ZTR newb needing advice

[fastbee]

Hello,

Sorry for the long post but I just joined this forum today hoping to find some answers about my very near future mower purchase. I've searched until my eyes are bleeding trying make the best decision I can, and now I've come around to just asking for opinions. I've got a touch over an acre to mow, mostly flat but it fronts two roads and there are slopes that run up to the roads that are roughly 15ｰ. My old 42" MTD could mow up and down the slopes, but would spin out. It has died and now I need a new mower. I want a ZTR, maybe overkill but I hate mowing. Does anyone have any recommendations? My dad has a 54" Hustler SD that I tried and really liked but I think that might be way to much mower for my lot. I can spend up to $5k, but want to make the best purchase not just spend the most money. I want something that will last and do the job. I've got several dealers in my area so just about any brand is available. Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[zmister11]

Hello,

Sorry for the long post but I just joined this forum today hoping to find some answers about my very near future mower purchase. I've searched until my eyes are bleeding trying make the best decision I can, and now I've come around to just asking for opinions. I've got a touch over an acre to mow, mostly flat but it fronts two roads and there are slopes that run up to the roads that are roughly 15ｰ. My old 42" MTD could mow up and down the slopes, but would spin out. It has died and now I need a new mower. I want a ZTR, maybe overkill but I hate mowing. Does anyone have any recommendations? My dad has a 54" Hustler SD that I tried and really liked but I think that might be way to much mower for my lot. I can spend up to $5k, but want to make the best purchase not just spend the most money. I want something that will last and do the job. I've got several dealers in my area so just about any brand is available. Thanks in advance for any comments.

That's a pretty good budget for just an acre. I would look into a semi commercial mower. I used to have the gravely zt xl 48. I purchased it for $4400. And it has the 2800 drives that are serviceable and a kawasaki motor.

 

[fastbee]

$5k is my max...don't necessarily want to spend that much. I just looked online at the Ariens Zoom XL 42. Seems to be a pretty well built mower. I just want something that can climb those hills for years without giving me much trouble. I'm afraid if I get too much mower that the lack of usage will be problematic...does that make sense? If a 54" cut commercial mower handles the job in 15 minutes that's only an hour a month it's getting used.

 

[Shughes717]

Hello,

Sorry for the long post but I just joined this forum today hoping to find some answers about my very near future mower purchase. I've searched until my eyes are bleeding trying make the best decision I can, and now I've come around to just asking for opinions. I've got a touch over an acre to mow, mostly flat but it fronts two roads and there are slopes that run up to the roads that are roughly 15ｰ. My old 42" MTD could mow up and down the slopes, but would spin out. It has died and now I need a new mower. I want a ZTR, maybe overkill but I hate mowing. Does anyone have any recommendations? My dad has a 54" Hustler SD that I tried and really liked but I think that might be way to much mower for my lot. I can spend up to $5k, but want to make the best purchase not just spend the most money. I want something that will last and do the job. I've got several dealers in my area so just about any brand is available. Thanks in advance for any comments.

If you really liked the raptor sd then why not purchase one for yourself? It would be well under your max budget. Or were you talking about the fastrack sd? There are many options out there for a budget like that. As long as you properly maintain your mower and keep it out of the weather lack of use shouldn't hurt it. I purchased a heavy duty commercial 48" when I only had 1 acre to mow. Glad I did, because I now have over 4 acres to mow. What part of Tennessee are you from? I live in Crockett County (West Tennessee).

 

[fastbee]

I live in East Tennessee...Loudon County. The 54" Raptor SD just seemed too big for my yard. We don't currently have a fence of any kind, but probably will. I know I can build a gate big enough to accommodate anything, but I thought a 42" or 48" would be a better fit. It took me about 35 minutes with my dad's mower, that was with me going easy to get a feel for it. Last year I had a guy mow a couple of times after my mower died, he has a 61" Simplicity commercial mower and he unloaded, mowed, trimmed, blew off concrete and was loaded and gone in 45 minutes. I like it being that fast, but like I said before I worry that under use might cause problems. My neighbor has a Cub Cadet 42" ZTR with the steering wheel from Home Depot. Takes him about 25 minutes to mow half as much as I have, and he struggles with the hill going to the street. He doesn't hurry (don't know how fast it "can" mow), so using that as a point of reference I thought a stouter 42" should be able to knock mine out in about 35-40 minutes after I get used to the mower, with limited trimming. I feel confident I could have knocked everything out (mowing and trimming) in about 30 minutes with my dad's running at full tilt. Am I crazy for worrying about only running it a short amount at a time? I looked at the Dixie Chopper Zee 2 line online a bit ago, they look nice too and are priced in line with the Hustlers. Any thoughts on them? Is the new Briggs Commercial Turf engine any good? Most of the mowers I've looked at use it rather than the Kawasaki (Hustler uses Kaw. as standard, some other offer it as an option).

