Hustler Raptor XD 60" ztr at Lowes

[gregintenn]

48 minutes ago, Sam1 said:

if you have a tractor already, why not just get a deck? You could fill in the little stuff with a push mower for a couple hundred $  6 acres is a lot of grass to chop on a regular basis.

 

You're looking at $1500+/- for a 6' deck compared to $5000+/- for a mower, and I can assure you that your tractor will still be running long after the mower has come and gone

I have a. bush hog and a finish mower for the tractor. It works great, but I'd really like to cut down on my mowing time.

I can mow my yard just as quickly with a 42" zero turn as I can with the tractor and 72" finish mower. Wouldn't you think I'd get a significant time savings with a 60" ztr?

[gregintenn]

53 minutes ago, jpx2rk said:

Try and notice what all the local lawn services use, the machines are good or they get good service when one breaks down.  Lawnmowers are like guns, everyone likes what they have for the most part since it's such a high $$ purchase.  I really debated about my Ferris ZTR as I didn't want to spend that kind of $$ on a mower first of all, but knew I wanted/needed a quality unit to justify the purchase, knowing it was going to be my "last" mower I purchased.  

Every brand can have a lemon.  GL in your quest.  

There must not be a Ferris dealer around here, because I don't recall ever having seen that brand before you mentioned it. I will check it out. Thanks.

[Dane]

2 hours ago, gregintenn said:

I got a DT McCall and Son flyer today full of mowers, and my wife stopped by Hobdy, Dye, and Reid in Scottsville, Ky., and got some info and prices.

Looks like 9-10k for something that'll last.

Wow! That's a lot of cabbage for a mower. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet, or stick with my slow old tractor.

As my tractor is a Kubota, and has given great service, I'm sort of leaning toward a Kubota mower right now.

Brother in law mows commercially, and swears by John Deere.

My father has a Dixie Chopper, and it is a good mower. He said someone told him the new ones aren't as good as the ones like he has. I don't know if there's any truth to that.

I can't seem to find a consensus on any particular brand, and there's a LOT of em. I wish I knew more about them.

I appreciate everyone's input on this.

I like Kubota tractors.  With that said most Kubota dealers seem to sell Exmark that I've seen.  If you are going to spend $8000 or more buy an Exmark.  There is a reason they are the pros choice.  Under the 8k mark I still like the Bad Boy for the strongest mower for the dollar.  

I used to own a Dixie and you were told correct.  The new ones aren't as good as the old ones.  

And green is just a really expensive color of paint.

 

Edited March 31, 2017 by Dane

[Sidecarist]

Not sure why all the bad feeling about the Hustler. Mines been fine, starts easily, mows well, comfortable enough. I just can't justify double the price for a machine that does the same thing. I pulled it out of the barn today and other than one soft front tire. It's just like it was when I put it away for winter.

More expensive machines may be more durable but thats more important to commercial mowers than a home owner. Most commercial operations will put something like 5 years of homeowner use into a year. To them it's worth it.

For a homeowner it's kind of like buying a Kimber....

[Sam1]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

I have a. bush hog and a finish mower for the tractor. It works great, but I'd really like to cut down on my mowing time.

I can mow my yard just as quickly with a 42" zero turn as I can with the tractor and 72" finish mower. Wouldn't you think I'd get a significant time savings with a 60" ztr?

Dang, must have a lot of stuff to mow around.  Yes for 100% certain you would get done substantially faster with a 60" over a 42".  I shaved 15 minutes off mowing 2+\- acres going from the 50" to a 60" and that was the first time using the new mower.  Both mowers go the same speed, but I think I could save another 5-10 minutes once I get used to the softer controls on the new mower.  Going from a 42 to 60 would be an enormous upgrade.

<edit> part of the reason it is so much faster is that the bad boy weighs 300 pounds more than the cub cadet did, so I can literally mow full throttle without having my bones jarred apart.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Sam1

[Sidecarist]

A ztr will always out mow a tractor. Mostly it's down to speed over the ground and turnaround time and working around obstacles. 

[Hozzie]

If you have good dealers around you, they will bring a mower to you to demo. I did it with Deere and Exmark. You won't go wrong with either. Like I said, the difference for me was a less tight deck which allows me to mow damp grass without clogging. Exmarks are great, but they prefer dry grass. They are also a bit more expensive than the deere for the same size. Or at least I was able to make a better deal with Deere.

 

Absolutely try both if you can.

[Old Mitch]

From about '96 to '04 I mowed commercially, then part-time a few more years.  The most popular commercial mowers around here are Grasshopper.  Probably Hustler after that.  But one reason is the Grasshopper dealer, who always had a really expert head mechanic, and the shop gave commercial users priority.  Don't know how they stack up against Kubota or John Deere, because neither have really taken hold in this area.  Kubota is starting to gain now, though. 

I ran Grasshoppers with front mount decks, Kohler engines, and had excellent service out of them.  The bigger ones also can be bought with diesels. 

[jpx2rk]

There are 2 or 3 different lawn services in my neighborhood, 2 use Hustlers and one uses grasshopper, why I don't know.  A 3rd guy, older fellow who does it just for extra pocket $$ I suspect has a 60" Ferris ZTR.  All three yards look good after being mowed.  Well, one doesn't (my SIL's next door) but that is because the lawn service guy just mows too fast and in turn leaves streaks of tall grass in the tire tracks, whether wet or dry.  He uses Hustler. 

