[AT] Semi-off topic Zero Turn mowers

[Mike]

Charlie, I'm in the same boat you are in. I mow about 3 acres and do so 
on a 1995ish Simplicity Sovereign with a 48" deck. It's a good old 
mower, but I practically live on the thing in the summer. I've looked at 
the Bad Boy mowers at TSC, and they look like they are built really 
well, but as someone else mentioned, no local dealer support. I looked 
at the Scag TigerCat, but can't justify 8K for mowing my lawn. I am 
leaning heavily toward the John Deere Z series, local support and people 
love them. A friend of ours has an older Z series, and readily admits 
that he uses it like a brush hog. The only thing he's needed to change 
is the belt. We used to live in a more hilly area and lawn care guys 
that would mow slopes put ATV tires on the their machines, no more 
sliding around.

Mike M

On 4/26/2014 11:14 PM, Bill Bruer wrote:
> Charlie, I've been running a Hustler FasTrak for 6 years.  The FasTrak was
> their "homeowner" line when mine was new.  The main difference between it
> and the pro mowers at that time was that the FasTrak has an integrated pump
> and motor unit for each rear wheel while the pro series had a central pump
> with separate motors.  I don't know what is in their current lineup.
>
> Mine is only a 44" deck because that is what fits best around and between
> the obstacles in my yard.  I got the optional Honda v-twin engine (18 HP)
> though I've heard nothing but good about the standard Kawasaki engines.  I
> have had absolutely no trouble with the mower.  I do my own maintenance.
> The mower has right at 400 hours on it now.  I regularly mow about 3 acres
> and a few times have used it in some fairly tough stuff that it probably
> wasn't designed for.  It tops out about 7 MPH but that's as fast as I care
> to mow.
>
> I see mostly Hustlers on the commercial trailers around here.  A friend who
> runs a lawn care business in south Florida swears by Exmark.  Both brands
> are very similar in design and build; I've even heard some people claim they
> are made by the same company (they aren't).  When I was buying the local
> Exmark dealer was just too high on price.  I expect my mower to outlast me.
>
> Bill Bruer
> Murfreesboro, TN
> bill_bru at bellsouth.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: charlie hill
> Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2014 1:45 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: [AT] Semi-off topic Zero Turn mowers
>
> I'd like to hear peoples opinions of different
> brands of ZTR mowers.  I'm not interested in
> particular brands or what is cool or popular.
> I'm looking for the most bang for the money
> in terms price, reliability and serviceability.
> Cheaper is better but price isn't everything.
> I don't want a small machine and I don't want a
> huge one.  I do place some importance on speed.
>
> Thanks
>
> Charlie
>
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