Almost new Raptor Owner and First Post

I've been lurking around here for many months as I have been trying to educate myself. Very helpful information.

Quick notes about myself.
Own 7 acres, and cut 3.5 of them with an MTD 38" lawn tractor. Yep, you read that right. Used it on our previous home which was 1/4 acre and it performed great. I've used it for the last year at our current home and it's still trucking. I mow anywhere from 3-8 hours every weekend from April through October. So, I REALLY need a bigger mower.

The only local dealer that I feel is a good fit sells Gravely, Hustler, Scag, and Toro.
My budget is $4K. I know that puts me in a residential line. Would love a step above this threshold, but it just doesn't fit the budget. Besides, if my current MTD can manage this place, I'm quite confident Hustler and Gravely can out last the MTD.
My dealer showed my the Hustler SD 54 and the Gravely XL 54 (I had looked the Gravely ZT 52, but it was just too far out of my budget).

Anyway, the only differences he could offer were the Hustler's rear tires are 2 inches wider and the Hustler has the Kawasaki and the Gravely has the Kohler. I'm not convinced one is better or worse than the other. I hear and read plenty of debates. You might drive a Dodge, but you couldn't give me one. Right?
The price was almost identical (within $100), so it was hard to decide. Then, I kept reading on here about spindles. So, I had the dealer show me the spindles side by side. The difference is huge. Hustler's spindles are cast aluminum and much heavier than Gravely's (which are painted and appear thin walled and lighter).

So, it looks like I'll be coming home with a new Hustler SD 54.

Any comments on things I need to do first, or check, or whatever? This is my first zero turn.

Thanks again for all of the education over the last several months.


Jelly Roll

Hi, J.R. and welcome.

The Raptor SD54 is the mower own.
Mine is a leftover 2016 which I purchased from Lowe's in Sept last year.
Worked well from the get-go, having to make only 1 adjustment to a hydro in order to get 'er to track straight.

So far, so good!
You mighta gone for the 60 if you coulda swung it $$$$$$ wise.

Good luck!

You will love the Raptor SD over your lawn tractor. I mowed 5 acres with a 46" Craftsman tractor in 4 hours. I bought the 54" RSD and cut my mowing time in half to two hours. My top recommendation are to replace the stock medium lift blades with high lift blades and cut the chute deflector shorter so it does not block the deck exit chute and shoots the cut grass straight out. I cut mine all the way back so I can trim up to trees or walls on both sides of the deck.

The RSD made mowing fun, and I enjoy my time mowing more than ever.

Ive read a lot of discussions about the various blades. But, help me in understanding the benefit of doing this. Also, any specific brand blade to purchase?

The one thing on the SD that I wasn't very fond about, was the support across the opening. I don't cut wet grass or tall grass, so I'm not really that worried about it. But I'll keep your recommendation in mind as I begin to get accustomed to this machine. I can see how this would help, but I don't want to cut anything on this machine just yet.

You will love your SD54. I have a first year model and still smile every time I mow. Since you are buying from a dealer I'd ask them to check every nut and bolt they can for tightness. Check and tweak the bar linkages for play and travel. And check the deck for height and level. Then go home and let it rip!

You should see am immediate halving of your mow time and with some practice you should get that 3.5 acres done in about an hour and a half.

EDIT: oh and keep an eye on the hydro expansion tank level, it may be low or empty and need some juice added after the first couple mows when the transmissions burp out some air from the lines and top of the housings.

Jelly Roll said:

Ive read a lot of discussions about the various blades. But, help me in understanding the benefit of doing this. Also, any specific brand blade to purchase?

The one thing on the SD that I wasn't very fond about, was the support across the opening. I don't cut wet grass or tall grass, so I'm not really that worried about it. But I'll keep your recommendation in mind as I begin to get accustomed to this machine. I can see how this would help, but I don't want to cut anything on this machine just yet.

Click to expand...

I bought the new deck modification part from Hustler and cut the bar off. Mows even better now. Hustler should sell the mower with this already installed.

