3 Acres and $7K Budget...what mower?

Just bought a new house with a 3 acre yard. The house sits up on a hill and the yard gently slopes down to the road. Definitely not a high grade for cross mowing. Just gently sloping. I need some help on buying a mower though. I've read through all the various threads and been to all my local dealers. Each says that theirs is the best. I'm sure you know the story. The problem I'm running into is that I can't seem to find what I think I want for $7K.

Here are some of my preferences:
Koehler or Kawasaki engine with canister filter preferably
54" minimum deck

They dealers are all telling me I should go with a mower than uses "pump and wheel motors" as opposed to "transaxles", whatever that means. They also say I need grease able spindles. Is there any truth to either of these?

Really like the Grasshopper 223, but it's out of my budget. Liked the Hustler Fast Track Super Duty, but it has sealed spindles, transaxles, and felt like it sat really low to the ground. Like the Bad Boy CZT, but when I climbed on them, the seats all felt weak and they squeaked badly. Just didn't give me a good feeling of quality. And the CZT uses transaxles too. LOVE the Ferris 2000z, but they are way outside my budget. No Dixie or ExMark dealer within reasonable driving distance. Didn't care for the Scags in my price range either.

Is there something I'm missing or am I being too picky for my particular needs?

Maybe a use ag tractor with a 6 foot bushog and then a finish mower for around the house

The dealers that are recommending pumps and wheel motors and greaseable deck spindles are giving you information based on their service experience and this is good info.
There are some good machines that have Hydro Gear hydrostatic drive units and I suggest that you do some research on these drive units to be better informed about them when you make a decision on a machine. Hydro Gear has a nice website and some info about their products.
The few folk that I have chatted with that have purchased BadBoyz machines have not been happy with them.
Some basic guidelines that I recommend:
If you are not capable of servicing the machine yourself, then think about a machine from a local quality servicing dealer.
Larger diameter rear wheels are better for ride quality and minimal turf damage while turning around.
A foot operated deck lift for quick raising of the deck to get over obstacles that can cause blade damage.
A canister type air filter on the engine.
A sizable fuel tank(s) so you don't need to refuel as often.
A comfortable seat and control position.
More HP is better than not enough particularly with collection systems installed.
Possibility of collection system, some machines are better setup to accomodate collection systems.
Just some of my thoughts!!

Cirrus said:

Just bought a new house with a 3 acre yard. The house sits up on a hill and the yard gently slopes down to the road. Definitely not a high grade for cross mowing. Just gently sloping. I need some help on buying a mower though. I've read through all the various threads and been to all my local dealers. Each says that theirs is the best. I'm sure you know the story. The problem I'm running into is that I can't seem to find what I think I want for $7K.

Here are some of my preferences:
Koehler or Kawasaki engine with canister filter preferably
54" minimum deck

They dealers are all telling me I should go with a mower than uses "pump and wheel motors" as opposed to "transaxles", whatever that means. They also say I need grease able spindles. Is there any truth to either of these?

Really like the Grasshopper 223, but it's out of my budget. Liked the Hustler Fast Track Super Duty, but it has sealed spindles, transaxles, and felt like it sat really low to the ground. Like the Bad Boy CZT, but when I climbed on them, the seats all felt weak and they squeaked badly. Just didn't give me a good feeling of quality. And the CZT uses transaxles too. LOVE the Ferris 2000z, but they are way outside my budget. No Dixie or ExMark dealer within reasonable driving distance. Didn't care for the Scags in my price range either.

Is there something I'm missing or am I being too picky for my particular needs?

Click to expand...

You can go with the pump and wheel motors but you really don't need those, there more for a commercial application, and grease able spindles IMO are a must .Any mower with the 2800 or larger Dual Hydro-Gear Transmissions are more than enough for a three acre yard. Have you checked out the Cub Cadet Z- Force, you can buy the 54" for $4799
Cub Cadet - Zero Turn Riding Mowers - Z-Force Riders
I run the 44 and 48" in the business and I can tell you for the money you can't beat the mower

redfish9 said:

Maybe a use ag tractor with a 6 foot bushog and then a finish mower for around the house

Click to expand...

