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Hello, I live on 6 acres, but only about 2.5 of it is cleared. May end up being around 4 cleared acres in the next year or two. I have a pond, lots of trees, a couple sheds to mow around. Also, a small portion of the yard is fenced in for my dogs. I have a JD 100 series lawn tractor right now and it is just too small and slow. I am going to upgrade to a Zero turn in the next few days, and want to get some pro oppinions about my choices.

I have it narrowed to three brands based on the two dealers in the area.

Anyway, my choice is between the Dixie chopper Zee 2 with 48" deck, the husqvarna RZ5424 with Kawasaki engine, or a gravely of some type. I havent checked out the gravely's yet, but the one time I was in the store they were less than inviting/borderline rude. This really makes we want to just go with the other dealer and eliminate gravely, but will consider if they are that much better.

Pretty much what I want to know is, for residential use are the DC and Gravely's worth the extra $$. I want to buy something that will last for many years, but dont want to pay more than I need to. The DC zee 2 was well over 4 grand, while the husqvarna RZ5424 with the kawasaki has a larger deck, and is only $3200. I dont want to buy used because im not very mechanically inclined, and if there were issues I'd end up paying for it to be fixed.

Also, I do tow a dump cart behind the mower a lot and sometimes it is loaded with a few hundred pounds. DC is the only one with a towing capacity listed.

Any and all info is appreciated, and thanks in advance!

:welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2::banana::banana::banana::banana::tractor::tractor::tractor:
Please also look at Toro and Cubcudet :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:very good brands
And Welcome to mowerforum

Jkali said:

Hello, I live on 6 acres, but only about 2.5 of it is cleared. May end up being around 4 cleared acres in the next year or two. I have a pond, lots of trees, a couple sheds to mow around. Also, a small portion of the yard is fenced in for my dogs. I have a JD 100 series lawn tractor right now and it is just too small and slow. I am going to upgrade to a Zero turn in the next few days, and want to get some pro oppinions about my choices.

I have it narrowed to three brands based on the two dealers in the area.

Anyway, my choice is between the Dixie chopper Zee 2 with 48" deck, the husqvarna RZ5424 with Kawasaki engine, or a gravely of some type. I havent checked out the gravely's yet, but the one time I was in the store they were less than inviting/borderline rude. This really makes we want to just go with the other dealer and eliminate gravely, but will consider if they are that much better.

Pretty much what I want to know is, for residential use are the DC and Gravely's worth the extra $$. I want to buy something that will last for many years, but dont want to pay more than I need to. The DC zee 2 was well over 4 grand, while the husqvarna RZ5424 with the kawasaki has a larger deck, and is only $3200. I dont want to buy used because im not very mechanically inclined, and if there were issues I'd end up paying for it to be fixed.

Also, I do tow a dump cart behind the mower a lot and sometimes it is loaded with a few hundred pounds. DC is the only one with a towing capacity listed.

Any and all info is appreciated, and thanks in advance!

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To begin with for the amount of property you're going to be mowing and if you're looking for something that will last for many years I'd stay away from a residential unit and buy commercial grade. I'd personally be looking at the Toro, Hustler or Exmark line of commercial ZTR also Dixie Chopper and Gravely as long as you stay in there commercial line. I'd also keep my JD for towing purposes as the Ztr mower is not noted for it's towing ability.

I know you say you don't want to buy used but if I were you I'd start looking on Craigs-list for a used commercial unit with low hours, a Toro, Hustler or Exmark in the 60" cut range for the amount of property you're going to be mowing.

Out of the three makes your looking at the Gravely and there Gravely Pro turn or there ZT/HD would be my first choice. Something you also may want to consider when buying new is the Warranty, most Commercial mowers will have a better warranty than the Residential. I just purchased A Toro Grandstand and what sold me on it was it has a 5yr 1200 hour warranty and a lot of your Commercial mowers will offer a 3year unlimited hour warranty's.

If I can ask, what part of Florida are you in?

Towing, especially any heavy loads with a Z-turn will shorten it's life greatly. I'm even talking about the commercial units. I hate to say this, but follow Ric's advice. One of the few times we agree.

:welcome: to LMF!

I agree with Ric.
I would save your JD for towing. As Ric said, I would look at a used Hustler, Exmark, or Toro. And not a residential model by those brands. From your choices I would say either Gravely or Dixie Chopper, though.

Look at this thread--it compares a lot of the brands you are looking at: http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=102253.

