I know the raptor sd is not is as heavy built as the ariens or gravely, but I just cant decide if I want to spend the extra money for the ariens apex or gravely hd, also which one would mow wet grass good and not rut a softer yard, which one has good weight balance? ive heard the raptor sd deck plugs up pretty easy, any input from you guys on these would be great
#2
mhavanti
My Raptor SD60 has never had the deck plug up. I cut wide open, ground speed wide open unless the grass is soaked and over about 10 inches. Never cut out the bottom re-enforcement and it just keeps on ticking like a Timex.
I just bought my Apex this past summer and I love it! I had to clean out the deck on my craftsman rider every time I cut wet or dry, used the Apex since August and never had to touch the underside of the deck until the end of the year when I was bagging wet leaves. I believe the Apex/Gravely has larger rear tires than the Hustler. My Apex with the 60" deck has 12" wide rear tires and doesn't rut my yard at all, I have very sandy soil.
#4
mhavanti
Handtools,
I just can't imagine anybody buying a mower with APE in the name, let along when they put a X behind it. That usually means: "Don't do it". lol. Kidding of course.
My Raptor has 12" wide rear tires along with 6.5" wide fronts which did make a huge difference in my purchase decision. Along with the deck build, parking brake lock in the sticks, engine cover, high end chair and a few other details.
The Ariens is a great machine and to be honest, I've never seen or touched an Apex, however, I'm certainly glad you're getting great service from your cutting deck. Nobody wants a clogging deck.
Please post some photos of your Apex, I'd love to see them so that I am enlightened. I've heard them mentioned here a few times, however, never seen any.
The Apex looks to be a very nice machine. I think when considering the Apex vs the ZT HD there either is absolutely no difference other than color, or possibly the warranty since the Gravely is marketed more towards the commercial user. It is a shame that they didn't put the FR730v in the 48" or 52" Apex. The Hustler SD or SDX are not bad machines in my opinion, but then again they are prices a little less than the Apex. The Ariens and Gravely are very well build machines, but I think they still suffer from some issues that lesser expensive mowers do such as having noisy decks and poor warranty support. At least with something like an eXmark you get a huge dealer network to help and right now their sale can get you a Radius E 48" for around $5K plus tax. I have questioned about this mower many times and at many different dealers and the eXmark branded engine seems to be reliable, the 2800 hydros provide sufficient oomph for the average homeowner and the warranty is good at 4 years.
I owned 56 inch Raptor and sold it after severla months of use. It's pretty much junk. As in - engine starts, blades mow but... deck suspension loosens itslef and literally falls apart very fast. So you mow and boom - one deck side is plowing into the dirt!
I sold it - very fast, actually - on craiglsist and bought 60'' Raptor. Now that one has deck hardware solid but absolutely dumb deck adjustment system. It's backward and very counter-intuitive.
They both have very poorly designed discharge shoots. On 56 inch plastic shoot cover cracked after 2 months of mowing. Problem is not in that though. They both have narrow discharge opening and for some reason are towards the deck front corner. As the result, grass clumps very easily in the deck corner, next to shoot opening. I literally ride with a stick to push those clumps off the shoot ever so often. Another problem is they "re enforced" shoot with a flat bracket at the bottom. Guess what it's doing. yes, adding more resistance to clippings discharge. I actually cut it away on 56 incher and discharge improved immediately. I am yet deciding if I shall keep the 60 '' one or sell it also, if I'll keep it - I'll cut large discharge shoot across entire deck side.
I saw Toros with a HUGE side shoot with no obstacles. Literally, entire deck width. THAT should discharge well.
Speaking of Raptor tires. Both of mine had zero traction on thick grass. My property has several steep hills and I'll slide everywhere. On now 60'' one I replaced stock tires with ATV mud tires. THAT holds, though tears topsoil sometimes. But I'm in farmland, not posh sub, so I do not care.
Doing oil filter and oil on 56'' Raptor is a beech. Also, I had 2 spindles go bad in less than 80 hrs of use. Design flaw.
#10
mhavanti
ukrbyk,
Sorry you had the experience you have with your Raptors. I did a quick mock up, which I didn't finish due to a meeting I had to attend, of a chute enclosure for the Raptor SD I'm considering doing sometime in the future to either prove or disprove the claims of a bad discharge opening in the Raptor SDs.
I will see if I can upload the photos of the mock up I've done thus far to see what suggestions you and others may have for this experiment. Bear in mind that I have zero complaints about my SD60 chute discharge other than when the wind is blowing toward the operator (in this case, me) the discharged clippings blow back into the operator's face and all over the mower. I'm almost certain the brand, design of the deck, the deck's chute and the brand of underwear the operator is wearing will not change the ability of the wind to cover the operator and mower in clippings.
I've said many times that I live in a neighborhood filled with commercial mowers and this little ole cheap Raptor is every bit as qualified to fill the needs of an commercial operation without any problems other than enough hours in the day to earn as much money as you'd like.
Can you explain to me where and what exactly in a drawing or a photo that you believe was the culprit in clogging your chutes? I give you an idea of how it would be helpful to illustrate your observations.
I heard that Hustler recently updated the 2018 Raptor SD to remove the lower support bracket/brace on the deck and if I remember correctly you can get a retrofit kit for the previous SD models. Hustler realized after much grief from customers that the brace was degrading discharge performance. The Raptor SDX omits the brace and many users have praised the improved discharge performance with that model.
#12
mhavanti
Yes Sir, I've read the comments, viewed the new models and read their reviews. However, I intend to find out if there is anything to the claims as I can't imagine any reason based on my own experiences there is anything wrong with the original design. Do I believe that as far as a larger opening being better? You betcha!
More isn't always better, however, that isn't often. Do I think the opening is adequate for any situation, I think it is just fine. Still intend to work out some sort of scientific tests as for volume of debris with the stock configuration in different degrees of moisture laden clippings relative to the increased discharge port to see when the opening size has reached saturation.
Not going to happen real soon. Just on my horizon.
