OhioHick
New member
I'm in the market for a new mower (or two). I have 14 acres or which I mow 5 to 6 as "lawn" and the most of the rest as "pasture" with a Ford 2000 and a brush-hog (the remainder of the property is wooded). The property is basically flat with a creek running through the front that gives it a little slope in that area but nothing severe. This is old farm land and even after 30 years of not being plowed, it is still not really smooth (at least not golf course smooth but for a country yard I would call it smooth). At present I have two lawn tractors, both from John Deere (48 and 54 inch cut). I ride one and my wife the other and it takes us 4-6 hours to mow depending on how thick the grass is. Both of the lawn tractors beat (both are over 9 years old) so one thought is to replace then with a 60-inch zero turn. We have looked at the local equipment dealers and have the following options on the table: Hustler Fastrak SD (60-in cut, 24 hp), Ferris IS2100Z (61-in cut with either a 26 or 28 hp Briggs engine), Ferris IS3200 Z (6-in deck, 32 hp Briggs or 37 hp or Kawasaki engine) or a Cub Cadet Tank (60-in deck and I think the engine was 26 hp). The Hustler is the least expensive at $7200, the Ferris 2100 is about $9600 with the 26 hp engine, the 3200 is $11.5K with the 32 hp engine and the Tank is $10K. Just looking for your insight on which machine you think is the best option for my property and which is the best value. Thanks!
