Posted: 8/16/2016 9:08:33 PM EDT
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When we bought the house last year we decided to buy the old rider off the previous owners to save money. It's to the point I'm fixing something everytime I mow. Mow about 2 acres, some hills, not a straight line to mow anywhere on the property, dozens of trees. Looking for: 25+ HP 54" deck Fabricated deck Cast iron spindles Canister style air filter Prefer EFI Prefer a lower end commercial machine over a residential machine So far I have a price on a Hustler X-One with a 54" deck and 28 HP Vanguard EFI for $10,649. Working on getting a demo set up for later this month at the house. Also going to price and try to demo a Gravely Pro Turn 252. Any other good options out there? Gratuitous yard pics   Old pic from right after we bought it, have cleaned it up a lot  Update: Went mower shopping today and got a deal on a Bad Boy Outlaw XP 6100 with the Kawa motor we couldn't say no to. Delivered it the same day. Has most of the feature I wanted and was significantly cheaper than comparable models from other manufacturers. Mowed the yard this evening, just under 2 hours, down from the 4.5 it used to take. Love it!   |
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Quoted: $10,000 for 2 acres ?!? That's a lot of dough... Dixie Choppers, SCAG and Graveleys are mostly what the commercial guys seem to use....mostly. I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG |
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What's you best local dealer?
I like toro and exmark.....the Scag my neighbor has is like mowing on a park bench.....my toro is nice and smooth. Cuts my acre in 15 minutes.....it's a time saving thing for me, plain and simple....more time on the water less mowing. |
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Quoted: What's you best local dealer? I like toro and exmark.....the Scag my neighbor has is like mowing on a park bench.....my toro is nice and smooth. Cuts my acre in 15 minutes.....it's a time saving thing for me, plain and simple....more time on the water less mowing. Can find a good dealer for about anything within an hours drive. Hustler/Kubota is the biggest and closest. Gravely is the closest. I'm spending just over 4 hours mowing two acres with a 50" rider now. If like to cut that down and have it look as good or better. |
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I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG Quoted:
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$10,000 for 2 acres ?!? That's a lot of dough... Dixie Choppers, SCAG and Graveleys are mostly what the commercial guys seem to use....mostly. I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG No prob. You earned it, more power to ya. DCs are FAST. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted: No prob. You earned it, more power to ya. DCs are FAST. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: $10,000 for 2 acres ?!? That's a lot of dough... Dixie Choppers, SCAG and Graveleys are mostly what the commercial guys seem to use....mostly. I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG No prob. You earned it, more power to ya. DCs are FAST. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Takes me just over 4 hours on a 50" rider now to make it look as good as I want it. Straight line speed will help some but being able to turn so much quicker on a ZTR is where I will get most of my savings. Have to divide the yard up into 5 distinct sections now to get it mowed in a reasonable amount of time. |
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Quoted: I know you said EFI but the new design Kubota diesels are really nice. Kubota has great financing and is super easy to work with too. Grew up on a ZD and love them, built like a brick shit house. I need to check but I think a ZD in the size range I'm looking at is a bit more than I want to spend. |
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I bought a lightly used Kubota Zg332 from a dealer for way less than 10k. Multiple thousands less. That mower is the best quality, most over engineered, reliable, easy to maintain kick ass piece of equipment I've ever owned. Overkill is under rated. Liquid cooled, great hydro's, deep fabbed deck, comfy operator station, direct shaft drive everything. Worst part is the blade speed, this time of year it puts a lot of crap in the air. If you've got the $ take a look at used z300 series, they are great machines |
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Quoted: I bought a lightly used Kubota Zg332 from a dealer for way less than 10k. Multiple thousands less. That mower is the best quality, most over engineered, reliable, easy to maintain kick ass piece of equipment I've ever owned. Overkill is under rated. Liquid cooled, great hydro's, deep fabbed deck, comfy operator station, direct shaft drive everything. Worst part is the blade speed, this time of year it puts a lot of crap in the air. If you've got the $ take a look at used z300 series, they are great machines I'll keep my eye out, thanks! |
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Quoted:
I bought a dealer-demo John Deere Z930R in April. I love it: https://www.deere.com/common/media/images/product/ztrak_mowers/ztrak_z900r_series/z970r_72/r4a025949_z970r_72_642x462.png This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! |
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Quoted: This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! Quoted: Quoted: I bought a dealer-demo John Deere Z930R in April. I love it: https://www.deere.com/common/media/images/product/ztrak_mowers/ztrak_z900r_series/z970r_72/r4a025949_z970r_72_642x462.png This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! I've got a few hours on a 997 and I'm not a fan. For that kind of money I'll go Kubota. |
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Quoted:
I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG Quoted:
Quoted:
$10,000 for 2 acres ?!? That's a lot of dough... Dixie Choppers, SCAG and Graveleys are mostly what the commercial guys seem to use....mostly. I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG Scag Cheetah. But you 'gon hate greasing those spindles. I'd buy a Ferris if I were you, but someone has already convinced you that aluminum spindle housings are the devil, so nothing I say will fix that. Don't forget a leftover Kubota ZG227 or ZD221. |
