Buying Advice Kioti NX or RX and horsepower needed

[Coyote machine]

Coyote,

What do you think of scag cheetah 72 inch commercial zero turn? or the JD Z970R 72 inch?

I am trying to choose between the two, again...5 level again with small bumps (can easily adjust deck to avoid scalping). No mulching kit as it eats up hp.

those two machine sell around 13,000. Speed is key for me, I am not looking for a perfect mow...just once a week quick around 6-8 mph...

Love to get your opinion

thank you

The Scag purchase happened around the same time as my first Kioti purchase, and once again I did NOT do the necessary research to determine best use piece of equipment. I was doing a huge house remodel/renovation had 2 kids in grade school and a couple of other properties out of state; summer home, and adjacent Custom's House. My plate was full, and all I knew was everyone with a landscape business had trailers full of Scag equipment. I bought my Wildcat for $8k with 200 hours on it. I was told it sold at retail for $13K new. I quickly jumped to buy it from my then lawn guy who was going back to Deeres, since he seemed to like them better.
I now have 375 hours on the machine since 2010 or thereabout. Not a lot of hours considering how many acres of land, all most hilly, sloped around ponds, trees, gardens etc.
I've lost it on the Scag on numerous occasions, while going uphill on damp/wet grass it will just break away and go in whatever direction where there is a big tree looming in front of me.
It's completely scary,and I ALWAYS have the ROPS fully up. And my seatbelt on when doing any work near my ponds etc.

I can't comment on the Deere mowers/ZTs, and I am only familiar with the Cheetah and Tiger Scags by having seem them out and about.
I can say that Exmark and Ferris seem to be very competitive in the pro mower category. In fact I noted yesterday that MIE is a Ferris dealer, so again when you speak to Bob about a ripper tooth for your hoe you might be wise to ask him about his opinion of the Ferris line vs. Scag/Deere, Exmark etc.

Sorry I can't give more useful info on Scag's current lineup; and thanks for the tip on the blades; but my problem isn't really one of to bag or not to bag; it's one of traction and near death, life flashing before my eyes, out of control random direction seeking machine that's virtually unstoppable once it decides it's going rogue!?:shocked:

Granted, if I had searched thoroughly prior to eyes wide as saucers at the prospect of getting a 61" deck commercial grade mower, I might have determined it wasn't really suited to my terrain. But, at the time I was slammed and thought that since all the landscapers were using them they must be the gold standard. Don't get me wrong the Wildcat is a great train, and bulletproof, but under the wrong conditions it can be a scary bronco ride on the way to the emergency room if one doesn't exercise extreme caution. Maybe the WILD part of Wildcat is the most apt name for it!

 

[IslandTractor]

can the backhoe KB2485 dig through asphalt driveway? the drainage pipe will have to go through driveway.

Thank you

Yes you can dig through asphalt but you really don't want to do that without cutting the margins of the trench first. You need a clean cut so you end up with a neat patch. Just digging with the BH will give you a raggedy azz look. Watch how the pros do it with a jackhammer.

 

[IslandTractor]

righht now, i have JD X734 with 54 inch deck...takes forever 3 hours to mow 5 acres. X734 can go up to 8 mph.

hoping to cut time down to 1.5 hours with the 72 inch deck...nice thing about X970R is the push button to lift deck to avoid scalping or objects

My advice: take a step back before trying to get a dragster mower. You are trying to force a square peg into a round hole. If you don't care about a perfect cut then just mow half of the land every week or less. Spend 1.5hrs mowing each week and then stop. If you care about the cut and don't seem to have any trouble with money then hire it out. Hey, do what I do and declare 80% of the ten acres to be a meadow and then plant wildflowers. You only need to mow meadow once or twice a year to keep it healthy and control weeds.

Trying to buy equipment to mow ten acres in 90 minutes is frankly nuts when you have had zero experience running those machines. Would you give your 16yo a McLaren super car so he could learn to drive? Take a step back and find a better solution.

 

[trctorfan17]

My advice: take a step back before trying to get a dragster mower. You are trying to force a square peg into a round hole. If you don't care about a perfect cut then just mow half of the land every week or less. Spend 1.5hrs mowing each week and then stop. If you care about the cut and don't seem to have any trouble with money then hire it out. Hey, do what I do and declare 80% of the ten acres to be a meadow and then plant wildflowers. You only need to mow meadow once or twice a year to keep it healthy and control weeds.

Trying to buy equipment to mow ten acres in 90 minutes is frankly nuts when you have had zero experience running those machines. Would you give your 16yo a McLaren super car so he could learn to drive? Take a step back and find a better solution.

Oh no, I don't like meadow. I have to mow the whole yard every week.

I thought if I mow at a faster speed than normal, I would still cut grass but not a truly clean cut.

The big problem with zero turn is the rough ride even with suspension seats and tweel airless tires.

