Need Recommendations for Zero Turn Mower

joepacelli

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Wife and I are building a new home and moving in end of June. We are going from a Townhouse in which lawn maintenance was covered by HOA to 3/4 of an acre, non-rough terrain yard with currently no trees.
So I am looking to purchase the following;
Zero Turn Mower, plus maybe some optional items like bagger, mulch kit, etc. depending on the mower
Push Mower for area we are going to fence for dog and for ditch in front of yard.
Weed Eater

I would like to purchase all the same brand if possible.
So if I buy a Toro Zero Turn Mower, I would also like a Toro Push Mower and Toro weed eater.

I'm looking at spending no more than 4K-5K for everything

So probably need to get a 42"-48" Zero Turn to be within this price range for everything

So do I purchase something at Lowes or Home Depot where I can get a 10% military discount.
Or do I see if local dealer offer any good deal's.

The advantage of the local dealer is in the future if I have issue's, I can have them service it and they usually treat you better if you purchased from them.

So now it comes to the brand. I've started to look at the following brands
Toro
Husqavarna
John Deere
Kubota

So I'm looking for so help and recommendations.

Thanks
Joe
 

jekjr

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Wife and I are building a new home and moving in end of June. We are going from a Townhouse in which lawn maintenance was covered by HOA to 3/4 of an acre, non-rough terrain yard with currently no trees.
So I am looking to purchase the following;
Zero Turn Mower, plus maybe some optional items like bagger, mulch kit, etc. depending on the mower
Push Mower for area we are going to fence for dog and for ditch in front of yard.
Weed Eater

I would like to purchase all the same brand if possible.
So if I buy a Toro Zero Turn Mower, I would also like a Toro Push Mower and Toro weed eater.

I'm looking at spending no more than 4K-5K for everything

So probably need to get a 42"-48" Zero Turn to be within this price range for everything

So do I purchase something at Lowes or Home Depot where I can get a 10% military discount.
Or do I see if local dealer offer any good deal's.

The advantage of the local dealer is in the future if I have issue's, I can have them service it and they usually treat you better if you purchased from them.

So now it comes to the brand. I've started to look at the following brands
Toro
Husqavarna
John Deere
Kubota

So I'm looking for so help and recommendations.

Thanks
Joe

Unless you are adamant about cutting grass, get some quotes from contractors in your area. then do the math. You might be way ahead of the game to hire it done and let somebody else worry about keeping the equipment up. $5K will cut much grass in my area for years.
 

cruzenmike

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If you care to mow and want to skip the lawn service, then Toro and Husqvarna are the only two of the brands you mentioned that will be able to provide you all three pieces if equipment. Either one is doable under $4,000.

Another thing to consider is that having a lawn service will keep you from having to pay for gasoline to fuel your equipment as well as saving on the cost of maintenance every year. I have an Exmark, Walk behind string trimmer and weed whip and I spend about $250 a year maintaining them. Maybe I go a bit overboard but I believe in oil flush and change, new filters, plugs and blades. Everything continues to run well.
 

neetan

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My I suggest you look at few things before you make the spend, Please remember you will enjoy the cutting and want to spend more time on it. Plus look at what attachments will work with what you have.

Now I know the budget is 5K, but you do not need to spend it all! Lets look at what will last you a long time with the least amount of issues. Understand Warranties, power train, and Drive train.

Longer warranties mean the product will out last the average consumers lifetime. Longer warranty means the company wants you to be "not thinking about it" 400 Hr. over 4 years is good~ now 1000hr over 3yr. not as good for you, but 500hr over 5 years is all ways better since your cutting will be around 100 hr a year?

Remembering that all the companies use the same product in they're driving systems, look for the best but do not over pay for something that you will never use. The hydro's you get help you a lot when it comes to life of the unit, the minimum I went with is the zt3100 which is the low end commercial ~ so my thought is 6hr a day for 8-10 years of regular use in commercial setting will give me 25-35 yr. of personal use plus still giving me a good resale after 10-15 years if I want. I paid $5800cdn or 4200us so after 10 years of use I can still get between 2500-3500cdn 1750-2900us on resale costing me 2800cdn/2150us or about $280cdn/200us a year about $10-15cdn a week not bad if you look at this.

Now zero-turn are not snow blowers or lawn aerator, so what I did was due to the bumpy lawn I rented a motorized lawn roller and after a good rain that lasted a few days You would be amazed at how awesome my lawn is now.

I run a 48" which I believe give a better cut then a 60", more passes but more handling around objects plus allows you different cut pattern since my next door guy, has groves in the lawn due to the same pattern he cuts.

I have a Hustler Fastrack SD, with Honda 20.5hp and a 48" cut and ZT3100, I hope I helped and good luck.
 

bertsmobile1

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Unless you buy from a single brand dealer, there is no earthly reason to have all your gear from a single brand.
Have a good look at what is in the back of lawn mowing contractors trucks.
The only time they are all the same colour is when some one over 40 who got laid off who decides he is going to become a lawn mowing contractor walks into a dealers showroom with his severance cheque in hand.

Thinking about what gear to buy right now is very much putting the cart before the horse.
You really won't know what you will need till after the landscaping is done.
On 3/4 acre, before the house/ shed/ garage / BBQ area / pagola / pool / sand pit for the grandkids / cloths line / veggie garden / flower garden & shrubs go in, buying any mower, and in particular a ride on is very much premature.

A few very important questions have to be answered.
Like how fit are you & your partner.
What sort of a lifestyle do you intend living
Do you enjoy gardening
Do you want a minimum maintenance yard
Where are you, dose it snow, have heavy frost or never rain ?
I have customers with 1/2 to 3 acres that require less than 1 hour a week to maintain and they use nothing more than a walk behind .

