Lawn mowers

[maxwelhse]

Ya that was the issue we were having. We'd go to mow a lot with it and you basically had to two hand it to get the 60" up. Only downfall of that toro imo, it was slower than some of the others but it was built like a tank. When I got my 60" hustler for my personal property and found the foot deck lift I was stoked. I dont jump curbs on my property (well sometimes) but its great for navigating over roots fast.

Is that your fox in the video? I had an 89 with ponys.

The curb at the street is so aggressive where I live that to mow around the mailbox and sidewalk I have to finesse the deck height or it will scrub down to the dirt. I'm not necessarily trying to hop curbs, but... I sorta mow them.

Yep. 91 GT, 5.0/5 speed, double black under all the dust. Funny you mentioned it, because said curb is so aggressive the car won't make it out of the driveway without Race Ramps. Several of my neighbors regular street cars scrape in and out of the driveway on a daily basis.

 

[kickbacked]

The curb at the street is so aggressive where I live that to mow around the mailbox and sidewalk I have to finesse the deck height or it will scrub down to the dirt. I'm not necessarily trying to hop curbs, but... I sorta mow them.

Yep. 91 GT, 5.0/5 speed, double black under all the dust. Funny you mentioned it, because said curb is so aggressive the car won't make it out of the driveway without Race Ramps. Several of my neighbors regular street cars scrape in and out of the driveway on a daily basis.

that is the exact same spot i have to curb hop mine (the mail box). I mean i could just leave it for the weed eater but I try to use the weedeater as little as possible.

Whomever owned my foxbody before me put a spool in the rear end of a 13 second car. I do miss rowing through the gears though. Those things feel like street go carts especially when the rear end skips on turns at 5mph.

 

[WebSnyper]

Ya that was the issue we were having. We'd go to mow a lot with it and you basically had to two hand it to get the 60" up. Only downfall of that toro imo, it was slower than some of the others but it was built like a tank. When I got my 60" hustler for my personal property and found the foot deck lift I was stoked. I dont jump curbs on my property (well sometimes) but its great for navigating over roots fast.

Is that your fox in the video? I had an 89 with ponys.

I didn't make it to the Hustler dealer in the area. I'll have to give them a call and/or try to get over there on Monday afternoon. The Dash XD series could be in my price range. Looks like they may also carry Scag.

 

[maxwelhse]

that is the exact same spot i have to curb hop mine (the mail box). I mean i could just leave it for the weed eater but I try to use the weedeater as little as possible.

Whomever owned my foxbody before me put a spool in the rear end of a 13 second car. I do miss rowing through the gears though. Those things feel like street go carts especially when the rear end skips on turns at 5mph.

FWIW, for a regular residential property, a cordless weedie will change your life. I can slap the battery in it, take out what I aimed to do, and have it back in the garage before I could get my Stihl running... and I still curb job it with the tractor.

It's hard to have more fun in a 200hp car than a Fox 5.0 with a stick. Every minivan in the parking lot is probably faster, but not as fun.

 

[WebSnyper]

Always take the largest deck size you can unless you have some odd constraint keeping you from doing so. Also, it seems that modern Kohler is not what it once was from the handful I've tinkered on. I would happily take a Kow over a modern Kohler. So, from your browsing (and with me spending your money for you, which I far prefer to spending my own), the Bad Boy with the 48" deck is the front runner in absence of any other data.

One thing I see from BB's website is that it doesn't include basically any nice features at the base price. No ROPS, no suspension seat, etc. Up to you to decide how valuable those features are.




Both of my GTs have hydraulic deck lift and I absolutely consider that mandatory. I didn't even think manual lift would be a thing anymore since the hydro is a hydraulic pump. So... +1

Don't know what I don't know on options. I will say I'd rather have better built mower than one less well built with more options.

You can get a 48 with either the Kohler or the kawasaki The kawasaki engine option runs another $550. Not sure I can drop that much additional. Between the 42 and the 48 on the Badboy I would go with the 48 for the minimal price difference there.

 

[maxwelhse]

Don't know what I don't know on options. I will say I'd rather have better built mower than one less well built with more options.

You can get a 48 with either the Kohler or the kawasaki The kawasaki engine option runs another $550. Not sure I can drop that much additional. Between the 42 and the 48 on the Badboy I would go with the 48 for the minimal price difference there.

The options I listed are the 2 that would be important to me.

ROPS is Roll Over Protection Structure: AKA - a roll bar. I've already flipped a running tractor over and it's not fun. If you have a lot of low trees, ROPS becomes annoying. Lots of them are made to fold up for that reason, but then why have it? ZTRs go fast enough, and have you high enough, that I'd feel better with one.

Suspension seats are what they sound like and if you have a bumpy lawn, especially if it's bumpy and flat so you're trying to mow at top speed, are supposed to be nice. I don't have that much ZTR experience, but the bad ones will absolutely beat you to death and I've been told the good ones are like a 70s Caddy. I've only had the bad ones experience so far. BB wants like $500 for their suspension seat, which just seems asinine. Their ROPS isn't much cheaper, which seems equally insane.

---

Honestly, for your budget and size of yard, I'd be curious to see what you could come up with in a regular tractor. At a glance, a box store grade JD, with a 54" deck, is nearly $1000 cheaper that your current front runners. I have no doubt that you're buying something with that extra money, but are you buying something you really need/want? I dunno either.

In your position, I really do think I'd like to get a demo of each type before making a decision.

 

[kickbacked]

FWIW, for a regular residential property, a cordless weedie will change your life. I can slap the battery in it, take out what I aimed to do, and have it back in the garage before I could get my Stihl running... and I still curb job it with the tractor.

