Why are 60" ZTRs so much more popular than 72"

[vanguard]

I'm closing on a 14 acre property and at the moment about 8 of that is maintained with a mower (as opposed to a bush hog). It's pretty flat and there are barely any trees. It seems like an ideal place for a 72" mower to me but the guy selling them said that I should get a 60" because they are so fast you don't need 72". He said that in the last 5 years he's sold maybe one 72" mower compared to hundreds of 60" mowers. The used market seems to back him up. There is a lot more out there at 60".

Why don't more people buy 72" mowers?

 

[eddie48]

The wider the mower, the less it can follow irregularities in the ground and you get scalping. If your land is really flat and you don't have narrow passages to traverse, the 72" mower may be just right for you. Remember, too that 72" takes more power to run than 60" so, if you have heavy grass to mow, you may have to slow down.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a 60 inch Scag Wildcat and I don't even remember seeing a 72 inch mower when I was out shopping. I'm just guessing, but that much larger of a mower is going to cost a considerable amount more money to power it, make it harder to get through gates for commercial mowers and probably not fit on the trailer either. Mine sticks out farther on the left, so I can get up close to everything I want to mow on that side. It's wider then the wheels, and it's plenty powerful enough for mowing grass that's a foot tall. Granted, I have to cut it twice when it's that tall, but it's not that big of a deal when I go too long between mowing.

Eddie

 

[DK35vince]

I mow 7+ acres and wanted to zero turn with a bigger motor and a 72" deck to cut my mowing time.
I went with a Hustler Super Z with a 72" deck and 35 HP Kawasaki
Awesome mower. Mows my yard in just over 2 hours.
The 35 HP has very good power to run the 72" deck.

 

[vanguard]

Yeah, I'm getting convinced that the reason 60" decks are so popular for the commercial guys is that they can handle any yard. Not everybody has acres of grass and not much else. They might spend more time getting on a trailer, going through gates, etc. where being narrow helps them.

For me, it's all about the acres per hour.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'd say the 60" width is what some consider the best compromise between the widest swath with minimal scalping...also, I'd say it's a cost and availability thing...seen a lot of 60" zero-turns available (I own one, in fact), but not too many 72" zero-turn mowers

 

[tcartwri]

The fabricated decks on these mowers do not follow irregularities very well, and they plow through, instead of rolling up and over any bumps. And 48~52" decks are actually the most popular.

 

[mfreund]

All the above is what everyone told me when I got my 72" MMM. It does no worse than going from a 46 to 60. The myth continues to this day. Buy the 72!

 

[Will_C]

If you have 5+ acres of flat ground, wide enough storage doors, and no need to transport the mower-the 72" is for you. I'll consider one when I build a house on my property-for now, I would hate the thought of loading a 72"ZTR on my 76" wide trailer and fitting it between the fenders.

I also now that I would want a 35 hp engine if I was going to consider a 72" machine.

Will

 

[vaskeet]

Yeah, I'm getting convinced that the reason 60" decks are so popular for the commercial guys is that they can handle any yard. Not everybody has acres of grass and not much else. They might spend more time getting on a trailer, going through gates, etc. where being narrow helps them.

For me, it's all about the acres per hour.

for acres per hour hustler super z 104 inch deck