Garage space is at a premium, so multiple pieces of equipment for the same job is not a good option. Plus, I like nice straight lines in my yard. I want to be able to spin around on the end and go back in the opposite direction. Difficult and time-consuming to do with an actual tractor. Especially if there is no power steering on the tractor. This would not be a good option for what I'm looking for.

Mad Mackie said:

The dealers that are recommending pumps and wheel motors and greaseable deck spindles are giving you information based on their service experience and this is good info.
There are some good machines that have Hydro Gear hydrostatic drive units and I suggest that you do some research on these drive units to be better informed about them when you make a decision on a machine. Hydro Gear has a nice website and some info about their products.
The few folk that I have chatted with that have purchased BadBoyz machines have not been happy with them.
Some basic guidelines that I recommend:
If you are not capable of servicing the machine yourself, then think about a machine from a local quality servicing dealer.
Larger diameter rear wheels are better for ride quality and minimal turf damage while turning around.
A foot operated deck lift for quick raising of the deck to get over obstacles that can cause blade damage.
A canister type air filter on the engine.
A sizable fuel tank(s) so you don't need to refuel as often.
A comfortable seat and control position.
More HP is better than not enough particularly with collection systems installed.
Possibility of collection system, some machines are better setup to accomodate collection systems.
Just some of my thoughts!!

Click to expand...

Canister air filter is important to me also. I won't be running a collection system, so that's a non-issue for me. I definitely plan on buying from a local dealer. I can do the regular maintenance service, but want the option of having a knowledgeable dealer handy in case something more series needs to be addressed.

I was going to suggest a John Deere X540. It has a 24-26hp liquid cooled Kawasaki motor, hydraulic power steering, hydraulic lift on a 54" deck and I think tilt steering. The MSRP on that mower is $7,699. But, I see you're leaning towards the z-turns. The only mower I can suggest that I have real longterm experience with is the Kubota. My father has the ZD28 with a 72" deck. New it is way out of your price range, but a nice used one should be fairly affordable.

Ric said:

You can go with the pump and wheel motors but you really don't need those, there more for a commercial application, and grease able spindles IMO are a must .Any mower with the 2800 or larger Dual Hydro-Gear Transmissions are more than enough for a three acre yard. Have you checked out the Cub Cadet Z- Force, you can buy the 54" for $4799
Cub Cadet - Zero Turn Riding Mowers - Z-Force Riders
I run the 44 and 48" in the business and I can tell you for the money you can't beat the mower

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. I'd really prefer to have a mower with at least a 58" cut and 60" would be better. I don't mind spending the money to buying a higher quality mower if it will pay off in the long run.

My ideal mower would be the Grasshopper 223. The 54" deck is selling for $7900 and the 61" deck is selling for $8200. A lot more than I'd want to spend, but I know I'd be buying a true commercial mower with a great engine, pump and wheel motors, and a solid reputation. I may try to keep an eye on Craigslist, but I doubt I will find one with relatively low hours.

you might be surprised about craigslist... I used list-alert.com (a craigslist aggregator) and found a bunch of used mowers that I would have been fine with. I ended up buying a country clipper used off CL and I am extremely pleased with it. I bought the country clipper for the heavy duty easily serviced deck design. I would also listen to these guys... they have so much experience and are very happy to share it. I mow much less that what you are mowing, but your still not mowing anything near what these guys do ... so I feel comfortable in their recommendations. I had specific needs, wanted the largest deck that could get and still go through one of my gates, a deck design that made it easy to replace blades, belts or spindles... and a joystick! I have arthritis in my shoulders and while the levers give finer control than the joystick designs, I have no issues using the joystick and it leaves my other hand free to move low hanging branches or a beer! I bought my mower for 1300-1400 less than the current year model and it only had 27 hours on it. I almost bought the cub cadet RTZ S with a 50 inch deck, but decided the deck looked too flimsy, the z force version someone else recommended has a much better deck and I would not hesitate to believe it would meet your needs. I ended up paying less for the country clipper albeit with a smaller deck(but every bit as heavy duty as the other manufacturers fabricated decks) because it really met my needs and thats pretty much all anyone can ask for.

Anyone know what I could expect to pay for the Cub Cadet Tank LZ or SZ? Those seem to be the two Cub models that have the features that I want. I have a feeling they will be out of my budget though. But still interested in them.