Trying to Decide on a mower

ricksample12

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Hi Everyone,
I have a 5 year old 50" Cub Cadet LT1050... Home Depot special. It goes 5 MPH and takes me 2.5 hours 2-3 times a week to cut my 4 acres. I'm looking for a 60" Zero Turn in the 5K range. I looked at the ones at the big box stores... they're junk. I did find a Bad Boy Elite for $4999 (60" 7 MPH) and the Bad Boy Maverik for $5999 (60" 9 MPH). I haven't yet gone to any actual dealers... I've looked on a lot of their websites for Gravely, Scag, Cub, etc and absolutely no prices. I plan to visit a few places... but have no idea one what I'm looking for or what they will cost. The 7MPH seems a little on the slow end for me though... wish I could find something between that goes like 8MPH for 5500?

The Bad Boy looks like it's built like a tank... the deck is 7 gauge fabricated, dual pumps, full tube welded frame. But that's all I really know about what to look for. I'm not sure if those are good prices or if I can get a more well known better brand with more features for around the same price. I'd be very happy to get 8-10 years out of this mower.

I would like something quick. Although I'm not sure what quick is with a zero turn. The Maverik above goes 9 MPH. Will I be using this at 9MPH or would I be better off getting the cheaper one for 7MPH? Another thing is I need something to absorb a lot of the bumps. My yard is flat, but bumpy. The cub beats me up pretty bad. Not sure about other mowers, but the Maverik does have what appears to be an EZ ride suspension system. I've never driven any of these... so I don't know if all zero turns absorb more bumps than my current one or not.

I've watched some youtube reviews about the big boy... most are great but I did find some not so great ones. One guy reviewed it and called it junk and to get a Gravely. I watched some youtube videos about Gravely and one guy has had his in the shop now 10 times and it only has 12 hours on it LOL. So is it like a brand loyalty thing or something? Will I be able to get a decent well built zero turn for 5K?
 

jekjr

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Go ahead and buy a Tiger Cat Scag and don't look back. It will last you 20 years and run 10mph if the ground is smooth enough for you to stay on it. It is significantly more than $5500 but you won't regret it.
 

ricksample12

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I wish, just a quick search it looks like those are around 10k. A little overkill for my 4 acres, maybe if I had 10 acres lol. I've had my $1500 home depot cub for 5 years. My yard is 2 acres with grass, my field is 2 acres heavy brush. Been mowing for 5 years 300 hours no issues. Only reason for the upgrade is to try and get my mowing time cut in half. I figured if my cheapo cub can last 5 and I bet I could easily get another 5 from it. A bad boy or gravely should easily be able to last 10 I'd hope. Given they are upperresidential pr entry commercial
 

jekjr

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I wish, just a quick search it looks like those are around 10k. A little overkill for my 4 acres, maybe if I had 10 acres lol. I've had my $1500 home depot cub for 5 years. My yard is 2 acres with grass, my field is 2 acres heavy brush. Been mowing for 5 years 300 hours no issues. Only reason for the upgrade is to try and get my mowing time cut in half. I figured if my cheapo cub can last 5 and I bet I could easily get another 5 from it. A bad boy or gravely should easily be able to last 10 I'd hope. Given they are upperresidential pr entry commercial

A Tiger cat is not that much in my area. However if you look at how long it will last t is not really out of line. I know of several Tiger Cubs that are over 20 years old and still great. Tiger Cub is the predecessor of the Tiger Cat. I have a Tiger Cat has something like 1800 hours on it that runs daily. Some times all day long.

A 52" Tiger CAt II with a Kawasaki motor will last you a lonnnnngggg time on two acres. If you cut it regular you can cut 2 acres an hour.......
 

tuck22

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I have a bad boy ZT Elite and did alot of research before I purchased and have been impressed with everything. Its the 54in with bigger kohler motor if you have any question just shoot me a pm
 
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