Need help choosing a new Kubota mower

Brown Dog · Mar 21, 2023

ZD1211 as mentioned

Fluid fill the rear tires for traction & ride.

Find you a real low hour used unit & Don't settle for anything less

I’ve bought 3 72inch ZD’s with Kubotas 0% lol

slus · Mar 22, 2023

Wow thank you all for the replies! Kubota Zero Turn sounds like the popular pick. I'm liking the prices of the Z400 series. I'll have to check in with the local dealer and see which ones have been blessed by my California overlords for sale here. Especially nice to know the wives are liking the ZTs as well, I think she will come around. The Ferris with suspension looks like an adult go cart and surprisingly there is a dealer nearby, same place I bought my Husqvarna from. I'll check those out too. I liked the dealer, just hate the mower. Definitely rough ground where I'm at so I was already planning on a suspension seat base if the mower didn't come with it already. A few years ago I herniated a disc and couldn't drive the JD lawn tractor at all because of the bumpy ride, I was rough mowing the lawn very slowly with the tractor and brush hog that summer.

My other thought over the weekend was to turn the B2301 into more of a lawn mower with a MMM, and pick up a very used skid steer for occasional loader work around 20k, but maintenance always worries me with those. I get by with the little B series for most everything and the rental yard isn't far for skids and mini excavators for whatever it can't handle, a sub 10k zero turn sounds like a great deal.

Notforhire · Mar 22, 2023

A friend/neighbor of mine bought a Ferris 800 (I think?) It was about the bottom end of the commercial lineup. He loves the ride, as does his kids and the grandkids. Hydro-gear makes the drive motors for almost everyone. The more heavy duty the drive the more they cost. Both our "lawns" are nothing but cow pasture and a little rough. I tried different suspension seats on my old 1000z and it did help, but not enough to keep me out of the ER. I would suggest that you either go with a suspension machine or a tractor with rather large diameter wheels to smooth out the bumps. Ask your dealer for a demo ride.

RBsingl · Mar 23, 2023

I have a little over 5 acres of grass including some sloped land along with plenty of bumpy spots. I have been mowing it for close to 30 years using a Deere 955 compact with a 72" midmount deck.

I tried a couple of different colors of ZTR but decided it wasn't a good match for the property and ordered a Kubota F2690 front mount mower instead. After a long wait for the 72" rear discharge deck to arrive, I took delivery a week before Christmas during a light snow. I put a couple of hours on it chopping up some leaves that fell late in the year and I am looking forward to seeing how it does with grass in a few weeks. The ride is far nicer than the ZTR mowers I tried and also more comfortable than my compact utility which will now only be doing tractor things instead of mowing duty.

Rodger

Brown Dog · Mar 23, 2023

I bought a ZD1211 72 rear discharge & loved it but it windrowed clippings when I couldn’t mow weekly.
I stayed clean as a pin tho no dust or clippings on me at all.
Now the radiator sucked up dry clippings BAD & would run hot if U didn’t keep screen dumped out every 2hrs.
Maybe your F series won’t do this.

I want a F3990 to mow my 15acres but I’m afraid the tiny deck wheels wouldn’t take abuse on my farm ground possibly doing damage to the deck

BigBlue1 · Mar 23, 2023

You can get a commercial-quality Bad Boy zero-turn for that $10k-ish range. Look for Maverick, Rebel or Rogue models. They have some great features and, speaking for the Rogue that I own currently, are built VERY ruggedly. With only ~2 acres you're not going to a need a giant deck. The tires BB uses offer great traction, especially in off-camber situations like mowing a road ditch. I'm sure many other zero-turn brands would fit your bill too, but I know BB comes in pretty competitively regarding price for commercial quality units.

scaredychicken · Mar 23, 2023

Option # 3 gets my vote. and the Kawasaki engines are bullet-proof. Kubota has some good zero-turns.

if spendy $$$ is still on the table, then I'd look at a Ventrac 4200 (or Steiner) zero turn - that is my dream mower, and the hills are conquered also.

You have several pieces of equipment, so whatever the best fit or addition is, would make the difference.

slus · Mar 23, 2023

BigBlue1 said:
You can get a commercial-quality Bad Boy zero-turn for that $10k-ish range. Look for Maverick, Rebel or Rogue models. They have some great features and, speaking for the Rogue that I own currently, are built VERY ruggedly. With only ~2 acres you're not going to a need a giant deck. The tires BB uses offer great traction, especially in off-camber situations like mowing a road ditch. I'm sure many other zero-turn brands would fit your bill too, but I know BB comes in pretty competitively regarding price for commercial quality units.

I know a guy that got a very good discount on a Bad Boy at the local TSC a few years ago. It did seem like a quality machine so I went to check them out myself. I was told they were sold on closeout and they could no longer sell them due to CA emission laws, which may still be true because the Bad Boy site does not show any dealers in Northern California at all.

BigBlue1 · Mar 23, 2023

I guess I'm not surprised. CA is making it very unfriendly for many products and companies.

slus · Mar 23, 2023

scaredychicken said:
Option # 3 gets my vote. and the Kawasaki engines are bullet-proof. Kubota has some good zero-turns.

if spendy $$$ is still on the table, then I'd look at a Ventrac 4200 (or Steiner) zero turn - that is my dream mower, and the hills are conquered also.

You have several pieces of equipment, so whatever the best fit or addition is, would make the difference.

I tried to buy a Ventrac for years, they're just too spendy for what I really need it for and I've only seen a couple for sale used. I have a very steep hill with lots of oak trees on the far side of my pond that I have tried just about every type of equipment on, I had an old DR that beat me to death, tried the herbicide route, up and down with the tractor around the trees, heavy duty brush cutters, etc. I don't irrigate it, but it's my view off the front porch so I try to keep it groomed nice and trimmed low when the grass dies in summer, so only 3 or 4 cuts a season. Finally settled on that hydrostatic drive DR last year and it works pretty good.