Zero turn mowers, What's crap what's good?

Zjman · May 2, 2016

My neighbor has a commercial grade exmark and hes very rough on things and his is still going strong after 5 years, he usually geys it stuck in the creek once a month when hes drunk, come home one day and he was passed out on it in the creek lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

felipecj · May 2, 2016

bbone said:
I've owned several over the years (walker, Exmark, bunton). I am a big fan of the commercial deck for whatever brand you get. I think it also matters who is nearby and what brand they service. That being said, look at what commercial guys use in your area and go with what they use. Besides that I also like the mulch kits and the striping kits. Just my preference.

This is the best advice I've seen posted yet, and there have been good recommendations. I run a lawn maintenance company and it's all about the service/parts you can get with ease from your local dealer. The first zero turn mowers we got were John Deere's. Had them for a couple years with no major problems, but the John Deere dealership was terrible anytime we needed something. We switched to Grasshopper mowers and love them. And it's not necessarily that they are better, but the dealer that sells them is awesome and has helped us each time we needed something fixed. So my advice would be to see what companies in town run and where they buy them.

pholmann · May 2, 2016

I served a few years sentence at the local John deere dealer as an ag and construction equipment mechanic so I know all of the parts guys and the owner. I would love to have a JD but so much $$.

86chevota · May 2, 2016

pholmann said:
I served a few years sentence at the local John deere dealer as an ag and construction equipment mechanic so I know all of the parts guys and the owner. I would love to have a JD but so much $$.

The new JD are badass flashemifyougotem

and you gots the F'IN money :****: :gtfo:

payne97 · May 3, 2016

All of the big commercial mowers are expensive I don't know about down there but most big dealers should have a loaner you can borrow
Most people don't realize these commercial lawn mowers are $10,000 and up

BIG_Country · May 3, 2016

payne97 said:
All of the big commercial mowers are expensive I don't know about down there but most big dealers should have a loaner you can borrow
Most people don't realize these commercial lawn mowers are $10,000 and up

Your right on price of a new one, some are even closer to $15000. That's why I said get a used one. You can get a lot of used ones for less then $3000 and they have more life left in them then a brand new residential mower does. And a lot of grass folks tread every year and those mower don't even have a 1000 hours on them. So if you can turn a wrench and change oil and belts, it's the way to go. You get a big mower and save a bit of money too.

Draco · May 3, 2016

I've got a commercial grade BobCat Fast Cat 52 I'll make you a deal on. PM me if interested.

mtnride · May 4, 2016

We run Hustler products only. (Except 2 machines one for bagging and one exmark that we promised to buy and try out). We've tried them all. Hustler makes BIG DOG. They use the old Hustler Z platform which works very well. It was reliable and mowed well. The biggest difference in a Hustler and a Big Dog is the deck design. I would definitely buy a Big Dog or and X one. Stay away from Bad Boy. No bias here. Also do not get a Kohler. Every one we've ever had was shot at 600 or less hours. Buy Kawasaki. We've just been down all the roads already.

J/Cope79 · May 4, 2016

Ok so what is considered High hrs on a commercial unit?
What would be the average per year hourly range on a commercial grade Zero Turn?
Just asking since my ol trusty lawn mower of 14yrs is going to need to be replaced, hopefully not until next yr.

mtnride · May 4, 2016

I would t buy anything over 700-800 hours. After 600 hours you start seeing wear. We retire (sell) mowers at 1300-1500 hours.

jhardy · May 4, 2016

I have owned a hustler and loved it. only sold it to get out of the grass mowing world. Then bought a Gravely ZT 52" Hd. It s the homeowner commercial unit. I love it. Welded deck, Kawasaki motor. runs perfect and ive beat it hard. got it for 0% and for 48months and it comes with a 3 year warranty. it covers everything but belts tires and blades. for the money right at 5k you cant beat it.

Toddy · May 4, 2016

FYI Kawasaki has a recall on motors so getting a new one might be hard. Guy at work told me this not first hand so who knows. He just bought a mower and that's what he was told.

Also I was looking at Hustler Raptor SD on web and all they offer is Kohler now.

Bronco72 · May 4, 2016

My grasshopper has 2300 hours on it its a 07. One of dads exmarks has 2800 hours on it its a 03 or 04. Thay do show sings of wear, but still very reliable. Iv only put a few bearing in the deck on mine i thank dad has changed a few drive moters. High hours for

mtnride said:
I would t buy anything over 700-800 hours. After 600 hours you start seeing wear. We retire (sell) mowers at 1300-1500 hours.

but still mow very good and very few problem. There just very well built and it shows

johnnycash · May 5, 2016

Love my dixie chopper almost 3 acres in an hour.

mtnride · May 7, 2016

Bronco72 said:
My grasshopper has 2300 hours on it its a 07. One of dads exmarks has 2800 hours on it its a 03 or 04. Thay do show sings of wear, but still very reliable. Iv only put a few bearing in the deck on mine i thank dad has changed a few drive moters. High hours for but still mow very good and very few problem. There just very well built and it shows

If you can find a commercial mower for sale that had been used by a homeowner or a one man show kind of Lawncare company I guess you can get a machine with higher hours that is in good shape. I would think the most likely seller of a commercial mower would be a true commercial lawn maintenance service outfit. Again, most likely.

Machines that are used for production are used by employees, not owners, in conditions that arent ideal (wet, cold, thick grass) therefore tend to show wear sooner.

ldudley · May 8, 2016

round here in these parts its all about a Grasshopper

SHAWNEECRAWLER · May 9, 2016

Skag turf tiger here I mow 4 acres a week! Mine has 1500 hours and still a reliable mower. The thing that sold me on the Turf Tiger is the gas tank is down low and it will stick on a hill better than any other mower that I've used (bobcat,kubota,gravely,grasshopper, exmark,farris)buddy owns a lawn care business so I got to try a few before I bought one! Little pricey out the door but well worth the investment!

bjeep · May 9, 2016

SHAWNEECRAWLER said:
Skag turf tiger here I mow 4 acres a week! Mine has 1500 hours and still a reliable mower. The thing that sold me on the Turf Tiger is the gas tank is down low and it will stick on a hill better than any other mower that I've used (bobcat,kubota,gravely,grasshopper, exmark,farris)buddy owns a lawn care business so I got to try a few before I bought one! Little pricey out the door but well worth the investment!

Man I don't even see the deck. That is a nice mower.

SHAWNEECRAWLER · May 9, 2016

bjeep said:
Man I don't even see the deck. That is a nice mower.

Lmao was gonna post that pic up in the build thread but didn't have the service and don't know how that ended up here!

Zjman · May 10, 2016

This thread has jynxed me, my dam hydrostatic went out on my mower sat, now to spend buggy money on a new mower. Uggggggg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk