Hustler 48" Raptor SD

micro

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I'm new to this, but just wanted to put in my opinion...I traded in a 6-year old Hustler 42" Sport a few months back on a new Raptor 48" SD. Big mistake! The Sport was a fine mower, but I needed a little bigger deck, and thought I was making an upgrade. This thing plugs the deck up constantly, whether the grass is wet (much worse then) or dry. The biggest problem was the reinforcing bar across the bottom of the discharge opening; it's now been cut off, but the problem remains. I can't mow more than 15 minutes without having to stop and dig grass out from under the deck. I've tried raising the discharge chute up, but this deck is cut away into the TOP somewhat, and it doesn't really help that much. The left-hand blade area clogs first, then the middle, then the right-hand side. It's a real mess, and when done mowing (about 3 and 1/2 hours), I have to jack it up and ALWAYS remove around two 5-gallon buckets of clippings. I've contacted Hustler about their lousy deck design, but the only response I've gotten from them was "It's what it is". Now I'm trying to work a deal to trade it for either another Hustler (Fastrak SD 42") or something else. The previous Sport 42" I had NEVER had this issue, so I'm thinking the 2-blade deck is the way to go...however; my neighbor has a Bad Boy 60" that he's had for years, and never has this issue. After looking over the Bad Boy mowers, I see that their discharge opening is much bigger than on any Hustler, so I'm leaning that direction.
I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem with this mower, and what you've done to resolve it. It's frustrating to put up with, and makes me dread mowing at all.
 

RetiredGuns

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I don't think you will find that removing 10 gallons of grass from your deck is a common theme. I can only assume that you are mowing very wet or at least moist, long grass. The crappiest mower will throw dry grass. If you are mowing dry grass then either your blades are not spinning at full speed or there is another mechanical problem. Do you know if your mower is operating at the 18.6k BTS?
 

djdicetn

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I don't think you will find that removing 10 gallons of grass from your deck is a common theme. I can only assume that you are mowing very wet or at least moist, long grass. The crappiest mower will throw dry grass. If you are mowing dry grass then either your blades are not spinning at full speed or there is another mechanical problem. Do you know if your mower is operating at the 18.6k BTS?

I agree...most likely the OP isn't following the "1/3 rule". Never cut more than 1/3 of the total height of the grass(i.e. if the grass is 3" tall, set the deck at 2"...1" cut = 1/3 of the 3" height). My manual also states never cut more than 2" in one pass. If the OP is waiting until his grass is 5" tall and cutting at 2" that is most of his problem. Also, he needs to avoid cutting the grass if there has been rain in the last 48 hours and try to mow in the late afternoon after the sun has dried any dew from overnight. That will help the "moisture content" problem that adds to his dilemma. Another mistake some people make is mowing with the engine NOT at full throttle(thinking they will save gas). This is a definite No No!! Some grass buildup is unavoidable, but not to the extent that he described:0(
 

Nickwilkins

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I have the fastrack SD 54" and have never had this problem. I have cut in all kinds of conditions, long, short, wet, dry. Some conditions are obviously worse than others, but nothing like what you are describing.

Sent from my iPhone using LMF
 

Kremeneon

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I do agree on WTF is the reinforcing bar doing across the discharge, and why the chute cutout over the blade there? Why not just a rectangle opening at the edge like every other mower?

My RSD 54 clogged up just like you describe, until I did two things:
I raised the discharge chute just a little, to level or just above.
I installed Oregon gator G5 blades.

Now it cuts more grass, at a higher ground speed, doesn't clog, and throws smaller pieces of clippings much further (up to 20' or so with the chute at about a 30 degree up angle), instead of leaving a windrow right at the chute.

I mowed about 2 acres of knee high pasture grass out behind the house and it just threw a wall of chopped salad out the side with the chute angled up about 30 degrees. no clogging for the whole thing and when done there was only a little grass packed at the front lip of the deck and a little stripe all around at blade level.
 

micro

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I do agree on WTF is the reinforcing bar doing across the discharge, and why the chute cutout over the blade there? Why not just a rectangle opening at the edge like every other mower?

My RSD 54 clogged up just like you describe, until I did two things:
I raised the discharge chute just a little, to level or just above.
I installed Oregon gator G5 blades.

Now it cuts more grass, at a higher ground speed, doesn't clog, and throws smaller pieces of clippings much further (up to 20' or so with the chute at about a 30 degree up angle), instead of leaving a windrow right at the chute.

I mowed about 2 acres of knee high pasture grass out behind the house and it just threw a wall of chopped salad out the side with the chute angled up about 30 degrees. no clogging for the whole thing and when done there was only a little grass packed at the front lip of the deck and a little stripe all around at blade level.



I'll try raising the discharge chute and putting on a set of the gator blades. I'm not doing anything different than the last 40 years of mowing with many other brands of mowers; I still believe it's a bad deck design, along with a discharge opening that is just too small, but we'll see. I always wait for the grass to dry out, if we have a rain, which doesn't happen much in KS this time of year, and never wait for it to get too high, as some have suggested. The only time I mow below 3 or 4 inches is late in the fall, when I'm cleaning up leaves.
 

Kremeneon

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I agree there is something wrong with the deck and blade configuration as-delivered. it didn't work for me at all.
 
D

DSepe

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They put a reinforcing bar across the discharge chute....good one hustler(Sarcasm). Also Bad Boy might not be a good choice as they have some very noted cut quality issues. What other dealers do you have nearby?
 

micro

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They put a reinforcing bar across the discharge chute....good one hustler(Sarcasm). Also Bad Boy might not be a good choice as they have some very noted cut quality issues. What other dealers do you have nearby?

That's the thing; the Hustler dealer is 6 blocks away! Not too many other brands anywhere close (50+ mi.), except several small stores that have picked up various ZTR mower lines, but have no service dept. for after the sale. Not going there. My Hustler dealer has been great to work with, but is getting no support from the factory at all on this issue, and has said he's probably going to drop the Raptor line because of this and other issues with them, not to mention the fact that the big-box stores around are now selling the Raptor line, sometimes with various discounts or other sale prices that he can't match. Sounds to me like Hustler doesn't value their dealer network as they should. In fact, my dealer was their top-seller last year, and may be again this season. His being close is why I've done business with him, as he stocks everything needed for any mower he's sold. I'm just frustrated, but when it's all said and done, will probably end up trading this thing in on another Hustler; probably the Fastrak SD 42".
 

RaptorSD

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Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the bar across deck is for a grass catcher? There's a lip welded to it that extents to the blade so clippings get deflected upwards, same reason for the relief cut in the top of the deck, I though it looked odd when I first noticed it.

Either way no problem here with the RSD deck clogging.
 
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