60" Zero Turn Mower advice

[TxFig]

I saw the other thread on ZT mowers, but most of the discussion seemed centered on the 48" size and "mowing 2 or 3 properties". Not wanting to hijack Tom's thread, I would like some advice here.

I have 6.5 acres - mowing about 1 3/4 acres of it. I have had "el cheapo" riding lawn mowers for years (ie. Craftsman, Yard Machine, etc.). To be honest, I've probably gotten more than my fair use out of my last Yard Machine (7 years). Despite the fact that my YM is a 48" cut, it still takes me an entire Saturday to cut the lawn (ie. at least 8 hours).

But my YM is on it's last legs (strangely, not the engine. I can't keep belts on the PTO drive - I'm lucky if I can get through a single mowing without shreadding a $60 belt). So a couple of weeks ago I borrowed my neighbor's mower - a Cub Cadet ZT w/ a 60" cut.

It cut my mowing time in half (at least).


And then I priced commercial grade ZT mowers -


My objective here is to get the best "bang for the buck" I can. In particular, I'm wanting to avoid getting the "Home Depot special" since my gut is telling me that even if they have a name brand sticker on it (Cub Cadet, John Deere, Husq, etc) - those are sometimes the bottom of the barrel versions.

.... otoh, if that is the best bang for the buck, then so be it.


Any way, I'm looking for advice on the 60" ZT mowers. What models should I be looking at? What models should I AVOID?

I would love to keep this to $2500 (but I suspect that may not be possible). I can say that anything over $5000 ain't gonna pass the "wife test" (honestly, that's more than we paid for her car....).

 

[ae_ted]

I was low budget also when i replaced my mower...blown motor(($2000.00 to replace) I was forced to be looking at box store Z-turns that were $3000 to $6000. The Quality on all this group was not even close to a commercial mower. Started looking for used commercial mowers and found a 2001 700hr Kubota ZD21 diesel for $3700 and jumped on it. It is awesome. Best part is being diesel. it used to take 5 gal of gas to mow my yard each time and now i can mow 3 times on 5 gal. I get it serviced each year and now after 3 years of mowing it has about 850 hrs. This should last me rest of my life. I suggest looking for a good used Commercial mower and i Really can recommend the diesel option. just my 1.5 cents.

 

[BRB Hand]

Your situation sounds very much like mine. I bought a Dixie Chopper 60" a few years ago. It looked bad! Used for commercial work and abused. With a (very) little TLC she has served me VERY well for some time with very little other than regular maintainence. I would suggest finding a put out to pasture commercial machine of your choice and it will most likely last a long time. DC just happened to be what I found and I love it! I'm sure if it had been any commercial grade machine that entered my life first I would love them equally.

 

[yelbike]

I like the used commercial idea very much, with your yard it will last really long. But there is more than one way to skin a cat too. I had looked at the rzt60 for around the $3000 mark but i found the quality on par with the craftsman/ yard works type machine. I actually tested the cc pro force 54 irrc, really nice machine but too narrow for me. I ended up with a jd z465. The jd is right there at $5000 new. Btw i cut about 7 acres in 3.5 hours with it of flat but not smooth grass, not many obstacles.

 

[BillG_in_TX]

If you are sure you want new, I suggest you look at the Hustler Raptor. It's "only" a 52" cut, but with less than 2 acres to mow, you should be finished in no time. I see Hustler dealers selling it for $3000 in the Dallas area. For example: THE NEW HUSTLER RAPTOR ZERO TURN 52" cut 23hp Kawasaki riding mower

 

[Will_C]

I am a "commercial" quality guy, but I think many of the higher end residential mowers would be great for your 2 acres. I know that I can do 2 acres with my 52" Toro in less then an hour.The Hustler that BillG mentioned with a Kawasaki engine sounds interesting.

Will

 

[djdicetn]

I saw the other thread on ZT mowers, but most of the discussion seemed centered on the 48" size and "mowing 2 or 3 properties". Not wanting to hijack Tom's thread, I would like some advice here.

I have 6.5 acres - mowing about 1 3/4 acres of it. I have had "el cheapo" riding lawn mowers for years (ie. Craftsman, Yard Machine, etc.). To be honest, I've probably gotten more than my fair use out of my last Yard Machine (7 years). Despite the fact that my YM is a 48" cut, it still takes me an entire Saturday to cut the lawn (ie. at least 8 hours).

But my YM is on it's last legs (strangely, not the engine. I can't keep belts on the PTO drive - I'm lucky if I can get through a single mowing without shreadding a $60 belt). So a couple of weeks ago I borrowed my neighbor's mower - a Cub Cadet ZT w/ a 60" cut.

It cut my mowing time in half (at least).


And then I priced commercial grade ZT mowers -


My objective here is to get the best "bang for the buck" I can. In particular, I'm wanting to avoid getting the "Home Depot special" since my gut is telling me that even if they have a name brand sticker on it (Cub Cadet, John Deere, Husq, etc) - those are sometimes the bottom of the barrel versions.

