Greetings,
First time poster, so please be gentle...
After finally ditching my Ariens Zoom50 ZTR and mowing for the last month with my 20" Honda push mower, I'm ready to purchase another ZTR.
I've narrowed down my choices to two, based on dealer location and (hopefully) quality of machine. Ideally, this is the last mower I'll buy.
I'm looking at the Bad Boy 48" ZT Elite OR the Hustler 48" Raptor SD. The Bad Boy has the 22HP Kohler and the Hustler would come with a 21.5HP Kawasaki. The Bad Boy has what appears to be a higher grade of hydros (3100 vs 2800).
As I'm in south-central KS, the Hustler plant is 30 minutes away and dealers are plentiful. Bad Boy only has one dealer in town.
I will always mulch the fine-bladed fescue of my yard that is less than 1 acre.
The primary reason I got rid of my Ariens was that is was an absolutely filthy machine. I would get dirtier with debris than I would string-trimming. Not kidding. Every time I mowed, I had to shower. Since I'd rather be golfing than mowing, that was a huge inconvenience for me. Yeah, I know...first world problems....
The dealers in town won't let me mow with their ZTR's so I'm hoping I can get feedback from others that own either or both machines regarding excess debris escaping the deck while mowing. I don't mind a simple brush-off when I'm done mowing but want a mower that won't cover me head-to-toe in clippings.
Anyone have a recommendation for either brand? On paper, they appear to be quite similar so I'm looking more for practical use feedback.
Thanks again and have a great week.
Dave
First time poster, so please be gentle...
After finally ditching my Ariens Zoom50 ZTR and mowing for the last month with my 20" Honda push mower, I'm ready to purchase another ZTR.
I've narrowed down my choices to two, based on dealer location and (hopefully) quality of machine. Ideally, this is the last mower I'll buy.
I'm looking at the Bad Boy 48" ZT Elite OR the Hustler 48" Raptor SD. The Bad Boy has the 22HP Kohler and the Hustler would come with a 21.5HP Kawasaki. The Bad Boy has what appears to be a higher grade of hydros (3100 vs 2800).
As I'm in south-central KS, the Hustler plant is 30 minutes away and dealers are plentiful. Bad Boy only has one dealer in town.
I will always mulch the fine-bladed fescue of my yard that is less than 1 acre.
The primary reason I got rid of my Ariens was that is was an absolutely filthy machine. I would get dirtier with debris than I would string-trimming. Not kidding. Every time I mowed, I had to shower. Since I'd rather be golfing than mowing, that was a huge inconvenience for me. Yeah, I know...first world problems....
The dealers in town won't let me mow with their ZTR's so I'm hoping I can get feedback from others that own either or both machines regarding excess debris escaping the deck while mowing. I don't mind a simple brush-off when I'm done mowing but want a mower that won't cover me head-to-toe in clippings.
Anyone have a recommendation for either brand? On paper, they appear to be quite similar so I'm looking more for practical use feedback.
Thanks again and have a great week.
Dave