Which Hustler Should I Purchase? - help please

Tassie mowing

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Hi there from Australia,

I have just purchased a new house and there is a lawn/pasture of about 2 to 2.25 acres to mow. It has a very slight slope across the block. It is basically square shaped. There are no trees/obstacles to mow around other than the house, but in time I could add a few trees/shed etc. There are a few small rocks/divots but I intend to improve the quality of the grass over time.

I have been over analysing mowers and have narrowed my search down to a Hustler in large part because it looks more robust than other mowers (toro, husky), it is very price competitive (against other zero-turns) and I really like/trust the dealer.

My goal is to spend as little time as can on the weekend on a mower, have a reliable unit that lasts and cuts well. The current owner has a 42' tractor mower and it takes him 2 hours to mow. I want to get that down to around 1hr (less if I can!).

Based on budget I am thinking:

1. Raptor 52'
2. Raptor SD 48'
3. Raptor SD 54'

Cost in Aus is around AUD$6,400 for the Raptor 52', AUD$7,400 for the Raptor SD 48' and around AUD$7,800 for the Raptor SD 54'. Based on current exchange rate that makes the Raptor 52' about $5k and the SD 54' $6k in US dollars! Hence I am not looking at the Fastrac models.

Based on your experiences which mower will break the hour time goal (if any or all). I think the SD will be more robust but not sure if the extra cost is worth it.

Really appreciate all your comments/suggestions and advice.

Thanks
 

Darryl G

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I have no direct experience with these mowers (I run commercial units) but doing a side-by-side comparison of the specs I would definitely recommend the SD for the many upgrades that make it a more robust machine, and if you're going to get the SD you may as well get the 54 inch for the small price difference. In your case I can't see any advantage to getting the 48 and you'd probably regret not getting the larger machine. You likely won't get your lawn cut in an hour at first, but with some experience on the machine it's certainly within its capabilities.
 

Tassie mowing

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I have no direct experience with these mowers (I run commercial units) but doing a side-by-side comparison of the specs I would definitely recommend the SD for the many upgrades that make it a more robust machine, and if you're going to get the SD you may as well get the 54 inch for the small price difference. In your case I can't see any advantage to getting the 48 and you'd probably regret not getting the larger machine. You likely won't get your lawn cut in an hour at first, but with some experience on the machine it's certainly within its capabilities.

Thanks Darryl - I will see how i go on price with the dealer on the 54 and keep you posted. Appreciate your comments. Cheers
 

Ronno6

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I recently purchased the Raptor SD 54" and so far it has performed flawlessly.
It was highly recommended by others on this forum, but, as with everything,
it does have its detractors.........
 

Tassie mowing

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I recently purchased the Raptor SD 54" and so far it has performed flawlessly.
It was highly recommended by others on this forum, but, as with everything,
it does have its detractors.........

Thanks Ronno6 - do you think it can mow 2 acres in an hour? (Slight slope/no obstacles) Cheers
 

Ronno6

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Thanks Ronno6 - do you think it can mow 2 acres in an hour? (Slight slope/no obstacles) Cheers

I would say that the mower's speed is adequate for that, but it also depends on you smooth
your surfaces are. My yard is not the smoothest, and I bounce around quite a bit.
Hence my yield is a bit lower.

I read a post somewhere that Hustler's website indicates that the Raptor SD54 can cut 3.27acres/hour.

There are others who may have more experience who could give a more definitive answer to that question.
 

Kremeneon

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I would say that the mower's speed is adequate for that, but it also depends on you smooth
your surfaces are. My yard is not the smoothest, and I bounce around quite a bit.
Hence my yield is a bit lower.

I read a post somewhere that Hustler's website indicates that the Raptor SD54 can cut 3.27acres/hour.

There are others who may have more experience who could give a more definitive answer to that question.


oh yeah, it inhales the straight sections. Turning around takes as much time as 50-75' of straight run.
 

bertsmobile1

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I would say that the mower's speed is adequate for that, but it also depends on you smooth
your surfaces are. My yard is not the smoothest, and I bounce around quite a bit.
Hence my yield is a bit lower.

I read a post somewhere that Hustler's website indicates that the Raptor SD54 can cut 3.27acres/hour.

There are others who may have more experience who could give a more definitive answer to that question.

You take those figures with a grain of salt.
They are calculated by multiplying out the width of the deck x the maximum ground speed and don't take into account that some decks require nearly 1/3 overlap to cut the grass properly ( depends upon the grass as well )
Ignores corners which take more time than strait mowing despite being less than 1/10 the ground area.

It also ignores that most paddocks do not have an entry and exit point diagonally opposite each other
 

Darryl G

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I don't know how Hustler calculates their productivity but a 15% overlap is commonly calculated into manufacturer productivity figures.
 

retfr8flyr

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I have the SD 48 and I have been very happy with it, for your size area I would go for the SD 54.
 
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