
MUCH better than that goofy A,B,C stuff!

It's only $8.50 on EBay too.
Deck Height Decal
.
.
.


#17

Mr. Mower

Mr. Mower

Great!.....yes you definitely got a good deal with those two incentives!

That's why I purchased mine from Lowe's for those two incentives they offered. When shopping around, none and I mean none of the local dealers wouldn't even consider offering me a military discount and some wanted an outrageous amount just to deliver or I had to either pick it up myself or pay someone who would deliver it to my house.

Again, good for you.

JDubya88 said:
Hello everyone. I just purchased my Hustler Raptor SD 48" this weekend and I love this thing! I feel like I got a great deal from my local dealer because he matched the 10% military discount that Lowe's was offering and delivered it for free.

Here are some pictures of the mower. Sorry for the messy garage. That is my next project.

Click to expand...


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