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Quoted: This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! Quoted: Quoted: I bought a dealer-demo John Deere Z930R in April. I love it: https://www.deere.com/common/media/images/product/ztrak_mowers/ztrak_z900r_series/z970r_72/r4a025949_z970r_72_642x462.png This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! The deeper decks often provide better airflow and capacity for heavier cutting conditions. Its all what you need it to do. I have no issues with clumping with the pro fabed deck on my Kubota...but its a 33hp grass slaying beast |
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Quoted: Scag Cheetah. But you 'gon hate greasing those spindles. I'd buy a Ferris if I were you, but someone has already convinced you that aluminum spindle housings are the devil, so nothing I say will fix that. Don't forget a leftover Kubota ZG227 or ZD221. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: $10,000 for 2 acres ?!? That's a lot of dough... Dixie Choppers, SCAG and Graveleys are mostly what the commercial guys seem to use....mostly. I work my ass off and manage my money so I can afford to buy nice things in some areas. I still need to checkout Dixie Chopper and SCAG Scag Cheetah. But you 'gon hate greasing those spindles. I'd buy a Ferris if I were you, but someone has already convinced you that aluminum spindle housings are the devil, so nothing I say will fix that. Don't forget a leftover Kubota ZG227 or ZD221. Nothing wrong with a properly designed aluminum spindle. From what I've seen aluminum spindles are usually indicative of a cheaper build quality, cast iron is usually indicative of a better built machine. Not a hard and fast rule. IIRC Deere uses aluminum on all of their ZTR spindles. |
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Quoted:
I've got a few hours on a 997 and I'm not a fan. For that kind of money I'll go Kubota. Quoted:
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Quoted:
I bought a dealer-demo John Deere Z930R in April. I love it: https://www.deere.com/common/media/images/product/ztrak_mowers/ztrak_z900r_series/z970r_72/r4a025949_z970r_72_642x462.png This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! I've got a few hours on a 997 and I'm not a fan. For that kind of money I'll go Kubota. Why aren't you a fan? |
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I've always heard good things about the 7 iron decks, but the fab decks aren't square underneath, they have baffles to direct air and clippings, my Kubota came with a mulching kit installed and thats all just more baffles under the deck. The deeper decks often provide better airflow and capacity for heavier cutting conditions. Its all what you need it to do. I have no issues with clumping with the pro fabed deck on my Kubota...but its a 33hp grass slaying beast Quoted:
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Quoted:
I bought a dealer-demo John Deere Z930R in April. I love it: https://www.deere.com/common/media/images/product/ztrak_mowers/ztrak_z900r_series/z970r_72/r4a025949_z970r_72_642x462.png This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! The deeper decks often provide better airflow and capacity for heavier cutting conditions. Its all what you need it to do. I have no issues with clumping with the pro fabed deck on my Kubota...but its a 33hp grass slaying beast I knoe that they aren't square underneath but they do have more drastic angles which does lead to grass (especially wet grass) catching on those angles. This leads to clumping or streaks left behind. The 7 Iron decks are just as deep and thy also have approximately the same blade tip speed as most of the competitors. As I stated I have had many ZTR'S and cut grass commercially for many years. As far as I am concerned, the Deere provides the best cut hands down by far. |
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I own a Lawn Service and use Dixie Chopper Silver Eagles for my sit down mowers. They have been great. Dixie's "niche" is great side discharge with the way the deck is designed. Early morning dew on the grass is not a problem for me. They don't mulch as well as the other brands from what I understand, but that's not an issue for me as I either discharge or bag.
One thing is for sure- Having a good, established dealer is huge. |
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Quoted: I own a Lawn Service and use Dixie Chopper Silver Eagles for my sit down mowers. They have been great. Dixie's "niche" is great side discharge with the way the deck is designed. Early morning dew on the grass is not a problem for me. They don't mulch as well as the other brands from what I understand, but that's not an issue for me as I either discharge or bag. One thing is for sure- Having a good, established dealer is huge. Looks like the Silver Eagle fits my criteria pretty well. I'll check them out, thanks! |
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This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! Quoted:
Quoted:
I bought a dealer-demo John Deere Z930R in April. I love it: https://www.deere.com/common/media/images/product/ztrak_mowers/ztrak_z900r_series/z970r_72/r4a025949_z970r_72_642x462.png This guy knows what's up. I have had three of the Deere ZTR'S and they have never let me down. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 7 Iron deck is solid and way better than a deck that is fabricated/ welded. It has no sharp angles for wet grass to collect hence it does not clump as much. I have also had Scag, Bobcat, Lesco and Ferris mowers. They all had welded decks and all had trouble cutting wet grass. The choice is yours but I would demo a Deere! Ive had a Z930m for a couple of years and absolutely love it. |
| I mow 6 acres of mostly flat, rough ground with a 2009 Hustler Super Z. It has a Kohler Command Pro 30 and a 60" deck. I added flex forks and Qwikchute. I don't feel beat up when I am done. It has 490 hrs and is running strong with no issues. Maintenance is easy. I based my initial purchase by observing what the pros in my area (Orlando... where they mow ~10 months per year) were using. |
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Quoted: http://eadsfence.com/Content/Images/uploaded/Main%20category%20pics/farm%20fence%20main.jpg https://aos.iacpublishinglabs.com/question/aq/700px-394px/what-is-a-baby-goat-called_19502a26-85a6-42d4-834c-64e7bc2de286.jpg?domain=cx.aos.ask.com $5K for the fence and goats. $5K for a private range, guns and ammo. We took down a fence that had goats in it from the previous owner when we moved in  |