I had to go to Athens about 20 miles away from my house to get my Ferris, but that is the closest place for commercial ZTR's, they also sell Snapper, Husquavarna and a couple other brands.  They do cater to the lawn service guys, have free loaners, etc.  I got a demo at the shop on all the brands they carried back then that I was interested in, and chose the Ferris.  This shop has been around for a long long time, and had a good rep for service.  I've had my ZTR serviced 1 or 2 times by them, they will come and get it if I request it, and deliver it back ($25 I think, or it was).  Mine has 350 hrs on the clock, no issues, still runs great and I don't regret my decision at all.  

Don't be afraid to go a few miles to get a quality product with good service when you need it.   

[gregintenn]

I finally did it. I went this morning to buy a Kubota, but when I really looked at them, I couldn't figure out how to get to anything like belts if you needed to change them. Then I looked at a Bad Boy, and everything seemed to be where you could reach it. After driving it around the lot, I decided to give it a try. It's a 61" Outlaw with the Kawasaki engine. It also had a suspension of sorts that made the ride better than the Kubota, and had what appeared to be better tires.

Now, if it'll dry up enough to give it a try, I'll know whether I really like it or not.

Thanks again for all the advice.

[Dane]

Great choice and congrats.   Always use a fuel additive such as star tron or stabil.  Ethanol is bad for these engines.  

[Sam1]

damn that thing goes at 11mph?  mine only runs at 7mph and that's hauling pretty good.

[MP5_Rizzo]

12 minutes ago, Sam1 said:

damn that thing goes at 11mph?  mine only runs at 7mph and that's hauling pretty good.

If you keep the blades sharp it will cut at this speed too. I have a large yard and spent at least 2.5 - 3 hours  every time I cut it with a 52" Cub Cadet lawn tractor mower.  Since I purchased a 61" Badboy I can have it cut in under 2 hours and it looks better than it ever looked with the lawn tractor style mowers.

[gregintenn]

19 hours ago, Dane said:

Great choice and congrats.   Always use a fuel additive such as star tron or stabil.  Ethanol is bad for these engines.  

It'll be fed non ethanol gas, except I did put ethanol in it on the way home yesterday. As soon as it quits raining, that'll be ran out in short order.

[Sam1]

5 hours ago, gregintenn said:

It'll be fed non ethanol gas, except I did put ethanol in it on the way home yesterday. As soon as it quits raining, that'll be ran out in short order.

I won't even use that anti-ethanol additive in small engines.  Have to drive like 10-15 miles away to get non-ethanol gas every other week.  Paying an extra 25 cents a gallon is well worth the wear and tear it saves.

[Pain103]

 Any suggestions on residential zero turns that stripe well?

[Sam1]

5 minutes ago, Pain103 said:

 Any suggestions on residential zero turns that stripe well?

Just about any of them will if you mount a chain running the width of the deck or install a striping kit (of they make them for the model).  All that is, is the grass being laid over, so technically, a $500 mower could stripe as well as a $10,000 dixie chopper.

[MP5_Rizzo]

What Sam1 said and there are several DIY rigs that are much less expensive that are nothing more than an over priced  roller to add to your mower to get really good stripes.

[Dane]

The Dixie chopper kit is nothing more that 3-4 links of chain bolted every few inches along the back of the deck.  Easy DIY.

[Pain103]

 I tried some janky self stripe set up on my cub cadet didn't last long. Guess I'll do some more experimenting.

[Hozzie]

Mine (JD) is a rubber flap that bolts to the back of the deck. Keep in mind, some types of grass don't stripe as well as others. You also need to cut it higher to make it work best. I have Bermuda so it doesn't really do a lot, but if you have nice fescue cut at 4", it should look good.

 

[gregintenn]

I've now mowed with this new Bad Boy, and it's everything I hoped it would be. It's like mowing with a really fast, good riding bulldozer! It cut my mowing time from 3.5 to 2 hours. As long as it remains reliable, I'll be very happy with it. I wish I'd have bought one a long time ago. It also stays on a hill well, unlike the smaller ztr I have.

[MP5_Rizzo]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

It also stays on a hill well, unlike the smaller ztr I have.

They can get squirrely when going across a slope. My best advice is don't go slow, keep up the momentum and the down hill side will need slightly more speed than the uphill side.  I'm in no way saying this is safe and that I recommend doing this just saying it can be done. There is a limit to how steep of a hillside this will work on.  I think they say to avoid anything more than 10-15 degrees of slope. If the grass is the least bit wet be very careful or better yet don't even attempt it.  Once you start spinning and sliding down hill it's near impossible to stop until you hit bottom.  Sometime whats at the bottom of a slope will not have a pleasant ending when you do stop.  In my case it was a creek and yes I ended up in it.

[Dane]

Best thing for hills and such.  Let some air out.  About 8-9lbs in the rear tires is all you need.  I used to mow some 45* or higher hills.  

[gregintenn]

Mowed everything here with it today in 1.8 hours! I think I can shave another tenth or two off that as I become more familiar with it. Man, I wish I'd have bought one of these a LONG time ago.