I just bought one yesterday after test driving 5 different ZTR mowers at my property. Right up until yesterday morning I couldn't decide on the 3000 or the 4500. For the 3k in savings, I went with the model 3000 with the 26 hp liquid cooled Kasasaki. I mowed tall and damp grass with other 26 hp gas powered units that had 61" decks, and the 'saki turned the deck just fine with plenty of power.
For me, I really liked the JD model 777, but along with all others, (except the Ferris) it beat the snot out of me when trying to mow very fast at all. I have a 5 year old diesel Grasshopper with a front mount mower that I bought new. I never noticed that my yard was so rough using that mower. It seems that the mid mount mowers are plenty strong in general, but they literally knocked the heck out of me while mowing! Being that I didn't want to wait to order in a new Grasshopper front mount mower, the Ferris was the only choice for me.
At your dealer, look and see if he has a "cut away" section of competitor's frames and spindles to compare to the "cut away" of the Ferris. The Ferris weighs more, and I can see why. My dealer has been in business for around 50 years, and he gave me a written lifetime warranty on the deck bearings on the Ferris. He is that sure of them holding up. So, combined with the far superior ride, and being well built, I have one sitting in my barn now. Wanna see a pic? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif It's been so blasted cold that I haven't even taken mine outside to mow yet!
It sounds like I follow my local school corp. I bought my Grasshopper after seeing our local school corp. using them for years. Now, I saw that the school corp. is using the Cat powered Ferris ZTR mowers. Man, did I ever want that Cat powered unit!! However, for my use (my yard only), I had to be logical and go with the 26 hp liquid cooled gas Kawasaki model. Good luck! Oh yes, if you get the Ferris, be sure to set up the suspension based on your weight and your particular yard. I felt like a NASCAR driver "tuning" in my suspension to my size and my track (yard). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