Let us know what you are thinking and make sure you tell us what you decide! :smile:

Ric said:

To begin with for the amount of property you're going to be mowing and if you're looking for something that will last for many years I'd stay away from a residential unit and buy commercial grade. I'd personally be looking at the Toro, Hustler or Exmark line of commercial ZTR also Dixie Chopper and Gravely as long as you stay in there commercial line. I'd also keep my JD for towing purposes as the Ztr mower is not noted for it's towing ability.

I know you say you don't want to buy used but if I were you I'd start looking on Craigs-list for a used commercial unit with low hours, a Toro, Hustler or Exmark in the 60" cut range for the amount of property you're going to be mowing.

Out of the three makes your looking at the Gravely and there Gravely Pro turn or there ZT/HD would be my first choice. Something you also may want to consider when buying new is the Warranty, most Commercial mowers will have a better warranty than the Residential. I just purchased A Toro Grandstand and what sold me on it was it has a 5yr 1200 hour warranty and a lot of your Commercial mowers will offer a 3year unlimited hour warranty's.

If I can ask, what part of Florida are you in?

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Best way to go with what Ric says :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Ric said:

If I can ask, what part of Florida are you in?

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I live in cocoa fl, about 15 minutes west of cocoa beach.

Thanks for all the help everyone! The Dixie chopper dealer, also has toro, and exmark so I will make sure I read up on these before I go back this wed.

Jkali said:

I live in cocoa fl, about 15 minutes west of cocoa beach.

Thanks for all the help everyone! The Dixie chopper dealer, also has toro, and exmark so I will make sure I read up on these before I go back this wed.

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Post pics when you buy :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

K-Pro-Mowing said:

Post pics when you buy :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Yeah I can't wait to see it! :thumbsup:

Ric said it right. Ill add that the bigger grasshopper comes with a kabota diesel 25 hoarse. Made out of heavy duty thick gauge steel. It will last a life time. Other than that the xmark. Good luck to you.

K-Pro-Mowing said:

Post pics when you buy :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Will Do :thumbsup:

Jkali said:

I live in cocoa fl, about 15 minutes west of cocoa beach.

Thanks for all the help everyone! The Dixie chopper dealer, also has toro, and exmark so I will make sure I read up on these before I go back this wed.

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OK If the Dixie chopper dealer also has Toro and Exmark and you're looking at them Buy the Toro. The reason I say that is that Toro owns and makes the Exmark mowers and they're basically the same mower and the Toro is generally speaking price wise some what cheaper than the Exmark.

Example if you look at the Toro Grandstand and compare it to the Exmark Vantage they will be the same mower except for the deck.

Toro uses there Turbo Force deck and Exmark Uses the own deck and some of the exmark will have black paint.

Jkali said:

Will Do :thumbsup:

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Thanks

Well, I had been looking over all the mowers on the internet this week. I went back to the dealer today ready to plunk down the 5500 on the dixie choper magnum 2250 per the suggestions here to go more on the commercial side. The guy there however convinced me to save a grand and get the zee 2 with the kawasaki engine. Should be here by friday or saturday I think. Hopefully it will do what I need it to!

Thanks again for all the advice even though I didnt really follow it lol.

Jkali said:

Well, I had been looking over all the mowers on the internet this week. I went back to the dealer today ready to plunk down the 5500 on the dixie choper magnum 2250 per the suggestions here to go more on the commercial side. The guy there however convinced me to save a grand and get the zee 2 with the kawasaki engine. Should be here by friday or saturday I think. Hopefully it will do what I need it to!

Thanks again for all the advice even though I didnt really follow it lol.

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Which Zee2 how big the 54" ??

I got the 2348. I think it will be big enough. I'm mowing about 2.5 acres and the specs say its good for 2.8 acres per hour. Much better then the three hours it took me with the JD.

Jkali said:

Well, I had been looking over all the mowers on the internet this week. I went back to the dealer today ready to plunk down the 5500 on the dixie choper magnum 2250 per the suggestions here to go more on the commercial side. The guy there however convinced me to save a grand and get the zee 2 with the kawasaki engine. Should be here by friday or saturday I think. Hopefully it will do what I need it to!

Thanks again for all the advice even though I didnt really follow it lol.

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lawn mower fanatic said:

View attachment 10975 View attachment 10976

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When I get it I will be sure to post a few pics of it along with my yard after the mowers first use :biggrin:

Jkali said:

When I get it I will be sure to post a few pics of it along with my yard after the mowers first use :biggrin:

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Oh, yeah....you live in Florida so you are still mowing! :thumbsup: (Unlike here!)