You might be better served by spending some time with a GARDEN DESIGNER, not a landscaper and particularly not a landscaper who also does lawn care.
While I have nothing against landscapers except they tend to be way too focused on creating the Grand English mannor with miles of lawn image.
Where as a garden designer will look at your property and work out how it can be broken up into "outdoor rooms" where you and your family can relaxe & play no matter what the season or weather conditions.

I have a 94 year old widow customer on 2 acres, chockers with small shrubs, raised garden beds containing edible plants & trees , a couple of veggie beds and fish ponds connected together to make a stream. Give me a rice red & a good book & I could spend hours there.
The grand kids , great grand kids & great great grandies, love it and hassle their parents go go there .
She has just bought a JD Z225 to replace her Honda SP the yard was designed to require no trimming apart from along a couple of paths for which she has an Atom Edger.
She used to have a hand held Echo blower but it got so it would blow her over so she gave it to the neighbour .
 

Darryl G

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I think you'll have a better experience if you buy at a local dealer. They will (hopefully) set up the equipment properly and test fire it and you will have direct access to parts and service without having to use a third party service provider. You will have to decide if it's worth 10% (or possibly more) to buy from a dealer. I don't know modern Toro Equipment, so I'm going to choose a Husqvarna package for you.

Zero Turn Mower - Z242F with Kawasaki 21.5hp engine $3000 or Z248F with 23hp Kawasaki engine $3,300. EXT transmissions, 11 gauge fabricated deck with reinforcements. I'd choose the 48. Nice width for productivity, agility and cut quality. Ample power. I'd skip the bagger, you probably don't really need it. Has only 6 cutting heights with hand operated lift. https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/zero-turn-mowers/z242f/967271801/ https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/zero-turn-mowers/z248f/967262501/

Push Mower - Literally. 7021P. As it will be used primarily as a trim mower for ditch and dog area, skip the sell propelled option. Lighter, easier to maneuver in tight areas. No drive system to break or maintain. Large rear wheels, Honda Engine. 3-in-1 bag, discharge, mulch. $300. https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/lawn-mowers/7021p/961330030/

String Trimmer - 525LS straight shaft $330. Very nice trimmer. Well balanced, excellent vibration control, good power and pretty light. Love mine that I ran professionally for a season. Choke lever is kinda strange and stiff. Replaced my 323 which I ran for 5 or 6 years and also loved. https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/trimmers/525ls/966781601/

Backpack Blower - I know it's not on the list. 150BT or 350BT $300 to $330. Fairly quiet, good power and moderate weight. Can use for lots more than just blowing hard surfaces...garden beds, project cleanup, areas of heavy grass clippings instead of bagging, blow drying cars and blowing off equipment. The 150BT should be fine. I picked one up from a customer to give to my brother-in-law (I use a much larger unit). https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/leaf-blowers/150bt/965877601/ https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/leaf-blowers/350bt/965877502/

Total Cost $4,260 Max with the 48 incher and 350BT blower. $3,930 with the 42 incher and 150BT blower without tax or any discounts.

Rear bagger is available for the Zero-Turn. $430 extra rear non-powered bagger. Complaints that the lid breaks, but may be due to careless operation. You need to be careful with the tail swing on rear baggers. No powered bagger system available for those mowers. https://www.husqvarna.com/us/access...-bin-collection-system/966004101/?q=967271801

Note: I have no intimate knowledge of the mowers, only the blower and trimmer.

You should be able to do any turf care tasks with the above set of equipment quickly and efficiently for the next 10 years at least.
 
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joepacelli

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So I went to local dealer's this week.
First was Toro and looked at the MX4200, but then changed to the 50" myRide TimeCutter MX5075 (74768/74778)

Next, I went to another dealer for Husqvarna, but they didn't have any Zero turn's by them, only 2 riding mowers. They stopped caring them due to service issue's with them
They did however have Hustler and EXmark, this was my first time seeing these brands.
And for the hustler I was looking at the Raptor HD 48" Kohler 7000 PRO - $3899

The EXmark was the Radius E Series 48" for $4999
RAE708GEM48300

Have not gone to dealers that carry SCAG or Gravely

But I also don't want to have to much overloud of information.
If I do go to SCAG or Gravely, any specific models to look at?
 

Darryl G

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The Radius is a REALLY NICE MOWER. Even though the specs are similar, it's in a different class. I looked at them in the fall when getting parts for my 2 Exmarks, which have been great machines. My Lazer is semi-retired now at 1,900 hours due to a worn engine, but it's survived 15 years of commercial use with only routine maintenance and 2 starters. I kind of regret not looking at the Radius X series before I bought my Bob-Cat, but the Bob-Cat dealer is so good and so close to me that I switched brands.

Both the Toro and Exmark have their proprietary engines on them, but they seem to be excellent engines from all of the reports I've seen. The Hustler is a really good value. If you can justify the price I think you'd be very happy with the Exmark. I think both the Hustler and Toro have the ZT 2200 (EZT) transmission. Note that I couldn't find the exact Toro model you listed - only the MX5075 74768. The Exmark has the more robust HydroGear ZT2800 serviceable transmission which also gives it a little more speed. The Toro seems quirky to me and my feeling is that suspension systems often cause more problems than they're worth. If ride quality is an issue I'd suggest upgrading to a suspension seat or a suspension seat base instead. Just my opinion that I'm sure many will disagree with.

Honestly no search for a mower in the category would be complete without looking at the Scag Liberty which people seem to love. Scag is right up there with Exmark for top quality equipment. Scag owners are very enthusiastic about their mowers with the only complaint usually being the weight and resulting rutting of lawns.
 
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