I use XHT high lift blades in the spring and Oregon Gator blades in the summer and fall. The Gator blades turn grass into soup in the spring and clog up the deck. The high lift cuts only once and creates a lot of wind under the deck, and grass goes flying 10-15 feet.

My RSD is in the shop getting a new mower deck. The paint on mine was coming off, and they had a bad batch of paint in 2016. So they are replacing it under warranty. I am also talking to the dealer about trading it in. They have a 1 year old X-One that I am hoping we can make a deal on.

Jelly Roll,

Just use the blades that comes on it and run them at WOT. If you're not cutting wet or extra tall grass, I don't think you'll have any problems and the bar across the chute opening isn't actually a problem for anyone other than a small amount of capturing clippings debri.

I did a deck discharge chute reinforcement bar experiment to either dis-spell or confirm the bar is a real problem. I immediately cut some super tall weeds up to 42" high before and after the bar modification. There wasn't enough clumping with the original size bar to worry with. Now, let me pre-empt all the hate mail coming right after this by saying: If you feel you don't want the bar, cut it out. However, to possibly help keeping yourself from future lawsuits and maybe save your own toes or someone else's. Think of cutting off the top 2/3 of the bar and leave the lower part to help keep your toes from the blades in the event you may have someone start it while sitting on the seat and engage the blades.

All you need to do to have the same thing as removing the bar is cut down the height of the bar about 3/4" until the top of the bar is level with or below the top of the cutting blades. Then all the clippings scoot right on over the top of the reinforcement bar. I've made a couple of videos on the deck discharge chute that may give you an idea whether you would want to remove the bar or cut it down. I do NOT suggest you cut it or lower it, however, which of the two you do, keep safety at the forefront of your mind. The toes you save may be your own. lol

I know the fellas that have completely removed theirs are happy with that and I believe it was the right thing for them to do.
Good luck,

Max

Okay, got it home yesterday and spent 4 hours cutting the entire 3.5 acres. Actually, 4.1 hours. And that's an 7-8 hour job on the MTD.
What a difference. WOW!! Lawn tractors should be outlawed! JK
Now I will state that this was my first time driving/mowing a zero turn. One thing that I did not do at the dealer was to go full throttle and try driving. Very different than half throttle. Controls are definitely touchy at full throttle. And the front wheels and deck stick out farther than I am accustomed. I know I am going to either take out a tree or fence or pool equipment, or I'll be buying new front casters.......but I see an "incident" in the future.
And at first, I kept catching myself trying to mow like I was with the lawn tractor. Took a bit for my mind to snap what I was sitting on......kept making me laugh.
Anyway, I got the hang of it after about 30-45 min, but still need some time in the saddle to get more efficient.

But, I waited a extra week to cut, so the grass was higher than normal. I couldn't believe how that engine never missed a beat. There were a few times that the thatch was quite thick and the blades were trying to slow down, but the engine never slowed. It's a grass eating machine.
And absolutely zero issues with that bar while cutting. Every bit of grass was blasted to the side.

Our property has a mixture of St. Augustine, Bahia, Johnson, a bit of Bermuda, and other weeds.......... nothing was an issue. One area of our property is under a stand of pine trees. The mowing under here is always a dusty mess. I found out that this machine is like a helicopter when cutting over the pine needles/cones, and dirt. My wife was tickled when I came back and looked like I had rolled in the dirt. So I do wish they made an closed cab with AC for this thing.

Anyway, this will save me HOURS of wasted time now. Very thrilled to be a new owner of this Hustler.


Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll,

Welcome to the joys and tribulations of Hustler Raptor ownership. lol

Considering your St. Augustine's Bahalia Jackson weeds are pretty hard to cut, you went right thru them with speed and apparently pleasure. Sounds like you had a great amount of fun stirring up trouble for the property's turf.

Oh, don't be mentioning that Raptor bar, somebody going to jump you about that! lol

I do suggest wearing dust masks when mowing.

Run over to MaxsGarajMahal on Youtube for some upgrades you may want to try on your Raptor.

Keep having fun with it.

Max

Congratulations on your new RSD
Going on the third season with mine