 

[Shughes717]

I live in East Tennessee...Loudon County. The 54" Raptor SD just seemed too big for my yard. We don't currently have a fence of any kind, but probably will. I know I can build a gate big enough to accommodate anything, but I thought a 42" or 48" would be a better fit. It took me about 35 minutes with my dad's mower, that was with me going easy to get a feel for it. Last year I had a guy mow a couple of times after my mower died, he has a 61" Simplicity commercial mower and he unloaded, mowed, trimmed, blew off concrete and was loaded and gone in 45 minutes. I like it being that fast, but like I said before I worry that under use might cause problems. My neighbor has a Cub Cadet 42" ZTR with the steering wheel from Home Depot. Takes him about 25 minutes to mow half as much as I have, and he struggles with the hill going to the street. He doesn't hurry (don't know how fast it "can" mow), so using that as a point of reference I thought a stouter 42" should be able to knock mine out in about 35-40 minutes after I get used to the mower, with limited trimming. I feel confident I could have knocked everything out (mowing and trimming) in about 30 minutes with my dad's running at full tilt. Am I crazy for worrying about only running it a short amount at a time? I looked at the Dixie Chopper Zee 2 line online a bit ago, they look nice too and are priced in line with the Hustlers. Any thoughts on them? Is the new Briggs Commercial Turf engine any good? Most of the mowers I've looked at use it rather than the Kawasaki (Hustler uses Kaw. as standard, some other offer it as an option).

You can get a 48" raptor sd. The commercial turf engine is fairly new. It has gotten some positive reviews, but I must admit that I have never ran a mower with that engine. Dixie choppers are pretty well built, just don't fall for the "worlds fastest mower" line. That is totally false. There are so many options out there. You mentioned simplicity, but there are two other brands that are owned by briggs & Stratton as well (ferris, and snapper pro). Ferris is out of your budget, but the 48" snapper pro s50xt has a couple of engine options and is priced between $4500 and $4900. Or a 36" s50xt for around $4k or less. The 25hp commercial turf engine, or the 19 hp fx600v Kawi. It also offers zt3100 hydros, which are low end commercial. I own a snapper pro s150xt and I can tell you from my own experience that they are great mowers. The kubota kommander would be another good option. Very well built mower. Gravely mowers are worth taking a look at. If you like the feel of the raptor sd though, I would look into a 48" model. They are well priced.

 

[whelch1]

Another option would be the hustler fastrak sd. It is offered in 36, 42, and 48 inch if you are looking for a smaller mower. I haven't priced the fastrak sd so I'm not sure but they list it as a commercial unit so it would probably be pricier than even the biggest raptor sd. I wouldn't worry about not running it long enough, just fertilize and you will be cutting every 3rd or 4th day.

 

[dhd]

Hello,

Sorry for the long post but I just joined this forum today hoping to find some answers about my very near future mower purchase. I've searched until my eyes are bleeding trying make the best decision I can, and now I've come around to just asking for opinions. I've got a touch over an acre to mow, mostly flat but it fronts two roads and there are slopes that run up to the roads that are roughly 15ｰ. My old 42" MTD could mow up and down the slopes, but would spin out. It has died and now I need a new mower. I want a ZTR, maybe overkill but I hate mowing. Does anyone have any recommendations? My dad has a 54" Hustler SD that I tried and really liked but I think that might be way to much mower for my lot. I can spend up to $5k, but want to make the best purchase not just spend the most money. I want something that will last and do the job. I've got several dealers in my area so just about any brand is available. Thanks in advance for any comments.

I have a recommendation for a mower, but it's not a ZTR, it's an articulating all wheel drive.

Here is a link to another thread on this forum, that I posted about a good mower for sloped lawns.
There are a two video links on that thread about the all wheel drive articulating riding mower

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/husqvarna-dixon-forum/31735-good-mower-sloped-lawns.html

I've got a few 15* slopes and a 19* slope where I use to have traction problems with my 2wd Wheel Horse garden tractors.
Last year we replaced the WH with the Husqvarna R322T AWD. With the all wheel drive, there are no traction issues now on those steep slopes.
The R322T will carry my 275# butt up those slopes by going forward or even backing up, I can and have even turned around on those slopes (as long as your careful about it)
List price on the R322T is about $5400 depending on which mower deck you get.
I was able to get my first R322T for $5000 and my second R322T for a little less than $5000.

If you care to read more about the R322T, here is another link, with lots of info.

Husqvarna Rider 322T AWD - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information

Good luck in your search.

 

[indio51]

I asked basically the same question a month ago, I took the advice who you feel comfortable with because major problems need to be fixed and you want to feel comfortable in the service. Then the comfort of the ride. I tried out about 8 different mowers ztr and went with Scag Freedom Z because of all the above. But the decision is yours. Who do you feel Comfortable with, servicing your mower?

 

[Shughes717]

I asked basically the same question a month ago, I took the advice who you feel comfortable with because major problems need to be fixed and you want to feel comfortable in the service. Then the comfort of the ride. I tried out about 8 different mowers ztr and went with Scag Freedom Z because of all the above. But the decision is yours. Who do you feel Comfortable with, servicing your mower?

The scag is another great option. I forgot to mention them. There are so many options out there. As far as the articulating husqvarna, I believe that mower is just a little above the op's budget. Last time I priced one it was just over $5k. They may have come down since then. If the op was able to mow his lawn with a raptor sd then the hills on his property must not be too bad, so there really wouldn't be a need for an articulating mower. The raptor isn't one of the best ztr mowers on hills. The husqvarna mz would be worth a look though.