Zero Turn Mowers

Mike_H

Mike_H

autos are better - WRWD508
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Feb 28, 2017
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Location
Grand Rapids, MI, United States
Any other yard guys out there? I take a lot of pride in having the nicest yard on the street, and its time for me to get a better mower. I live in town, and have a fenced in back yard for the dogs. I also have a pool, deck, and pole barn to mow around. Up front, my wife has three planter areas that she maintains that I need to mow around. So...all that means I spend too much time with a trimmer. Right now, I have a 48" cut deck on a hydrostatic Garden tractor. Its a really nice mower, but its an older Simplicity so it has a side discharge and blows clippings everywhere. No matter how hard I try, I get yelled at for blowing grass into the planter areas. I tried a bagger (most recently) and while it works well at keeping the clippings at bay, it makes the tractor too big for my yard. I also am getting to the point where I despise all the back and forth I need to do with the mower. I'm also not a fan of running the trimmer.

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So...My wife has given me the green light on a zero turn (WOOHOOO!)

Right now, I'm kinda leaning toward a Hustler Fastrak with a 48" rear discharge deck. They have a special going for 500 dollars off, which brings the total to 6,000 before dealer negotiations. Any experience with Hustlers? How about rear discharge vs side discharge with a mulch kit?

I've also looked at the Toro Titan (too many "brand Specific parts), A Simplicity Courier (a little light duty for the price), and a Kubota Z231 (Also a strong contender, but pretty hard to get your hands on one due to Covid).

Any other brands I should look at?
 
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I bought my first home on 3.86 acres almost 2 years ago, and i am right there with you on trying to make sure that i have the nicest yard on my street. I've heard a ton of great things about Hustler's models. Ive also heard really great things about kubota as well. Im still tunning the old Troy Bilt bronco rider, and its a pos, but its simple. Dont have the budget for a new zero turn just yet, but that day will come sooner or later. Congrats on the green light, youre not fonna know what to do with all that extra time that zero turn is gonna save you, lol!
 
Babygools99 said:
I bought my first home on 3.86 acres almost 2 years ago, and i am right there with you on trying to make sure that i have the nicest yard on my street. I've heard a ton of great things about Hustler's models. Ive also heard really great things about kubota as well. Im still tunning the old Troy Bilt bronco rider, and its a pos, but its simple. Dont have the budget for a new zero turn just yet, but that day will come sooner or later. Congrats on the green light, youre not fonna know what to do with all that extra time that zero turn is gonna save you, lol!
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You wanna upgrade? I have the green light, but wifey wants me to sell the simplicity first! I can set up shipping for you...Simplicity makes nice stripes!

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I've had a hustler for a little over 6 yrs now.

I'm not a yard guy.

It was American made, welded & fab'd, not stamped steel.

It's sits outside and to be honest , I don't take care of it.
But it hasn't give me any trouble.

Just info, for what it's worth
 
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I had one in FL, word of advice is PRACTICE before you go near anything you care about. Like my fence for example. Damn near went right through it the first time I drove that thing.
 
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qslim said:
I had one in FL, word of advice is PRACTICE before you go near anything you care about. Like my fence for example. Damn near went right through it the first time I drove that thing.
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Hahahaha! Yeah, I know what you mean. My dad has had a couple different ZTR's , so I'm pretty familiar with their characteristics. It takes a little to get used to, that's for sure! Glad he had a big field to practice in before I went mowing around the landscaping.
 
Also not a yard guy but I like all my wee...Er...grass the same height. I recently bought a Cub Cadet ZTR1 54 for my acre after one of the deck pulleys on my 14 yo Troy Bilt went sub orbital. Pros; a hell of a lot faster than the Troy Bilt, doesn’t burn oil, much easier to get around most obstacles, more fun than a tilt-a-whirl. Cons; loud, can’t consume an adult beverage without stopping motion(you can but people will point and laugh), can’t wave too the neighbors(see adult beverage),doesn’t keep mosquitoes away with blue smoke(yet), any slopes over 15* can kill you, deck doesn’t float(at least on mine), low branches are a bitch.

I don’t know if there is a rear discharge option.
 
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My yards aren't big enough for a riding mower 😔. But I do love making patterns in the yard tho and the neighbors notice it since i'm pretty much the only one left on my street that does his own lawn regularly. Everyone else has the south-of-the-border fellas do theirs. Whatever.
 
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My brother owns a lawn care company and swears by the Hustlers. Just bought another one last month. The welded deck is one of the main points he always mentions, plus a Kawasaki engine.
 
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PNBLD said:
I've had a hustler for a little over 6 yrs now.

I'm not a yard guy.

It was American made, welded & fab'd, not stamped steel.

It's sits outside and to be honest , I don't take care of it.
But it hasn't give me any trouble.

