Zero turn mower advice

[Shorteraaron]

I would look at dealers in your area and at semi commercial units as the decks are heavier metal and welded vs stamped. The hydraulic motors for drive also tend to be heavier duty. A lot of the dealers also can get you same as cash financing for 3 years. We ended up getting a husqvarna unit last year for around $5k. Get pricing on units and then do your research on what grades of components they are using.

 

[3gunr]

Look at the X Mark. It's made by Toro under the X Mark logo. The same mower but much cheaper. i have had one for 12 years with very little problems.

I think ex mark is more expensive than toro . Lots of commercial mowers around here use ex mark. My son has a toro titan with my ride and loves it, He mows some rough ground with it. I have a bad boy pup with a 30 hp kohler I have had it for 7 yrs With little trouble, And i mow a lot of grass.

 

[4jd318]

I have a grasshopper 325D $4800great machine. Uses no oil. Mow 2-3 acres per hour easy.

 

[4570Man]

do not forget the trailer you will need to move it. That new Scag takes a 5’ wide trailer. But I had to get a 6’ wide trailer to haul the wife’s XRV 4x4 anyway.

I’ve been using my 14k tilt deck to haul my mower. It needs an 80” trailer to load it and virtually no lawnmower trailer is that wide.

 

[Buggs67]

I got a Hustler SDX 54" because I was being loyal to my local Kioti dealer and it was a good value. I got a lemon and the dealer was useless and Hustler Corporate didn't really care. It's been in the shop 4 times and I just got it back. It's now 3 yrs old, 134 hrs and the warranty has expired.

It doesn't have a suspension but I added a suspension seat mount and that works. I could also add flex forks. I avoided Big Box mowers because manufacturer's make special models for them with cheaper components to allow them to be sold cheaper.

Test drive the mowers, and don't forget to try it with the mower deck engaged. My Hustler is so loud I wear ear plugs AND ear muffs. With just the engine running at full RPM it wasn't even hard on the ears.

 

[Jac65]

Nothing wrong with buying used equipment, there are some good deals to be had. What you want to look for in a used mower is the number of hours on the equipment and the maintenance intervals. I have a commercial gravely mower that I bought with about 950 hours on it and about 15 yrs old. the manufacturer recommend a major overhaul at about 2000 hours. like you I have about 3 acres to mow and it takes about 3 hours each cut. So if you do the math at 3 hours a cut and I average 28 cuts a year, so 3x28=84 hours a year. now if I need an overhaul at 2000 hours and there are already 950 hours on the mower, that means I have 1050 hours to mow until I need a rebuild. So 1050hrs / 84hrs per year =12.5. years of use until that overhaul window. It's a good general guide to help you figure out the overall value of your purchase. Good luck!

P.S. I would not go smaller than a 60" deck - and if you have uneven ground the independent front suspension is a nice upgrade.

 

[Number15]

Nothing wrong with buying used equipment, there are some good deals to be had. What you want to look for in a used mower is the number of hours on the equipment and the maintenance intervals. I have a commercial gravely mower that I bought with about 950 hours on it and about 15 yrs old. the manufacturer recommend a major overhaul at about 2000 hours. like you I have about 3 acres to mow and it takes about 3 hours each cut. So if you do the math at 3 hours a cut and I average 28 cuts a year, so 3x28=84 hours a year. now if I need an overhaul at 2000 hours and there are already 950 hours on the mower, that means I have 1050 hours to mow until I need a rebuild. So 1050hrs / 84hrs per year =12.5. years of use until that overhaul window. It's a good general guide to help you figure out the overall value of your purchase. Good luck!

P.S. I would not go smaller than a 60" deck - and if you have uneven ground the independent front suspension is a nice upgrade.

I agree, my Grasshopper was well maintained and used at a semi professional ball field in FL. It came with a 72" deck,sweeper and a huge buffalo blower (hurricane winds) thrown in the deal. Patience and good research and deals are to be had.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Lots of good mowers. Scag,Toro,Xmark,JD,Kubota,Grasshopper. You will be happy with any of them. Don't just focus on the engine. The hydro syastem is just as expensive. Make sure it is serviceable. Most are made by Hydro-Gear. The smallest I would consider is a 3200 series. The more weight the better. It means more steel. A suspension is fantastic but not readily available. Make sure you ,at least, get a suspension seat. It can be put on aftermarket, but can run over $500. I like Scag the best, but that is just one mans opinion. Nothing wrong with a used commercial or estate mower if you find what you want. I would not get one with more than 400-500 hours unless it is a fantastic deal.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think I paid about $3K for my 2000 Walker GHS 9 years ago. It had about 1000 hours on it and it's still mowing. I only put about 20 hours per year on it. Walkers are very well designed machines that produce a beautiful cut. They run about $15K new.

 

[Notforhire]

I didn't think that much about the suspension but if I had one complaint about the DZ21 it is that I am almost bounced out of it.
My field is just that .... was a cow pasture ... never been rolled.
Mike

If your property was reasonably flat I would recommend getting any one of the quality rigid frame machines.
Since that isn't the case I would go with a suspension machine if possible.
My lawn was a cow field too!
I just installed a suspension seat on my rigid frame Ferris that I've had for 18 years. The seat helps some, but is no substitute for a model with an actual suspension.
I traded machines with my son for the last few seasons. He has a 5 YO Ferris with independent suspension. There is no comparison in the ride.
If not for the cost I would sell my old machine and buy a new IS machine tomorrow.
The way my back has been talking to me lately, I may end up getting one regardless.