 

[IslandTractor]

Oh no, I don't like meadow. I have to mow the whole yard every week.

I thought if I mow at a faster speed than normal, I would still cut grass but not a truly clean cut.

The big problem with zero turn is the rough ride even with suspension seats and tweel airless tires.

Hire a professional to do it. You are just going to waste money and perhaps injure yourself trying to set a mowing speed record. Seriously, hire it out.

 

[trctorfan17]

I will have to think about that.

I was going to sell my 2015 riding mower before buying the zero turn anyway...after all, it only has 85 hours on it. I really didn't have much time to mow in the last two years.

Thank you for the advice IT.

 

[thorholt]

I have the RX6010, It will definitely do what you want to do, I do not have a backhoe for mine but I have dug a few 2' deep ditches using this.
RBT4 Series Rear Blades | Land Pride
I could have went deeper no problem but you will need space on both sides of the ditch to temporarily put the spoil from the ditching, keep pulling the spoil away after every other pass, I got all the hydraulic cylinders on the blade and also the rear gauge wheel, It was impossible to dig accurately without the gauge wheel, My RX has 3 remotes in the rear which is necessary for this application.
That being said, I have to use fwd to pull this blade, a smaller, lighter tractor would struggle doing what I have been doing with it, my previous tractor was a Massey 39 HP tractor.
Good luck with your project!

 

[trctorfan17]

I have the RX6010, It will definitely do what you want to do, I do not have a backhoe for mine but I have dug a few 2' deep ditches using this.
RBT4 Series Rear Blades | Land Pride
I could have went deeper no problem but you will need space on both sides of the ditch to temporarily put the spoil from the ditching, keep pulling the spoil away after every other pass, I got all the hydraulic cylinders on the blade and also the rear gauge wheel, It was impossible to dig accurately without the gauge wheel, My RX has 3 remotes in the rear which is necessary for this application.
That being said, I have to use fwd to pull this blade, a smaller, lighter tractor would struggle doing what I have been doing with it, my previous tractor was a Massey 39 HP tractor.
Good luck with your project!

Great idea...thank you very much.

It is very tempting, and gives me a reason to get the RX7320...instead of a backhoe, i like that.

So, this blade new would cost around 3,500...that is half the price of the backhoe and I can also use it for grading, nice!

And I think this should be much easier to operate, compared to the backhoe...

Coyote & IT: what do you think guys? do i have your blessing?

 

[IslandTractor]

Great idea...thank you very much.

It is very tempting, and gives me a reason to get the RX7320...instead of a backhoe, i like that.

So, this blade new would cost around 3,500...that is half the price of the backhoe and I can also use it for grading, nice!

And I think this should be much easier to operate, compared to the backhoe...

Coyote & IT: what do you think guys? do i have your blessing?

No. Frankly this whole thing is getting to be ridiculous. You could do the project with a SCUT!!!! You don't have the experience to jump into a utility tractor. Rent a small TLB to do the work or just get a local farmer to do the digging for you. It is just absurd to buy a $40,000 tractor to dig a trench. And, you are in the northeast not the Great Plains. We have rocky soil and using a back blade to dig a trench is not a simple matter.

I'm sorry to be mean but you have a severe case of gear acquisition syndrome and are just not behaving rationally. You've never operated a tractor before. Take 10-20% of the budget you would spend on purchase of tractor and implements and just hire a landscaping company. The work will be done in 2-3 days. Then hire them to keep it all mown and spend your weekends relaxing. Seriously.

 

[Coyote machine]

No. Frankly this whole thing is getting to be ridiculous. You could do the project with a SCUT!!!! You don't have the experience to jump into a utility tractor. Rent a small TLB to do the work or just get a local farmer to do the digging for you. It is just absurd to buy a $40,000 tractor to dig a trench. And, you are in the northeast not the Great Plains. We have rocky soil and using a back blade to dig a trench is not a simple matter.

I'm sorry to be mean but you have a severe case of gear acquisition syndrome and are just not behaving rationally. You've never operated a tractor before. Take 10-20% of the budget you would spend on purchase of tractor and implements and just hire a landscaping company. The work will be done in 2-3 days. Then hire them to keep it all mown and spend your weekends relaxing. Seriously.

What he said ^^^^^^
Seriously, we've given you tons of what I'd consider to be very specific good advice and you just don't seem to be getting it on most levels. Enough with the not really paying attention questions. Your statement about not being able to stand a meadow and having to cut every week is just one of the indicators you would be way better off spending your $$$$ on hiring pros to do all the jobs once and right. Then kick back. If you eventually buy another place then do it all over again; hire out, sit back and watch those who know what they're doing do.
I could have saved a ton of money buying an excavator and doing most of the work I described earlier, BUT time is time, (not as is commonly thought money); time is all any of us have, and how one spends it says a lot about one's overall quality of life.
I chose NOT to spend huge amounts of my time doing things I could get done with other's bought labor/expertease.