Country Clipper "The Boss"

davemhughes · Apr 13, 2007

Just bought a new 72 inch Country Clipper ZTR mower w/26hp kawasaki liquid cooled engine. Really really sweet mower. 12mph, joy stick control, 4 year warranty. I believe i got a good price of $8700 on it. Now i have a smaller CC ZTR mower but needed a larger one for a large com contract I just signed. This one should really do the trick.

JDGREEN4ME · Apr 13, 2007

Congratulations!

RedDog · Apr 14, 2007

The joystick is so sweet!!! Others with "twin sticks" do not know what they are missing!!

I bought the 60" Charger model last year with a 23 HP Kohler Command engine. I debated between the 72" and 60", along with Charger or Boss model.

I could not real justify paying more for the Boss model when it is basically the Charger model with a better seat.

I like the ease of cleaning with absolutely no tools!!

I think they are about the best zero turn out there.

davemhughes · Apr 15, 2007

Great to hear. The joy stick and the warranty was the one of the major reason for getting it. Not to mention 12mph mowing speed and fully articulating deck.
Shivvers Mfg. Inc. - Country Clipper

RedDog · Apr 15, 2007

I think you will be very impressed with it.

The reasons I bought mine were, I like the "bigger" tires (front and rear) than most of the competition. 1 fuel tank low to the ground, floating deck, along with ease of cleaning deck. And of course the joy stick!!

Things I would change,,,,, cup holder, and do away with safety switch on seat. With the mower having a low seat height (I like) I catch myself trying to "lean" out of the seat to pick up a stick or stone while mowing.

My land is rough, so the bigger tires, articulating front axle come in handy. My seat has two springs underneath it, with what looks like spots for 2 more springs if needed. My mower has a 3rd spring that is not used for anything that I am going to add under the seat for a total of 3.

I have 70 hours on mine and would definitely buy another one!!

davemhughes · Apr 19, 2007

Already mowed a total of 10 acres or so with mine and it is fast....almost too fast. The way the deck flips up really is a pain because my deck is so heavy. A cup holder would be nice and for what these things cost you would think it would have one. The joy stick control is so much better then the twin stick control. I think they should come standard with a rops instead of an option, I plan on making one because $700 for the option is high. The big water cooled kawasaki just purrs at full power. Fuel consumption is better than I thought. It is a very solid machine.....the hydra seat is nice also. I hope my business continues to grow so I can afford another one. I will post up some pics soon.

davemhughes · Apr 25, 2007

An update: Had a big mowing job of 12 acres mostly rolling 8in high grass on a country estate. Called a buddy to help me and he brought out is Bad Boy 60in ZTR mower and we went after it. In the time it took us to mow it I had mowed almost 7 of acres to his 5. The Country Clipper rocks, his Bad Boy is a fine machine built rock solid but the CC just did it faster and with less fatigue using the joy stick compared to his twin stick controlled BB.

RedDog · Apr 25, 2007

Well of course your 72" is going to cut faster than his 60".

davemhughes · May 13, 2014

Country Clipper "The Boss" is a Lo$$

Thought I would give you an update.......

Bought 2 of these mowers. 353 hours on the first one.....blown motor. I have to source a new engine for it or pay the dealer $3000 to put a new engine in it. The FD731v engine on line are around $1200 shipped.....tells you what the mark up and labor are. But cheaper than buying a complete new mower.

Second mower has 498 hours.....lots of trouble. Expensive upkeep. Just dropped $1500 on this one to replace deck bearing, electric clutch and some other items.

The both ran good for about 250 hours then just lots of trouble. I just expected better for high end mowers and liquid cooled engines. Dealer support is not real great either, you spend lots of money and still problems. I performed I thought owner service on them with oil and filter, greasing bearings, plugs, and such but....

Code54 · May 13, 2014

Sorry to hear that, that really sucks!! Nothing worse than putting a ton of money into buying eqpt then having problems with it

xring100 · May 13, 2014

davemhughes said:
Thought I would give you an update.......

Bought 2 of these mowers. 353 hours on the first one.....blown motor. I have to source a new engine for it or pay the dealer $3000 to put a new engine in it. The FD731v engine on line are around $1200 shipped.....tells you what the mark up and labor are. But cheaper than buying a complete new mower.

