Sub Compact owners, a couple questions for you

[aczlan]

You might look at the Cadet Z force with a steering wheel! Great on slopes and no skid marks as with twin sticks women and children can drive them with the steering wheel and love them.

Zeroturn skid marks are a sign of someone not driving the zero turn properly...
The ZForce looks nice, but compare the deck with the BX deck, and (IIRC) you will see a V belt vs the B section belt on the Kubota, that was enough to push me away from them when we looked.

Aaron Z

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

For moiwing nothing beats the Kubota F model. They aren't cheap but they set the benchmark for mowers. I've bought Kubotas for 9 years and have finally settled on 5 to meet my needs, A RTV1140, BX25, B2320, F3080 and F2680E 60" Rear Discharge Deck.
The F2680E is currently for sale or trade. Been asking $13500 way less than Kubotas $19000. Difference is theirs has 0 hours and mine has or will have tomorrow 95 hours. Mine also will not have 0% interest but if bought thru Barlows may include delivery and I think 5% interest on used Kubotas. Buy from me or buy from Barlows, just buy!
All maintenance can be reached very easily.

 

[murphy1244]

For moiwing nothing beats the Kubota F model. They aren't cheap but they set the benchmark for mowers. I've bought Kubotas for 9 years and have finally settled on 5 to meet my needs, A RTV1140, BX25, B2320, F3080 and F2680E 60" Rear Discharge Deck.
The F2680E is currently for sale or trade. Been asking $13500 way less than Kubotas $19000. Difference is theirs has 0 hours and mine has or will have tomorrow 95 hours. Mine also will not have 0% interest but if bought thru Barlows may include delivery and I think 5% interest on used Kubotas. Buy from me or buy from Barlows, just buy!
All maintenance can be reached very easily.

19,000 To cut the grass? And no cab?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

For moiwing nothing beats the Kubota F model. They aren't cheap but they set the benchmark for mowers. I've bought Kubotas for 9 years and have finally settled on 5 to meet my needs, A RTV1140, BX25, B2320, F3080 and F2680E 60" Rear Discharge Deck.
The F2680E is currently for sale or trade. Been asking $13500 way less than Kubotas $19000. Difference is theirs has 0 hours and mine has or will have tomorrow 95 hours. Mine also will not have 0% interest but if bought thru Barlows may include delivery and I think 5% interest on used Kubotas. Buy from me or buy from Barlows, just buy!
All maintenance can be reached very easily.

Thanks John, would love to buy yours but I'm a year or two away from buying (unless the CC forces my hand). I'm just starting the education process right now and trying to learn as much as I can for when I'm ready to buy.

 

[BX Dan]

I moved up from a Cub 2185, getting stuck was a regular thing mowing 1-1/2 acres. I have a BX2200 with fel now, the only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't buy it sooner. I'm not getting stuck now and the fel is a back saver, the fel was not important but I'd never do without one now.

Dan

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I moved up from a Cub 2185, getting stuck was a regular thing mowing 1-1/2 acres. I have a BX2200 with fel now, the only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't buy it sooner. I'm not getting stuck now and the fel is a back saver, the fel was not important but I'd never do without one now.

Dan

They are handy but I have two loader tractors already so don't really need one on a dedicated mower.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

You might look at the Cadet Z force with a steering wheel! Great on slopes and no skid marks as with twin sticks women and children can drive them with the steering wheel and love them.

The Kubota GR with the four wheel drive is a great buy and could handle your chores although the current largest deck is a 54"

54" deck wouldn't really be an issue. I went from a 42" to the 54" and it was a huge difference but it also provided a few issues since the wider deck doesn't flex over curves so I had to adjust how I mowed. I would imagine going to a larger deck again would require more adjustment on my part.

What I have learned from my last two mowers is that I want a good mower deck with easy to access grease points. A powerful motor so I can cut thick grass without needing to slow to a complete crawl and still have a poor cut and a good seat. A hydro tranny is a must in a mowing tractor. But other then that I really don't know too much more about what I really want. I'm not sure what would be better for my situation as far as zero turn or conventional mowers, side or rear discharge decks and I'm sure there will be other items I need to concentrate on and really learn more about so that I can have an ideal mower thats fun to use and doesn't make things feel like a chore. The CC was a huge improvement over the Ranch King so I would like to take a similar jump with the next mower.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm going to read up on all the different models you guys have mentioned and try to really learn as much as possible.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Something like a Grasshopper would be really nice, their front decks tilt to almost vertical while mounted on the mower.

Aaron Z

When I was looking to replace the Ranch King I was really wanting to buy a Grasshopper (think it was a 721D). It was a great machine and looked perfect for what I wanted but at the time it was very hard to justify going from a $1k mower to a $13k mower (I think that was the price back then). I tried to look at all the possible ways to justify it at the time but I just couldn't make it work out. I'm really not sure what my budget is going to be when I'm ready to buy but I can't see going over $10k unless it just makes perfect sense to and is something with a reputation that will last a long time. I don't really want to buy a new mower every 6 years. I was happy getting 10 out of the Ranch King (it was still going strong but was one ugly looking machine) and I expect I can get 10 out of this CC if I want to but if I go with a diesel mower I will expect it to be a long term mower (15-20 years) just like any of my diesel tractors. I just want to buy a quality machine that will start up every time I need it to as long as I keep up with the maintenance like I do with all my equipment. And if it has 4wd so that I don't get stuck as easily as I currently do then thats a bonus :thumbsup:

 

[Grateful11]

Another vote for the JD x748. The AWD system is amazing, it will never tear up the grass, and the 7 iron deck leaves a great looking lawn. Get the SE and the suspension seat with arm rests makes for a super pleasant mowing experience.

If I ever decide I need a dedicated mower again, I wouldn't consider anything but the x748. The cruise control is really easy to operate, and as mentioned, adding a front blade is a snap for light cleanup.

We have a JD X720. I tried my best to get my wife to buy the diesel, she operates diesel equipment all the time but said she didn't want to smell it while she mowed. I tried to explain to her that once warmed up she's not going to smell much diesel if any at all but it was a fruitless effort. The EFI V-Twin in the X720 drinks gas like crazy. Now she says she wishes she had got the diesel so she could just pull up to the 500 gallon diesel tank and fill up, women! We looked at the Kubota GR series 4WD riding mower, not sure how they call it a Garden Tractor, other than mow and move snow there's not much else it will do and it a tad on the light side, may not be but it felt like it. The X720 rides like a Cadillac, the SE editions should ride even better with the upgraded seat. We also looked at the BX but the ride quality wasn't quite there and the JD X700 series seemed more stable. If I had to buy another mower tomorrow it would probably be a JD X700 series diesel or a Kubota BX. We actually bought a JD X500 and returned it under the JD Promise, just didn't like it at all. One thing about the X700 series deck is that the deck casters turn 90 degrees so the deck can be rolled out from under the GT, others many do this just not sure.