Does anyone know about the Huster Raptor 42"?

[dongersmith]

I've had my Raptor 42" for a full year now and I love it. I mow an acre around almost 50 trees- the Craftsman rider deck couldn't take it, just fell apart. I borrowed a neighbor's JD 54" ZTR but it's too wide to fit between several of my trees, and the 42" JD is very low end. I don't know why the Raptor is called "entry level". This thing is built tough- tougher than any other ZT in the 40-50" size range. My property has a mix of rough and smooth with a mix of grasses- both turf and meadow. It mows everything smoothly and doesn't scalp (the Craftsman had four rollers and still scalped..) It doesn't have lots of bells and whistles, but I don't need an hour meter or gas guage- It takes me two hours to mow an acre, and has a port in the shroud to see the gas level in the (transparent) gas tank; plus it only takes one mowing to know how much gas it takes.
I love it- nothing in it's size or price range can match it.

 

[skiller67]

I have owned a hustler raptor 52" for 11 months and it's been for repair 6 times for the same issue. Hydrostatic drive. The system thru hustler/excel industries is not helpful and I now am asking for a refund. I'm getting a cold "no" from my dealer and am having to pursue legal avenues to get this resolved. Meanwhile, I have grass growing and a mower that wants to drive in circles!! Hustler won't dive into the root cause which I suspect highly (I'm a mechanical engineer, by the way) and will attempt the cheapest fix first. Adjusting linkage is all they have done( two different hustler repair centers) and I still have a mower that wants to just turn left. Steer clear of hustler.

 

[PVHIII]

I have owned a hustler raptor 52" for 11 months and it's been for repair 6 times for the same issue. Hydrostatic drive. The system thru hustler/excel industries is not helpful and I now am asking for a refund. I'm getting a cold "no" from my dealer and am having to pursue legal avenues to get this resolved. Meanwhile, I have grass growing and a mower that wants to drive in circles!! Hustler won't dive into the root cause which I suspect highly (I'm a mechanical engineer, by the way) and will attempt the cheapest fix first. Adjusting linkage is all they have done( two different hustler repair centers) and I still have a mower that wants to just turn left. Steer clear of hustler.

Sorry to hear your stuck in "Raptorville"... I've been there and it's no fun...hope you get your problem resolved...I think I got lucky with having a dealer who's not a fan of the Raptor either... Cuased him alot of headaches...Hustler builds good mowers but the Fast Trak line is where their quality starts...I think when it comes to these entry level (residential) sub $3000 mowers the manufacturers that have been building them for a long time are better at building these mowers than Hustler is...if I just had to buy one I would rather own a JD or Husqvarna.

 

[skiller67]

I don't have much faith that my issue will get resolution. If it doesn't and I get my money back ( or if I sell it with50 hours on it) what similarly sized 52" machine should I be looking for? I know I'll go through a box box store because it will be easy to return it. Anyone Huth a JD, Husq, CC, Toro that's had great results?

 

[PVHIII]

How big is your property?

 

[skiller67]

2.5 acres

 

[PVHIII]

With that much yard to maintain.. I would seriously consider purchasing a heavier built machine...these residential mowers just aren't built for that much of a workload... I know you are a lil disappointed in Hustler but if your dealer sold you a Raptor knowing you had that much lawn to maintain he should have known better...A Fast Trak would suit you just fine and you would love it however for the standard Fast Trak we're talking about $5000 investment. I have the Super Duty model which was about $6200 but it's 3 times the mower that Raptor is for twice the money...Best money I think I've ever spent.

 

[PVHIII]

The standard model would suit your needs...after the problems I had with my Raptor I probably over done it a little by purchasing the SD model...I just wanted to make sure I was happy with my mower and boy am I!

 

[Machete Man]

At a retail price of around $2750 for a ZTR with a Kawasaki 21.5 hp motor does anyone have any thoughts of the Huster Raptor? I will be mowing a 1-acre property with mild slopes.

Thanks0

Aloha from the island of Maui. The raptor is fine for normal grass cutting. It will keep your lawn looking well cut, however, it is worthless if you get into high grass. It's not very tough and I've had many problems when I tried to cut higher grass, like more than a foot. The worse of those problems is the drive belt coming off. The first time that happened was just a week after purchasing it. After spending what seemed like forever trying to replace it and not being able to find any real clear directions I gave up and had to call the guy from the shop I bought it from here, which is Hawaii Growers Product or better known as; HGP. He worked on it for several hours and I watched as this trained person struggled with doing this job. I would not have been able to figure out how to do it based on watching him. When I asked him why it was so difficult he told me these smaller models were made for the small home owner who would take his mower into the shop to be repaired and admitted it was a very difficult job, even for him. If I'd have known that I would not have purchased that model. I've had a landscaping business over here for the last 24 years. Machete Man Lanscaping LLC. Good luck, I'd buy at least one model up if I were you if you can just to be safe.

 

[Redcon1]

I found a 2018 Hustler Raptor 42" with 21.5 HP Kawa for $2599 online at Lowe's. Got an additional 10% military discount (thank you Lowe's) and free home delivery. I am hoping this little zero-turn will handle my 1.33 acres for at least 10 years.