Second mower has 498 hours.....lots of trouble. Expensive upkeep. Just dropped $1500 on this one to replace deck bearing, electric clutch and some other items.

The both ran good for about 250 hours then just lots of trouble. I just expected better for high end mowers and liquid cooled engines. Dealer support is not real great either, you spend lots of money and still problems. I performed I thought owner service on them with oil and filter, greasing bearings, plugs, and such but....

Sorry to hear that as far as the engine can't really blame country clipper for a kawasaki engine problem. thats the same engine used on lots of mowers and the preferred brand amongst most pro's. Bearings do occasionally fail especially if you've ever hit anything hard rocks concrete etc. I know the spindle bearings they use are pretty large having looked at them. These are probably a generic timken bearing that cost less than $50 and a couple hours labor.
PTO clutches do wear out but the hours seem kind of low. The one on my dads Ingersoll garden tractor can be adjusted for running clearance. His first lasted 850 hours but since its also used for yard cleanup snow removal etc probably not cycled nearly as much. Sounds like your dealer is charging insane labor rates. $1800 labor to install a motor seems a bit much

strum456 · May 13, 2014

I have a 72" BOSS with a Kohler engine. I love it.

I do have one complaint though. My deck is supposed to lift up for cleaning and maintenance. I have followed the the manual step by step on how to lift the deck with the manufacturer supplied jack, and it DOESN"T WORK! The back tires of the tractor lift before the deck swings upward. I see that CC has now gone to an electric lift. Humm, wonder why?

I am not a professional mower, but my mower gets used plenty. I have not replaced a single part on it in the two years I've had it. Not even a belt. Mine is a 2007 model. The previous owner barely used it, so it was in new condition but several years old when I got it.

Capt Dan · May 14, 2014

Sorry about your problems. Do you know what kind/grade of gasoline has been used?
My friend had to rebuild a Briggs early. I try to buy Amoco Ultimate gas for my small engines. Hard to get non-ethanol gas around here. I feel there are only two places to buy diesel fuel in Eastern Iowa in winter. Couple more being built now.

Dan

you probably saw this engine 26 HP KAWASAKI LIQUID COOLED ENGINE FD731V-BS07

lightninboy · Jun 15, 2014

Ease of cleaning is very important, as far as I'm concerned.

doedays68 · Aug 2, 2014

Is your 72 in mower like my 60 in the way it cleans? If so, I can do a little video on how to raise deck for cleaning. I have a 2007 Boss that is 60in. It took me a minute when I got mine to figure out how to get it up for cleaning and blade changing. My mower has 498hrs on it and the Kawasaki 26hp motor has given me fits this summer. Seems like I spend half my time going back and forth to the shop.

doedays68 · Aug 2, 2014

Dave, what were the issues you started having with the engines on your mowers? I have an 07 Boss with 498hrs and now I'm having engine issues with loping (rev up and down and running for while then simply shutting down).

strum456 · Aug 3, 2014

doedays68 said:
Is your 72 in mower like my 60 in the way it cleans? If so, I can do a little video on how to raise deck for cleaning. I have a 2007 Boss that is 60in. It took me a minute when I got mine to figure out how to get it up for cleaning and blade changing. My mower has 498hrs on it and the Kawasaki 26hp motor has given me fits this summer. Seems like I spend half my time going back and forth to the shop.

I think they are all supposed to lift up the same way for maintenance. It could be that my 72" deck is heavier and that is why it is so difficult. Either way, I'd love to see a video of how you do it. Thanks!

doedays68 · Aug 3, 2014

I got to thinking about it after I sent the message. Another 12IN of deck is going to be really heavy. I'm not the strongest guy, but it's about all I want to lift by myself. Sometimes I get my petite wife to stand on the back as a counterweight. A heavier person would definitely help. So I've got issues with my mower not wanting to run and mow for more than 5 min at a time. Right before I finished tonight, I heard some cracking sounds and my rim on the left side (looking from rear of tractor) gave it up. So, I ordered a replacement rim off ebay. It may take a couple days for all that to come around, but I'll try to get the video and either post on YouTube or send you a link you can view it on a blog or something. I'll have to get my wife to help with the video piece. :laughing:

doedays68 · Aug 10, 2014

I posted a video of how I lift my deck. It's my first youtube video, so please excuse the rookie look and feel. It's at the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ygu90InZfQ&feature=youtu.be

Let me know if this was helpful.