It's hard to have more fun in a 200hp car than a Fox 5.0 with a stick. Every minivan in the parking lot is probably faster, but not as fun.

I run it too much to go battery powered. Im actually looking at buying a new one this spring that i can attach a brush cutter. I battle with crap growing up under my pines and along a fence that runs along a woods line.

 

[maxwelhse]

I run it too much to go battery powered. Im actually looking at buying a new one this spring that i can attach a brush cutter. I battle with crap growing up under my pines and along a fence that runs along a woods line.

RoundUp +



I used to have to do a privacy fence, propane tank, raised deck, etc... It took 3 hours with the Stihl to do it all or twice a year with Round Up for 30-45 minutes a pop.

 

[flyingsquirrel]

Me too

 

[DocIndy]

I was looking for a zero turn when we bought the farm 3 years ago. 5 acres with 2.5 tillable that a local guy farms for us. I was told about Ferris from a coworker and called several dealers. Pricing was all over the place. I ended up at Castleton Outdoor Solutions and found what I was looking for. 61” cut IS2100 with the standard 26 hp B&S Vangard. No regrets.

 

[WebSnyper]

Just came across another dealer in the area that carries Kubota. Going to give them a call on Monday and see what their 42" ZTR goes for.

 

[maxwelhse]

Just came across another dealer in the area that carries Kubota. Going to give them a call on Monday and see what their 42" ZTR goes for.

I've never seen a Kubota that I didn't like, at least in their diesel equipment. The stuff retains its value well, but they charge you up front to get it too.





...you also provoked me into look at what I would actually buy from if I had property to maintain... 40 grand. oof...

 

[WebSnyper]

I've never seen a Kubota that I didn't like, at least in their diesel equipment. The stuff retains its value well, but they charge you up front to get it too.



View attachment 132938

...you also provoked me into look at what I would actually buy from if I had property to maintain... 40 grand. oof...

Thinking more something like this currently showing MSRP under $4k

 

[Jaybird1980]

Just came across another dealer in the area that carries Kubota. Going to give them a call on Monday and see what their 42" ZTR goes for.

How much area do you mow?
Do you have any limitations on with, like gates or tight areas between things

 

[maxwelhse]

Thinking more something like this currently showing MSRP under $4k

I know.. But why a 42" deck when they'll sell you a 72" for only 6x more money?

 

[K_W]

I work on family and neighbor's equipment for the cost of parts... I use ready made fuel in all my gas equipment besides the mowers, which get drained every fall. Never have any trouble out of my gear unless something breaks or wears out.

I am slowly transistioning to Dewalt 20V battery equipment for everything besides the riding mower, leaf vac, leaf blower, and snow blower, as I don't really need gas and/or plug in weedeaters, hedge trimmers, edgers, or saws for my size property... nor do I have the space for duplicate equipment.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Thinking more something like this currently showing MSRP under $4k

I guess I missed your earlier post that said you only have .06 acre.
Knowing that, of the one you have listed.

1. Kubota- Kawasaki engine and ROPS (you may not need this if your lawn is flat)
2. Bad Boy 48"- three blades so better blade speed, 5 gal fuel tank, and a floating deck system.
3. Bad Boy 42"- same as above except it's 2 blades. But if you want a 42" this is what I would pick. TSC sells this mower for $3000
4. Country Clipper- 5gal tank and easier service of the blades.

All of these mowers run the same Hydro Gear EZT sealed system.

The front springs on the Simplicity are a gimmick, all the weight and shock is in the rear (I do believe there higher models have a suspended seat system that could be helpful)

 

[WebSnyper]

I guess I missed your earlier post that said you only have .06 acre.
Knowing that, of the one you have listed.

1. Kubota- Kawasaki engine and ROPS (you may not need this if your lawn is flat)
2. Bad Boy 48"- three blades so better blade speed, 5 gal fuel tank, and a floating deck system.
3. Bad Boy 42"- same as above except it's 2 blades. But if you want a 42" this is what I would pick. TSC sells this mower for $3000
4. Country Clipper- 5gal tank and easier service of the blades.

All of these mowers run the same Hydro Gear EZT sealed system.

The front springs on the Simplicity are a gimmick, all the weight and shock is in the rear (I do believe there higher models have a suspended seat system that could be helpful)

0.6 acre. Mostly flat with a little slope in the back for drainage but not much.

The 42 at TSC is a 540 cc vs the 42" 725cc at the mower shop (both the 42 and 48 at the mower shop seem to have the same engine). Similar mower but different engine unless I'm missing something.

Sight unseen on the Kubota, but so far I'm pretty much where you are on my ranking.

 

[Jaybird1980]

0.6 acre. Mostly flat with a little slope in the back for drainage but not much.

The 42 at TSC is a 540 cc vs the 42" 725cc at the mower shop (both the 42 and 48 at the mower shop seem to have the same engine). Similar mower but different engine unless I'm missing something.

Sight unseen on the Kubota, but so far I'm pretty much where you are on my ranking.

I know the BB 42 has 2 engine options, so I'm not sure if TSC can get either. The bigger engine would be beneficial.
That said I would rather have the 48" BB just to get the 3 blade system. I would also check for steel vs plastic deck pulleys.

 

[WebSnyper]

I know the BB 42 has 2 engine options, so I'm not sure if TSC can get either. The bigger engine would be beneficial.
That said I would rather have the 48" BB just to get the 3 blade system. I would also check for steel vs plastic deck pulleys.

Is there anything else about the Kubota that puts it higher? One of my biggest concerns with any of them is the transmissions.
Doing some looking to see if the Kubota is able to be serviced or they are sealed units. I believe the Badboy models I am looking at are sealed.