trim side considerations?

[tacod]

some great info on this site, glad to now be a member!

i've been shopping for a new zero turn to upgrade my ~10yo craftsman lawn tractor. my primary consideration is time savings, though i'm expecting to get a better cut out of a better mower, too.

in any case, my search has led me to the hustler fastrak. i'm stuck on the choice between 54" and 48". for the size of my lot (1.3 ac), i don't really feel like i need the extra width, but the trim side capacity on the 54" is 4.5" vs. 2" on the 48".

am i making too much of it, or will that difference be noticeable enough to go with the bigger deck?

many thanks in advance!!

dan

 

[jimrs]

I bought a 42'' because of some places that I have to get into. If not for that I would have bought a bigger deck. Though I get by with it, larger is sometimes just a few inches short of not having to mow that area with a push mower. The storage of a larger deck was my real main concern as it wont go into my shed. I find it easier to use the 42" as I have already broke a pvc water pipe hose bib off the extra wide deck would have been more damage. I think that you would be happy with either.

 

[tacod]

Thanks for your thoughts. I wrote the check today on a 54" model. Delivery on Friday!

Dan

 

[tacod]

I have mowed with it once now, and I'm glad for the bit of extra deck. There are definitely a few tight spots where the rear wheel is close with the 54" deck that I figure I'd be running stuff over with 48" deck.

Went from 2:30 to 1:05...including time to get comfy driving the new rig...guessing 45 min or so will be norm. :smile:

 

[fsagames]

Scared to death first time out. Very comfy now. Cutting 7 acres. Time went from 14 to 5 hours. I think my 60 inch deck has something like 7 inch trim. I have tons of trees and no problems. ROPS gets in the way so I'm thinking of completely removing it.