Which ZTR?

[Natural Light Kid]

May be in the market for a new ztr. Looking in the 52" (48-54) range and the $4k range. Not going to spend $ to get super duty, industrial grade. Mowing about 1.5 acres. Have several flower beds to mow around. Pretty smooth (no roots) terrain. Looking for something that will mow fairly fast and still have a good looking cut. Looking at exmark and hustler right now. Any suggestions?

[Paulox86]

Look at the bad boy mowers. They are really popular.


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[amiller72]

I have the hustler raptor sd with 54" deck and 23hp Kawasaki engine. I have been completely satisfied. Right at 4k as well. Bought at moss bluff mower sales.

[Natural Light Kid]

Originally Posted by amiller72

I have the hustler raptor sd with 54" deck and 23hp Kawasaki engine. I have been completely satisfied. Right at 4k as well. Bought at moss bluff mower sales.

I was looking at the raptor sd's. I like them.

[Shawn Braquet]

Look at the Toro's. They are made identical to the Exmark's and offer them in the welded decks as well. I know of 3 people with them and no problems from any. 2 of them are the 42" welded decks and the other is the 52" stamped deck. My dad got his from an Exmark dealer in Lake Charles. The salesman was the one that said they were identical to the Exmark. I'm sure it's the typical one conveyor line manufacturing and they split in the end to be painted/packaged as Exmark and Toro. I'm trusting the salesman's word on this one so if I'm wrong someone please correct me. Btw I think the 52" stamped deck was walk out for around 4k.

[BuckingFastard]

i have an exmark commercial 60" so im pretty partial to the brand. honestly it cuts like a champ though and leaves a yard looking great! ive seen the cheap husquavarna models leave a darn good cut too. IMO i would get the smallest welded deck exmark you could afford. you wont regret it and the service is easy. the taller the deck you get the more lift you can make under it causing the blades to pull higher and have a more even cut. The cheaper exmarks use the old style commercial decks from a few years back while toro is indeed the same people, they are left behind by a few years on everything. thats why theyre cheaper.

Never engage your blades while the rpms arent high though! youll throw a belt.

[rustyb]

I have a bad boy and has been very good so far. Only have 50 hrs on it. My friend had a commercial mowing service owns one and also likes it. He had an ex mark before this one and just ran it till it wore out. He has had em all and his ex mark lasted the longest. Had over 2000 hrs on it and it was just shot. He just wanted to try something new.

[Shawn Braquet]

Originally Posted by BuckingFastard

i have an exmark commercial 60" so im pretty partial to the brand. honestly it cuts like a champ though and leaves a yard looking great! ive seen the cheap husquavarna models leave a darn good cut too. IMO i would get the smallest welded deck exmark you could afford. you wont regret it and the service is easy. the taller the deck you get the more lift you can make under it causing the blades to pull higher and have a more even cut. The cheaper exmarks use the old style commercial decks from a few years back while toro is indeed the same people, they are left behind by a few years on everything. thats why theyre cheaper.

Never engage your blades while the rpms arent high though! youll throw a belt.

Thanks for the clarification. Any idea of the "newer" upgrades that the Exmark has vs the Toro?

[BuckingFastard]

Deck and seating mainly.


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[BuckingFastard]

They upgrade front wheels and castors and deck height and thickness. Motors get better each year and so does the intake and exhaust. Doesn't take much of a difference to make a huge difference on these mowers.


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[Natural Light Kid]

I currently have a toro timecutter ss 50". Residential with a stamped deck. It's done well except when my grass gets too thick or too high i will have to make multiple passes. I understand if things are real high and thick, but in my opinion, my mower should handle it. Was thinking I maybe need to "step up". I need to replace the bearings on one of my pulleys. Could there be something wrong with mine that could be fixed ? Don't want to buy a new one.

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by Natural Light Kid

May be in the market for a new ztr. Looking in the 52" (48-54) range and the $4k range. Not going to spend $ to get super duty, industrial grade. Mowing about 1.5 acres. Have several flower beds to mow around. Pretty smooth (no roots) terrain. Looking for something that will mow fairly fast and still have a good looking cut. Looking at exmark and hustler right now. Any suggestions?

Buy from whomever has the best service in your area.

[BuckingFastard]

Originally Posted by Natural Light Kid

I currently have a toro timecutter ss 50". Residential with a stamped deck. It's done well except when my grass gets too thick or too high i will have to make multiple passes. I understand if things are real high and thick, but in my opinion, my mower should handle it. Was thinking I maybe need to "step up". I need to replace the bearings on one of my pulleys. Could there be something wrong with mine that could be fixed ? Don't want to buy a new one.

what size engine do you have and depth of deck? number of blades?

[BuckingFastard]

Originally Posted by Natural Light Kid

I currently have a toro timecutter ss 50". Residential with a stamped deck. It's done well except when my grass gets too thick or too high i will have to make multiple passes. I understand if things are real high and thick, but in my opinion, my mower should handle it. Was thinking I maybe need to "step up". I need to replace the bearings on one of my pulleys. Could there be something wrong with mine that could be fixed ? Don't want to buy a new one.

how long has it been since you changed your blades?

should be sharpened every 8-10 hrs. if not then its like beating the grass with a stick.

[Shawn Braquet]

Originally Posted by BuckingFastard

how long has it been since you changed your blades?

should be sharpened every 8-10 hrs. if not then its like beating the grass with a stick.

Wow, that's every 4-6 mowings for me. I tend to go a year on the same set of blades with minimal problems as long as I stay away from the cypress knees. These blades are on a belly mower for my tractor and seem to be thicker than lawn mower blades though, of course the price is much higher as well.

[BuckingFastard]

you can go 20 hrs but the cut and efficiency suffers greatly. i have 3" wide blades and i can still tell when they get dull even with the huge amount of momentum. when i used to just mow my own i wouldnt sharpen my blades until it basically wouldnt cut anymore lol. now that i cut a lot of places ive learned its a lot easier to sharpen them often and barely have to take anything off that it is to wait till its too late and have to take half the blade away just to make a good edge again. then you gotta worry about balancing them correctly or youll wear your bearings down fast and cause deck vibration.

[Natural Light Kid]

3 brand new blades and a new belt. It's a 50" deck with a 23 hp(I think) kohler. Not sure of the depth of the deck. It never has performed like I thought it should. maybe my expectations were too high.

[BuckingFastard]

dang, i wonder if your motor isnt turning the rpms it should.

[Natural Light Kid]

Originally Posted by Shawn Braquet

Wow, that's every 4-6 mowings for me. I tend to go a year on the same set of blades with minimal problems as long as I stay away from the cypress knees. These blades are on a belly mower for my tractor and seem to be thicker than lawn mower blades though, of course the price is much higher as well.

What tractor set up do you have? I was even thinking of going that route or a tractor an finish mower. A little tractor would come in handy for other things too.

[Shawn Braquet]

I have a New Holland TZ22DA with a 60" Belly mower, 4wd with front end loader and rear 3 pt and PTO and hydrostatic transmission. I use the piss out of it. It's an 06' model that I bought in 08' with 150 hrs on it. Paid $4500. Burns hardly any diesel and is perfect for anyone with 5-7 acres or less. I will say that it causes gardens to grow in size drastically.