Please help me. Buying my first ZTR

[serelaw]

Some manufacturers will advertise a 2"x3" frame. 11ga or 2.304 mm
vs a 1.5"x3". 4.5ga 5.1 mm
While the one has the thicker frame the other may have 3400 hydros vs 2800 or 3100 hydros.
10 Mph vs 7.5/8 mph
Blade tip speed [BTS] of 18000 vs 19000 rpm
5 gal vs 8 gal
3/8" vs 1/2" front yokes
Greasable yokes and pulleys plus steering components.
23" and 13x6x6.5 vs 20 and 10x6x5 tires
One may weigh 760 lbs vs 1060 lbs
One may have a thicker deck but have plastic covers on the pulleys.
One may have cast iron 4 hole mandrels vs 8" 6 hole aluminum mandrels.
Dampened steering vs non dampened
rops vs non rops
So really, after just a few things to consider not to mention engine carb or efi
warranty residential vs commercial and most important of all
COLOR, lol [Do not want to mess up the feng shui of your property]
The decisions are endless.

 

[Ric]

I'm new to the forum and to the riding lawn mower world. My new house has about 1 acre and I have a budget of $4000.

I want a good quality ZTR mower. Any thoughts?

Been looking at
Bad boy mz magnum
Raptor SD

Thanks in advance for advice

Live in central Oklahoma
Mainly flat with a small ditch running down one side of the property
Dealers around me are hustler badboy John Deere and Gravely

Out of the mowers you have talked about here and the dealers available to you I'd look at the Hustler first and the Gravely next. Don't be afraid of any mowers with sealed spindle bearings and sealed bearings in the front wheels. The Hustler Raptor SD is a real good mower, it's probably one of the top residential mowers going right at the moment. The Kawasaki motors or engines as some prefer to call them are also at the top of the market at the moment but don't be afraid of one of the Kohler V twins. Personally I'd stay as far away from the B&S as I could.

 

[Ric]

Thank you so much for the replies.
Now we can find you the thickest fabricated easy adjustable chain hung deck, engine power,
Hydro transmissions, largest tires, grease fitting equipped parts, adjustable high back suspension seat,
dampened steering, largest fuel tank, rops equipped, longest warranted, zippity doo dah dayed unit.
I'm sure the contestants will be rolling in shortly. A lot of peeps are at work and will be happy to reply.

Talk about ignorant biased drivel. The guy is looking for a high end residential mower, not a 15K commercial

 

[serelaw]

Talk about ignorant biased drivel. The guy is looking for a high end residential mower, not a 15K commercial

While I did not single any member out, you waste no time accusing me.
I can not believe how rude and ignorant you are ric.
You give as much bad advice as good.
Why is it you can have your opinion but we can not have ours?
You are not the first or last word in lawn care or equipment. But you think you are.
My statement, though not obvious to you was saying the most bang for the buck.
What a troll. Thanks again for the anti Briggs and Stratton bash.
It has been a couple posts since you mentioned your dislike for the brand.

 

[serelaw]

How you ric can get that interpretation out of my answer is mind boggling.
That you are a moderator here is mind boggling also.
Because you are a moderator I can not put you on ignore.

 

[djdicetn]

Live in central Oklahoma
Mainly flat with a small ditch running down one side of the property
Dealers around me are hustler badboy John Deere and Gravely

I agree with user Ric that the Raptor SD would probably serve your needs and is a better deal than the comparable Gravely ZT XL(runs approx. $4,100 for the 48"). Now if you can push the budget up $1K to get into a little heavier duty residential ZTR I would suggest you demo the Hustler FasTrak and Gravely ZT HD. Good luck choosing what's right for you!!!

 

[Ric]

While I did not single any member out, you waste no time accusing me.
I can not believe how rude and ignorant you are ric.
You give as much bad advice as good.
Why is it you can have your opinion but we can not have ours?
You are not the first or last word in lawn care or equipment. But you think you are.
My statement, though not obvious to you was saying the most bang for the buck.
What a troll. Thanks again for the anti Briggs and Stratton bash.
It has been a couple posts since you mentioned your dislike for the brand.