Jkali said:

I got the 2348. I think it will be big enough. I'm mowing about 2.5 acres and the specs say its good for 2.8 acres per hour. Much better then the three hours it took me with the JD.

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There's nothing wrong with the Zee 2. I've run the equivalent in my Cub Cadet in the business and have over 600hrs on it. My CC runs a 22 hp Kohler with the 2800 drives and a 4 gallon gas tank and is a great mower. The Dixie should do everything you want and more.
Change the oil every 50 hours along with the oil filter and keep the air filter clean, keep everything greased and it should last for years. Do have a Question? Spindle bearings are the sealed or do you grease.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Oh, yeah....you live in Florida so you are still mowing! :thumbsup: (Unlike here!)

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Yeah were still mowing, I've done near 30 lawns in the last 3 days. Hopefully after this Friday I'll get next week off then get started again. I heard this morning on the news that 2012 was the hottest year ever on record.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Oh, yeah....you live in Florida so you are still mowing! :thumbsup: (Unlike here!)

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Indeed....here its a year round chore. Luckily the grass at least grows real slow in the winter.

Ric said:

I heard this morning on the news that 2012 was the hottest year ever on record.

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Wow! I know it was hot here, too. In all of July I only mowed 22 lawns! And from July 1st-15th I only mowed 4 lawns! Everything was so dead! :thumbdown:

Yeah I think here in brevard county we have had like 7-8 days of weather below 50 degrees so far. today's high was 81 I think.

Jkali said:

Yeah I think here in brevard county we have had like 7-8 days of weather below 50 degrees so far. today's high was 81 I think.

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Sorry I am encouraging this thread getting off topic! :laughing:
It has been unseasonably warm here, also. This weekend it will get up near 60!! For Pennsylvania that is extremely rare for January!

lawn mower fanatic said:

Sorry I am encouraging this thread getting off topic! :laughing:
It has been unseasonably warm here, also. This weekend it will get up near 60!! For Pennsylvania that is extremely rare for January!

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It's 83 outside right now and it's only been getting down to around 60 to 65 at night. Here's the 7 day forecast for here.

:drink:

Ric said:

It's 83 outside right now and it's only been getting down to around 60 to 65 at night.

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Lucky! :tongue:

Either way....what this means is I WILL get to use my mower the instant its delivered :biggrin:

Jkali said:

Either way....what this means is I WILL get to use my mower the instant its delivered :biggrin:

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That's good! :licking:

Well, shipping took longer then was expected, but my mower made its way to the dealer today. Delivery is set for Friday at 0900 :thumbsup::biggrin: Im getin excited now, this thing should do circles around my JD!

Jkali said:

Well, shipping took longer then was expected, but my mower made its way to the dealer today. Delivery is set for Friday at 0900 :thumbsup::biggrin: Im getin excited now, this thing should do circles around my JD!

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I would be so excited, also!

Well it came :biggrin: The kawasaki roars man. It has a beautiful cut, and powered through some thick sawgrass that was like 4 feet tall. I just went slow, and it didnt bog the engine at all. Not something I normally cut, but I had to test it out. I was going to take a picture of the mower in the freshly cut yard, but it started raining while I was weedwacking so I put everything away for now.

One thing I really like a lot is that it shoots all the clippings so far that there isnt those lines of dead grass (my JD did that really bad). Everything is nice and even, and the yard looks great. Plus it took me like an hour less then with the JD. Im a happy camper!

Jkali said:

Well it came :biggrin: The kawasaki roars man. It has a beautiful cut, and powered through some thick sawgrass that was like 4 feet tall. I just went slow, and it didnt bog the engine at all. Not something I normally cut, but I had to test it out. I was going to take a picture of the mower in the freshly cut yard, but it started raining while I was weedwacking so I put everything away for now.

One thing I really like a lot is that it shoots all the clippings so far that there isnt those lines of dead grass (my JD did that really bad). Everything is nice and even, and the yard looks great. Plus it took me like an hour less then with the JD. Im a happy camper!

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I'm glad you like it! Can't wait to see pictures! :thumbsup: :smile:

Pics as requested. About 3/4 of the yard, and mower in its new home :smile:

Jkali said:

Pics as requested. About 3/4 of the yard, and mower in its new home :smile:

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:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Really nice!!!!

Jkali said:

Pics as requested. About 3/4 of the yard, and mower in its new home :smile:

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And you better get the blower out and clean that mower, it looks terrible. You wouldn't know it was a new mower.

