Narrowing Down The Search...HELP

[gabowman]

First off, a lttle info....I'm mowing about 1.5 acres here at home and can foresee in the not-so-far future doing Dad's 2 acres also. I'm looking for the best mower in my budget and have narrowed it down to these two (I think). I want the Kawa motor and am real interested in the Hustler FasTrak (not the HD...too expensive) in 54" cut or the Gravely ZT HD in 52" cut. The Hustler comes with a 23 hp motor whereas the Gravely comes with the 24 hp engine. Other than that everything seems to pretty much match up on the specs. Oh yea, the Hustler comes with the ROPS but that will come off and hang in the barn if I pick that mower. Here's what I see for specs...

Brand & Model HP Engine tank size max forward speed
Gravely ZT HD 52" 24 hp Kawasaki 6 gallon 8 mph
Hustler 54" FasTra 23 hp Kawasaki 6.8 gallons 8 mph

max reverse speed transmission type tranny model front tire rear tire Deck Weight Price
4 mph Hydrostatic ZT3100 13 X 5 20 X 10 10 ga. welded 832# $5199
5 mph Hydrostatic ZT3100 13 X 5-6 20 X 12-10 11 ga. welded 860# $5699

Obviously there's a $500 difference and to me it appears in toughness (what can I say....I'm partial to the Hustler). Also, I'm sure the ROPS costs something too. But right now I'm waiting on a price from a dealer that still got 2012 stock he's trying to move. On the Huistler HD he dropped the price @ $900 so for reasoning's sake lets say I might have the opportunity to get either ZTR for equal money. So now....which mower and why?!?

 

[RatRacer]

I wish it was just 2 when I was deciding.
Both are good, well constructed choices and will do the job. I'd look at warranties at that point, since both are similar. Also, who is the better accommodating/servicing dealer you're most comfortable dealing with would sway my decision.
Blindly, my choice would be the Hustler.

 

[Jehelam]

I have a similar dilemma... narrowed down to Gravely Pro Turn 48 and Hustler FasTrak 54 SD. Even though folks are saying that the new Briggs Commercial engine in the Kubota Kommander and Husqvarna M-ZT is alright, I think the Kawi is much more proven and in my demos just runs nicer (don't need to choke on restarts for example). So the Kawi narrows it down to these two.

Pros for the Hustler:

I haven't actually driven a FasTrak yet, but I've had a Sport for 3 years, and imagine it drives similar, which is to say awesome. The speed and precision I can maneuver tight places with it is amazing. I originally thought the "patented SmoothTrak steering" was just marketing jargon for dampers on the control arms, which everybody has now, but there must be more to it because when I demoed the Gravely I had a harder time controlling it precisely. I'm not sure what it is, maybe just that it's a much bigger and heavier machine, or the controls are just more sensitive, or maybe I'm just used to the Hustler and need to get used to something different.

I also like the way Hustler automatically engages the park brake when swing the arms out. Just saves a step.

I think the Hustler's deck height selection mechanism is a bit easier and faster.

The Hustler has 12" wide tires as opposed to 9.5" on Pro Turn, and 10" on HD. This gives better flotation and traction on my frequently wet lawn.

I intend to use a powered bagger. The Hustler power head is only 7" instead of 12". That means I can get the 54" deck and still fit through my gate and shed. I can only get a 48" in the Gravely because of the 12" head.

Hustler comes with a hitch, which I use to pull a cart and aerator. It's an add-on with Gravely.

Hustler has the better motor. Even though the FT has 23 hp vs 24, it has the FS series Kawi vs the FR on the HD, which is apparently a little higher spec, although I don't know exactly what the diffs are and if they are significant. The Pro Turn moves up the FS, but the Hustler SD moves up to the FX.

Pros for the Gravely:

Pro Turn has slightly upgraded trannies... can go 9 mph instead of 8 mph.

Pro Turn has 10 ga deck vs 11 ga on Hustler

ExtremeFlow bagger looks like a Humboldt design and is very nice and highly regarded. I demoed it in tall wet grass and it gobbled up everything fast without skipping a beat. No clogging. I couldn't demo a Hustler bagger, but by looking at it I feel that it would work better than the Hustler. i.e. better airflow patterns, larger impeller, larger tube, etc. It looks like I could get a Humboldt bagger for the FT, but then I'm again down to a 48" deck.

Reports I've read indicate the Gravely deck design is one of the top all-conditions deck (along with 7-iron), and Hustler has some clumping issues. However, using both on the same day in the same yard, both chute up and chute down, I could not see a significant difference in dispersal (this is with tall wet grass). Both made wind rows that need to be gone over with the deck raised a bit and the chute up. Don't notice any clumping from my 48" sport with side discharge and Oregon G6 blades. (Mulching is a mess though).

I like Gravely's pulley covers. They are open on the ends so that you can blow stuff out with a blower without having to remove the covers. Covers that are closed on the end still get plenty of debris in there, you just don't notice it until you take the cover off.

 

[edd]

hustler has a longer warranty.......4 yrs or 800 hrs

 

[gabowman]

Does it help to know that Gravely uses the "FR" series motor and Hustler uses the "FS" series motor? (I'm not sure which is supposed to be the better motor.)

 

[Mad Mackie]

FS is a commercial grade engine. Not sure why the Gravely doesn't have a ROPS, possibly not considered to be in the same technical category as the Hustler.
Mad Mackie inCT

 

[djdicetn]

FS is a commercial grade engine. Not sure why the Gravely doesn't have a ROPS, possibly not considered to be in the same technical category as the Hustler.
Mad Mackie inCT

Someone has some bad information on the Gravely...the Pro-Turn 48 indeed has the FS Kawasaki(Heavy Duty, versus FR-Residential or FX-Commercial). It also comes with a foldable ROPS and the HydroGear ZT-3200(I believe the Hustler has a ZT-3100). The ROPS on the Hustler Fastrak is "solid" and you must uprade to the Fastrak Super Duty to get the foldable ROPS.