The thing is serlaw is I answered the OP question about the mowers in question, the mowers for the budget he said he had which was $4000 I didn't start suggesting or driveling on about fabricated easy adjustable chain hung deck, engine power, Hydro transmissions, largest tires, grease fitting equipped parts, adjustable high back suspension seat, dampened steering, largest fuel tank, rops equipped, longest warranted, zippity doo dah dayed unit that is a 15K commercial unit which was something the op did not ask about. I try to give advice about the questions asked and as far as my personal opinions go about a particular brand of mower or engine goes if I think it's junk I'll say it's junk. As far as your opinion or anyone else's goes you can have all you want :smile: but if I think it's wrong I'll say so :smile:

 

[serelaw]

You made me feel good ric. I got all that cept for the suspension seat for 4500.00. Not 15,000.

I listed things he could use to compare various models to make an informed choice.
The OP NOW knows what to look for and ask about.
I guess it is easier to just make a sound come from your mouth and say hustler.
Also you say stay away from Briggs but the OP will not know why you say it.
You provide no links or facts or reasoning besides the mouth sound.
So how can he be expected to heed your advice with out evidence?
Moving on here is a link to some other answers Click Here
Here is a link where user ric does not care for the raptor. Or care for the ezt drives.Click here
Some more raptor talkClick here

Original Poster dude, I do not know what makes the models you stated better than the other yet.
When I get some more time I will compare them and see what's up to help you.

 

[Ric]

You made me feel good ric. I got all that cept for the suspension seat for 4500.00. Not 15,000.

I listed things he could use to compare various models to make an informed choice.
The OP NOW knows what to look for and ask about.
I guess it is easier to just make a sound come from your mouth and say hustler.
Also you say stay away from Briggs but the OP will not know why you say it.
You provide no links or facts or reasoning besides the mouth sound.
So how can he be expected to heed your advice with out evidence?
Moving on here is a link to some other answers Click Here
Here is a link where user ric does not care for the raptor. Or care for the ezt drives.Click here
Some more raptor talkClick here

Original Poster dude, I do not know what makes the models you stated better than the other yet.
When I get some more time I will compare them and see what's up to help you.

I'm not going to argue with you because your clearly confused because your still talking about a mower that the op did not ask about. your leaving links about the Hustler Raptor which he didn't ask about if you read the post you would have known we were talking about the Raptor SD with 2800 drives so why would I want to tell him about a down grade ezt drive system :confused3:and besides that your links are probably something he has already seen if he has toured the forum and checked out the other threads here.:smile:

 

[djdicetn]

You made me feel good ric. I got all that cept for the suspension seat for 4500.00. Not 15,000.

I listed things he could use to compare various models to make an informed choice.
The OP NOW knows what to look for and ask about.
I guess it is easier to just make a sound come from your mouth and say hustler.
Also you say stay away from Briggs but the OP will not know why you say it.
You provide no links or facts or reasoning besides the mouth sound.
So how can he be expected to heed your advice with out evidence?
Moving on here is a link to some other answers Click Here
Here is a link where user ric does not care for the raptor. Or care for the ezt drives.Click here
Some more raptor talkClick here

Original Poster dude, I do not know what makes the models you stated better than the other yet.
When I get some more time I will compare them and see what's up to help you.

serelaw,

Not "taking sides":0)
But I thought I'd point out a flaw in your statement regarding the link where "Ric does not care for the raptor or care for the ezt drives". That's really not relevant to this discussion because (1)that thread was in Oct, 2013 and was discussing the 2013 Raptor, not the current 2014 Raptor lineup(which changed significantly, including an upgrade to the HydroGear ZT-2800 trannnies); (2) the 2013 was a revised Hustler Sport as pointed out in that thread and it DID still have the HydroGear EZT trannies; (3)Ric, and most other of users last Fall, discouraged investing in a ZTR with the EZT drives because they are "light duty" transaxles and cannot have maintenance performed on them and finally (4)Ric has "eased up" on the Raptor RSD for 2014(he even vehemently defends Hustler regarding how they've handled the clutch recall(even though Ric & I didn't see eye-to-eye on that subject:0)


I have no problem with anybody having different opinions than others here(including myself), but I would suggest that you closely read threads(including the date range of postings) before quoting something that gives an outdated/changed view of another user. I'm certain that Ric can handle honest criticism, but that was kind of a low blow so-to-speak.