Just info, for what it's worth
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That's probably as good a vote of confidence as anything. If you're not taking care of it, and it's still performing 6 years later, that means it's a good machine (generally).
 
I do not have brand advice, but I do suggest staying away from the big box stores and stick with someone who hangs his name over the door. Implements like these often need support staff with experience and dedication. Some old pot bellied hasbeen watching the clock for quitting time won't be much help when a deck bearing starts talking to you. The best shop can be as important as the best brand.
 
Flivver250 said:
I do not have brand advice, but I do suggest staying away from the big box stores and stick with someone who hangs his name over the door. Implements like these often need support staff with experience and dedication. Some old pot bellied hasbeen watching the clock for quitting time won't be much help when a deck bearing starts talking to you. The best shop can be as important as the best brand.
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For sure. I'm planning on going with the local, independent shop. Though, like my Jeep, I tend to do most of my own maintenance on this junk.
 
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Like most everything I do, where I end up is never where I think I will at the start. Picked up a new to me mower tonight. Found a John Deere stander, 652R EFI with mod (mulch on demand) deck. I think it's going to be perfect for my yard.

I was ready to buy a brand new Wright Stander B. But, I got on Facebook, and in one of those "you might like this" type of listings, my new mower was there. It's a 2014 with about 1100 hours on it. Appears to be really well maintained. I need to replace a couple of things, but overall I'm really happy with it. Got a decent deal too. Pretty sure I could turn 500 bucks (or more) profit on it tomorrow if I wanted.
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My dad mows all his rentals and is a serious penny pincher. He buys top quality stuff and keeps it until its antique. He just bought a Scag mower (I think its a Tiger Cat?) and swears its the only one to buy based on his research. He got a small commercial model 48" cut and weighs like 1200#. He has a buddy with a lawn service who has a fleet of them, all with the Kawasaki engine. He says they are built like a battleship but you have to run them easy, they will damage anything you hit with them including fire hydrants.
 
AMS417 said:
My dad mows all his rentals and is a serious penny pincher. He buys top quality stuff and keeps it until its antique. He just bought a Scag mower (I think its a Tiger Cat?) and swears its the only one to buy based on his research. He got a small commercial model 48" cut and weighs like 1200#. He has a buddy with a lawn service who has a fleet of them, all with the Kawasaki engine. He says they are built like a battleship but you have to run them easy, they will damage anything you hit with them including fire hydrants.
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You dad is not wrong. Scags are impressive machines. More than I need for my yard though. My dad has one too. I looked into their entry level rider. Once I decided to go stander, I couldn't justify the expense for me only doing my own yard.
 
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Hustler Fastrak...all the way.

https://www.hustlerturf.com/products/fastrak
Several years ago I took to researching ZTMs for my 2 acre property. I looked at all of them...John Deere, Kubota, Bobcat, Dixie Chopper, etc. Hustler was by far the best machine for my needs. The fastrak is just one step below a commercial mower and to be honest, having demo'ed some of the commercial machines, it's not much different. It's fast, clean cutting and built like a tank. One other factor to consider is the dealership that you buy from. My dealer couldn't be better when it comes to sales and service. I had one electrical problem 3 years into ownership that I just couldn't pinpoint and they picked up, fixed and returned to me at no charge, no questions asked. They're a local Hustler/Sthil dealer (another brand that you can't beat!). I'm all for buying local over big box and glad I did for this purchase. It was a little more money then some of the others but no regrets. (well maybe one - I wish I could have gone with the 60" deck over the 54" but 54 was all I could fit thru my shed doors!)
 
Gasman said:
Hustler Fastrak...all the way.

https://www.hustlerturf.com/products/fastrak
Several years ago I took to researching ZTMs for my 2 acre property. I looked at all of them...John Deere, Kubota, Bobcat, Dixie Chopper, etc. Hustler was by far the best machine for my needs. The fastrak is just one step below a commercial mower and to be honest, having demo'ed some of the commercial machines, it's not much different. It's fast, clean cutting and built like a tank. One other factor to consider is the dealership that you buy from. My dealer couldn't be better when it comes to sales and service. I had one electrical problem 3 years into ownership that I just couldn't pinpoint and they picked up, fixed and returned to me at no charge, no questions asked. They're a local Hustler/Sthil dealer (another brand that you can't beat!). I'm all for buying local over big box and glad I did for this purchase. It was a little more money then some of the others but no regrets. (well maybe one - I wish I could have gone with the 60" deck over the 54" but 54 was all I could fit thru my shed doors!)
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That was going to be the purchase, until I discovered standers. For my yard, the stander makes more sense. Most of my time is spent trimming and after driving both, a stander blows a rider out of the water for trimming. The deck is ahead of you, hopping on and off is SO much easier (like to get through gates and stuff), Visibility is so great.
 
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