Ric said:

And you better get the blower out and clean that mower, it looks terrible. You wouldn't know it was a new mower.

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Yeah it is pretty dirty!

P.S. I like the Echo trimmer next to the Dixie Chopper! :biggrin:

lawn mower fanatic said:

Yeah it is pretty dirty!

P.S. I like the Echo trimmer next to the Dixie Chopper! :biggrin:

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:smile: Hey it's his mower and he can do what he wants. I was just picking a little because it's new. You know I'm real picky about my mower maintenance anyway, but you know it's a good practice to get into. I blow my mowers off after every lawn I do.

scags pro. is also a good choice but haveing a dealership close is not a big deal especialy with a new machine you can order any part off the web you definley want a comerical mower with that amount of grass

lawn mower fanatic said:

Yeah it is pretty dirty!

P.S. I like the Echo trimmer next to the Dixie Chopper! :biggrin:

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Thanks, Its been a great machine so far!

Ric said:

:smile: Hey it's his mower and he can do what he wants. I was just picking a little because it's new. You know I'm real picky about my mower maintenance anyway, but you know it's a good practice to get into. I blow my mowers off after every lawn I do.

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Well, I dont own a blower because as you can see my driveway is a dirt road....Not gunna waste time blowing grass off my dirt lol. Is there any other way to easily clean the mower? is it bad to hose it off? I can hose it off but kinda figured a lot of water on a regular basis isnt that great for it either.

big daddy ray said:

scags pro. is also a good choice but haveing a dealership close is not a big deal especialy with a new machine you can order any part off the web you definley want a comerical mower with that amount of grass

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I did look at scagg but my budget was set at 5k and that didnt seem to be enough for one. Hence the cheap model from Dixie Chopper. Im no mower pro, but the DC does feel and look pretty industrial. I think it will be enough for my needs, especially since I will only put about 2 hours per week on it.

Jkali said:

Thanks, Its been a great machine so far!



Well, I dont own a blower because as you can see my driveway is a dirt road....Not gunna waste time blowing grass off my dirt lol. Is there any other way to easily clean the mower? is it bad to hose it off? I can hose it off but kinda figured a lot of water on a regular basis isnt that great for it either.



I did look at scagg but my budget was set at 5k and that didnt seem to be enough for one. Hence the cheap model from Dixie Chopper. Im no mower pro, but the DC does feel and look pretty industrial. I think it will be enough for my needs, especially since I will only put about 2 hours per week on it.

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If you have a shop.in vac sick or blow it off with that'.:thumbsup:

Ric said:

:smile: Hey it's his mower and he can do what he wants. I was just picking a little because it's new. You know I'm real picky about my mower maintenance anyway, but you know it's a good practice to get into. I blow my mowers off after every lawn I do.

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Ric,
I, like you am picky about keeping my equipment clean!! I've only mowed 6 times with my new Gravely ZTR but it still looks like it did the day I picked it up. I don't have a blower(yet), but have been avoiding the use of the garden hose like I did on my lawn tractors(of course they always needed that to get the grass/dirt buildup from underneath the deck, which doesn't seem to be a problem for my ZTR). My son just retired my first lawn tractor(1993 True Value Lawn Chief) and although it still looked good for a 20-yr-old mower there was a lot of rust(most likely from the constant cleaning with a garden hose). I did the same with my 2006 Craftsman lawn tractor that I replaced with the Gravely and only time will tell how soon rust problems surface for my son who I gave it too. What I'm doing on the Gravely is rolling my air compressor out to it and using a pistol grip tube sprayer to blow it off. With a full tank of air @ 125psi it seems to do a real good job for now(and I just wipe it down with a clean dry rag after blowing it off). I may "wash & wax" the Gravely once a season just to keep that showroom look but want to avoid excess usage of water on it for obvious reasons.

I'm the same way on my car & truck and at least 3-4 times a year let them cool down at a coin car wash and use the pressure wash to clean the engine, engine comparment and underside. When you look at the 350V8 in my 1995 Chevy Z71 truck(230K miles and still built like a rock) it still looks like a fairly new engine. I really believe if you let dirt build up it causes unneeded over-heating that results in uneccessary wear & tear. And feel the same way about my lawn & garden equipment.

I recently purchased a Zee 2. Overall is ok but you may just as well off to purchase the less expensive option. I have not been wowed.

Titrate said:

I recently purchased a Zee 2. Overall is ok but you may just as well off to purchase the less expensive option. I have not been wowed.

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Can you provide more info? How would you rate the cut, durability, controls, etc.? :smile: