My buddy is looking into getting a zero turn mower but not sure which brand to get. We looked at 5 different ones today and Toro and Gravely looked to be the nicest. He is looking for a commercial quality one since he has between 5 and 10 acres to mow, he's a mowing fool, and he is thinking about starting a small mowing business on the side. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

my uncle just bought a gravely. he did his research @ the local golf course & thats what they were using. i'd think you can't get a better endorsement than that. thats some serious mowing

 

I have an Ariens 48" home owners version, same as the gravely but its 2 years old, and I guess they improved them quite abit in the latest models. I upgraded from a POS murrey that I bought used, so I'm still in love with this thing. I mow about 2-1/2 to 3 acres and my mowing time was cut to about 1/3. I'm contantly cutting, where the old murrey seemed it had a 20' turning radius, and I always wanted get off and push cause it was so slow.

I'll vote gravely, the contractors models go 10 mph, not the fastest one but very solid machines. I havent tested any others. for that much acerage I wouldn't even consider a homeowner model like mine.

 

a friend of mine who has a lawn care business uses X-mark (possibly made by Toro?? I dont know for sure). His have the Kohler engine and they have roughly 2000 hours on them right now. The only problem he has had is a fuel pump go out. He is really happy with them although they are a little pricey.

 

I just bought a Craftsman 50" zero turn mower this summer and use it to mow 5-7 acres. I can mow everything in 4 1/2 hours with the zero turn where it took nearly 8 hours with a 48" lawn tractor. It's a great bang for the buck but it is more of a home owners grade than commercial.

However, my father-in law runs a 60" commercial Snapper and an uncle with a Dixie chopper that can mow alot of grass. They did cost 3-4 times what I paid though.

 

ill second the x-mark, look into their diesel series, they are awesome, the mowing service here at the company uses them, i tried one out and when its time for a new mower i will have one. SCAGS are good also, but pricey. you can get good deals on a used one and they hold up very well.

Bone

 

X-mark is the way to go. It's what I use for my lawn care business. 48 inch Metro walk behind.

Mike

 

try SCAG or DIXIE CHOPPER . look into public auctions you can find a lot of heavy machinery for cheap .

 

I looked at 'em all (at least the ones sold in my area) and went with a Ferris. 20-horse Kawasaki engine, very easy to work on and maintain. Although superior to the 2 John Deeres it replaced in quality/ reliability/ factory and dealer service & support, I do have one complaint: they don't mow as well as the JDs. The deck just doesn't "float" as well, so it tends to be uneven and will scalp a little bit.

 

I currently have four ztr's...but only use two of them right now. Right now my favorite of the bunch is the Hustler Super Z. It'll run 15 mph, and while this may be a little too fast to mow during the summer, it comes in quite handy when the grass slows, or when you go back to disperse some heavy clippings. It's a 60" cut with a 27hp air cooled Kohler. It does a good job, it is a really fun piece of machinery to operate, and it holds a hill better than any ztr I have ever owned. They have come out with an updated deck, which essentially you can slightly modify the older deck and get the same thing. They are coming out with another new deck in just a month or two, and that should be an improvement over an already good cutting machine.

The other one I use right now is a 60" Exmark Lazer EPS with the 26hp EFI Kohler. This mows well too. 9 months out of the year, the cut on St. Augustine between the Lazer and the Super Z were equal. The Lazer cut better in the heaviest grass, St. Augustine and Bahia, until I did the deck mod on the Super Z. The Lazer now has a mulching kit and that one is used more in the manicured lawns. The Super Z runs in more open lawns where the clippings can fly.

I had a lot of problems when I first bought the Lazer. It had problems with the EFI for the first 5 of 6 months I owned it. It took two dealers and the help of a third, quite a few trips to them and numerous weeks without the mower to get it fixed. By then I had bought the Super Z. It has recently gone through the same thing and I think I have gotten it fixed myself after quite a few hours of troubleshooting. At this time, I still do not recommend the EFI engine. When things go wrong with it, they go very wrong. Alot of mower shop techs just do not understand them and a little problem can mask itself as something else. Although it burns 25% less fuel normally, the little additional cost at the beginning and potential problems will likely keep me away next purchase.

The Super Z handles better on hills. That isn't even a close comparison there. It tends to mow flatter without "stepping," likely due to the rear tires being located closer to the deck. It is built like a tank, but actually is a little more compact. I am a lot happier with Excel Hustler, as far as the company goes, than with Exmark. Exmark really has me a little ticked off, but that is another story and I won't get into it.

The new thing seems to be the introduction of more diesels into the market. Maybe for some people these will pay off, but for what I do they are overkill, and possibly just wrong for the job. With the diesel you are seeing them on the bigger machines, not the standard frame ztrs. The real advantage to mid-mount ZTR was it's size. Like the truck and SUV market they seem to be getting bigger, and for a good deal of the people out there, this is headed the wrong way. For the average user, commercial or homeowner, they're bigger, they weigh more and you will never catch up with the initial expense. I cannot personally ever see keeping one of mine more than 2500 hours anyway. There is no sense going overboard buying an engine that will outlast the mower. You can get into a Super Z for under $8k, the diesel will likely be in the $12k range.

For your buddy, I would recommend trying out several machines on his property. Any good dealer should arrange it for you. See who has the most dealers in the area. Cause you never know when you and the dealer are going to have a falling out, or when he might give up the line. I would stick with the standard frame ZTRs. The compacts generally have only up to a 52" deck. Your friend really needs a 60".

 

I've been in the "green" industry for 15 yrs. I have owned my own business, worked for others and currently work for the local school district in their landscape department. I have no experience with the Hustler but have operated just about everything else, next to that I would highly suggest Exmark or Toro (Toro owns Exmark). We currently have a fleet of Exmark Lazers, most w/ 72" cut and 29 horse EFI Kohlers. And those are the trim mowers, our big mowers are Toro Groundmaster 580-D's w/ 3cyl. diesel and 15 ft. bat wing decks. We get into some SERIOUS mowing, but that's another story. Their both built like tanks, give either one a look.

 

I'll second the opinion on the Hustler, my dad wont buy a Z-steer cause he wants a mower that can tow too (garden tractor). However, working for the city parks department, we have a few. One Hustler, and 2 Kubotas(deisels). I love Kubota tractors,but we've had quite a few with our mowers. Hydrostats goin out, deck wheels constantly breaking, all sorts of nickel and dime stuff, and once ina while something expensive. The Hustler we've had 2 years longer than the 'Botas and we've never replaced a thing, we just recently had the mower clutch adjusted, but thats routine maintenance. Plus, it's fun to drive. I never thought I'd actually enjoy mowingas much as I do on that. It's quick, agile, doesn't bog too much in the thick grass, easy to do maintenance on (routine oil/air/blade stuff) We also got a big Jacobsen, with the wings, rear hyd. steer, deisel....nice machine, but it'll also run ya like 30 grand I've been told. Another dept. has a Toro Z-Master, and they seem to like that a lot too.

 

Hey Nick...

How do you guys like that Jake? We had one that manged to accumulate 3600 hours, which is amazing because the thing was a POS. We replaced it with a Toro Groundmaster 580-D and that thing is a tank.

 

Steiner. Uncle has one, 64" deck, starts every time, and goes fast.

 

since my dad is in the landscaping/mowing business (i am taking over soon), ill contribute. we have a Scag turf tiger, it has a 27 hp liquid cooled kawie engine. 61'' deck. the "advantage" deck is amazing. you can basically go full speed (8-9 mph) through heavy grass. it cuts it no problem, leaves a perfect cut. best thing, no clumping. you have to mow in the rain to get clumps, which we do not do. it has been a good mower, it has about 1600 hours on it. it stands up to the beating of a mexican operator pretty well. it was about $8000 new, we bought it about 3 years ago. they have since much improved them. one gripe i have is that the four wheels are fixed on one plane. no suspension or pivoting axle. it does hold a hill very well, i could hold a 30* hill with ease. but once the front end is below the rear wheels, say goodbye and hold on. the exhaust note is very poppy, like an older car with glass pack mufflers. i dont like it, it gets annoying.

our personal mower (that us americans use) is a Kubota ZD21. it is a diesel, which i love. it also has a 60'' deck, which is superior in cutting ability. it runs MUCH quieter, i guess the combination of the smooth-running diesel and the deep-deck howling design makes it run very quiet. it does have a pivoting front axle. i like it better, suspension seat, roll bar, better weight distribution, hydraulic deck lift (the scag is foot-activated), etc. it also has a feature where you can lock the front wheels in position, and crank the axle like a jack so it lifts one wheel way high in the air. this lifts the front of the mower for easy blade-changing. both mowers are great, i would pick the ZD21 over the scag. but one downside, is that ours was $10500. i guess the diesel. if you would like, i will get pics of both tomorrow, or give more descriptive info if you'd like. kubota also makes a smaller ZD18 (18 hp), and a ZD 28 (28 hp). the 21hp is more than enough for the 60'', and probably the optional 72''. scag also makes a "sabertooth tiger" which is 37 hp gas (fuel hog!) or 31hp TD.