Semi - Commercial Zeroturn Comparison

[JMER817]

Well, my 10 year old Craftsman 54" deck lawn tractor is near its death. Planning on upgrading to a zero-turn and have been doing some research this week. A good comparison chart is scarce out there so I decided to create my own. I'm focusing on the High end homeowner / low end commercial units ranging in price from $4500 - $7000. I've attached the spreadsheet for those that might be also interested in such data. I was told by a friend to take a look at the Husqvarna. I was never a fan of this make in regards to their mowers, but I am definetly looking at the MZ and MZT61 model. Looks like a good value for the dollar and has a lot of the features of the higher end machines. His brother-in law researched for 6 months and bought the Husqvarna just recently. I'm gonna demo it next week. Anyone else put the research in like this recently? Anyone have the Husqvarna MZ series?

 

[Turbys_1700]

Around here Gravely and Ferris has a large share of the market due to two excellent dealers. I have no direct experience with the Husqvarna MZ's. If I was buying the Gravely ZD HT 60 would be at the top of the list. Local dealer here has been a Gravely dealer for over 30 years and he sells a lot of those units. Typically buys at years end several trailer loads at discount and sells at discount. They are very durable and good units. The average home owner will get excellent service out of them. The only negative I have is the sealed spindles. They are not serviceable. Less to worry about but eventually they do have to be replaced. How many hours they last I am not sure. I would think that they would be in the 500 hour range. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[Maxify55]

I did exactly that 10'yrs ago. I bought a 2 yr old Ferris 1000Z for $3000. Had the motor rebuilt as the owner had run it low on oil. It's still cutting to this very day on the 7 acres out here in north Florida with barely 800 hrs on the clock, as I recall.

 

[Loadstar]

Ariens/gravely
Our Ariens zoom xl54 has been great

 

[JMER817]

Can anyone see my spreadsheet that I uploaded?

 

[tow653]

Can anyone see my spreadsheet that I uploaded?

Yes,nice job.

 

[JMER817]

Yes,nice job.

Good...Its not showing up in my phone

 

[atomchaser]

On paper, the Husky commercial unit looks like the sweet spot. I recently bought a Hustler Fastrak SDX and I have been satisfied with it. I bought it based on good dealer support and solid features at a good price point. I didn't look at the Huskies (did actually know they made commercial units) but definitely worth a look based on the paper specs.

 

[check 6]

Good spreadsheet, but the question arises that when you get into the 6-7 thousand dollar range why have you not look at Kubota. The may be pricy at first but I have had a ZD 1800 54 " deck Kubota for ten years and it still looks and just great. I do annual paint. clean it regularly and keep the blades sharp other than that it has been without issue and does my 1 acre and additional mowing quickly

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would include the Ferris IS 700Z in the comparison. I have one and it is great, the springs over shocks really smooths out the bumps. I have the Kawasaki engine on mine, but they can also be had with a B&S engine if you like for a few bucks less. It also has the Hydro-Gear 3400 series serviceable transmission. I think they will still be in the $6-7000 range (maybe less if you look at last year clearance sale).

 

[rgr33]

Before making your decision, try to demo the machines on some rough turf. Those machines without a suspension seat, or shocks/springs might have a harsh ride, which gets old, fast. I really like the Kawasaki motors, mine is several years old, and always starts and runs great. I think once you go to a z turn, you'll never go back to a lawn tractor.

 

[JMER817]

I added the Exmark and will go look at a bad boy Monday. I like certain features on all of them. Wish I could pick the things I like from each one of them and put them into one...lol. I was looking at the husqvarna again yesterday and a guy came by looking at it too. He kept asking questions about them that I was able to answer confidently. I realized then that maybe I should become a ZTR sales rep...lol.

 

[tcartwri]

Can anyone see my spreadsheet that I uploaded?

I made a similar sheet. I zeroed in on the Ferris/ Simplicity/ Snapper Pro lines.

I bought a used simplicity citation with 70 hrs for $4K. It will outlive me.

 

[JMER817]

Now I'm debating about a JD X380 with the 54" mower deck. Guess it depends how much lawn I want to mow. I currently mow 1.5 acres and brush hog 3 acres. There is an acre of the area that I brush hog that would look rather nice if I mowed it. That then would end up being 2.5 acre mowed area. I enjoy mowing (nice stress reliever) but don't want to be out there all day neither. Anyone have any opinions of the X380?

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Once you get a nice zero turn, you'll never want to mow with a lawn tractor or garden tractor again. You can get a Deere 9 series zero turn for near the top of your budget, and they are great machines that would last many years and provide a lot of enjoyment.

 

[Scooby074]

Not the X380, but I had an x540 and it was an AMAZING mower. Rode like a Cadillac. Hydraulic steer and lift so driving it was effortless. Diff lock too for those hard to mow areas. Probably the most comfortable mower Ive ever used, even more so than the BX or my current ZD with its suspension seat.

 

[not2old]

I'm happy with my Husqvarna MZ 54" It had a no start when I got it, which was traced to a poor connection on one of the numerous switches on this circuit. No other problems but admit it only has 45 hours on it after three years. Someone traded it for a larger unit at three months old. Regular sale price around here seems to be about $6500.00 (Canadian). I thought it was a bargain at $3900.00.

 

[JMER817]

I'm happy with my Husqvarna MZ 54" It had a no start when I got it, which was traced to a poor connection on one of the numerous switches on this circuit. No other problems but admit it only has 45 hours on it after three years. Someone traded it for a larger unit at three months old. Regular sale price around here seems to be about $6500.00 (Canadian). I thought it was a bargain at $3900.00.

Not2old
I saw someone on YouTube complaining that the MZ is too easy to spin the wheels. Do you see this with yours? It is lighter than the other comparable sized machines.

 

[not2old]

Not2old
I saw someone on YouTube complaining that the MZ is too easy to spin the wheels. Do you see this with yours? It is lighter than the other comparable sized machines.

I'm still getting used to operating it but will admit that I tore the **** out of the place when I first started. My "lawn" is wild weeds that I kept cutting until I had a lawn and the soil is extremely poor. In the small area where there is some decent soil, there is no problem. I've learned to be careful turning and the few times I do spin the wheels, it's always in the same places. Your comment is interesting, as I've never driven any other machines to compare it to. I might try adding some ballast as it would be better if I didn't do it at all. All I know is that my lawn cutting time has dropped from 7 to 8 hours to about 30 minutes. It's difficult not to like that.