.... otoh, if that is the best bang for the buck, then so be it.


Any way, I'm looking for advice on the 60" ZT mowers. What models should I be looking at? What models should I AVOID?

I would love to keep this to $2500 (but I suspect that may not be possible). I can say that anything over $5000 ain't gonna pass the "wife test" (honestly, that's more than we paid for her car....).

I, like user WILL_C am a "Commercial kind of guy" but you really have to watch that term, which IMHO is widely overused and abused. I am a first-time ZTR owner, but wish the "industry" would settle on a "standard" that designated any brand as "Residential"(big box and entry level); "Heavy Duty"(high-end Residential with "some" Commercial quality features/components) and "Industrial"(truly full-blown all Commercial grade features/components). When you think about the term "Commercial", I could buy a $2,000 Cub Cadet at Lowes and start a lawn maintenance business and my ZTR would be used "commercially". My advice is to try to get the wife to buy into the $5,000 range and there are a LOT of high-end Residential units in several brands that would fit your needs like Hustler(Raptor or FasTrak), Gravely(ZT XL or ZT HD), Cub Cadet(Z-Force), Toro(Titan ZX & MX), Big Dog(R series) and many more. Hope you find the one that's just right for you!!!
P.S.
Also, with the area you are mowing you really don't need a 60" cut...you would be surprised that a 48" deck on a ZTR would still cut your 8 hours down to 2 hours for that much acreage!!!! Plus you can "go up" a few series/models with a smaller deck and get better quality(gauge) deck, tranny, engine, etc. instead of a big deck for the same money. Just sayin.....

 

[TxFig]

Thanks all. First a correction - the Cub Cadet I borrowed has a 48" cut, not a 60". I guess I was impressed with how much faster I got the job done that I just assumed it was much wider.

I've been kind of leaning toward the Kubota ZG127S (54"), although I budget may drop me down to the ZG123S (48"). Opinions? Is it too much mower for my needs?

 

[Beltman60]

your in luck
TSC has a sale this weekend on a cub cadet 54" RZT for $2800
you should be able to cut your 1 1/2 acres in less than 2 hrs for sure
ad says cutting speeds up to 7 mph
that is min over your projected $2500 budget and you would have a new zero turn
I use to have tractors until I got my zero turn
I will never own a tractor for lawn care again
my trator is for the farm work and only gets used with putting down mulch or some other things but not when it comes to cutting grass

 

[cletus99]

I saw the other thread on ZT mowers, but most of the discussion seemed centered on the 48" size and "mowing 2 or 3 properties". Not wanting to hijack Tom's thread, I would like some advice here.

I have 6.5 acres - mowing about 1 3/4 acres of it. I have had "el cheapo" riding lawn mowers for years (ie. Craftsman, Yard Machine, etc.). To be honest, I've probably gotten more than my fair use out of my last Yard Machine (7 years). Despite the fact that my YM is a 48" cut, it still takes me an entire Saturday to cut the lawn (ie. at least 8 hours).

But my YM is on it's last legs (strangely, not the engine. I can't keep belts on the PTO drive - I'm lucky if I can get through a single mowing without shreadding a $60 belt). So a couple of weeks ago I borrowed my neighbor's mower - a Cub Cadet ZT w/ a 60" cut.

It cut my mowing time in half (at least).


And then I priced commercial grade ZT mowers -


My objective here is to get the best "bang for the buck" I can. In particular, I'm wanting to avoid getting the "Home Depot special" since my gut is telling me that even if they have a name brand sticker on it (Cub Cadet, John Deere, Husq, etc) - those are sometimes the bottom of the barrel versions.

.... otoh, if that is the best bang for the buck, then so be it.


Any way, I'm looking for advice on the 60" ZT mowers. What models should I be looking at? What models should I AVOID?

I would love to keep this to $2500 (but I suspect that may not be possible). I can say that anything over $5000 ain't gonna pass the "wife test" (honestly, that's more than we paid for her car....).

Wow, 8 hours to cut 1 3/4 an acres? You must be mowing at a snail's pace. I have 16 acres with about 5 or 6 that I mow. The rest is woods and it don't take me but 3 or 4 hours with a Craftsman 42" mower and a tractor for the pasture area. I probably cut about 2 1/2 acres with the Craftsman 42". You mentioned wanting to avoid getting the "Home Depot special", but you might want to consider at least checking out the Ariens Max Zoom 60. Ariens actually owns Gravely and from what I've read the Ariens Max Zoom 60 and the Gravely ZT HD 60 are pretty much identical. I believe the pricing between the two are pretty close either way within a few $100 of each other. There are smaller deck sizes that would cost you less. I don't personally have any experience with either, but I do know many people that own Gravely mowers and love them. Do some research online and see what you find.