Looking at a couple of skag zrt's....need advice.

[leeinmemphis]

Hi everyone,

I have an 85 acre farm that is mostly wooded and the majority of the grass cutting has been done with my kubota 5040 and the bush hog. Unfortunately for grass cutting around the house and yard surrounding the house/barn I have been cutting it with a 12-13 year old john deere riding mower with a 38" deck. I imagine it is approximately 5 acres and takes me somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours to do the cutting. Ultimately I imagine that I would like to cut somewhere in the 6-7 acres with a mower. I have a small engine dealer that I have dealt with for years and they sell scag ztrs(along with walker and toro's). If I end up buying a new mower I would really prefer to deal with these guys if possible. The dealer recommended for me to look at two models: scag tiger cub with a 48" deck and a 19hp kawasaki motor and the scag wildcat with the 25hp kawasaki motor with a 52" deck. Considering my uses which would you guys recommend? There is roughly a $1300 difference between the two models.

 

[crbr]

Between those two, I'd go with the Wildcat.

Honestly, all said and done, I'd go with the Turf Tiger and be done with it. I think you'll say you like the 54" deck for the yard (not available on the Tiger) but for the trade-out of my preferences, I'd do the Tiger with a 6X" deck. I think the 2007 model comes with an optional Kubota diesel engine.

There are other good machines but Skag is a fine machine also. I am impressed with the Tiger's hydraulic pumps' output and the gauge of steel that the decks are made. However, Kubota has a fine machine too.. the ZD321, or the ZD326.

As for any of the Skags, I'd seriously consider the 29HP Kawasaki gasser with the electronic fuel injection, if you choose not to go diesel. Carburation will eventually be old school.

 

[dbear]

When I was shopping around for a ztr, one theme that was repeated by many dealers and also by almost every poster on lawnsite.com, get the biggest deck and most HP you can afford.

I currently mow 3 acres and had been using an old Ransomes 3-wheeler. Although having been used to a large, commercial unit, I did take the time to look at, but quickly ruled out, consumer units like CC Z-force. I also closely checked out the entry level commercial or "prosumer" machines like CC Enforcer, Husqvarna EZ, Bob-Cat FastCat.

After much research, boardering on analysis paralysis, I went with a Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle LT2700-60D. Out the door price of $6999 plus tax. Each of the approx 7 hours on it have reinforced in my mind that I 100% made the right call.

I found that comparable competitor units (JD 717/727, Scag Tiger Cub, Exmark CT) were $1000-$2000 more, less warranty, and/or fewer ponies. Also, the DC dealer blew the others out of the water in product knowledge and in how I was dealt with. I would have rather dealt with the Scag or Bob-Cat dealers as they were much closer (10-12 miles vs 40 miles), but I just felt much more comfortable with the DC dealer.

I also really liked the Bob-Cat FastCat (much better & heavier built than CC Enforcer) and was leaning heavily toward it. But in the end, I felt 52" was a lot of deck for 19 HP, regardless of the fact that they were Kawasaki horses. If they offered a 23hp Kawa for the same price ($5989), I probably would have gone that way, despite liking the DC dealer better.

Dixie Chopper - Silver Eagle

 

[leeinmemphis]

I went to another dealer today to look at Dixie Choppers and found one that had a much larger hp motor and was a 60" cut vs the 50" on the scag for $800 less so I told the dealer I would take the Dixie. I guess I now have the worlds fastest lawnmower

 

[RickO]

I went to another dealer today to look at Dixie Choppers and found one that had a much larger hp motor and was a 60" cut vs the 50" on the scag for $800 less so I told the dealer I would take the Dixie. I guess I now have the worlds fastest lawnmower

Cool, let us know how you like. Bet your mowing time was cut in half

 

[leeinmemphis]

Cool, let us know how you like. Bet your mowing time was cut in half

I bet it will be more than that. The brochure claims it'll cut 5 acres per hour and right now I am cutting roughly 5 acres(I am guessing) and it takes 4-5 hours to cut it. Unfortunately we haven't had much rain so I probably won't need to cut for another week or two.